As an adult, it is hard to remember seeing a Van Gogh painting for the first time. They (and of course he) are part of the fabric of modern art: the wonky rush chair, the sunflowers, the self-portrait with the bandaged ear; 'Starry Starry Night' even gets a track on American Pie.
So, perhaps the most remarkable thing about this extraordinary show at the National Gallery is that, at moments, standing in front of some of his most well-known images, you feel as if you are looking at them for the first time. Through six brilliantly curated rooms, follow him round the provincial towns of Arles and St Remy de Provence and the surrounding countryside, where he lived for the two years shortly before his death. Local people in the public park, a young girl walking by the river, men loading boats, the deeply-lined face of a peasant are all transformed into something other, something magical. The textures, the technique and above all the colours are mesmerising. And then there are the trees, from the sawn-off pine tree in the grounds of the hospital to which he was admitted, to the peeling bark of the plane trees of St Remy, to a series of gnarled olives - wow, can this man can do tree trunks!
Two rooms are devoted to his Yellow House, the lodgings that he had hoped to turn into a communal 'studio of the South'. The paintings of the interior (the bed etc) combine with the paintings he planned for the walls, creating a sense of a room within a room. If you ever need a reminder of why digital immersive wizardry cannot re-create the emotional whack of the thing itself, it's in front of you now.
It is a gimmick-free show. There is no family trail, no captions for younger viewers. It doesn't need them. Little ones will love the colours and and swirly shapes. Older kids will recognise something more profound. And, as always at the National Gallery, entry is free to U18s so although the adult ticket price is a hefty £26, you can take older teens with you at no extra cost. It is one of those shows they will remember for ever.
Tickets are going fast although there is currently still good availability over the October half term.
Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers at the National Gallery 14 Sept–9 Jan
Tickets: £26 adults, U18s free.
Emily Turner, 15 September
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