Event | My Van Gogh Tue 18 Nov 2014

Throughout the year, Bice Curiger invites prominent figures from the world of the arts to talk about an aspect of the life and work of Vincent van Gogh that holds particular meaning for them.

Van Gogh: A resolute draughtsman

In 1989, during the hanging of the exhibition celebrating the centenary of Van Gogh’s stay in Arles, the museum team enjoyed a precious moment while unpacking the works on loan: the rediscovery of the artist’s drawings at a wholly new proximity. Heterogeneous in their format and their aims, these drawings infuse Arles and its inhabitants with a new vitality, while at the same time testifying to the artist’s own, unique experience of the city.

Dominique Séréna-Allier, Director of the Museon Arlaten and curator of the 1989 exhibition Arles au temps de van Gogh, drew upon this experience to talk about “her” Van Gogh. She presented him as a resolute draughtsman who, borrowing from Japanese artists a rapid and assured handing of line, a fresh perspective and traditional techniques, takes us to the heart of an art that gives an essential place to drawing.