Enjoying Vincent van Gogh
Today, with friends Ivan and Ros, Vee and I visited the Royal Academy in central London to see the exhibition “The Real Van Gogh: The Artist And His Letters”. This is the first major exhibition of van Gogh’s work to be shown in London for over 40 years and it is a real treat.
There are about 65 paintings, 40 drawings and 40 letters (from a voluminous correspondence of close to 1,000 items). Many of the letters contain rough sketches of planned paintings and descriptions of how he intended to create the final work. He called the sketches “croquis” or “scratches”.
In this age of electronic communications, one wonders if artists are still creating lasting records of their thinking as they craft a picture or symphony or book or film.
It is a marvellous exhibition but so popular that it is very crowded. It runs till 18 April.