So today we dedicated o visiting the Van Gogh Museum. I decided not to take my camera as I was sick of humping it around. As it turns out no photos are allowed in TVGM so I was right on the money.
We got there around 9:10 to a queue of a couple of hundred people, but it was moving briskly so no great delays.
Marjan is a VVG fan from way back so for her it was a treat and she knew quite a bit about his life and works. I knew him from a couple of his seminal pieces and bits and pieces picked up. So I learnt a lot and saw some interesting pieces that did not fit my preconceptions. He was certainly a thoughtful and hard working artist...even when he was suffering from whatever mental illness drove him to his death.
For me the journey as he learned his craft and the experimented to develop his own idiosyncratic style was fascinating. Some of the pieces are magical studies in colour be it monochromatic or one of his wonderful explosions of complimentary shades. Still you do not need an uneducated peasant rabbiting on. It was great, and the final pieces had the hint of madness clearly on display.
We then did our final walk through Amsterdam, back through the very beautiful art district with arts houses very second shop. Fewer Argentinian restaurants here.
I like Amsterdam very much. It is a city I could learn to live in and love. It has lots of lovely places and people, the pace of the city with the bikes is perfect and the services seem to keep a very civilized sheen on everything.
Off to the wilds of Sicily tomorrow. Will take us most of the day to get to our first Sicilian villa......hopefully compensated for by the view of the Mediterranean we have been promised.
Ciao
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