A Visit to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Sunflowers, portraits, and Pokémon

When Vincent van Gogh died in 1890, he left behind more than 2000 works of art and no children.

His brother’s widow maintained a collection, which ended up in the hands of the Dutch state through her descendants. The most important condition was bestowing Van Gogh with the honor of having an entire museum dedicated to him.

The Vincent van Gogh Museum opened its doors in 1973 and contains the biggest collection of his paintings and drawings in the world. Space is also reserved for work by his contemporaries and influences, alongside temporary expositions.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting this museum for the first time, with my wife, the ongoing collaboration with Pokémon providing an extra incentive.

Practicalities

The museum is located on Amsterdam’s “museum square”, a stone’s throw away from the, at least equally famous, Rijksmuseum.

As a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, it is strongly recommended to book a time slot in advance. We were happy to have done so, as at that time it was not possible to buy tickets at the door at all.

As expected, it was crowded in most sections of the museum. We could however keep a steady pace and see everything in about 2 hours, including a break at the museum restaurant.