Vincent van Gogh | Still lifes of Shoes

Vincent van Gogh painted several still lifes of shoes, primarily between 1886-1888.

He found beauty in worn-out, mud-covered boots, viewing them as symbols of the "scars of life" and the long journeys of the working class.

Step into Van Gogh’s world, one shoe at a time Shoes were an unusual subject in Van Gogh’s time.

Most artists painted elegant still lifes, often symbolizing wealth.

Vincent van Gogh | Small bottle with peonies and blue delphiniums, 1886

Vincent van Gogh began experimenting with color in his still life flower series.

By the summer of 1885, the artist created some 40 paintings with a traditional approach, meaning that the flowers were in a vase and placed in the center of the canvas.

His 1886 painting Small Bottle with Peonies and Blue Delphiniums, done with oil on painter's board -a cheaper material than canvas-, from the Gemeente Museum collection, is one of them.

Flowers became the subject of many of the artist's works during this period.

But after painting over 10 species in mid-September, he sought out other subjects including fruit, shoes, fish and budding flower bulbs.

Vincent van Gogh | Small bottle with peonies and blue delphiniums, 1886 | Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Van Gogh's starry skies

"At present I absolutely want to paint a starry sky.

It often seems to me that night is still more richly coloured than the day; having hues of the most intense violets, blues and greens.

If only you pay attention to it you will see that certain stars are lemon-yellow, others pink or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance.

And without my expatiating on this theme it is obvious that putting little white dots on the blue-black is not enough to paint a starry sky" - Vincent van Gogh, Letter to Wilhelmina van Gogh, the sister, written 9 and 16 September 1888 in Arles.

Vincent van Gogh | Starry Night Over the Rhône, 1888 | Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Van Gogh's flowers

Vincent van Gogh was a flower fan!

It all began in Paris, where he lived for two years (1886-88).

During his time there, he noticed that flower still lifes sold well.

Some French artists even specialised in painting flower still lifes.

Van Gogh started painting flower still lifes in the hope they would sell well.

Vincent van Gogh | Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, 1890 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vincent Van Gogh | Butterflies series

Butterflies is a series paintings made by Vincent van Gogh in 1889 and 1890.

Van Gogh made at least four paintings of butterflies and one of a moth.

The metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly was symbolic to Van Gogh of men and women's capability for transformation.

Vincent van Gogh | Butterflies and Poppies | Van Gogh Museum

Vincent Van Gogh | A Lane near Arles, 1888

A Lane Near Arles (Allee bei Arles) was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1888, while he was living in Arles.

It depicts a lane surrounded by trees running between the fields outside Arles, France.

A Lane Near Arles is currently in the collection of the Pommersches Landesmuseum, Greifswald, in Germany.

Vincent van Gogh settled in Arles in 1888 because he wanted "a different light".

Vincent Van Gogh | A Lane Near Arles, 1888 | Pomeranian State Museum Greifswald, Germany

Vincent van Gogh | The Poor and Money, 1882

'Drawing For National Lottery Today' - says the sign on the wall.

Many people have showed up for the event. Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he saw this scene on a rainy day in The Hague.

He was moved by the vain hope of these shabbily dressed 'poor souls'.

Would the hard-earned money they spent on lottery tickets gain them anything at all?

Vincent van Gogh | The Poor and Money, 1882 (chalk, watercolour, pen and ink, on paper) | Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Vincent van Gogh | Pietà (after Delacroix), 1889

Van Gogh based his Pietà on a lithograph of a painting by Eugène Delacroix.

This image of the Virgin Mary mourning the dead Christ is, however, more a variation on the original work than a copy.

Van Gogh has taken Delacroix’s theme and composition and added his own colour and personal signature.