The Van Gogh Museum marks the 125th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh’s death with the launch of The Vincent van Gogh Atlas at the celebrated Auberge Ravoux. This new reference work contains hundreds of historical photographs, drawings, letters, detailed maps and topographical material relating to the places where the celebrated artist lived and worked.
Willem van Gogh and Machteld van Laer, descendants of Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, laid sunflowers and yellow dahlias on the painter’s grave in Auvers-sur-Oise. A colossal self-portrait made up of 50,000 dahlias is also unveiled on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. Axel Rüger, Director of the Van Gogh Museum: ‘We decided, together with our partners, that 2015 should be a Van Gogh Year, on the theme of “125 years of inspiration”. We’ve organised a whole series of activities to commemorate who Van Gogh was, and what made him so extraordinary. He continues to inspire millions of people around the world to this day.’
Vincent van Gogh died in the arms of his brother, Theo, at Auberge Ravoux on 29 July 1890, two days after shooting himself in the chest in a farmer’s field in a moment of despair. His coffin – piled high with sunflowers and yellow dahlias – was buried on 30 July at the cemetery on the outskirts of the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where the artist spent the final three months of his life and painted over 70 new works. Today, exactly 125 years later, the Van Gogh Museum is commemorating the celebrated painter at the place where his life ended.