The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters

Discover the real Vincent van Gogh through his personal letters and paintings, at London's Royal Academy of Arts.

The Real Van Gogh at the Royal Academy of Arts

When you think of Vincent van Gogh, what comes to mind? Maybe Sunflowers, his tragic suicide, or that missing ear.

Discover the man behind the legend in this fascinating exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts – the first major Van Gogh exhibition in London for more than 40 years.

Highlights include 35 rarely exhibited original letters, 30 drawings and 65 paintings, such as:

• Self-portrait as an Artist (1888)
• The Yellow House (1888)
• Still-life: Drawing Board with Onions (1889)
• Vincent's Chair with His Pipe (1888)
• Entrance to the Public Park in Arles (1888)

Van Gogh: The Letter Writer

Van Gogh was a prolific letter writer and in his correspondence would often sketch works in progress and completed pieces.

In the exhibition, these letters are displayed alongside the finished works they reference.

See how Van Gogh's paintings and drawings relate to themes in his letters, such as the role of colour in painting, the cycles of nature, friendship, religion and literature.

Who was the Real Vincent van Gogh?

Van Gogh is remembered as an erratic genius, but viewing the artist through his letters reveals a different side.

His ideas about art, nature and literature show intelligence and originality and suggest a sensitive, determined and very hard-working man.

Most of Van Gogh's letters were to his art-dealer brother Theo, but other recipients include his sister Wilhelmina and artists Anton van Rappard, Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin.

About Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

Vincent van Gogh was born in Zundert in the southern Netherlands in 1853.

He began his career as a (largely self-taught) artist only in 1880, aged 27, after working for a firm of art-dealers and then as a missionary worker.

During the decade before he committed suicide in 1890, Van Gogh produced more than 800 paintings and 1,200 drawings.