Denver’s Van Gogh exhibit is must-see

“As a painter, I will never amount to anything important. I am absolutely sure of it,” wrote the man who would become the most celebrated painter in modern history.

The untamed life of Vincent van Gogh – with its madness, romance, malnourishment and incessant inspiration – practically created the stereotype of the starving artist. Paintings like The Starry Night and Wheatfield with Crows challenged both the eye and the mind, with influence beyond the art world. Van Gogh’s originals now sell for millions, yet at the time of their creation, van Gogh couldn’t give them away. He lived on bread, coffee and absinthe, starving and slowly going mad from lead poisoning and possibly epilepsy.

These are things people remember first about the Dutch painter, the man who once cut off his ear as a gift to a prostitute. While his work would strongly guide the hand of 20th century painting, rarely do people take the time to step away from the image of the crazed artist, slowly committing suicide in the name of inspiration, and take a sober look at the calm, focused progenitor beneath the myth.

For those interested in a comprehensive look at the man’s work, check out the Denver Art Museum’s Becoming Van Gogh exhibit, open Oct. 21 through Jan. 20.

“Even if you’re familiar with his work, this exhibit really gives a different view of him,” Denver Art Museum communications associate Tara Moberly said. “You get to see him as not just the crazy artist, but the committed, rational person who systematically taught himself the craft that he wanted to learn.”

Showing more than 70 van Gogh paintings along with works by various artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Camille Pisarro, who were early influences on van Gogh’s work, Becoming Van Gogh aims to present visitors with a look at van Gogh’s creative journey – one that begins with his inspiration, then his slowly climbing mountain of skill, ability and understanding, until the artist eventually descended upon genius.

“You get see how he was pulling in from all these different influences,” Moberly said. “Especially with color. His early sketches were very dark, when he was working with these peasants in the Netherlands, who were so downtrodden. And then you see him move forward, going to Paris and hanging out with all these other artists, and then it’s like here’s the guy we know.’”

“He really did live a life largely on his own,” Moberly continued. “So his ability to be known by a lot of people. That was really a different time and place. Today there are so many avenues for an artist to get his work out there – you can launch a viral video, and overnight, 50 million people know who you are. Van Gogh was mostly self-taught, so he rarely even worked with other people. Eventually in Paris he knew other people, but his path was mostly on his own. And he was only painting for 10 years.”

Pulling from more than 60 public and private collections from around the world, “Becoming Van Gogh’ is a one-time exhibit available only in Denver. The Denver Art Museum is located at 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway. For more information visit http://denverartmuseum.com.