It’s apt that the Dutch are celebrating the Van Gogh Museum at 50 with sunflowers, it’s blooming marvellous.
Flowers are one of the things the Dutch are known for which is why Vincent and his fellow artists are so darned good at them.
I’m thinking my school art teacher Mr Cairney missed a trick with us budding Scottish artists giving us apples to draw.
Although he probably thought the Scottish national flower, the thistle, might not have been the most aesthetic.
Flowers of Amsterdam
Flowers are at the heart of the Dutch story with tulips the must-have status symbol of the 17th century.
The rarest of which was as expensive as a Dutch townhouse.
With the demand in the bulb causing a run which led to the world’s first financial bubble.
All of which you can learn more about at the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam and check out Breughel’s observations.
And how tulips saved the Dutch during the last winter of the Second World War.
Vincent Sun Gogh
Whether Van Gogh was giving in allowing others to paint the Dutch national flower (unlikely) we’ll never know.
But he never painted one tulip in his lifetime although there is one named for him, a reddish-brown one that reaches 50-60cms.
Perhaps though he’d realised that sunflowers were more his thing.
They’re certainly the Dutch Royal Family’s.
With Queen Juliana symbolically presented with a sunflower at the museum’s opening back in 1973.
And Princess Beatrix the same, although a new flower obvs, this week at the Museumplein.
Drone rangers
Earlier in the day, employees distributed tens of thousands of sunflowers, transforming the Museumplein into a sea of flowers.
As a gift to the city of Amsterdam, a drone display took place at 11pm.
The Sunflowers represented generosity to Van Gogh and he painted three in the Yellow House in Arles.
And hung two in the guest room when Paul Gauguin came to stay.
One of which the Frenchman asked if he could have which may have sparked the row which saw Vincent hack his ear off.
Play to the gallery
We’ll never know but we do know he painted two more and we’re just grateful one hangs in the Van Gogh Museum.
Alongside the Potato Eaters, Bedroom in Arles and Almond Blossoms among others, Starry Night is at the MOMA in New York.
The Van Gogh Museum is indeed the gift that keeps on giving as you explore the Pictures of Amsterdam.
So as we celebrate the Van Gogh Museum at 50 we’ll be sure to add again to there 53 million who have already been through its doors.
And we’ll be flying into Schiphol, one of our fave airports, with Dutch airline carrier KLM… check out site for best offers.
And maybe pushing the boat out to stay at George and Amal’s fave Dutch hotel, the Dylan.