Nuenen | A fairytale town where you can feel Van Gogh's presence everywhere
🎨 Although it's still a bit cold in the Netherlands during spring, it is also the most beautiful season. I came to this small town called Nuenen, located to the east of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. This quiet and beautiful town is picturesque, with lawns, windmills, and fairytale-like houses on the streets.
🎨 This is also where Van Gogh stayed from 1883 to 1885. Most of his works from that period were created in this town. During the two years Van Gogh lived in Nuenen, he completed nearly a quarter of his paintings!
🎨 The scenes depicted in his paintings still exist today, such as the church in 'The Church at Nuenen'; next to it, a frame has been erected, marking the exact perspective Van Gogh painted from. The house where he lived is still inhabited; the church he sketched, with its spire still solemn and dignified; and that green tunnel of trees and vegetation... Long ago, Van Gogh walked through here with his easel on his back...
🎨 The album I hold in my hands is a collection of Van Gogh's paintings from Nuenen. Following the coordinates of the buildings in the album, I checked off the places where Van Gogh painted. It feels truly magical; a century has swiftly passed, and the painter's cottage hasn't changed at all. The town seems as if nothing has happened, still as tranquil as before.
🎨 There's a Van Gogh museum in the town, not large, but rich in collections. Visitors who like Van Gogh definitely shouldn't miss it. To commemorate Van Gogh, the townspeople have erected a statue and a monument of him at the station. Here, you can feel Van Gogh's presence everywhere.
🎨 I highly recommend coming here when traveling to the Netherlands, especially for those who love art like me; you will feel it's a journey well worth it. Walking around the town, the fresh style elevates one's understanding of European towns and offers a different insight and imagination towards painting art and the painter Van Gogh. The feeling of being immersed in the buildings seen in the paintings is hard to describe in words, a vividness that can't be conveyed under the solemnity of museums. The scenery before your eyes is history, the little houses you can touch are history, and the scent of flowers and greenery you breathe in is history.
🎨 The town is small, and you can walk through it in one day. Perhaps because of the beautiful and leisurely atmosphere, the townspeople live a relaxed life, unhurried. Although small, the town has nice restaurants, fries shops, and little bars, mostly frequented by older people, perhaps because the younger generation prefers to seek their fortunes in the big cities. It's common to see elderly couples sitting outside a café, each with a glass of wine in the sunshine, chatting at a leisurely pace. It's a very comfortable feeling.
🎨 My guide took me to the most famous local restaurant, and the taste was amazing. We each ordered a glass of wine, and he playfully winked, saying the beer he ordered was his favorite, so cute.
🎨 I'll talk to you about the restaurant next time~