I was there for the Weekly Press, but they've been unable to publish the story. It's been pushed back twice. I'm thinking space and budget issues.
So, the story is here. The whole story.
Check out the video as well, for a quick "tour" of some of the beauty to be enjoyed.
Want To Escape A Colorless Philly Winter? Van Gogh to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Immediately
Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures we’ve been experiencing here in Philly, it is still winter. Yes, the sun has been shining more than usual, but it’s shining on a city void of color. The Schuylkill doesn’t have a speck of blue in it. The Trees in Rittenhouse Square are naked and the grass is brown and lifeless. We feel as grey as the concrete we trudge on.
But there’s an easy way to change your spirits and reacquaint your eyes to color.
On Wednesday, February 1 the doors opened to Van Gogh Up Close, a major exhibit organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Canada (the only two places where the exhibit will be in North America) that concentrates on Vincent van Gogh's work with landscapes, still lifes and flowers, the majority of which were painted between 1886 and 1890 in Paris, Arles, Saint-Remy and Auvers, France.
We’re talking over 40 paintings by one of the world’s greatest artists created in the most beautiful city on the planet and the rolling, expansive French countryside. It’s a combination guaranteed to make you feel better, folks.
I was fortunate enough to attend the Press Preview of the new exhibit January 27. It was a windy, rainy day and the dreariness I felt walking into the Philadelphia Museum of Art went away much quicker than the dampness in my clothes once I entered the gallery.
Right away, you’re greeted by Sunflowers (1888 or 1889) and the yellow of the petals—and the peculiar red center of just one sunflower—against a pale blue background set a tone of warmth and relaxation that is carried though the other paintings of flowers in the room.
Shortly after, you come across Outskirts of Paris: Road With Peasant Shouldering a Spade (1887). The peasant walks down the middle of a dirt road with his yellow hat cocked to the side, flanked by green grass speckled with wildflowers, a row of green trees, and picket fencing as he heads away from the town in the background to more rural locales. The explanation that accompanies the painting talks about van Gogh’s expertise with perspective and how he can create a strong sense of depth in his paintings. That’s true, and evident to even someone like me who is certainly no aficionado, and the art can be appreciated for its technique. But what made this painting my favorite in the whole exhibit was that I found myself in it. The picket fence along the road angles off in the right foreground and I felt like I was taking in the warmth of the sun, the wind slightly bending the trees and the casualness of the peasant’s stroll and all the colors as a lazy guy leaning against the picket fence.And that’s just the experience of two paintings in the exhibit. Multiply these feeling of happiness…or let’s just call it Spring…by another 44 paintings.
Sound too good to be true?
See for yourself.
Then tell me that when you look at Vineyards at Auvers (1890) you don’t find yourself wondering if you can get some fresh goat cheese from one of the little white cottages at the bottom of the hill, or from someplace behind you in the village……before remembering that someplace behind you is a gallery hall and your winter coat, not a bundle with wines and baguettes, is clutched in your hand.
*Van Gogh Up Close will run at the Philadelphia Museum of Art till May 6, 2012 and costs $25.00. The exhibit features 46 paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and more than 30 comparative works such as Japanese woodblock prints and landscape photographs. Learn more at here.
