Vincent Van Gogh said: “In art, one must give one’s heart and soul”. He did indeed give everything; he even lost his mind...

Recently, I discovered the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. At first, the exhibition seemed to be just one more boring exhibition: dozens of paintings aligned on a wall, nothing exciting. Moreover, crowds of people were taking pictures without even looking at the actual paintings, which was exasperating.

This exhibition is very boring if you take it lightly. I promise that it’s worth going to see it if you make the effort to dig a little deeper because when you stop thinking a second, and then truly look at it, you realize that it’s not a simple piece of art in front of you, it’s a painting by VAN GOGH! And then, you're transported to a different world...

I have seen the world as Van Gogh once did, maybe a little deformed but full of bright colours, so many that he had to represent his world accurately with millions of little brushstrokes (inspired by Impressionism). I was in his mind, feeling all of his expectations about life, all of his hope, all of his pain.

Depending on the painting’s subject, I passed from one emotion to another: calm and peaceful in front of Almond Blossom, deeply depressed when I looked at his last painting. Sometimes, I felt a little crazy, like Vincent was. But isn’t it the case for every genius?

It’s definitely not the same when you look at Van Gogh’s arts on the internet, that’s the reason why you must go to this exhibition. Here, you feel like those effusions of colour are going to suck you into the scene. You feel hypnotized; I wasn’t just looking at this art, I LIVED it, and it was beyond words. I was captivated, heart and soul.

Clémentine Blanc