APP CULTURE
Face to face with Vincent van Gogh
Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Olive Trees – it doesn’t take an art connoisseur to name a few works by the great Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.
Considered one of the world’s most famous artists, van Gogh’s brilliance was marred by misfortune, illness and tragedy. Born 30 March 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands to an upper middle-class family, van Gogh had tried a few trades – even a short spell as a Protestant missionary – before becoming the painter we know.
Despite his short life, van Gogh was a prolific talent, with more than 2,000 works attributed to him. Unfortunately, he only managed to sell a single piece in his lifetime. Too poor to afford models, he often painted his own portrait.
In another stroke of misfortune, van Gogh’s later years were plagued by mental illness. In one particularly violent episode, van Gogh severed part of his own left ear, an injury immortalised in the self-portrait Bandaged Ear and Pipe, 1889.
Van Gogh committed suicide the following year at the young age of 37.
Much like many other tortured artists, fame came too late. Today, van Gogh’s works are celebrated throughout the world and fetch astronomical prices: In 1987, almost a century after it was painted, Sunflowers sold for a record-breaking US$39.9 million at auction.
Today, let us celebrate his genius through the following apps.
Faces that tell all
Self Portrait Van Gogh Stickers for iMessage is a collection featuring the artist’s most celebrated self-portraits.
We may never truly know what emotions lie behind van Gogh’s many faces, but if you find one that speaks to how you’re feeling, share it with your friends on iMessage.
Get the backstory
If you’re interested in art history, look up van Gogh in DailyArt for the stories behind his most famous works.
Here you can learn about the great artist by walking in his shoes: explore the Provence region, visit wheat fields, gaze at starry nights, and see the world through his eyes. But most importantly, the app provides a candid peek into the short but productive career of this troubled genius.
Just as it doesn’t take an art connoisseur to recognise van Gogh’s paintings, it doesn’t take one to appreciate them, either. Use these apps and get better acquainted with these important works in new and exciting ways.
Bedroom artist
Most regard van Gogh’s late works (painted between 1888 and his death in 1890) as among his greatest. It was in the small town of Arles, southern France that the painter refined his Post-Impressionist style, best represented in his masterwork Bedroom in Arles.
Viewing such a work in person is great and all – but what if you could experience it from inside the bedroom? Developed by the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands, Virtual Bedrooms reconstructs the painting in AR, bringing to life the small bedroom that van Gogh shared for two months with French artist Paul Gauguin. Examine every object in the painted world, and perhaps learn a thing or two about them.