Van Gogh
Last week we had a family outing to the National Gallery of Victoria to see their Van Gogh and the Seasons exhibition. Almost 17 years ago Gareth and I visited the Van Gogh gallery in Amsterdam and were blown away by his amazing pantings. It was lovely to take the girls to this exhibition and share with them these incredible masterpieces.
The exhibition focussed on his paintings and sketches of the seasons. The sketches were miniature masterpieces - if only I could sketch like that! Even though his more famous works like Starry Night and the Sunflowers weren't part of the exhibition, there was still plenty to see. The first two rooms of the exhibition were filled with art that inspired Van Gogh. Japanese woodblock prints with their use of colour were a big influence. Van Gogh was a visionary artist with a fascinating life - he had a go at being an art dealer, priest and missionary before becoming an artist later in life.
I was wanting to post a picture of a painting from each season but found the ones that I was most drawn to were from spring with their beautiful colours. The stark dark and sombre colours of winter were not for me, perhaps because we are in the middle of winter and I am longing for spring!
The girls enjoyed the exhibition in spite of the crowds in the gallery lining up in front of each painting. Next time we won't leave going until the last week!