Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on various options, see “Advance Tickets and Sightseeing
Cards” on page 34.
Getting There:
It's the big, modern, gray-and-beige place behind
the Rijksmuseum at Paulus Potterstraat 7. From Central
Station, catch
tram #2 or #5 to Hobbemastraat.
Information:
At the information desk, pick up a free floor plan
(containing a brief history of the artist's brief life).
he book-
store is understandably popular, with several good basic
“Vincent” guidebooks and lots of posters (with mailing tubes).
A fine 15-minute video with a basic introduction to Van
Gogh plays continuously in the downstairs auditorium. Tel.
020/570-5200, www.vangoghmuseum.nl.
Audioguide Tour:
The €4 audioguide includes 90 creatively
produced minutes of insightful commentaries about Van
Gogh's paintings, along with related quotations from Vincent
himself.
Length of This Tour:
Allow one hour.
Checkroom:
Free and mandatory.
Cuisine Art:
The terrace cafeteria (soup, salads, sandwiches)
is OK. Recommended eateries are nearby: Cobra Café on
Museumplein, and Café Vertigo in Vondelpark.
Photography:
No photos allowed.
OVERVIEW
The core of the museum and this entire tour is on the first floor (one
flight up from the ground floor). The bookstore, stairs to the audi-
torium, and cafeteria are on the ground floor, along with paintings
by artists who preceded and influenced Van Gogh's generation.
The second floor has a study area and more paintings (including
Van Gogh's smaller-scale works). The third floor shows works by
his friends and colleagues, from smooth-surfaced Academy art,
to Impressionists Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, to fellow
post-Impressionists Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, and Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec. These are painters who inf luenced and were
influenced by Van Gogh. The exhibition wing (accessed from the
ground floor by going down the escalator) showcases temporary
exhibitions.
The main collection of Van Gogh paintings on the first floor
is arranged chronologically, taking you through the changes in
Vincent van Gogh's life and styles. The paintings are divided into
five periods of Vincent's life—the Netherlands, Paris, Arles, St.
Rémy, and Auvers-sur-Oise—proceeding clockwise around the
f loor. (Although the busy curators frequently move the paint-
ings around, they
usually
keep them within the same room, so
look around; some may even be upstairs.) Some background on
