Remko Kühne, By the Seine, Music Inspired By Van Gogh
Remko Kühne, Agostina's Eyes, Music Inspired By Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh thought that music was one of the art forms that most comforted people. His letters reveal that he attempted to do the same with his paintings. He saw his Sunflowers (1888) as a ‘symphony in blue and yellow’, and he also tried to paint ‘musically’ in other works.
Van Gogh shared the view of many other artists of his time that music was the ideal way of directly touching the heart.
‘And in a painting I’d like to say something consoling, like a piece of music’.
Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Arles, 3 September 1888
Music in Van Gogh’s life
What do we actually know about the role played by music in Van Gogh’s life? Edwin Becker, Head of Exhibitions:
‘Van Gogh rarely specifically mentioned his favourite pieces of music or composers, but we do know that he very much appreciated sound in general. And his musical influences range from religious psalms to popular French folk music and operas by Richard Wagner’.
In 1887, Van Gogh lived in Montmartre. The pioneering composer Erik Satie was also living in the Parisian neighbourhood in the same period.