Dutch museum displays Van Gogh’s 88-painting collection after 42 years

The Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands is displaying its entire 88-painting collection of Vincent Van Gogh for the first time since 1984.

Becoming one of the largest Van Gogh exhibitions of the century, the Dutch museum proudly presented the collection, titled “Van Gogh, All Our Paintings.”

Featuring iconic paintings

Among the displayed works of the iconic post-impressionist painter are The Potato Eaters and Terrace of a Café at Night.

The Potato Eaters was an oil painting, painted by the artist around April–May 1885 in Nuenen, Netherlands, depicting the harsh reality of peasants’ lives in the countryside.

Meanwhile, Terrace of a Café at Night is also a very popular work, with his signature colors and style, depicting a starry night outside a cafe.

According to the Van Gogh Museum, astronomical researchers have traced that the position of stars in the said painting corresponds to their position around the 16th or 17th of September 1888.

“The exhibition presents all the paintings in relation to the three divine virtues: faith, hope and love,” said the museum in a statement, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.

Three virtues

The museum noted that Van Gogh’s life and work revolved around those three virtues.

“Through his art, he aims to offer hope and comfort to others,” said the museum.

German art collector Helene Kröller-Müller — the first European woman to assemble a major art collection and founder of Kröller-Müller Museum — purchased Terrace of a Café at Night.

She was a great admirer of the Dutch painter.

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Second-largest museum

The Kröller-Müller Museum has a total of 91 paintings and 180 drawings, earning the title of the world’s second-biggest collection of Van Gogh works, surpassed only by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Most of the masterpieces in the exhibition were acquired by Kröller-Müller from 1908 to 1930.

“Van Gogh, All Our Paintings” is open to the public until January 2027.

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