In 2022 I was lucky enough to visit the Van Gogh, Immersive Experience in Leicester. Although I wasn’t expecting it to, it changed the way I look at Van Gogh’s life and work.

Van Gogh was a dreamer. As he himself said:

‘I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.’

Prior to visiting the exhibition I’d never really considered Van Gogh the man and what made him tick. I’d heard the legends that he’d cut off his own ear and that he’d taken his own life. I’d seen The Starry Night, Almond Blossom and The Sunflowers, but never really thought about how Van Gogh’s life experiences had affected his art.

Born in 1853 in the Netherlands, Van Gogh was a fascinating paradox. An artist who painted in colours he could not see due to colour blindness.

‘Colour itself speaks its own language, you cannot live without it.” – Van Gogh.

He went on to become one of the most famous artists of all time; yet was not successful in his own lifetime.

Suffering from period of depression, psychosis, and delusions Van Gogh worried about his own mental health. Overtime his mental health deteriorated and he suffered from epilepsy and schizophrenia, which had a huge influence on his art.

However, despite his worries, he neglected his own physical health and his paintings reflect his unstable personality. After experiencing extreme exhaustion, excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption and an argument with Gauguin he cut off his own ear.

Van Gogh entered a psychiatric institution in France and the local environment, wheatfields, vineyards and olive groves became the subject of many of his paintings.

After this Van Gogh suffered a series of epileptic fits that left him unable to work for long periods of time. Once recovered he moved to Paris and painted the last of his paintings: ‘Wheatfield with Crows’.

It was through this painting that Van Gogh communicated his loneliness and despair. This is represented through the dark sky and the lack of light; the absence of people and the empty countryside; the presence of crows – who can be said to symbolise death, danger and ill fortune.

Van Gogh’s work became popular after his untimely death at the age of just 37, cementing his image as iconic symbol, the quintessential tortured artist. Today his works are highly sought after and are some of the most expensive paintings ever sold.

For more information, or to book tickets for Van Gogh The Immersive experience please visit https://vangoghexpo.com/london