One of my most memorable experiences in Amsterdam was a visit to the Van Gogh Museum. We get pretty used to museums whilst travelling Europe, but this one was truly unique. It documented the life and work of the Dutch master as he progressed slowly into irreparable mental illness. I wanted to record my impression of the place, hence this blog. I can't remember the last time something evoked my imagination and empathy as much as this. Van Gogh's state of mind was vividly reflected on the canvas, and the viewer can trace the four main periods of his life and work through the paintings (all the way through a mental breakdown and self harm leading to his eventual death).

1: Peasants
The work here was dark and grungy. Van Gogh wanted to capture the human condition in rural life in a natural and honest way. He thought that by painting peasant faces and portraits, he could glorify the simple and necessary lives the underclass had. A plethora of studies (small works) led up to his masterpiece of this stage; The Potato Eaters. Unfortunately it was not received with as much enthusiasm as expected, and after this perceived failure he moved to Paris to pursue and further his career.

2: Inspiration
Here the artwork was characterised by use of bright light and colour, and the unique 'flick' brushwork of Impressionism. Here (in Paris) he was captured by the art world; the opportunities to interact with others and endless subjects. In my mind, lots of his most beautiful work was produced here. In his personal life Van Gogh constantly sought inspiration (e.g.Japanese woodwork paintings) and interaction with others (often asked his peers to share their work). He often didnt get the latter, and the resultant mental breakdown and instability led to self-admittance into a mental asylum.

3: Frustration
Incarceration led to a third and what can only be described as a frustrated period. The once-serene still lifes he produced of foilage and plants took on a block appearance and use of thick dark outlines echoed the confines of the asulum and his tortured mind. Self-portraits placed him in a position of submission: the ruined lifeless soul in need of salvation.

4: Feverish
Return to the outside world allowed him to return to the open landscapes he loved so much. His doctor couldn't help him aside from recommending that he put all his energies into painting. He did. In this period he produced something like 75 paintings in 70 days. It is truly unfathomable how he produced the number of works in the time he did. Each one is a masterpiece in its own right. Looking at the work I could easily imagine his working frantically at an easel, fruitlessly labouring for a sense of wholeness. At times he focused on capturing the movement of hay as the breeze floated through, and bringing colour to the depiction of gardens and the like. A painting of blue tree roots remains unfinished, as he shot himself in the chest while at work and died days later.

The museum also highlights a veriety of modern work inspired by Van Gogh and his life's work, which I suppose is nice to think about. For me though, this was an engrossing and in many ways haunting insight into the human psyche and the use of art as a form of self-expression.