A tribute to the Van Gogh family. Without the unconditional support that they offered Vincent, the Van Gogh Museum simply would not have existed.
How did Vincent van Gogh become a world-famous artist? To this day, his family plays an important role in this.
The exhibition Choosing Vincent. Portrait of a Family History is telling a personal story of doubt, setbacks, pride, and triumph. A story punctuated with dilemmas, seen through the eyes of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), his brother Theo (1857-1891), Theo's wife Jo (1862-1925) and their son Vincent (1890-1978), named after his uncle.
In the multisensory exhibition, you get to know Vincent and his extraordinary family by looking, listening and doing. The many masterpieces and lesser-known gems show how the family collection grew to become a world-famous collection.
Jo (centre) in her dining room, surrounded by Van Gogh's paintings. On the left: her son Vincent, on the right: her second husband Johan Cohen Gosschalk (photo: Bernard Eilers, 1910-1911).
The painting and crowd favourite Almond Blossom has special meaning for the Van Gogh family. Vincent painted it as a gift for his newborn nephew.
Discover all the stories behind the exhibition in the audio tour.
Please do touch! Choose one of the frames and see how it looks with the painting on the wall.
Vincent van Gogh surrounded by his family. From left to right: Vincent (the engineer), Jo Van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent van Gogh, Theo van Gogh.
Wander through the exhibition free from fellow visitors and search your favourite painting.
The book Choosing Vincent. From family collection to Van Gogh Museum explains how the collection of many masterpieces stayed together after Vincent van Gogh's death and how it could be housed in its own museum over 50 years ago.
The catalogue features many unknown historical photos of the Van Gogh family and photographs from the museum's early days.
The catalogue is available at the museum shop and webstore, in English and Dutch.
The audio tour takes you through the choices Vincent's family faced. You will see the world through their eyes and they themselves will speak. There are two audio tours available: one for adults and one for children between the ages of 6 and 12. You can easily book the audio tour online, together with your entrance ticket.
Which frame goes best with a painting? Find out for yourself by trying out different frames on the wall. Or put yourself in Vincent's shoes by deciding for yourself which paintings by Vincent you want to submit for an important exhibition from that time period.
Pick up the free treasure hunt at the information desk and answer questions about Van Gogh's art, his life and the important choices his family made.
This exhibition is supported by: