Canny Minds Blog

Inside the rational mind of Van Gogh

Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by Jenny in Articles

He has long been regarded as an unbalanced genius whose brilliance could not be separated from his mental illness.

However, personal correspondence published for the first time today shows that picture of Vincent van Gogh “is rubbish”, according to experts.

The letters, which go on display in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, demonstrate a disciplined and rational method behind his greatest creations.

“They show he knew what he was doing and that he was so far ahead of his time – that’s why they thought him mad,” said Hans Luijten, a curator. “What emerges here is somebody deliberately planning a campaign in his art.”

More than 100 van Gogh letters are at the heart of the exhibition, surrounded by some of his most celebrated paintings, including the cloud of crows above a wheat field painted at Auvers sur Oise just days before the artist shot himself.

Leo Jansen, one of the exhibition’s organisers, said:

“Every move was thought through – every brush stroke planned. The idea that he was a madman slashing the canvas with paint in a frenzy is rubbish and these letters show this.”

By Florence Waters, The Daily Telegraph.

Photo courtesy of wallyg

Tags: 30-50, Art, Learn Something New, male and female