Recently, a friend and I saw Van Gogh: Brush with Genius in IMAX cinema. I enjoy IMAX, take pleasure in being visually overwhelmed. And, as an art historian of the 19thC, I felt somewhat obligated to go because van Gogh is one of the most well-known, or I should say, commonly heard of, artists of this period, but not my personal favourite.
Though I will not expound on this here, van Gogh is a man, wrapped in an artist, enshrouded in myth. These myths have reached the point of self-perpetuation, his loneliness, his madness, the ear thing... Anything that appears in our culture that might challenge or explain myths about this or other artists are welcomed by me with open arms. Though it is difficult to type with my arms folded, I will say that this film offers nothing new and may go so far as to say that it contributes to misconceptions and exaggerations which already abound about the Dutchman.
So, avoid it? No. See it. But look beyond the narrator's weird accent and focus on the dizzying close-ups of his canvases' surfaces, revealing the incredible texture that few artists have matched. I do not think I have ever seen them communicated so well, outside of standing in front of a painting, of course.
it really was pretty awful though...
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