Last month’s 30 minutes post was so much fun; I really looked forward to picking out a quirky/touristy location to photograph in The Netherlands (where I happened to find myself this month).  I decided to go check out the Van Gogh Village and Vincentre in a tiny town just outside of Eindhoven.  It had gotten really positive reviews on TripAdvisor (my go-to while traveling), so off I went!

A little background:  Vincent Van Gogh lived in Nuenen for a few years while he was in his early 30s.  He was taking a break and living with his parents.  While he was there, he painted many landscapes, and did numerous sketches of the local people for one of his most favorite paintings, “The Potato Eaters.”

The centre’s website states, “In the Vincentre you will be able to discover how Vincent van Gogh lived and painted while in Nuenen. You will experience and witness things the way he witnessed them. You can imagine you are back in Vincent’s time. All this of course using the latest presentation techniques.”

I have to admit, this small 3 story building housed one of the best little museums I’ve ever seen.  (And I’ve been to too many to count)!  It was so well-organized, had such a great flow to it, and a very contemporary touch that I *almost* didn’t realize that there was not one actual Van Gogh painting.  The centre is dedicated to detailing Van Gogh’s life, highlighting his time in Nuenen, and tries to place the visitor in the same era.  They definitely succeeded.  You’ll notice that I have much fewer photos than last month’s 30 minutes post, as I spent way more time listening to each exhibit’s details on my translated audio guide than photographing it.

I know you’re anxious to see the photos from the Vincentre, but I just want to add one more thing.  I actually have a degree in Art History, and thought I was pretty well-versed in the ways of Van Gogh 😉  But this quick trip to the Vincentre really opened my eyes to the man as an artist.  While he was clearly born with a talent, and was lucky to have his family nurture this talent and encourage him to turn it into a career, he struggled.  I’m sure any other photographer (or creative person) reading this can relate.  Creating a career out of being an artist is not as easy as it sounds.  Not only do you have to struggle with the business side (which doesn’t always come easy to right-brained people), in fact Van Gogh was supported the majority of his adult life by his older brother, but you also have to deal with unwanted criticism.  After Van Gogh’s friend criticized his painting “The Potato Eaters,” Van Gogh wrote back, “you…had no right to condemn my work in the way you did.  I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it.”  Wow.  I came away from my fun little trip to the Vincentre with a whole new appreciation for Van Gogh as an artist and a person.  I hope that I can learn from him, have more confidence in my art as a career, and know that every time I pick up my camera to take a photo, I am growing as an artist.

Psst!  Now that you’ve finished exploring the Vincentre in Nuenen, go check out the next photographer in our group’s take on the “30 minutes” project! She’s a documentary photographer from Ohio:  Summer Kellogg