Van Gogh’s ‘Bedroom’ on Loan From the Art Institute of Chicago at The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena

Last Friday, January 6th, David and I went to First Friday (free admission from 5 to 8 p.m.) at The Norton Simon in Pasadena, CA specifically to see Van Gogh's Bedroom exhibit. I had wanted to (somehow click my heels together) and see it in Chicago last summer but that was not meant to be. I am thankful that I was able to see one of the bedrooms in person and that I will be seeing it again before it leaves in early March.

Everyone made a beeline for The Bedroom once the doors were open. I went to the other paintings and stood in front of each Van Gogh several times poking my face as close as I could without getting yelled at by the guards. I walked the exhibit several times over the course of two hours. 

At one point, while David was exploring other rooms, I decided to reread one of Vincent's letters that the museum has on display. I burst into tears. David found me sitting on the bench in front of the letter, sobbing my eyes out. I never thought that I would see one of Van Gogh's letters in person. I have so many books of his letters, so many reproductions but to be standing in front of something that was written and signed by him really moved me. 

If you are in or near Southern California, I would encourage you to get to the museum before the exhibit closes March 6th. This is the first time one of The Bedrooms has been on the West Coast and who knows when (if ever) it will come back.

 Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890:

Head of a Peasant Woman with White Cap 1885

 

Still Life with Pottery and Two Bottles 1884

Van Gogh: Portrait of Patience Escalier; Shepherd in Provence 1888

 

The Bedroom 1889 (second painting of his bedroom in Arles though not painted in Arles)

"I had a new idea in mind... This time it’s simply my bedroom, but the color has to do the job here, and through its being simplified by giving a grander style to things, to be suggestive here of rest or of sleep in general. In short, looking at the painting should rest the mind, or rather, the imagination. The walls are of a pale violet. The floor — is of red tiles. The bedstead and the chairs are fresh butter yellow…"

-16 October 1888. Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh: The Letters, No. 704

The Mulberry Tree 1889  

The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in the Snow 1885

Portrait of the Artist's Mother

Also in the exhibit were the following works:

 

Édouard Vuillard 1868-1940:

First Fruits 1899

The Pitch Pine Room (formerly Denise Natanson and Marcelle Aron in the Summer House at Villerville, Normandy) 1910

 The Dressmakers Under the Lamp 1891-1892

I was also mesmerized by Édouard Vuillard's Lucie Hessel 1895-1915 though it was not a part of this exhibit. You can see it here.

 Émile Bernard 1868-1941:

Cupboard 1891-93

Georges Lacombe 1868-1916

Autumn, The Chestnut Gatherers 1894

Paul Gauguin 1848-1903:

Tahitian Woman and Boy 1899

Paul Cézanne 1839-1906:

Vase of Flowers 1879-1882

Odilon Redon 1840-1916:

Vase of Flowers, after Cézanne by Odilon Redon, 1896

 Georges-Pierre Seurat 1859-1891:

 

 The Stone-Breakers, Le Raincy 1882

 Paul Signac 1863-1935:

 The Seine at Les Andelys 1886

 A Letter Written to the Ginoux Family in Arles 21 May 1890