AMSTERDAM.- Visitors to this year’s Uitmarkt (26 & 27 August) can have their 3D photograph taken with a huge three-dimensional reproduction of Van Gogh’s world-famous painting Almond Blossom. The Van Gogh Museum is using the photographic campaign to highlight their spring 2018 exhibition: Van Gogh & Japan.

Uitmarkt 2017
Visitors to the Uitmarkt 2017 can look forward to a spectacular photo opportunity. Dutch scenographer Vera Selhorst collaborated with Brandwacht & Meijer to create a 3D version of the renowned tree upon which Van Gogh based his 1890 painting Almond Blossom. The 4x4-metre tree has been painted in the style of Van Gogh. Using a special installation, visitors can have their 3D photograph taken under the tree.
Almond Blossom clearly demonstrates the influence of Japan on Vincent van Gogh, and this theme is also the focus of the museum’s blockbuster exhibition in 2018: Van Gogh & Japan. By focusing on this painting, the Van Gogh Museum pays homage to its founder: Van Gogh painted Almond Blossom to mark the birth of his nephew (the son of his brother, Theo van Gogh), who ultimately went on to establish the Van Gogh Museum.

Van Gogh Museum 2017-2018 programme

The Dutch in Paris 1789-1914, from 13 October 2017 to 7 January 2018
Paris! The City of Light has been a source of inspiration for centuries, touching the hearts of millions of people all around the world. In the 19th century – a period of dramatic political, scientific and artistic change – the French capital attracted artists from all over Europe. New generations of artists left their native countries and headed for the city that had everything to offer. In the blockbuster exhibition The Dutch in Paris 1789-1914, the Van Gogh Museum shows the city through the eyes and hearts of eight Dutch artists. The exhibition features more than 130 works by major names such as David, Géricault, Corot, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Van Dongen, Picasso, Mondrian, Cézanne and Braque, as well as less-renowned artists including Van Spaendonck, Van Dael, Scheffer, Tassaert, Jongkind, Sisley, Kaemmerer, Boldini, Boudin, Breitner, Signac, Sluijters and Israëls. There are also a large number of loans from a wide range of museums and private collections in France and the United States – many of which have never before been on public display in the Netherlands. The Dutch in Paris 1789-1914 opens to the public on 13 October 2017.

Van Gogh & Japan, from 23 March 2018 to 24 June 2018
Vincent van Gogh formed his own image of Japan by studying Japanese art, collecting and copying Japanese prints and having discussions with other artists. He used Japanese prints to help take his work in a new direction. Van Gogh & Japan offers a step-by-step exploration of how Van Gogh translated the Japanese examples into his own works. This enabled Van Gogh to define himself as a modern artist and position himself opposite artists such as Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin. The size, nature and importance of Van Gogh’s own collection of Japanese prints will be addressed in detail, as will how the prints helped him to renew his form language.

The Mesdag Collection 2017-2018 programme
The Mesdag Collection in The Hague became part of the Van Gogh Museum in 1990. The 2017-2018 programme includes:

The Dutch in Barbizon: Maris, Mauve, Weissenbruch, from 27 October 2017 to 7 January 2018
In their autumn exhibition The Dutch in Barbizon, the Mesdag Collection focuses on the Dutch artists who travelled to the region of the French town of Barbizon to create work inspired by the unspoilt nature. From the 1830s, landscape artists increasingly headed outside to work in the open air. They wanted to capture the virgin landscape as it appeared before their eyes. The town of Barbizon and the forest of Fontainebleau near Paris provided the ideal setting, and became popular locations amongst French artists. In turn, Dutch artists drew inspiration from the artworks of the Barbizon School. Once these paintings were exhibited in the 1830s, artists including Jacob Maris, Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch and Jozef Israëls started to offer their personal interpretation of the French landscape and the people who lived there. They also travelled to Barbizon themselves, following in the footsteps of French artists like Theodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet, who they saw as shining examples. From 1887, Dutch artists also had the opportunity to get better acquainted with the work of their predecessors at Museum Mesdag (now the Mesdag Collection) in The Hague. The Dutch in Barbizon is a sub-theme of the exhibition The Dutch in Paris 1789-1914 at the Van Gogh Museum.