Vincent Van Gogh 'Cypresses' At The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vincent Van Gogh is a Dutch post-impressionist painter and one of Europe’s most influential painters, whose work continues to inspire people. The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrates “Van Gogh Cypresses” where the museum reunites twenty-four of Van Gogh’s most important artworks in a powerful exhibition reflecting the artists’ deep fascination with the cypress tree over a period of his life.
Max Hollein, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, discusses the exhibit by noting it attracts large numbers of people and has an impact on them. “It’s very expressive, and very elegant – it’s psychologically charged for sure.” The exhibit is intimate; highlighting beautiful pieces in two of his most productive years, 1888-1890, when he spent time in the French countryside of Arles and Saint Rémy.
Van Gogh sought asylum in the countryside, which led him to paint a series of cypresses he observed during his time there. The painter was shocked that “no one has yet done them as I see them,” so he sets out to paint the cypresses in a way that highlights their “signature form” and “originality” as a way to satisfy one of his many artistic ambitions. The exhibit carries well known works of the painter such as “The Starry Night” (June 1889), “Wheatfield with Cypresses” (June 1889).
The exhibition elicits a total visceral and emotional reaction where the small space allows watchers to observe his paintings in different angles, shapes, and strokes; viewers are able understand Van Gogh’s obsessive perspective with the cypresses how he interpreted them in his works. “Van Gogh Cypresses” encourages meaningful reflection and is a melancholic commemoration of a genius gone too soon. This intimate exhibition will forever leave a lasting impression on watchers to appreciate the small beauty moments in life.
Images + Article by Alexis Yap, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Designer, PhotoBook Magazine
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