Van Gogh didn’t stay long in Antwerp. He arrived from Nuenen in the winter of 1885 and left in the spring of 1886. But he began seriously to paint during his short stay.
He studied for several months at the Royal Academy of Art and painted more than 30 works (although only seven have survived).
The port city made an impression on the young Dutch artist. He wrote to his brother Theo that Antwerp was “very curious and beautiful for an artist” and that the women were “really exceptionally beautiful”.
He rented a gloomy back room at Lange Beeldekensstraat 224 above a paint shop. He worked here in a tiny studio that he decorated with Japanese prints.
The city has named a small square nearby Vincent van Goghplein.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
