Van Gogh Museum

During his 10-year artistic career, Dutch Vincent van Gogh (1857-1891) painted more than 864 paintings and 1,200 drawings and prints.   The Van Gogh Museum has the largest collection of his work including more than 200 paintings and 437 drawings. The museum is working to present its own complete collection on the Internet, until then they refer to David Brook's website as a reliable source of further information.

While the Picasso museum is housed in five Gothic castles, the Van Gogh Museum is housed in a modern building designed by the Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld. The museum first opened its doors in 1973. Much of the collection belonged to Vincent van Gogh's brother Theo and upon his death his wife. In 1962 the Dutch state initiated negotiations with Theo's son and the works were transferred to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation with the provision that the canvases not leave Vincent's native land. These works are now on permanent loan to the museum and form the nucleus of its collection. The Van Gogh collection also has works by some of Vincent's friends and contemporaries, including Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, and Monet.

The paintings are displayed simply and in chronological order according to the seven distinct periods and places of residence that defined his 10-year career. When he was just about to breakthrough on the art scene, he committed suicide at the age of 37. During his entire career he only sold one painting, although he did trade some to pay for food, drink, and lodgings.

Lines at the museum can be very long, especially in summer. The best time to see the museum is weekday mornings unless you are willing to cue at every painting.

User-friendliness
On the website we are greeted by Vincent van Gogh himself by zooming in and out on large self-portraits. We become acutely aware of the fact that this brilliant and much-loved artist is the centre of attention. This website presents Van Gogh for visitors, Van Gogh for art historians, Van Gogh for the press and Van Gogh for children. The website caters for all of us in a competent and sober manner. We are welcomed, but aren't greeted with superlatives or strange pop-ups that wouldn't be in keeping with the spirit of the artist.

The homepage gives us seven language choices: Dutch, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and English. There is no print function, but a superb search engine.

Navigation
The navigation is straightforward and logical: Vincent van Gogh, the museum, what's on, research, education for children, tickets & online shop. FAQ are answered, E-cards may be sent, and there is a contact form. I still prefer an e-mail address and often refrain from filling out forms not knowing who will receive them in the other end. From the homepage there is also a link to an excellent short video overview of Vincent van Gogh, his life and art. Nothing flashy here, just superb communications skills.

Updating
Generally excellent - I only found one example of an old event still being promoted, an exhibition on Vincent van Gogh and Expressionism in the On-line Shop Section, which ended March 4, 2007. Generally the museum concentrates on the present and up-coming exhibitions at the museum, not Van Gogh exhibitions elsewhere or in some remote future.

Content
There are many levels of content aimed at different target groups. Children are more than welcome to join in on workshops, go treasure hunting with grandparents, colour Van Gogh pages at home or take an audiovisual tour. If you are more interested in the ongoing research, then you can read about the production of the museum catalogues, a letters' project, art methods and materials of Van Gogh and his contemporaries, as well as technical and conservation research. Or you may listen to the video and read up on his early works, and how his travels to Paris, Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers influenced his art.

Friday evenings the museum is open until 10 pm featuring special events revolving around music, lectures, literature and poetry. Beginning April 6, there will also be a new installation and performance every Friday complete with DJs and a bar in the central hall. Not a bad place to hang out on Fridays.

Aesthetics
Yellow is supposedly Van Gogh's favourite colour, signifying love. It dominates many of his landscape works, and this may explain the background colour of the website: yellow ochre. A quite unusual choice, but this may be the explanation

I don't like the dark brown drop down bar with subtitles, but it gives a good overview. Besides this minor objection, I find that the website is professional in the word's best sense, because the design doesn't remove focus from the theme, but rather enhances it. Art, texts and design form a superb synthesis.

Creativity
There is a pleasing balance between basic information and extras, such as the video, E-cards, on-line ticket sales and an on-line shop complete with a gift wizard to help you find the gift you're looking for. Upon entering a birthday present for a boy to wear, five suggestions pop up: 2 t-shirts, a key ring, a watch, and a beach towel.

I can't get my hands down. This is probably the best art museum website I have come across!

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Related Information
Official website of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum