Van Gogh's literary and artistic passions explored at MUDEC Milan

The MUDEC museum in Milan presents a new perspective on Vincent van Gogh, focusing on his intellectual and cultural influences rather than solely his paintings. The exhibition, curated by Francesco Poli in collaboration with the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, traces van Gogh's life through four sections: Holland, Paris, Arles, and Saint-Rémy. It juxtaposes his works with the books, prints, and objects that shaped him, including novels by Émile Zola and the Goncourt brothers, Japanese ukiyo-e prints from the shop of Siegfried Bing, and the Bible. Van Gogh's devotion to reading, inherited from his father, persisted throughout his life; he saw books as essential as bread. The show highlights three cultural pillars: Jean-François Millet and peasant life, French realist novels, and Japonism. Millet served as a perpetual model, inspiring van Gogh's mission to depict the dignity of laborers. Realist authors like Zola and Dickens influenced his vision of contemporary reality, often appearing as subjects in his still lifes. Japanese prints, of which he collected over six hundred, offered a model of art for the people, with accessible subjects and simple technique. The exhibition includes early drawings like 'Carriers of the Burden' (1881) and 'The Potato Eaters' sketch (1885), as well as later works such as 'Interior of a Restaurant' (1887) and 'Pines in the Garden of the Hospital' (1889). It runs at MUDEC in Milan.