While Vincent Van Gogh is often remembered for severing his own ear, a much-anticipated exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art looks at the iconic artist from a different angle. Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources counters the image of a secluded artist, instead placing him in the company of influences and contemporaries.
“The part that we kind of forget sometimes is that he wasn’t this isolated figure that didn’t know about the art world of his time – he did,” says Nannette Maciejunes, executive director and CEO of the Columbus Museum of Art. “He was part of that art world. He knew a lot of artists. He was constantly looking at work both of his own time and earlier.”
More than 100 works in Through Vincent’s Eyes, including 17 by Van Gogh himself, showcase a range of influences including Japanese prints, old masters and contemporaries. Many of the works alongside his come from similarly revered artists: Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro and many others.
Van Gogh’s pieces in the exhibition are clearly distinguished by wall sections of solid blue paint, a color much associated with the artist. Though a timeline at the start of the exhibit details the course of Van Gogh’s life and work, the galleries move more thematically, focusing instead on landscapes or religion. This approach makes the artist’s connection to his influences more readily apparent.
In some cases, the resemblance is remarkable. Louis Anquetin’s Avenue de Clichy, for example, could almost be an early study for Van Gogh’s well-known Terrace of a Café at Night, the latter piece pictured but not included in this exhibition.
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The exhibition’s placards are especially enlightening as they include quotes from Van Gogh, often praising a specific artist or piece, as well as contextual information about the influence of the works.
“We’re not making up the fact that he was influenced by all these artists,” says David Stark, CMA chief curator emeritus. “We know that he was because of really extensive correspondence with his brother, Theo.”
In addition to paintings and drawings, Through Vincent’s Eyes includes sculptures and even books. Early editions of the books were chosen to more closely match what the artist might have encountered.
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Courtesy of the Columbus Museum of Art
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Vincent Van Gogh's 'Roses'
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Courtesy of the Columbus Museum of Art
Vincent Van Gogh's Tarascon Stagecoach
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A copy of Charles Dickens A Christmas Story, is accompanied by a placard quoting Van Gogh: “I want to paint what Dickens has done with words.”
“He was a voracious reader,” Maciejunes says. “All of this fed his imagination. All of this fed his creativity. And that’s what you see in this exhibition.”
The array of works shown covers both luminary and lesser-known influences as well as Van Gogh’s own range of works.
“He didn’t decide to become an artist until 27 and he was dead by 37,” Stark says. “We are so fortunate to have represented within our roster of 17 works by Van Gogh works from all periods.”
A drawing from just a year after Van Gogh dedicated himself to the pursuit of art shows the beginnings of his style. Later works, such as Undergrowth With Two Figures, painted just weeks before his death, show more fully realized abilities.
While Through Vincent’s Eyes includes pieces on loan from more than 40 public and private lenders from around the world, 61 of the works on view in Columbus come from the collection of Steven Naifeh and his late husband, Gregory White Smith.
The couple co-authored the 2012 biography Van Gogh: The Life. That book controversially claimed that the artist had not committed suicide, as was commonly believed, instead arguing that he had been shot by a group of teenagers.
Despite an immense interest in Van Gogh, Naifeh and Smith were unable to afford their own collection of his work. Instead, the couple turned to collecting works by artists Van Gogh admired.
Courtesy of the Columbus Museum of Art
Vincent Van Gogh's 'Wheat Field'
Those works allow visitors to the museum a rare view into Van Gogh’s artistic mind.
“As you look at the works by Van Gogh and turn around you – to the left, the right, behind you – you’ll see the influencers and the world, the visual world, in which Van Gogh lived and which affected him so powerfully,” Stark says. “You’re entering a world of the 19th century, another era, another place. I think, and I hope you’ll agree with me, that it’s a wonderful world in which to spend some time.”
Through Vincent's Eyes shows Nov. 12,2021-Feb. 6,2022. Find more details and ticketing information at www.columbusmuseum.org
Cameron Carr is the associate editor. Feedback welcome at ccarr@cityscenemediagroup.com.
