Step into the world of Van Gogh: an immersive journey through colour, emotion, and genius.

Fukushima proudly announces the Great Van Gogh Exhibition, showcasing masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh, touring Kobe, Fukushima, and Tokyo starting in September 2025. The exhibition presents a rare opportunity to experience Van Gogh’s brilliance up close, featuring works from the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands, renowned for its extensive Van Gogh collection.

Exhibition Overview

The exhibition is divided into two phases, covering Van Gogh’s Dutch and Arles periods through to his later works:

“Night Café Terrace” Exhibition – Phase 1

• Kobe: Kobe City Museum, September 20, 2025 – February 1, 2026
• Fukushima: Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, February 21, 2026 – May 10, 2026
  • Opening Hours: 9:30–17:00 (last admission 16:30)
  • Closed: Mondays and the day after public holidays
  • Notes: If Monday is a public holiday, the museum will open and close the following day; if a public holiday falls on a weekend, the museum will open.
• Tokyo: Ueno Royal Museum, May 29, 2026 – August 12, 2026

Phase 1 highlights include Van Gogh’s iconic Café Terrace at Night, appearing in Japan for the first time in nearly 20 years. The painting captures a café terrace in Arles with a striking contrast of evening darkness and warm café lights, dynamic brushstrokes, flat colouring, and an early depiction of the starry night sky. Alongside this, visitors can enjoy approximately 60 works from Van Gogh’s Dutch and Arles periods, including self-portraits and other early masterpieces. Works by contemporaneous Impressionist masters such as Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir will also be on display.

The Kobe exhibition coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, while the Fukushima stop marks the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, lending special historical and emotional significance to the tour.

“The Langlois Bridge at Arles” Exhibition – Phase 2

• Kobe: Kobe City Museum, February – May 2027 (dates to be confirmed)
• Fukushima: Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, June 19, 2027 – September 26, 2027
• Tokyo: Ueno Royal Museum, October 2027 – January 2028 (approximate dates)

Phase 2 focuses on Van Gogh’s Arles period through his later years. The centrepiece is The Langlois Bridge at Arles, a Dutch national treasure, which will be exhibited in Japan for the first time in nearly 70 years. Renowned for its vivid blues of sky and water, this work exemplifies Van Gogh’s mastery of colour and composition during his later years.

Visitors can expect to experience:

1. A Journey Through Emotion and Nature: Van Gogh’s art is infused with his inner struggles and deep connection to the natural world.
2. Artistic Transformation: Witness Van Gogh’s evolution from his early Dutch works to the radiant masterpieces of his later years.
3. Dialogue with Contemporaries: Explore how Van Gogh’s work converses with Impressionist giants like Monet and Renoir while remaining uniquely his own.

Through Van Gogh’s works—created despite a life of hardship and challenges—this exhibition aims to inspire children of the next generation, foster their rich imaginations, and bring excitement, energy, and motivation to all visitors, encouraging them to move forward toward the future.

Fukushima hopes the exhibition will offer not only an unforgettable art experience but also inspiration, reflection, and a celebration of resilience.

Visit more: https://grand-van-gogh.com/

Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art: https://art-museum.fcs.ed.jp/English