European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 05, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                An admirer inspects Van Gogh s famous sunflowers one of the works on display in the Netherlands. A the dutch Honor the master by David Tarrant Brussels Bureau the French like to argue that Vincent Van Gogh is one of their own. After All he produced some of his finest paintings in Paris and Southern France where he spent the last years of his life. The belgians also try to claim the great impressionist noting that his first years As an artist were spent in Brussels and nearby Antwerp. Finally there s the dutch claim. Van Gogh a native son spent Many working years in dutch cities. In fact no City country or Region has an exclusive claim on Van Gogh. He belongs to everyone because his Art is As Universal and everyday As the subjects and people he dedicated his life to painting. An artist need not be a minister or a Church elder but must nevertheless certainly have a warm heart for people Van Gogh wrote in one of his Many letters to his beloved brother Theo. These everyday people Bent Over shovels smoking pipes wearing old rain hats and the cities and Fields where they lived and Laboured make up much of Van Gogh s work. Almost 2 million people from All Over the world Are expected to flock to the Netherlands fora special exhibition of that work Over the next four months. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death on july 29,1890, two of Holland s most important museums have jointly organized a blockbuster exhibition of Van Gogh s life and work. About 135 of his paintings Are being shown at the Vincent Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and about 250 drawings Are displayed at the Kroller Muller museum in Osterlo 60 Miles away. The two part exhibition began on March 30, the 137th anniversary of Van Gogh s birth. It will conclude july 29, exactly 100 years after his death. The two exhibitions and several related events attempt to show More about the period in which Van Gogh lived the Art and philosophies that influenced him and his tremendous influence on modern Art. But clearly it is the two part exhibition in Amsterdam and Osterlo that is the heart and soul of the Centenary tribute. A visitor who chooses one exhibition or the other rather than seeing them both will indeed be the poorer for it. Taken together the dual exhibition offers a clearly marked route for the visitor who wants to follow Van Gogh s progression As an artist and a unique insight into his intriguing personality for his dreams fears and ambitions chronicled throughout his career in his Many letters to his brother and friends Are also part of the exhibition. In a letter to Theo in july 1880, near the Start of his career Van Gogh wrote but i must continue on the path i have taken now if i do nothing if i Don t study if i Stop searching then i am lost in misery. That is How i see things persevere persevere that is what i must do. But what is your final goal you May ask. That goal is becoming More Clear. It will take shape slowly but surely As the scribble becomes a sketch and the sketch becomes a painting. As one works More seriously and embroidery on the initially vague idea the thought at first volatile and transient until it takes on a Concrete  Van Gogh was born in the Southern Netherlands Village of Lundert and struggled with poverty loneliness and periodic bouts of depression All his life. After cutting off his ear he reportedly claimed that he did it because the Bible told him to Cut off the offending  he died at the age of 37 when he fired a Rifle into his Chest. But the exhibition goes a Long Way to helping broaden the image of Van Gogh As simply a romantic a Genius. The visitor receives a Clear pro of i development As an artist starting with his awk Wurfl fumbling beginnings and moving with him As h becomes a serious artist with a Strong following 1m his fellow artists his style and Talent maturing8 no the organizers took great pains to help Visi Iok p1 More about Van Gogh and his world. His own about his work recorded in a voluminous Amoun letters form the Central theme for the two exp in for example Van Gogh liked to make several some works he considered More important than e s therefore two or three variations of some Subjec including the bedroom the sower and re a have been brought together for the first time in this exhibition. Kim is providing a special motor coach service Between the Van Gogh museum and the Kroller mull a museum enabling both museums to be visited in on Day. Round trip tickets Are 45 dutch guilders per nerl about $25 the one Way fare is 25 guilders about a the drawings Van Gogh decided to become an artist relatively late in his life abandoning a religious career in 1879 at lie age of 26. He wanted first to master the Art of drawing hoping to avoid a trap that snared others. I have restrained myself greatly and confined myself to drawing he wrote to Theo precisely because i know so Many sad stories of people who threw themselves into it painting rashly sought the answer in the process and woke up disillusioned without having made any  Van Gogh did not try to produce single Independent drawings but instead liked to make a series of drawings on various subjects. These groups of drawings make up the Backbone of the exhibition at the Kroller Muller museum in Osterlo. Because the drawings Are presented More or less in chronological order the visitor can follow Van Gogh s career from period to period moving through the various themes that preoccupied him. A major theme running through Van Gogh s work was the life of the peasants and other labourers. The artist was attracted to these people but not sentimental about them. He did not romanticize or idealize their Way of life. To the contrary his drawings often revealed the bleakness of their lives As in his masterpiece the potato eaters. But Van Gogh was not All gloom and doom. Some of his drawings of Flowers and Orchards from Aries in Southern France several years before he died Are breathtakingly Beautiful. The exhibition starts with Chalk and Pencil drawings of belgian and dutch peasants and air Shouse men drawn mostly from models and ends with his rapidly done Reed pen landscapes and portraits from Provence in Southern France. The Kroller Muller museum has made every Eilfort to group the drawings together As Van Gogh would have wanted to see them organized. Although the museum has a permanent exhibition of Van Gogh drawings it has collected some 85 other drawings from 61 museums and individuals worldwide. This exhibition is not without its risks. The drawings Are highly sensitive to Light and most of the time they Are kept stored in the dark drawers of depositories to prevent the Ink from fading and the paper trom becoming discoloured. Special precautions have been taken to protect the drawings. The museum s doors and windows have been blacked out covered with several layers of special paint so not a single Ray of sunlight can penetrate. The Walls Are indirectly illuminated by ceiling lamps which provide a level of lighting about 20 to 25 times lower than outside. The drawings cannot be photographed partly because of the vulnerability of the drawings to Light and partly because of the wishes of the lenders. The Kroller Muller museum is in the Beautiful and vast Hoge Velure National Park Holland s largest nature Reserve which contains some 13,000 Ai res of Woodland Heath Sand dunes and fens As Well is hundreds of red Deer roes and wild boar. The exhibition ticket entitles the Holder to visit the Park at no extra cos. Bicycles available free allow visitors to explore the trans that Cut through the Park s forests and Fields and the sculpture Park in the North part of the Reserve win re visitors can see the works of such artists As Rodin and Henry Moore. The paintings Van Gogh is softened considered a Painter s Painter. His bold colors and confident Brush strokes Are revealed in such masterpieces As starry night Wim 8 trips mg4/nt 1990