Van Gogh’s Cypresses – MET Museum

The heat wave has persisted in New York for a few weeks now, but I couldn’t bear staying home any longer. So, despite the weather, I decided to visit the MET museum. The line outside wasn’t obvious, but as soon as I entered, I was met with a bustling crowd inside.

To get tickets, there was ticket machines for regular visitors, but for New York residents who wanted to pay as they wish, we had to wait in the human line. That was about 15 minute’s wait. The real challenge began when I needed to scan a QR code to join the Van Gogh’s Cypresses exhibition line.

Initially, the webpage showed the exhibition was full, and there was no option for a waitlist. That was a real disappointment, as the Van Gogh exhibition was my main reason to get outdoor in an overheated day. After staring at the grey button for a while, it turned green. I thought my luck changed, but the webpage said that the waitlist was full again after I filled up all the necessary information and clicked “submit”. This led to a frustrating half-hour of retrying, refilling the information, refreshing the page, and hoping for success.

Thankfully, after persisting, I finally secured a spot on the waitlist, with a waiting time of approximately 2 hours. Luckily, the MET had plenty to offer to keep me occupied during the wait. Even though I had been there multiple times before, I still found their exhibition interesting and entertaining, with oil paintings from the Impressionist era remaining my favorite.

MET had a large collection of Van Gogh’s paintings that displayed regularly. They were not part of the Special Exhibition, but not less impressive, including the Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat, the Shoes, the Woman Rocking a Cradle, the Sunflowers, and more.

Van Gogh’s Cypresses focused on the trees, but the Starry Night, one that had trees but with the sky as the main interest, was the most popular in the exhibition. I was puzzled whether the famous Starry Night painting was an original or a copy from MoMA. Staring at the painting for a while, I couldn’t tell a difference. And of course, I should’ve looked at the tag beside the painting to confirm, but I forgot. Lucky, some of my friends who had been there before were smart enough to look at the tag and confirmed with me later that the Starry Night was the one and unique borrowed from MOMA.

They told me that it was common practice that museums borrow collections from each other. Thinking back, I realized I must have seen some other paintings in other museums, possibly in Philadelphia or France. 

Of course, it was the paintings I had never encountered before that excited me the most. I found a striking piece resembling Starry Night but with its own unique charm, another one with beautiful tree and river scenes, and a couple of intriguing watercolor paintings.

Though I appreciate Van Gogh’s experimentation with watercolors, I couldn’t help but notice they lacked the layered texture I admire in his oil paintings. In my view, watercolors should embrace more abstraction with the help of water, which lacked in these paintings. Nevertheless, it was a delightful surprise to discover Van Gogh’s venture into watercolors.

In conclusion, the special exhibition proved to be an enjoyable experience, showcasing Van Gogh’s artistic journey and captivating works.