Visit to the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam is a must see when visiting the city. This museum is a phenomenal museum and one of the best designed art museum I’ve been to.

My favorite museum of all time! Why?

The Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam is my all time favorite museum! Why? It’s such a pleasure to walk in this museum and see all of Van Gogh’s paintings in a leisurely manner without the crowds of patrons you usually see at famed art museums around the world.

Look at the halls – see how far apart the art is? And how far apart everyone is? You can really appreciate every painting and read the write ups without the crowds here. It was a pleasure to spend time in this beautiful art musuem.

Paintings spread out over 4 stories to really appreciate Van Gogh’s art

Van Gogh’s art is spread out over 4 stories that follow his life during different stages of his career. The open airy museum is a delight and filled with lots of natural light.

Van Gogh’s permanent collection:

The permanent collection is spread out over 4 floors, with each level displaying a different stage of paintings from Van Gogh’s career.

Each hallway shows Van Gogh’s art in a beautiful hall where the art is spread out with plenty of white space for everyone to appreciate.

Special exhibition: Van Gogh in Auvers His Final Months

A special exhibition during our visit was of Van Gogh’s paintings he painted in Auvers, France where he painted some of his most happy and cheerful paintings before his death. Van Gogh died in Auvers at the very young age of 37 from suicide.

This exhibition that runs until September is a collection of Van Gogh’s paintings curated from all over the world from museums such Musee D Orsay and private art collectors .

The paintings in this collection were full of cheerful color, vibrant and showed beautiful serene scenes of the countryside of Auvers which Van Gogh himself had written about as his favorite place on earth.

Dr. Gachet in Auvers the Psychiatrist who befriended Van Gogh

In this exhibition we also learn of Dr. Gachet as the doctor who treated Van Gogh during his stay in Auvers in a psychiatric hospital. Dr. Gachet himself was an artist and both men bonded over art and developed a deep friendship.

Do you know?

Do you know what this box of yarn was used for? To avoid wasting paint when trying to mix colors, Van Gogh would sometimes use colored yarn and “play around’ with color combinations before using real paint.

Van Gogh’s last paint and palette 🎨

The museum also has the only last paint tubes and palette used by Van Gogh. These were donated by Dr Gachet who had loaned it to Van Gogh when Van Gogh had forgotten his own paint. After his death, Dr. Gachet gave it to Theo, Van Gogh’s brother and then today it has been donated by Vincent, Vincent van Gogh’s nephew to the museum.

Where are the crowds?

Tickets for Van Gogh Amsterdam must be bought online! They do not sell them at the museum! The tickets are available at different timed slots and get sold out fast. So plan ahead and buy your tickets in advance. We saw some people trying to get tickets at the museum, and the security just says “Go online for tickets. No ticket, no entry.”

What I love about this museum

I love that the museum is not crowded making it an enjoyable time to see Van Gogh’s beautiful art. I’ll happily take a timed visiting slot if that means I don’t have to jostle the crowds.

I also love how spread out all the artwork is, giving us breathing room to appreciate every painting. I’ll happily climb a few steps to see the next set of paintings. Let me enjoy art in peace and tranquility.

Visiting Amsterdam? Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam is a must see in this beautiful city. Buy tickets in advance and enjoy a leisurely time appreciating beautiful art.

Discover the Life and Works of Vincent van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam