Lucrezia Walker | Van Gogh: Sunflowers, Letters & Life | The National Gallery, London

In August 1888 Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo of his plan to paint sunflowers in a dozen panels. He planned the series as 'a symphony in blue and yellow'.
Lucrezia Walker, Freelance Lecturer at the National Gallery, talks about the significance of the 'Sunflower' series in exploring Van Gogh as an artist.
The lecture, 'Van Gogh: Sunflowers, Letters & Life' was held as part of the Gallery's 2014 display 'The Sunflowers', which witnessed the rare reunion of two of Van Gogh's famous 'Sunflower' masterpieces.
To find out more, visit: www.nationalgal...

[@wendygivingbackdavis4609]

Amazing talk about an amazing artist. Vincent Van Gogh is for me one of the greatest painters who ever walk this Earth though he was described (in another NG talk about him) as the "shooting star." His life wasn't long but the impact of his art is timeless. Thank you again National Gallery and to Lucrezia Walker for her talk. :)

[@choosuatong6964]

FYI

[@ambershelly3716]

Amazing Lecturer!

[@elizabethannegrey6285]

What a relief: someone who can pronounce his name.

[@margaretfarquhar9567]

Thank you for engaging my mind in the life and times of Vincent away from the worrisome times we are all living in now How we want to care for him and comfort him and tell him everything is going to be well. Thank you for posting

[@wayneking1408]

Very informative and educational lecture. Thank you for showing this video.

[@hamidachan7392]

Fabulous. My favourite artist.❤️💜🙋😽🇬🇧 X Thank you for sharing your knowledge Van Gogh's life and paintings. I visited an exhibition at South Kensington, London. Was a fantastic exhibition.❤️💜 August 2021.

[@kayfletcher4169]

A really fascinating and informative lecture. Thank you.

[@YuraBotanick]

Thank you so much for this wonderful lecture!!

[@renelevaillant3766]

Really well done ,one of the very best,thanks!!

[@cassandrag803]

Very good lecture. Great presenter.

[@lastredrose]

Thank you. it's a pleasure to re listen this talk!

[@synnveholand6133]

Brilliant! Thanks!

[@janawaw8293]

Thank you , it was very interesting.

[@MiaFeigelsonGallery]

Lucrezia, thank you so much for your highly interesting lecture, I learnt a lot from you ! The National Gallery, thank you as well !

[@waltevans4490]

lovely presentation young lady,,enjoyed it very much with my supper alone, and i share Vincent love of art too and followed him, in that i have painted all my life unknown

[@wilmeramadoraguilar47]

All you need now is a brother who is an art dealer

[@waltevans4490]

@@wilmeramadoraguilar47 thank you very much I sure could have used her brother to help me unfortunately it didn't work out that way instead I had a wife that help me, it was fun for 87 years doing art and I got to go all over the world even though I didn't go physically except for 14 countries you have a good day you have a good week you could have a good forever actually I did about a dozen copies of Vincent Van Gogh's work for friends who afford to have them but couldn't afford the original and they are quite satisfied even a couple friends asked me to paint them in Vincent style which I was happy to do

[@eamonnmurphy1]

Excellent, clear and insightful lecture..

[@lisengel2498]

Very fine talk but I would prefer to listen to the voice while looking at the paintings that is talked about and it would be wonderfull if the paintings were shown full screen most of the time. The paintings talk so much and so strongly of life that the history of van Goghs life is an interesting knowledge but his art is everything - show the art more in talks like this

[@patrickburke5117]

Excellent. Thank you

[@andreewert1142]

Van Gogh died July 30, 1890, 37 years old..the anniversary of his death was yesterday RIP Vincent

[@CitizenBeep]

Apparently the photo shown at 9:27 is actually Theo it has since been announced.

[@yvonnefarrell1029]

At 25:50 the bedroom in Arles is a sort of "Alice in Wonderland syndrome" image as if the bedroom were twice its real-life size. What a great lecture we are watching here this nine years after it was given originally! Thank you National Gallery!

[@nicolettapolese4554]

Chapeau!

[@midnightchannel7759]

It's always interesting to me what lecturers do * not * say... The other reason Gauguin went to Brittany, and the main reason imho, was that there was already a small community of artists there who all * adored * Gauguin, and with whom none could compete artistically. This is how Gauguin liked it. Vincent * also * adored Gauguin and had deep professional respect for him, but unlike the other artists Gauguin chose to surround himself with, Vincent refused to abdicate his personal views on art to those of his friend. Really pissed Gauguin off, evidenced by Vincent's ear he then sliced off after the famous Christmas argument on art... We have Vincent to thank for everything Gauguin later created in Tahiti because he chose not to prosecute, leaving Gauguin's (cowardly) accusation of self mutilation to stand... (Witness the many such flower painting Gauguin chose to paint in Tahiti, all with a single eye staring out if the petals. The Eye of God. Conscience.) ..

[@midnightchannel7759]

No mention of Gauguin's constant literal fighting, picking fights in the street, fencing either with his epee which he carried with him everywhere, ir boxing matches, any macho thing you can name... Gauguin was well known for this macho attitude towards lfe, constant need to prove he was the macho man in the room. No mention of this. No mention of Van Gogh very early quote in his letter to Theo about Gauguin, immediately after Gauguin's arrival in Arles: "...good thing there is no machine guns around or we'd all be dead", writing of Gauguin's explosive personality. This was written BEFORE any the arguments, etc.

[@Beinhartwie1chopper]

Best talk yet, unpretentious and full od info

[@Termitegrrn]

Wow, Well worth the time to watch. what an interesting life and man.

[@Seattlegal2]

She doesn't seem too pleased that one of Vincent's sunflower is in a private collection and not accessible. :)

[@micky4fun]

Did I hear Professor Lucrezia Walker say "the fact that Gauging himself was from Peru" (35:40)! No, he was not from Peru. According to everything I have read, Paul Gaugin was born in Paris in 1848, but he spent his early childhood in Lima, Peru, where his family had moved, and where his maternal grandfather, Don Mario Tristan y Moscoso lived.

[@EDBrown-ml3ss]

Just to set the record straight, Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, not April 15, 1853.

[@besnardjeanrene1701]

Very interesting, thank you so much, Dear Madam,a large number of famous great painters (during difficult days), reproduce and sign works of other great painters who sold well, for the purpose of subsistance. Had Vincent Van Gogh reproduce a few works of this kind and sold them until the arrival of Theo's money? Merci beaucoup

[@hansolo2121]

besnard jean rene The answer is no.

[@druid3608]

Theo was Vincent's younger brother, not his older.

[@HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaNo]

Holly Morningstar yes and she does call him younger brother later but it’s a live lecture and just a slip up, rest of lecture was referred to but yes you are right. But super lecturer

[@lafregaste]

so... how exactly is it thought Vicent van Gogh "CONTRACTED" depression, from his land lady? Using that kind of word is quite disgusting when talking about mental illnesses. People who suffer with depression are not "contagious", nobody can catch depression from someone else, it would be hard even for someone to replicate the depression of someone else. Maybe their relationship was toxic and the problems caused some kind of depression or depressive behaviour, but in no way a person can pass on to another their mental illness. In general is rude to say something like that, but it makes it even worse the fact that has been broadcasted by a public entity.

[@elizstan5541]

Agreed.

[@brassring123]

Syphilis yes Depression no

[@JamesBond-gq2mb]

I am a painter. I would’ve have liked paint you during your talk. The jacket is interesting color with unique buttons.

[@midnightchannel7759]

Refer to very strong evidence online, quoting new research (ie, past 20 years) that : 1) Gauguin cut Vincent ear off, much proof of this, and Gauguin intentionally blames Vincent to avoid jail. Most if not ALL accounts of Vincent overt "mad" behaviour came from Gauguin after the ear event . 2) Very convincing argument has been made that a teenage bully shot Vincent and Vincent covered for him, took the blame, because he knew he was going to die and didn't want to ruin the kids life. I think Vincent made a mistake doing that... 3) Very convincing argument that Vincent suffered from "the Madness of King George", porphyria, which you can also see clearly in the health (or lack of it) of his other siblings and many of his extended relatives in this inbred family - many first cousins marrying first cousins for generations. NOT the kind of "mad" behavior recounted by Gauguin, but "epileptic" fits accompanied by crushing cluster headaches, deep depression (e.g., rendering him unable to move) not remembering, not able to conduct himself independantly, etc.

[@midnightchannel7759]

"Bandaged ear", we can see from the original attending doctors medical files on Van Gog, the sritten description and the drawing made by the doctor, that the ENTIRE ear was cut off, leaving only the lobe.

[@user-oc1ew6qm8c]

Vincent was born on March 30, 1853. I'm surprised she got a fairly simple fact wrong

[@midnightchannel7759]

(The Minister had three sons, actually.)

[@andrewarena7798]

34:36

[@jackbailey7037]

Van Gogh has had to endure thousands of hours of amateur psychoanalysis by art commentators for the last hundred years. This talk no exception.

[@soundhein7807]

Van gogh is one of the many painters who, after his death and as many, were praised to heaven by so-called art experts, which was especially beneficial for the art connoisseur because he had already collected quite a few paintings himself or whatever advantage. Van gogh was not at all great artist, but after his death so cleverly put it higher than van gogh really was.

[@johncastle8254]

Contracted depression from his landlady ,that’s absolutely hilarious .

[@jeffblack4039]

The camera should be focused on the paintings Lucrezia is discussing and not so much on her.

[@elizabethannegrey6285]

I wonder how much his dead namesake had to do with it all. It is recognised as having an effect on personality when a person “replaces” a deceased sibling. Spooky.

[@leokasun7536]

,

[@ohewouou]

"contracted depression"

[@OlgierdKostanowicz]

Strong yellow :-) , what do you mean? So English...

[@lalmgh]

For a highly educated woman, sure says ummm a lot tho