One artist, one museum

We had heard great things about the Van Gogh Museum. Those things were even good enough that we were willing to brave a line that ran down the block. Thankfully, it moved quickly and we were soon inside.

No photos allowed inside. I can say, though, that Van Gogh really had an eye for color. His paintings were incredibly vibrant, popping off of the canvas. I especially liked a series he did to convince Gauguin to come and paint with him at a villa in France. "Gauguin's Chair" was the best of this lot. Another remarkable element of his paintings was the deliberate lack of proper perspective, with windows askew and things going this way and that.

They also had a step by step overview of what they do when they restore a painting. currently, they're doing so to the famous "Bedroom" painting. Apparently, customs have changed over time and now the point is to restore the work to its current moment, not to what it looked like when it was first painted. It is hoped that the restoration helps the painting sustain itself for more time. Also, the paints used to restore have a special solvency that allows them to be removed at any point in the future.

Additionally, what a life. He only produced paintings for 10 years, from 1880-1890, before committing suicide in 1890. He was prolific during that time, though, and steadily got better and better. It would be amazing to see what he would have produced had he lived past 37.