Van Gogh: All our Paintings!

Vincent Van Gogh, The Sower, 1888, Kröller-Müller collection.

Including all 88 paintings by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in the Kröller-Müller collection, this exhibition explores how faith, hope, and love influenced his life and work.

Faith, hope and love

The Kröller-Müller collection comprises 88 paintings by Vincent van Gogh. Most of these were acquired between 1908 and 1930 by the museum's founder, Helene Kröller-Müller. In the exhibition, all the paintings are displayed on the basis of the three divine virtues of faith, hope and love. These three themes play a central role in Van Gogh's life and work. He searches for a form of art that derives from his personal struggles. In so doing, he aims to offer comfort and hope to others.

From preacher to artist

Vincent van Gogh mentions the three virtues in the first sermon he gives as a theology student on Sunday 29 October 1876, at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Richmond. Van Gogh's career as a preacher is short-lived and, on the advice of his brother Theo, he chooses to become an artist. Van Gogh remains faithful to these values, but from that point on he expresses them through his art. In this way, he hopes to offer people enlightenment in a different way.