The Art Institute of Chicago is giving visitors to the US city the chance to step directly into the world of Vincent Van Gogh.
To celebrate an upcoming exhibition on the Dutch post-impressionist, the institute has recreated a human-scale model of Van Gogh’s bedroom from his famous French ‘Yellow House’, and is renting it to guests via room listing website Airbnb.
Van Gogh was so taken by his room – a simply furnished, brightly coloured space decorated by his own works of art – he famously painted it three times.
The art institute has used these paintings, one of which it owns, as the basis for its recreation in the city’s River North neighbourhood.
“This room will make you feel like you're living in a painting,” reads the Airbnb listing, which has been posted under the name Vincent. “It's decorated in a Post-Impressionist style, reminiscent of Southern France and times gone by. Its furniture, bright colours, and artwork will give you the experience of a lifetime.”
Unlike Van Gogh’s room, however, guests here will have cable TV, wifi and elevator access to the ground floor. The cost for spending a night in the room is only US$10, and ‘Vincent’ has written “I'm charging for no other reason than that I need to buy paint. However, I will be happy to provide you with tickets to my exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.”
The show in question – called Van Gogh’s Bedrooms – will run from 14 February to 10 May. It features more than 30 works by the artist, including paintings, drawings, and illustrated letters.
A digitally-enhanced reconstruction of his bedroom will also feature, allowing viewers to experience the physical reality of the space that inspired him.
This bedroom recreation is the latest innovative contemporary exploration of Van Gogh and his work. Last year, a Brooklyn-based animator took his classic masterpiece The Night Café and recreated the work as
an explorable three-dimensional piece via a virtual reality headset, and in 2014
Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde unveiled a
glow-in-the-dark cycle path inspired by his famous painting ‘Starry Night’.
