Skip to navigation | Skip to search
No photo credits available.
Download 'The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters' Art Detectives here:
Van Gogh Art Detectives (2.8 MB)
One of Van Gogh's most famous paintings is The Potato Eaters (1885). Young visitors saw prints and letters about this painting, and wrote a diary entry imagining that they were one of the characters in the picture.
Tess Kilburn, age 7
Oliver, age 7
Ludo, age 8
Billie Kilburn, age 5
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Maria Kantor, age 12
Young visitors then looked at a painting of A Peasant Woman Digging (1885) and a letter in which Van Gogh sketched this picture, and drew the differences between these two depictions.
Isabella, age 9
Edwin
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Maria Kantor, age 12
Looking at the painting Basket of Oranges (1888), young visitors drew one of the oranges and the shading around it to show the direction of light falling on the still life.
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Maria Kantor, age 12
Van Gogh's Self-portrait as an Artist (1888) uses dynamic brushstrokes to create a sense of energy to the painting. Young people analysed the lines and dashes he used to paint his face, beard and jacket.
Tess Kilburn, age 7
Isabella, age 9
Chris Bright, age 8
Catherine Ashdown, age 11
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Maria Kantor, age 12
Young vistors learnt how Van Gogh portrayed the artist Paul Gauguin through objects that he thought represented him in the painting Gauguin's Chair (1888). They then sketched three objects that they felt would represent them in a portrait.
Catherine Ashdown, age 11
Beth, age 11
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Maria Kantor, age 12
Young people then drew comparative sketches of Gauguin's Chair and Van Gogh's Chair (1888-89).
Madeleine Sparks
Isabella, age 9
Edwin
Beth, age 11
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Maria Kantor, age 12
Van Gogh moved to Arles in the south of France because of the bright sun and more relaxed way of life. After looking at many of his paintings of the town, young visitors wrote a letter to a friend describing Arles.
Madeleine Sparks
Lydia
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Maria Kantor, age 12
Young people then looked at the painting and letter sketch of The Sower (1888) and drew the lines that Van Gogh used to create a sense of depth in the picture.
Catherine Ashdown, age 11
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Millie Hoffman, age 10 and Angelica Hambis, age 11
Daisy, age 6
Maria Kantor, age 12
They then drew the lines and marks that Van Gogh used in his painting Pine Tress near the Wall of the Asylum (1889).
Isabella, age 9
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Daisy, age 6
Maria Kantor, age 12
Finally, the visitors wrote a letter to the Royal Academy of Arts describing their experience of the exhibition.
Madeleine Sparks
Isabella, age 9
Alasdair Simpson, age 9
Tom, age 6
Maria Kantor, age 12
Taylor
