Where in Europe Can You See Vincent van Gogh’s Artwork in 2023
Self Portrait, 1887
Vincent van Gogh, the visionary Dutch artist, has left an impression on the world of art with his breathtaking paintings and profound artistic vision. Europe has a lot to offer art enthusiasts seeking to immerse themselves in Van Gogh’s life and work, particularly in destinations such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the UK.
In this article, I have listed some of the best places in Europe to witness the genius of Vincent van Gogh.
I have also provided more information about where to view Van Gogh paintings in California, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New England.
I have also written other articles about where to view Frida Kahlo artworks and Gustav Klimt artworks, that you may also find interesting. For more articles on Van Gogh, click here.
Table of Contents
Vincent Van Gogh’s Enduring Legacy
1. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
3. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
4. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands
5. Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
6. Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, Netherlands
7. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
8. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
10. Musée Estrine, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
11. Musée Reattu, Arles, France
12. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
13. National Gallery, London, UK
14. The Courtauld Gallery, London, UK
Vincent Van Gogh’s Enduring Legacy
Vincent van Gogh, one of history’s most celebrated artists, lived a tumultuous life filled with passion, creativity, and an unwavering determination to express his unique vision through art.
Despite the tragic end to his life, his works continue to captivate and inspire millions around the world.
Born on 30th March 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, Van Gogh initially embarked on a career as an art dealer. However, his deep-seated passion for art led him to pursue his own artistic journey.
Throughout his life, Van Gogh produced over 2,000 artworks, including paintings, drawings, and letters that provide insights into his thoughts, emotions, and artistic development.
Starry Night, 1889
Van Gogh’s art underwent a profound transformation as he moved through different phases and locations. From his early dark and sombre works in the Netherlands, such as “The Potato Eaters”, to the vibrant and expressive masterpieces created during his time in Arles and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, like “Sunflowers” and “Starry Night”. His paintings exude a powerful sense of colour, texture, and emotion. Van Gogh’s brushstrokes became increasingly bold and dynamic, revealing his inner turmoil, intense experiences, and a desire to convey the beauty he saw in the world.
Despite struggling with mental health issues and facing numerous personal challenges, Van Gogh’s dedication to his craft never wavered. He painted incessantly, using art as a means to find solace and purpose. His art was not simply a reflection of the external world but a profound expression of his inner thoughts and feelings.
Vincent's Bedroom in Arles, 1888
Van Gogh’s influence on the art world cannot be overstated. Although he did not achieve commercial success during his lifetime, his legacy has grown exponentially over the years. His innovative techniques, such as his use of bold colours and expressive brushwork, laid the foundation for various artistic movements that emerged in the 20th century, including Post-Impressionism, Expressionism and Fauvism.
Moreover, Van Gogh’s unique perspective and willingness to push artistic boundaries continue to resonate with contemporary audiences. His ability to infuse his works with raw emotion and a sense of humanity has made him an enduring figure in the art world.
Van Gogh’s paintings are not just static images; they are windows into his soul and experiences, inviting viewers to connect with their own emotions and interpretations.
1. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Self Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands is dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It houses the largest collection of Van Gogh’s artworks in the world, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and more than 750 letters. It is open daily and attracts nearly two million visitors each year.
Prominent themes include Van Gogh’s ambition to paint farmers, his exploration of colour, and his personal interpretation of nature. The exhibition also explores the impact of Van Gogh on the first generation of artists after his death, featuring expressive works from the museum’s collection by artists like Maurice de Vlaminck and Kees van Dongen.
The museum’s main exhibition showcases the various phases of Van Gogh’s artistic life, including his works from Nuenen, Antwerp, Paris, and Arles.
The museum’s permanent collection features some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings such as various self portraits, “Sunflowers”, “The Potato Eaters”, and “Almond Blossom”.
The museum is to host the exhibition “Van Gogh Along The Seine”, between 13th October 2023 to 14th January 2024. This exhibition will explore why artists like Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Émile Bernard, and Charles Angrand painted along the River Seine in Paris.
2. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands, dedicated to Dutch arts and history. The Rijksmuseum has a collection that includes Van Gogh's “Sunflowers”, among other famous works.
This museum is located at the Museum Square, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw.
In addition to the works by Van Gogh, the museum’s collection contains works from the 13th century to the 19th century, representing major periods and pictorial schools of western art such as the Renaissance, Mannerism, the Baroque, Rococo, Romanticism, and the art of the 19th and 20th centuries up to Pop Art. There are over 2,300 works, including many famous works such as Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, Diego Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus, and J.M.W. Turner’s Fighting Temeraire.
3. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, 1888
The Kröller-Müller Museum houses the second-largest collection of Van Gogh’s works, with almost 90 paintings and over 180 drawings. The Van Gogh Gallery is the heart of the museum, where his works have been displayed since the museum’s opening in 1938.
Some of the Vincent van Gogh paintings in the museum include “Café Terrace at Place du Forum”, “Road with Cypress and Star”, “Olive Grove”, and “Willows at Sunset”.
The Kröller-Müller Museum also features masterpieces by modern masters like Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso, and Piet Mondrian.
The museum’s sculpture garden, one of the largest in Europe, showcases over 160 sculptures by iconic artists, ranging from Auguste Rodin to Henry Moore and from Jean Dubuffet to Joep van Lieshout.
4. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands
The Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague, has a small collection of Van Gogh’s artwork, including a self portrait from 1887.
The museum was founded in 1866 and is known for its great collection of Hague School paintings. It also houses a varied collection of modern, contemporary, and decorative art.
In addition to the Van Gogh collection, the museum’s collection of modern art also includes works by international artists such as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele, Frank Stella, Lee Bontecou, Henri Le Fauconnier, as well as Dutch artists such as Constant, Johan Jongkind, Pyke Koch, Piet Mondrian, Charley Toorop, and Jan Toorop.
5. Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
The Noordbrabants Museum is an art museum located in the centre of the medieval town of 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
The Noordbrabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands has a collection of original works by Vincent van Gogh, making it the only museum in Southern Netherlands where you can find his artwork. The museum has a Vincent van Gogh pavilion that is devoted to the artist and features an audio-visual projection that provides an overview of his French and Brabant periods. The museum’s collection includes some of Van Gogh's famous Brabant paintings, such as “Head of a Woman”.
The museum itself is housed in an eighteenth-century governmental palace and is dedicated to art, history, and culture. The museum has a permanent collection that focuses on artifacts and artists with ties to the province of North Brabant. The collection includes some works from the school of Hieronymus Bosch, although none by Bosch himself.
6. Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, Netherlands
Museum de Fundatie is an art museum located in Zwolle, Netherlands. It has a small collection of Vincent van Gogh paintings including “Moulin de Blute-Fin” and "Orphan man with a top hat".
The museum is situated on the border between the medieval city centre and the 19th-century parkland with its canals. The museum has a vast collection of visual arts, with works ranging from the end of the Middle Ages until the present day, and in addition to Van Gogh, includes works by Rembrandt, Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, J.M.W. Turner, Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, Piet Mondrian, and Bart van der Leck.
7. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, 1888
The Neue Pinakothek is an art museum in Munich, Germany, which focuses on European Art of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The museum has a small collection of Van Gogh artworks, including “View of Arles”, part of his Flowering Orchards series, “Sunflowers”, one of several versions of sunflowers and “Plain near Auvers”, one of his last paintings before his death.
The museum has one of the most important art collections in Germany, with 3,100 paintings, 660 sculptures, more than 4,600 photographs, and more than 100,000 drawings and prints. The collection includes works from Rococo to Jugendstil (art nouveau), Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism.
8. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
The Musée d'Orsay is an art museum in Paris, France, located on the Left Bank of the Seine.
The Musée d'Orsay has a significant collection of Vincent van Gogh's artwork. The museum has 24 Van Gogh paintings on display, which is one of the largest collections of his artwork outside of the Netherlands.
Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888
Some of the most famous Van Gogh paintings to see at the Musée d'Orsay include "Portrait of the Artist" (1887), "Self Portrait" (1889), "Starry Night Over the Rhone" (1888), "La Méridienne" (1889), and "Van Gogh's Room in Arles" (1888). The museum also has a collection of Van Gogh's drawings and letters.
The Musée d'Orsay has hosted exhibitions featuring Van Gogh’s artwork in the past, and it is planning an exhibition called "Van Gogh / Artaud. The Suicide Provoked by Society" in 2024. The exhibition showcases approximately forty paintings, a selection of Van Gogh’s drawings and letters, and graphic works by the poet-illustrator Antonin Artaud. Artaud wrote about Van Gogh, challenging the thesis of alienation and highlighting how Van Gogh’s exceptional lucidity made lesser minds uncomfortable. The exhibition explores Artaud’s work “Van Gogh, The Suicide Provoked by Society”.
Musée d'Orsay itself is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography, by artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne amongst others.
9. Musée Rodin, Paris, France
The Musée Rodin in Paris, France is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The museum has a collection of nearly 150 bronzes, marbles, and plasters, representing every phase of Rodin’s career.
The Musée Rodin also displays “Le Père tanguy”, a painting by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1887. The painting depicts Julien-François Tanguy, a paint grinder and art dealer who ran a small paint supplies shop in Montmartre, Paris.
10. Musée Estrine, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
The Musée Estrine is an art museum located in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, and is located in a private mansion called l'Hotel Estrine, which was built in 1749.
The museum is also home to an educational centre dedicated to Vincent van Gogh’s art and life, with a focus on the major works that Van Gogh created in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
The museum also has a permanent collection of works by Bernard Buffet, Albert Gleizes, André Marchand, Henri Goetz, Léon Zack, and others.
11. Musée Reattu, Arles, France
The Musée Réattu is an art museum located in the 15th century Grand Priory of the Order of Malta, in Arles, France. It is named after the Arles-born painter Jacques Réattu, whose works are displayed in the museum.
The museum presents works from the 17th to 19th centuries, as well as contemporary art. The Musée Réattu is primarily known for its collection of paintings and drawings by Jacques Réattu, as well as its collection of photographs and sculptures.
The museum also holds a handwritten letter from Van Gogh addressed to the painter Paul Gauguin in 1889.
Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles, France, from February 1888 to May 1889. During his stay in Arles, he produced an incredible 187 paintings and drawings. With the exception of this handwritten letter, no other works by Van Gogh are present in this region of France.
12. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is an art museum located in Madrid, Spain, near the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofía national galleries.
Water Mill at Gennep, 1884
The museum has a number of Van Gogh artworks including, “Water mill in Gennep”, a landscape based on a windmill near Eindhoven, “Les Vessenots in Auvers”, which depicts a group of old country cottages placed just below a raised horizon on the outskirts of Auvers, and “Peasants eating potatoes”, depicting a group of peasants gathered around a table, eating potatoes.
The museum also has one of the largest and most comprehensive art collections in Madrid, with nearly one thousand works on display. The collection includes works from the 13th century to the late 20th century, representing major periods and pictorial schools of western art such as the Renaissance, Mannerism, the Baroque, Rococo, Romanticism, and the art of the 19th and 20th centuries up to Pop Art.
13. National Gallery, London, UK
The National Gallery is an art museum located in Trafalgar Square in London, England.
The National gallery has a number of Van Gogh’s paintings in its collection including “Van Gogh's Chair”, “Head of a Peasant Woman”, “Sunflowers” and “Two Crabs”.
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The collection contains over 2,300 works, including famous masterpieces such as Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, Diego Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus, and J.M.W. Turner’s Fighting Temeraire. All major traditions of Western European painting are represented from the artists of late medieval and Renaissance Italy to the French Impressionists.
14. The Courtauld Gallery, London, UK
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889
The Courtauld Gallery displays Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear”. The painting reflects van Gogh's artistic power and personal struggles, painted after he cut off his left ear following an argument with Paul Gauguin.
The Courtauld's permanent collection features masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the 20th century and includes also works by artists like Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin, Monet, Renoir, and Seurat.
15. National Museum Cardiff, Wales, UK
The National Museum Cardiff is a museum and art gallery located in Cardiff, Wales.
This museum has the Vincent van Gogh painting, “Rain - Auvers”, which depicts a landscape at Auvers in the Rain and was painted just before his death.
The museum has a collection of over 500 years of magnificent paintings, drawings, sculpture, silver, and ceramics. The whole of the first floor is dedicated to Wales’ national art collection but also includes works from old masters from across Europe.
Vincent van Gogh Immersive Art Experiences in 2023
Vincent van Gogh immersive experiences are a re-imagined way to view Vincent van Gogh’s paintings that have grown in popularity.
These experiences are set up in large spaces, where images or videos of the artist’s works are projected onto walls, ceilings, and floors, sometimes accompanied by animations, narrations, music, or fragrances. There is often the optional extra of a virtual reality element, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the masterpieces.
Some of the popular immersive experiences include:
Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
Van Gogh: The Immersive Exhibition
Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit and
Van Gogh Exhibition: The Immersive Experience
These exhibits allow visitors to immerse themselves in Van Gogh’s artwork like they have never seen before, and the show is projected on every surface around them in high-resolution detail, allowing them to step into the world of Van Gogh and experience his art in a unique way.
In 2023, there have been several recent Van Gogh immersive experiences in the UK in places such as London, York, Leicester and Brighton.
In Germany there have been immersive Van Gogh experiences in Cologne and Frankfurt. There is also an immersive Van Gogh experience being held in Stockholm during the 2023 summer months.
You may also be interested in my other articles about other immersive art exhibitions in London and Paris.
I hope you have found this blog post useful. If you know of any other Vincent van Gogh exhibitions you think I should include here, please email me at sarahransomeart@gmail.com.
If you enjoyed this blog post, you might like…
