Brabant

Vincent van Gogh spent his early early years in the rural Dutch province

Together, three heritage centres and dozens of official Van Gogh monuments highlight the artist’s love of the landscape, lifestyle and people which permeated his works. There are also many information points and guided walks by local Van Gogh experts. If you’re feeling energetic, the Van Gogh Cycle Route, a winner of the European Cycle Route of the Year award, connects all 39 Van Gogh monuments in Brabant and can be tackled in stretches taking as little as two hours. (A bonus for foodies: Brabant is home to 20 Michelin-starred restaurants.)

The technology-meets-art specialists Studio Roosegaarde have created a light-emitting bicycle path inspired by Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

Zundert

Vincent van Gogh was born in Zundert in 1853 and lived there for the first 17 years of his life. On the site where his birth house once stood, the Vincent van Gogh House hosts exhibitions by the artist’s contemporaries and modern artists inspired by him. Behind the building visitors can stroll in the garden where Van Gogh played as a child.

The Vincent Van Gogh House in Zundert

Nearby is the church where Van Gogh’s father was pastor and where Vincent was baptised. The font is still there. In the small cemetery is a poignant reminder of something which may have hung heavily on young Vincent’s mind. A year to the day before he was born, his mother gave birth to a still-born boy, also named Vincent. Van Gogh would have passed close by his namesake’s grave when he attended church and his family would have tended to it with Vincent present. It can only be imagined how the constant reminders of a ‘ghost brother’ may have affected him as he grew up.

A statue of Vincent embracing his brother Theo stands in front of the church in Zundert, where their father preached

Next to the church is a statue of Vincent embracing his older brother Theo, the most important person in his life. The pedestal bears a quote in French from an unsent letter to Theo found in Vincent’s pocket after he shot himself – possibly the last letter he ever wrote. Loosely translated, the passage reads: ‘Through my deeds you have witnessed the creation of several paintings which will breathe tranquillity even in times of upheaval’.

Etten-Leur

Van Gogh arrived in Etten-Leur in 1881 aged 28 after spending restless years in England, France and Belgium. His father had been moved to the local church and his family encouraged Vincent to stay. Van Gogh first registered himself as an artist in the local Town Hall and he went on to make some 200 drawings in Etten (he did not paint there), including ‘The Sower (after Millet)’, now in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

The Van Gogh Church in Etten-Leur 

The renamed Van Gogh Church, where Vincent’s father preached and which is now deconsecrated, hosts exhibitions of contemporary takes on Van Gogh’s work such as photographer Marc Boom’s Closer to Van Gogh, for which he reproduced famous Van Gogh portraits using family and friends as models.

Nuenen

Returning once more from further travels to the bosom of the family (his father had again been moved), Vincent found the place where he finally became a real artist. He lodged in the laundry room of his father’s parsonage, which he also used as a studio. As a painter, he lived the longest time of his life as an artist in Nuenen (1883-85) and made over a quarter of his total output there – more than anywhere else.

A sculpture of ‘The Potato Eaters’ in Nuenen makes it possible for blind people to ‘feel’ the painting

It was in Nuenen, the self-described “Van Gogh Village” a few kilometres outside Eindhoven, that he created his first recognised masterpiece, The Potato Eaters, after glimpsing a family at their evening meal through a window. Another work from this period is Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen. Van Gogh’s father preached in the charming church, which can still be visited today.

The Reformed Church in Nuenen is just as Van Gogh painted it in 1884

Nuenen has more landmarks associated with Van Gogh than any other Brabant town. The first monument in the world dedicated to him was erected there in 1932. A monolith of basalt from the south of France, it has a golden sun inset into it representing the change of light in Van Gogh’s work after he moved to Provence. It sits on a millstone base symbolising the influence of local rural life on his work. There is also a statue of Vincent looking like he is about to set off on a painting trip, while various information points mark the exact spots where he made drawings and paintings.

Built in 1874, the Salon Nune Ville was the home of the Begemann family, whose youngest daughter, Margot, was Vincent’s first girlfriend. It stands next to the Van Gogh parsonage, making Margot literally the girl next door. However, both families disapproved of the relationship and it would have no future. After standing empty for some years, the house was bought by a Van Gogh enthusiast, lovingly restored and filled with 19th century furniture, objects and paintings by contemporaries and students of Van Gogh. There are guided tours by appointment.

The rear of the parsonage in Nuenen with the outhouse that Van Gogh used as a studio

Across the street, the Van Gogh Village Museum occupies the original town hall, with a slick, modern extension. A multi-visual does a good job of recreating the atmosphere of Van Gogh’s time in Nuenen, including his family background and friends and acquaintances from that period. In the absence of any original Van Gogh works (there are a few prints), there is an extensive display of paintings by contemporaries and an annual exhibition by a featured artist influenced by Van Gogh.

A display in the Van Gogh Village Museum in Nuenen