The Van Gogh Museum concludes its 50th anniversary year with the exhibition Van Gogh along the Seine, which is the last of three special exhibitions on display at the museum in 2023. The programme for 2024 gets off to a colourful and personal start, with the expressive works of Matthew Wong in the exhibition Matthew Wong l Vincent van Gogh. Painting as a Last Resort. Both Wong’s work and life story share striking similarities with those of Van Gogh. 

In addition to the exhibitions, the Van Gogh Museum is also offering a varied programme for young adults this autumn. During the recurring event Vincent on Friday and Museum Night on 4 November, the museum offer evenings packed with live performances, DJ sets, workshops and more. The museum is also organising mindful art viewing sessions and yoga lessons as part of the mental well-being programme Open up with Vincent. 

Van Gogh in Auvers. His Final Months
On display until 3 September 2023

Vincent van Gogh, Wheatfield with Crows, 1890

This major retrospective focusing on the final months of Van Gogh’s life has received rave reviews from both art critics and the public. The exhibition follows Van Gogh from his arrival in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise on 20 May 1890, where he optimistically set to work with fresh ambition, through to his final weeks in July of the same year. In 70 days, Van Gogh painted 74 works, and the Van Gogh Museum has reunited 50 of these paintings for this exhibition. With loans from museums and private collections all around the world, this is a remarkable opportunity for visitors to see works that have never before been exhibited together. Van Gogh in Auvers. His Final Months is a collaboration with Musée d’Orsay in Paris. 

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Van Gogh along the Seine
13 October 2023 to 14 January 2024

Vincent van Gogh, Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières, 1887

This autumn, the Van Gogh Museum concludes its 50th anniversary year with Van Gogh along the Seine. This pioneering exhibition explores for the first time how the area along the Seine near Asnières, to the north-west of Paris, was crucial to the artistic development of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries: Paul Signac, Georges Seurat, Émile Bernard and Charles Angrand. For this exhibition, the works that Van Gogh made in the area around Asnières have been examined as a separate group for the first time, and compared with the work of four contemporaries who painted at the same locations. Van Gogh along the Seine unites 75 works, many of which have never before been on display at the Van Gogh Museum, or even in the Netherlands. This exhibition is a collaboration with The Art Institute of Chicago. 

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Matthew Wong l Vincent van Gogh. Painting as a last resort 
1 March to 1 September 2024 

Matthew Wong, Unknown Pleasures, 2019

Matthew Wong l Vincent van Gogh. Painting as a Last Resort is the first retrospective of work by Matthew Wong to be exhibited in Europe. The Chinese Canadian artist Matthew Wong (1984-2019) produced radiant, colourful and expressive works. Vincent van Gogh was one of Wong’s most significant sources of inspiration, and the exhibition showcases the artistic connection between the two artists. But their life stories also reveal parallels: Wong and Van Gogh both worked hard to find their calling, which ultimately proved to be painting, and they struggled with their mental health, resulting in tragic, untimely deaths. Although there are many similarities, each created a body of highly individual work that is highly personal and emotionally charged. The exhibition will consist of a range of works by Wong interspersed with relevant paintings by Van Gogh.

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Forestry. Plein-air landscapes in images and words by Christiaan Kuitwaard and Jan Kleefstra
22 March to mid-July 2024, The Mesdag Collection in The Hague

Christiaan Kuitwaard, The Amerong Forest, The Hollow Beech, 2021

The paintings and poetry by Dutch artist Christiaan Kuitwaard (1965) and poet Jan Kleefstra (1964) encapsulate their makers’ concerns about declining biodiversity. In 2023, Kuitwaard and Kleefstra worked with author Annelies Henstra to publish the book Boswerk, about trees and the forest. For this project, Kuitwaard painted 56 small plein-air works, made with atmospheric colours and using various styles and perspectives. The artist and poet headed outside to work together every week for a year; Kuitwaard painting and Kleefstra writing poetry. The resulting work is presented in the context of artworks from The Mesdag Collection, selected by Kuitwaard himself. Kuitwaard’s working method conjures associations with the Hague School: artists who enjoyed working outside and had an affinity with nature.

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Vincent on Friday and Museum Night 

Vincent on Friday offers a unique and accessible evening programme featuring young, creative makers and initiatives from Amsterdam. On 29 September, the first edition of the new cultural season includes a gig by Amsterdam rapper Gotu Jim and Cyborg DNA: a futuristic, multisensory dance performance. On Saturday 4 November, the annual Museum Night Amsterdam descends on the Van Gogh Museum. The Amsterdam art punk band Baby’s Berserk is just one of the performances on this year’s line-up. The last Vincent of Friday of 2023, on 24 November, is a special edition curated by the ReFramers (Beeldbrekers): a group of young adult students and (young) professionals who dedicate their expertise to helping the Van Gogh Museum become more inclusive. 

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Open up with Vincent 
With its long-term programme Open up with Vincent, the Van Gogh Museum aims to contribute to an open dialogue on mental health, inspired by Van Gogh’s own story. The museum regularly organises mindful art viewing sessions, both in the temporary exhibitions and the permanent collection. The yoga sessions are a new addition this autumn. 

Mindful art viewings 
Friday 1 September in the temporary exhibition and 6 October & 3 November in the permanent collection, 9.15-10 am
The mindful art viewings in Van Gogh in Auvers. His Final Months explore Van Gogh’s panoramic landscapes, while the sessions in the permanent collection examine his expressive use of colour. These special sessions invite you to take a different perspective, and truly see the art.  

Yoga in the museum 
Sunday 8 October, 12 November, 3 December, Auditorium, 9.15-10.15 am
Inspired by various works by Van Gogh including Almond Blossom and Butterflies and Poppies, participants travel through the seasons. A combination of classic yoga poses, meditation and mindfulness get you set for the day ahead.  

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image source: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/