Unveiling Van Gogh: Insights from Archival Discoveries

With Dr. Wouter van der Veen

Recorded Webinar Available Here

Montage of the postcard “Auvers-sur-Oise – Rue Daubigny” and the painting Tree Roots (1890) by Vincent van Gogh. Image © Arthénon

Dr. Wouter van der Veen, a researcher specialized in Vincent van Gogh’s life and work, presents the academic rigor and emotional depth of archival research. Wouter guides us through his spectacular 2020 discovery, when he identified the location where Van Gogh painted his final masterpiece by examining a postcard from around 1910. This groundbreaking finding led to a deeper understanding of the Dutch artist’s final moments and made headlines worldwide.

One of the online tools Wouter frequently uses, along with Van Gogh’s correspondence available to all at www.vangoghletters.org, is the Wildenstein-Plattner Institute Digital Archives. This powerful platform allows for the meticulous examination of historical documents, often revealing deeper insights hidden in the smallest details. During the webinar, Wouter highlights some of the archive’s key features and share recent discoveries, some of which have yet to be published.

Dr. Wouter van der Veen is an independent researcher, CEO of Boussod, Valadon & Cie, author, and associate researcher at the University of Strasbourg. He received his doctorate from the University of Utrecht in 2007 with Van Gogh, A Literary Mind. His published works include Van Gogh in Auvers (Monacelli, 2009), Le Capital de Van Gogh (Actes Sud, 2018), and Attacked at the very root (Arthénon, 2020), which recounts his discovery of the location where Van Gogh painted his last masterpiece, Tree Roots.

As a former collaborator of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and lecturer at the University of Strasbourg, he was subsequently the scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in Auvers-sur-Oise from 2012 to 2022. In 2023, he contributed to five books, three films, a virtual reality experience, published four articles, was the guest curator of the exhibition Van Gogh, The Final Journeys in Auvers-sur-Oise, and played a key role in the rehabilitation of the House of Dr Gachet.

In 2024, Wouter van der Veen wrote the keynote article of a special Le Figaro issue dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Impressionism: “Impressionnisme, soleil levant.” He is also the founder of the Van Gogh Academy, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of Van Gogh’s legacy.

This webinar was record on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

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