van gogh museum

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my first stop in amsterdam was at the van gogh museum.  the museum was literally a half block away from my hostel, conveniently the van gogh hostel.  i went in the late afternoon and it had no line.  every other time i walked by the museum, it had a huge line down the block.  the museum is not large, so i would recommend either checking it out in the afternoon or buying a ticket for a particular time slot.  i felt that the museum was a little expensive for what it was.  the museum cost more than the louvre, which seemed a little silly as far as relative value.  the museum was founded by van gogh's nephew.

i was in the museum for a little over an hour, but really could have used about 1.5 hours.  i made it through the main portion of the museum of van gogh's works, but would have liked to see the special exhibits.

the first floor, which is really the second floor, has the main collection.  i had not realized that van gogh only painted for only about eight years.  it was very spacious with all of his paintings.  it was easy to get around and see the art.  i could get close to the paintings and really inspect them.  the museum has a great number of his pieces including one on the '1001 paintings' list, wheat field with crows!  the art is staged chronologically.  i enjoyed seeing his progression of his work.  i liked that they also identified where he completed which work.  one of the places that he lived was right where my hostel in paris was.  it seemed like lives were starting to cross.  i did have to  laugh at the euphemism around his "cutting off his ear" episode.  the signage just said that he decided to seek treatment, no mention of the ear!

i blew through the special exhibit, dreams of nature: symbolism from van gogh to kandinsky.  it was an interesting collection with a lot of variety. 

i liked that they used the space appropriately.  i felt that the pamphlet could be improved although everything was at least translated to english.  the museum did not allow pictures in the museum, which i do understand.  what i did find frustrating was that none of the paintings that i wanted picture of had postcards.  i ended up having to buy a book, van gogh and montmarte.  

overall, a must-stop in amsterdam!

time in museum: 1 1/4 hr
times visited: 1
overall: A-
Location: Van Gogh Museum, Paulus Potterstraat 7, 1071 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Comments

  1. maskay7/14/2012 1:06 AM

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  2. maskay7/14/2012 1:07 AM

    I included on my website www.satelliteview.org/streetview/Van_Gogh_Museum a virtual tour (Street View) of the Van Gogh Museum, also included photos, videos and satellite map of the museum

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