Displaying Van Gogh

For the first field trip in one of my classes, known as Visual Art Concepts 2, we attended the Cincinnati Art Museum to experience beauty.  The beauty could be found in anything, from the paintings on the walls to the exit sign by the door.  I happened upon my favorite painter, Vincent van Gogh and that became my experience of beauty.  It was so because of the way the painting was displayed.

Undergrowth with Two Figures
Vincent Van Gogh
1890

The painting above was displayed in an alcove made up of floor to ceiling black fringe with one lone spot light fixed on the painting.  As I stood there, gazing at one of the last pieces Van Gogh painted right before he died, I was transported to that forest with the two figures.  I do not believe I would have had that same experience if the piece had been shown in a different setting; especially a setting such as shown below, just on a wall surrounded by other paintings.

The way art work is presented is crucial to the audience's experience of an artists work.  I highly recommend that you go to Cincinnati Art Museum and experience this Van Gogh painting just as I did.  

Here is the link to the Cincinnati Art Museum website:

http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/