Van Gogh

As of 1 March 2019, the Carrières de Lumières will exhibit the work of the genius painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890), who only achieved fame after his death. Spanning the 7,000 m² of the Carrières, a visual and musical production retraces the intense life of the tormented artist, who, during the last ten years of his life, painted more than 2,000 pictures, which are now held in collections around the world.

Van Gogh’s immense oeuvre—which radically evolved over the years, from the Mangeurs de pommes de terre (The Potato Eaters, 1885) to the Nuit étoilée (Starry Night, 1889), Les Tournesols (Sunflowers, 1888), and La Chambre à coucher (The Bedroom, 1889)—will be projected onto the giant stone walls of the Carrières.

The clouds, suns, and portraits, represented in the artist’s unique style, come to life on walls that are more than fifteen metres high, evoking the artist’s boundless, chaotic, and poetic interior world. Via a thematic itinerary relating to the various phases of his life—his time spent in Arles, Paris, and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence—visitors will be immersed in his first works and those of his later years, from his sunny landscapes and night scenes, to his portraits and still lifes.

The Dutch painter’s expressive and powerful brushstrokes produced works with bold colours and an unrivalled style that highlight a permanent dialogue between light and shadow. The visual and musical experience produced by Culturespaces and created by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Renato Gatto, and Massimiliano Siccardi, highlights this chromatic richness, as well as the power of the artist’s drawings and impasto.

Listen to the playlist of the exhibition