Van Gogh Alive brightens up Beijing

Vincent van Gogh's last work Wheatfield with Crows at the multimedia show of Van Gogh Alive in Beijing. [Photo/China.com.cn]

Van Gogh Alive, a high-tech multimedia art show, has been taking the art legend Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces to new dimensions in Beijing since Monday. Though it kicked off in the afternoon, the show attracted more than 10, 000 visitors.

The show will be held at Joy City Mall in Chaoyang district until December 6. The mall held the open-air 100 Doraemon Secret Gadgets Expo that took the city by storm from April to June in 2014.

According to International Cultural Exchange Centre of China (ICEC), the sponsor of the show, they wish for Chinese fans of the Dutch painter to get a deeper understanding of his short-lived but prolific life at the 125th anniversary of his death. They also aim to challenge the audience's preconceptions and help viewers better appreciate the artworks.

The show begins with a display of a series of Van Gogh's self-portraits, and narrates his whole life in five chapters, both in the Netherlands and France. With Antonio Vivaldi's musical accompaniment, Van Gogh's signature works that appear include The Potato Eaters, Starry Night, The Red Vineyard, Sunflowers and Cafe Terrace at Night.

Produced by Grande Exhibitions, an Australian exhibition-producing company, the show projects more than 3,000 high-resolution photos of the Dutch genius' paintings on 40 huge screens within 35 minutes. The images display Van Gogh's canvases, sketches, drafts and letters written mostly to his younger brother, Theo.

For better visual effects, the company used an advanced Sensory 4 system. A group of computers activate projectors and a sound system to compose "a symphony of light, color and sound".