AMSTERDAM - The famous Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam turns 50 and does so with thematic exhibitions, meetings, workshops and a party open to all on 2 June.
Among the celebratory exhibitions, "Van Gogh in Auvers" stands out, dedicated to the last months of Vincent's life, spent in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village north of Paris.
During that period Van Gogh was very prolific and made some of his most famous masterpieces such as the "Wheatfield with Crows" (1890).
With numerous loans from museums and private collections, the exhibition - which can be visited from 13 May to 3 September - will present around 50 of the 74 paintings that the artist completed in the 70 days before his suicide.
After the Van Gogh Museum, the exhibition will be set up at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris from 3 October.
Another major exhibition is "Van Gogh on the Seine" which from 13 October to 14 January 2024 focuses on the landscape painting experimented by Vincent and his contemporaries - Paul Signac, Georges Seurat, Émile Bernard and Charles Angrand - along the Seine, just outside Paris.
Designed by architects Gerrit Rietveld and Kisho Kurokawa, the Van Gogh is among the most visited museums in the world and houses the richest collection of the great post-impressionist artist, with around 200 paintings, 500 drawings,
After Vincent's early death in 1890, all of his works were inherited by his brother Theo who, however, died just six months later, leaving them to his wife, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger.
His widow maintained a private collection, which was inherited by her son Vincent Willem Van Gogh in 1925 and eventually lent to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, where it was exhibited for many years.
In 1962 she was transferred to the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation and in 1963 the Dutch government commissioned the design of a museum to house the artist's entire collection.
The inauguration of the museum entirely dedicated to Van Gogh took place on June 2, 1973. Then in 1998 the museum underwent a major restoration, led by the Dutch architect Martien van Goor, with the addition of an additional exhibition wing,
signed by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.
Every year the Van Gogh Museum welcomes about 2 million visitors, but much more income is expected for the birthday, also thanks to the many initiatives organized throughout the year: events, concerts, guided tours and many activities for children.
For more information: vangoghmuseum.nl
