Van Gogh without chronology and for the first time all 88 Kröller-Müller masterpieces together
Author: Alexandra Kharitonova, art historian and art critic.
For the first time since 1984, the Kröller-Müller Museum is showing all 88 works by Van Gogh in its collection at once: from the early, almost monochrome paintings of his Dutch period to landscapes, portraits, still lifes and even nudes made in Paris, Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers.
All the works have been moved from the permanent exhibition to separate rooms. The organizers have abandoned the most obvious way to present such a large collection—a simple chronology. Instead, the 88 paintings are organized around three concepts: faith, hope, and love, juxtaposing works from different periods literally on a single wall.
Unlike the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which was formed thanks to the legacy of the artist's family and the artist himself, this collection of rare works is of the highest artistic quality, as it is the result of the meticulous work of consultants, the conscious selection, and the considerable investment of its collector, Helena Kröller-Müller. She acquired the bulk of Van Gogh's works between 1908 and 1930. Kröller-Müller began buying Van Gogh less than twenty years after the artist's death and formed the largest private collection of his works. For her, Van Gogh was more than just an artist to be collected. She saw in him what she called one of the "great spirits of modern art."
The exhibition features all the collection's famous masterpieces – a version of The Potato Eaters, cut sunflowers, portraits of the Roulin family, Café Terrace at Night from 1888, and The Grieving Old Man (At the Gates of Eternity), painted in the spring of 1890, a few months before the artist's death.
Many of the works are actively requested by foreign museums and are constantly displayed, so this is a truly unique chance to see them all together.
The exhibition has already generated considerable excitement, but the design of the space with its arched partitions proves extremely unfortunate – the works are quite difficult to approach, and the halls seem too small and overcrowded with Van Gogh admirers.
Van Gogh, al onze schilderijen
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
September 15, 2026 - January 3, 2027
Museum website: https://www.krollermuller.nl
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