Van Gogh Museum

Unpacking an icon. Welcome, Mother 👑 Now on view 🖼️ James McNeill Whistler, ‘Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1’, 1871. Part of the exhibition ‘Whistler. Dandy and Disruptor’, on view from 16 October 2026 until 10 January 2027. #whistler #mother #art #arthistory #vangoghmuseum

143 years ago today, Vincent was uncertain about where his life was going. But he didn’t see that uncertainty as a lack of ambition. Instead, he questioned why our ambitions have to be clearly defined in advance. As he put it, he ‘found it unspeakably priggish to want to force someone to define what is indefinable.’ What do you think? Is it OK not to have it all figured out? 🖼️ detail of ‘Adeline Ravoux’, 1890 ©️ The Cleveland Museum of Art

Which is your favourite animal by Van Gogh? 🐦🐄🐕🐓🐰🐎🐟 Artworks featured in this video: 'Horse', 1890 © Van Gogh Museum 'Three Fish', 1890 © Van Gogh Museum 'Giant Peacock Moth', 1889 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Poultry’, 1890 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Flying Fox’, 1884 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Head of a Dog’, 1890 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Giant Peacock Moth and Beetle’, 1889 © Van Gogh Museum ‘A Crab on its Back’, 1887 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Wheatfield with Crows’, 1890 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman’, 1890 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Landscape with Rabbits’, 1889 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Studies of a Dead Sparrow’, 1889-1890 © Van Gogh Museum ‘Smoked Herrings’, 1886 © Kröller-Müller Museum ‘Oxcart’, 1884 © Kröller-Müller Museum

Calling all Van Gogh experts… 🔎 We’ve zoomed in. Way in. This tiny detail belongs to one of Vincent’s paintings, but can you figure out which one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

This self-portrait still holds evidence that even when Vincent was broke, he carried on painting. To save money, Vincent reused canvases. He painted this self-portrait on the back of another work. And instead of paying for a model, he simply painted himself. But there’s another telling detail you can’t see with the naked eye. Vincent was using a cheap paintbrush that was losing its hairs, and some of them are still embedded in the paint today. A reused canvas, a free model and a cheap brush. Vincent made it work. 1. ‘Self-Portrait’, 1887 © Van Gogh Museum 2. ‘Head of a Woman’, 1885 © Van Gogh Museum

Whatever the weather, Van Gogh packed up his painting supplies and headed to the beach, where he created ‘Seascape near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer’. 🌊 There are a few telling clues.

‘A new brother’ 👬 When Vincent moved to Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890, Dr Paul Gachet was there to keep an eye on him. But their relationship quickly became more than doctor and patient. Vincent felt they were remarkably alike, both physically and emotionally. He soon described Gachet as a ‘ready-made friend and something like a new brother’. It wasn’t long before Vincent painted his portrait – and even included a small sketch of it in a letter. 2. 🖼️ ‘Portrait of Dr Gachet’, 1890 ©️ Private collection 3. Letter sketch from letter 877

A little perspective for the days when things don’t go to plan. 💛 Save this for one of those days.

How many studies does it take to paint a masterpiece? For Vincent, the answer was about 100. After months of drawing faces, hands and figures, Vincent painted this full-scale version of ‘The Potato Eaters’. Think of it as the final rehearsal before the definitive painting. The composition is virtually identical, but the brushwork and layout still feel a little looser and more sketch-like. 1. ‘The Potato Eaters’, 1885 © Kröller-Müller Museum 2. ‘The Potato Eaters’, 1885 © Van Gogh Museum

Case File 2/3 🔍 Just when we thought we had an explanation, the evidence pointed elsewhere. A closer look revealed something that had been hidden for decades. And suddenly, the case wasn’t so clear-cut. #vangogh #truecrime #mystery #arthistory #TheColourHeist @ASMLcompany works with the Van Gogh Museum to preserve Van Gogh's heritage through technology.

When we think of Jo van Gogh-Bonger, words like perseverance, family, and entrepreneurship come to mind. Despite the limited recognition of Van Gogh’s work during her time, Jo tirelessly dedicated herself to sharing his art and letters with the world. She laid the foundation for Van Gogh’s global acclaim. We’re surrounded by powerful women, just like Jo. Can you name a powerful woman in your life who deserves a little recognition?

Think photographing kids is hard? Try painting one. 🎨😮‍💨 Meet Camille Roulin, the postman’s son. His father Joseph was one of Vincent’s closest friends in Arles, and Vincent went on to paint almost the entire Roulin family. Art historians have suggested that the unusually loose technique in this portrait may have had a very practical explanation: Camille simply couldn’t keep still. Who knew restlessness could become part of the artwork? 🖼️ ‘The Schoolboy (The Postman’s Son – Gamin au Képi)’, 1888 ©️ MASP

Although Vincent never visited Japan, he was deeply inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. He admired their bold colours, unique compositions and close connection to nature. Vincent was particularly drawn to compositions without a visible horizon, in which a single detail – such as a bamboo branch – was brought close to the foreground. When he arrived in Arles, the bright light, blossoming trees and colourful landscapes reminded him of the Japan he had imagined. He even wrote to his sister Willemien: ‘I'm always saying to myself that I'm in Japan here.’ 💬 Were you familiar with this story?

There’s a lot more to this portrait than we can fit in one caption. Let’s take a closer look. 👀 The exhibition ‘Whistler. Dandy and Disruptor’ is on view from 16 October 2026 until 10 January 2027. Now on view 🖼️ ‘Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1’ by James McNeill Whistler, 1871 #whistler #vangoghmuseum #museum #artlovers #arthistory

Autumn colours. A little outside, a little inside, a lot to fall for. 🍁 #autumn #autumnvibes #museum #vangoghmuseum #vangogh

Can you find Vincent? 👀 And no, we don't mean the artist himself.😉 ‘Hidden’ among the pencil and ink lines of these three drawings is Vincent's signature. But he didn't exactly make it easy for us. In some drawings, the signature almost disappears into the work itself. We've selected three to put your eyes to the test. 🔎 Would you have been able to find them if we hadn’t pointed them out? 1. ‘Avenue of Poplars’, 1884 © Van Gogh Museum 2. ‘Garden of the Hospital’, 1889 © Van Gogh Museum

Case File 1/3 🔍 Our investigation got off to a rocky start. Van Gogh left us a witness statement. The problem? It didn’t match the evidence. The colours he described are not the colours we see today. So, what do we trust? #vangogh #truecrime #mystery #arthistory #TheColourHeist @ASMLcompany works with the Van Gogh Museum to preserve Van Gogh's heritage through technology.

For Vincent, the night was never simply black. 🌙 He explored it in various settings: a blue star-filled sky in ‘Terrace of a Café at Night’, or the yellow-green glow of gas lamps in ‘The Night Café’. Whether outside or indoors, he found the night to be full of colour.

‘There’s a lot to draw here’, Vincent wrote a day after arriving in Auvers-sur-Oise. 📝 He immediately liked the rural village. Vincent asked his brother Theo to send him twenty sheets of paper: ‘I would need these anyway so as not to waste any time’. In the meantime, he started work on this painting ‘Landscape with Houses' on paper. Van Gogh began by making a sketch, which he then filled in with watercolour and diluted oil paint. He added the light and dark areas to create a sense of depth. Fun detail 🕵️‍♀️ Van Gogh did not follow the underdrawing precisely, so parts of it are still visible. (2+3) 🖼️ ‘Landscape with Houses’, 1890 © Van Gogh Museum

Sharing these words by Van Gogh as a thought to pause on today 💛 #worldmentalhealthday #vangogh #museum #quote #foodforthought 📹 inspiration from @ collette_walters_author on TikTok