Virtual Van Gogh: See ‘The Real Van Gogh’ Without Heading to London

The much-anticipated exhibition The Real Van Gogh opens at London’s Royal Academy of Art this weekend, with promises to shed new light on the artist though his own letters. It’s the first major Van Gogh exhibit to hit the city in over 40 years, and it’s sure to be a big one. Can’t make it across the pond? No need to miss it. The folks at the BBC have created a virtual exhibition complete with commentary from Ann Dumas, the exhibition’s curator.
 

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Much of the exhibition focuses on the artist’s final months, time spent in the quiet town of Arles in the South of France, where he hoped to build an artistic community. His plan failed, and within two years he was dead, by suicide, but it was also one of the most creatively fertile times of his life.
 
While the city has changed a lot in the century since Van Gogh lived there, you can still see many of the places featured in some of his most famous work. To experience the Arles the artist knew, pick up Art+Travel Europe from Museyon Guides, available in store and online this March.
 
“Audio Slide Show: Van Gogh – The Artist and His Letters” [BBC News]  
“The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters”
January 23rd through April 18th, 2010
The Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House, Piccadilly
London, England
+44 20-7300-8000
www.royalacademy.org.uk
 
image by mauricedb/Flickr