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He must have spent hours sitting in the stuffy deckhouse. From the dry and warm ship’s cabin, he would have looked through the small portholes and have seen the dark surroundings slowly pass by. The autumn weather would have been bleak and rough on the Snikke, on which he travelled from Hoogeveen to Veenoord/Nieuw-Amsterdam, barely faster than someone strolling along or the slow gait of a horse carrying a heavy load.
That’s right; eve…
He must have spent hours sitting in the stuffy deckhouse. From the dry and warm ship’s cabin, he would have looked through the small portholes and have seen the dark surroundings slowly pass by. The autumn weather would have been bleak and rough on the Snikke, on which he travelled from Hoogeveen to Veenoord/Nieuw-Amsterdam, barely faster than someone strolling along or the slow gait of a horse carrying a heavy load.
That’s right; even Vincent van Gogh, now considered to be one of the greatest painters in history, had a hard time in 1883. Although he was, of course, used to these hardships from his time in the Borinage. In October of that year, he decided to travel from Hoogeveen to the Tweelingdorp (the twin villages of Nieuw-Amsterdam and Veenoord). He would have faced strong winds and driving rains on the Drenthe moorlands. This landscape probably didn’t improve his already somewhat sombre state of mind, but everything became clear as day for him once he set foot on land in Veenoord and was offered lodging in the stately white house on the corner of the Van Goghstraat and the Schooldijk by the innkeeper Scholte.
During this short period, he wrote no less than 23 letters to his brother, Theo, in which he described in detail the pure beauty which he discovered on the dark moors.
Vincent was so enthusiastic about his discoveries that he finally realised, here in Veenoord, that he would much rather be a painter than a preacher. The sombre atmosphere inspired him to take up the brush and palette once and for all. He also enjoyed the freedom to wander over the estates and choose that one ideal moment when both the subject matter and the light created the perfect picture in his mind.
It was here that Vincent found his calling in life. Not in the word of God, but in capturing the beauty of God’s creation on canvas. And, with it, perhaps a hint of divine inspiration...
In the Van Gogh Huis in Nieuw-Amsterdam/Veenoord, the atmosphere from the time that Vincent lived there can still be experienced today. Here stands the only publicly accessible building that Van Gogh lived, ate and slept in – still in its original state. Or, at least, as much as possible, because the building has seen some renovation over the years.
Vincent’s room is naturally one of the big attractions here, with his bed, small wood stove and the balcony with the view of the bridge which he painted. But not only his room can be seen in its former glory. Scholte’s inn has also been restored to reflect the atmosphere in 1883, fitted with modern facilities to make it a modern restaurant but also with many relics from Vincent’s time. For art lovers an absolute must and for others more than worth a visit.
