With a big milestone coming up in 2023, the Van Gogh Museum has unveiled plans for celebrating its 50th anniversary next year - plans which involve various exhibitions featuring renowned artists, and a birthday party right in the heart of Amsterdam for fans of one of the most famous museums in the Netherlands. 

Museum to host 50th birthday party on Museumplein

Honouring the life and work of Vincent van Gogh - one of the most prolific Dutch artists - the Van Gogh Museum opened its doors on July 2, 1973. 50 years on, it remains a key attraction for tourists and locals alike, welcoming around 2 million visitors every year. 

In addition to hosting several historic exhibitions of Van Gogh’s work, the museum is looking to celebrate its birthday in style, with a big blowout birthday party on the Museumplein on July 2, 2023. Few details have been revealed so far, but the museum promises it will be an “unforgettable party” for “visitors, friends, and fans throughout the Netherlands.” 

Three exhibitions to celebrate the life and work of Vincent van Gogh

In order to properly mark the momentous birthday, the museum has organised three separate exhibitions that will take place throughout 2023 to look back on different aspects of the famous artist’s life and work. Kicking off the celebrations is Choosing Vincent: From Family Inheritance to World-Famous Collection, which will run from February through to mid-April, and focuses on the “unconditional support” Van Gogh received from his family.

After Choosing Vincent, the exhibition Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. His Final Months will follow in the spring, running until September 3. Run in collaboration with Musée d’Orsay in Paris, this exhibition offers an “extensive overview” - more than 50 paintings and 20 never-before-seen works - of the “tremendously productive” final two months of Van Gogh’s life. 

Finally, running from October through to January 2024, Van Gogh along the Seine explores the impact one specific area close to the River Seine in Asnières had on a number of prominent artists in the late 19th century - including Van Gogh. Run in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago, this is the first exhibition to “focus on Asnières as a destination for painters” and explore “why this location inspired Van Gogh and other artists in their search for a new, modern painting style.”