We went to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience exhibit at the Strand Theater in Boston today. I recommend it highly, including for children. It showed many works, and did some grouping of them, such as sunflowers, Japanese influenced, and last years, but only focused on a few in detail. I think that is the right approach.
One thing I had not known was about his impaired color sensitivity, which suggests that he used such bright colors in order to perceive them at all when painting. I had known about his epilepsy and psychosis, and the possible effect that the foxglove/digitalis used to treat his overexcitement might have contributed to his subsequent depression. Of course, enormous amounts of absinthe didn't help either.
Particularly poignant was "On The Threshold of Eternity," one of his last works before he committed suicide.
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