The Musée d’Orsay shattered its own attendance records by hosting an extraordinary exhibition titled “Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise,” which saw 793,556 art enthusiasts over 108 days starting from its launch on October 3. This event set a new daily visitation record with an average of 7,181 guests, making it a monumental achievement since the museum first opened in 1986.
This exhibition delved into the final months of Vincent van Gogh's life in the quaint town of Auvers-sur-Oise, close to Paris, culminating in his tragic suicide at the age of 37 in 1890. During this period, van Gogh was prolific, creating 74 masterpieces in a mere 70 days, including notable works like Doctor Paul Gachet, The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise, and Wheatfield with Crows. To enhance the experience, the museum integrated a virtual reality feature, allowing visitors to step inside van Gogh's world. An interactive segment, powered by artificial intelligence, further enriched the experience by facilitating a conversation with the artist himself.
This exhibition not only marked a historic moment for the Musée d’Orsay but also set the bar high for future exhibitions, outperforming previous successes such as the 2022 “Edvard Munch: A Poem of Life, Love, and Death” and the 2018 “Picasso, Blue and Pink,” which attracted 724,414 and 670,667 visitors, respectively. Encouraged by the overwhelming response to the van Gogh exhibit, the museum is now planning to introduce another immersive experience for its forthcoming “Paris 1874. Inventing Impressionism” show, which is set to open on March 26.
Jean Dubreil