Welcome to My Van Gogh Journey.

I’ve seen 266 Van Gogh paintings —let me help you see art in a whole new way. 

In many ways, I’m a late bloomer in life. In college, I once approached a fellow student on campus to ask what course he was taking that required such an enormous book. “It’s History of Art,” he said, as he lugged the five-pound text to class. I recall wanting no part of that course. Today, I gasp when I think of what I’ve missed.

After seeing 266 Van Gogh paintings (and counting), I’ve come to understand that art is so much more than what’s on the canvas. Previously, my interest was limited to a museum outing and then on to the next task for the day. But a trip across the pond changed everything. 

Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France, 2014

I was invited by close friends to join them on a trip from Atlanta to Paris for a milestone birthday and a wedding. We stayed in an apartment on Rue de Lille behind the Orsay Museum (Musée d'Orsay) for a week. We purchased the popular Museum Pass, and the Orsay was our first stop. At this point in my life, I had been to a handful of museums. So I wasn’t a complete stranger to art. Suffice it to say, the Orsay really took my breath away. 

The first shock was the size of the space, a retooled train station. The second was the size of some of the paintings. “Dante and Virgil” by William Bouguereau, and Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe) by Claude Monet caught me off guard with their scale. But it was a beautiful, smoky-blue wall, with a spotlight shining brightly on a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, that instantly mesmerized me. “Wait, that’s the guy who cut his ear off. Let me go check this out.”  

The swirling pale blues and the faintest of greens in the background hypnotized me, tugged at my arm, and pulled me in closer. As I approached, his piercing eyes and pained face seemed to say, “Sit down, this will take a minute.” 

Something shifted in that moment. 

Five years later, the High Museum of Atlanta produced an exhibit, “European Masters,” that included two Van Gogh paintings - and I knew I HAD to go see those. And since that time, it’s become a mission to learn more about Vincent van Gogh through his own eyes - through as many of his works of art as I can see. To date, I’ve seen 266 paintings, in 14 museums in three countries. It’s more than a viewing count; seeing these paintings triggers a curiosity, an itch. 

Like traveling abroad, art opens doors and eyes to a broader understanding of our shared world. For me, I’m intrigued by the artist, their life, how they came to be an artist, their style, and influences - including historical events. Case in point: I had a unique opportunity to see a Van Gogh painting that wasn't on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  The wonderful curatorial associate, Michelle Bird, suggested I read Sebastian Smee’s “Paris In Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism.” It was a fascinating look outside the artist's workspace - their moment in time, in history. More on this in a future post. 

That seems to be the formula for me. To truly understand and appreciate the art (even from your own perspective), a healthy dose of curiosity is needed. I will learn more about how others interpret the work. Certainly. But I value my own curiosity about the time, place, and conditions that inspired an artist to paint. It’s been a meaningful distraction from life's challenges. 

But life is a journey. We are who we are because of the paths we’ve taken - good and bad. I’m thankful for the trip to Paris in 2014, which triggered my curiosity. It took a few years for it to become a journey I needed to take, and now I want to help others who are looking for a way to understand what art means to them. 

But be forewarned, Vincent van Gogh is a gateway drug to other art. Any museum that has a Van Gogh painting also has works by other masters. 

For me, that mission creep has extended to works by other Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, and their influences (Turner, Monet, Degas, Pissarro, Cassatt, Manet, Seurat, and so on). Get my point? It’s addictive - and exciting.

As the curiosity continues, it’s questions like these that keep pulling me back: 

• Was Van Gogh a copier of art? In a documentary by art critic Waldemar Januszczak, he describes Van Gogh as an ‘instinctive copyist’—a phrase that initially caught me off guard.

• Why is it that we have nearly 1,000 letters from and to Vincent and yet no absolute answer to the nature of his health problems that led to his suicide?

• What was it about Van Gogh’s move to Paris early in his 10-year journey as an artist that resulted in a dramatic shift in his use of color?

• What was it about his fiery relationship with Paul Gauguin that triggered him emotionally, leading to the famous cutting off of his ear?

• And beyond Vincent, what was the relationship and interaction between the slew of artists that were active around this same period of time? No, I’m not going to write a modern-day reality show about “Did Manet and Morisot have an affair?” lol. But there was clearly a relationship – sometimes collegial and sometimes not - between dozens of these artists.  

I’m so excited to share my ongoing journey. No. I haven’t arrived. I’m no expert, nor an art historian. But what I’m learning is transforming how I see art. I hope my journey can serve as a guide as you begin your own journey of discovery.