Immersing yourself in Vincent van Gogh

The “Van Gogh Alive” multimedia show is overwhelming. And shows what a great artist Vincent van Gogh was.

Vincent van Gogh emerges from the darkness. The superstar among the painters appears all around in self-portraits - in front of and behind you, to the side, over corners and in the other rooms, high above our heads and even on the floor. He looks melancholy, or targets you with a piercing gaze. You have to get used to the size - or do you have to become aware of how tiny you are?

But there’s no time to think, even the texts about the biography can only be experienced to a limited extent as the projection machinery unwinds the life story of the tragic genius based on his works. A lavish show, with the aim of overwhelming visitors. The target audience is clearly defined by the creators and organisers: all of us. Children and adults, people interested in art and everyone else should make a pilgrimage to the Maag Halle in Zurich to see “Van Gogh Alive”.

Van Gogh's life (1853) and his painting (1880) begins with brown-toned and earthy in the tradition of the Dutch school. Church, field, harvest, then - plop - his worn-out shoes appear. The tiny picture is blown up to several metres in size - but is touching.

Music - from Vivaldi through Schubert to Satie - creates a devotional atmosphere. We land in Paris, where hope and colour emerge in van Gogh's works. The yellow and red apples of the still lives of that time appear as giant spheres, one almost thinks that one has to bow one's head. Portraits and then - ooh, one can hear - the flowers: dozens of bouquets tower over you like a forest, the irises dance. Not all works could be recorded, but almost 3,000 pictures were processed for the show, says marketing man Christoph Rüdt.

Can I stand all this abundance, one wonders after ten of the 45 minutes. But then the series of pictures slows down, blossoming chestnut branches appear and move, and individual petals float through the room. We are right in the middle.

Drawings provide some variety: precise studies of the human body. And then a train chugs onto one of the drawings ... off to southern France, to Arles: to the sower, to the sunflowers, to the yellow house, to the red vineyard. To van Gogh's delirium in the riot of colours of the south. He wanted to relax in the little room with the blue walls and the yellow bed, he watched the people he painted in the bistro with the pool table. Powerful heads rushing past us. Is the original in a landscape or portrait format, one wonders briefly. No matter, everything is possible here, everything is big, everything at the same time. You can become irritated by the somewhat sultry music, but above all by the black empty spaces between the projection screens, which often painfully cut through the faces.

Photo 1: Vincent van Gogh's Wheat Field. Every brush stroke becomes a mighty blow.
Photo 2: Vincent van Gogh is most beautiful when you stand before the original. The writer in front of the "Self-portrait with a bandaged ear" in 2014
Photos 3-6: Impressions from the Van Gogh exhibition

But not enough: Now follow the starry nights, the swirling cloud and the stars. And yes, they are not only projected, but animated. They whirl and sparkle - like an introduction to Vincent van Gogh's last stop: Auvers-sur-Oise, the mental hospital of Dr. Gachet. There he lived, sick but extremely productive, until he shot himself one night in 1890.

Trees and houses, and the brushstrokes have definitely broken out of the horizontal-vertical grid of the usual order. In the oversized projection, each of these restlessly vibrating lines looks like a mighty blow. Vincent van Gogh looks at us again, sadly, defiantly and lost, before a wheat field sways in the wind, black birds announce the end.

Six million people have already seen “Van Gogh Alive” worldwide. 45,000 admissions are required to make the event profitable In Zurich, as Rüdt explains. But he is optimistic, as 10,000 tickets have already been sold in advance.

Thanks to the strong colours, the wild brush strokes, the common subjects and the forcefulness of the faces, van Gogh is more suitable for such gadgets than hardly any other artist. He can take the oversize, the inflation. The work does not get any better, however. And not necessarily more understandable either. But it is a technically perfect, impressive picture show. And it’s great that art is a supplier of it, and many people will enjoy it.

But you also get a longing for the originals. The path to the Kunsthaus Zurich is not that long - and visitors to the show an even obtain discounted admission. There is a whole wall in the Kunsthaus full of originals by Vincent van Gogh. Much smaller in format, but large in effect.

Note: Van Gogh Alive at the Maag Halle, Zurich until April 9th. Tickets and information: www.vangogh-alive.ch

Seeing Van Gogh in the original

Vincent van Gogh is at his most beautiful in the original. Some can be found in Swiss museums and collections. You can currently see them all the year round in the following places:

Kunsthaus Zurich: The Kunsthaus presents a whole wall full of works by van Gogh. From the early “White Houses in Saintes Maries” to the “Thatched roofs in Chaponval” and a self-portrait with a bandaged ear.

Villa Langmatt, Baden: The early work “Moulin de la Galette” hangs here among the Impressionists (its authenticity is controversial, however).

The Kunstmuseum Basel: owns three works, including a self-portrait and the late work "Marguerite Gachet au piano".

The Kunstmuseum Solothurn: You will find the “Madman of Saint-Rémy” here.

The Kunstmuseum Winterthur: Has three works in its collection, including the powerful portrait of the postman “Monsieuer Roulin”.

And another note outside the borders of Switzerland: The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has the largest collection. This has just opened a pop-up store in London and, at 99 Upper Ground, South Bank, offers experiences similar to those of "Van Gogh Alive" in Zurich under the title "Meet Vincent van Gogh" until May 21.