PRESS RELEASE
Stone Church Film presents…
Van Gogh & Japan
7:30 p.m., Friday, June 21
The Chapel at Immanuel Episcopal Church
20 Church St., Bellows Falls, VT
BELLOWS FALLS, VT – The new film, Van Gogh & Japan, explores the little-known story of Vincent’s deep dive into Japanese art. Join us for this beautiful journey on Friday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St.
In the exhibition on which this film is based – Van Gogh & Japan at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam – one can see why the artist once wrote to his brother Theo, “I envy the Japanese.” Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan, it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art.
One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas, and, above all, Van Gogh. Visiting the new galleries of Japanese art in Paris and then creating his own image of Japan – through in-depth research, print collecting and detailed discussions with other artists – Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese artworks gave his work a new and exciting direction.
After leaving Paris for the south of France – to what he thought of as near to a kind of Japan as he could find – the productive and yet troubled years that followed must all be seen in the context of Van Gogh bending Japanese influences to his will and defining himself as a modern artist with clear Asian precursors.
In this film, we explore Van Gogh’s art and see just how important his study of Japan was. The film travels not only to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today.
The new film Van Gogh & Japan is screening at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 21 at the stone church on the hill in Bellows Falls. Tickets are $10 and are available in person at Village Square Booksellers (Bellows Falls), Misty Valley Books (Chester), by phone at 802-460-0110, or online at www.stonechurcharts.org.