A metre-high statue of Vincent van Gogh, created last year to attract tourists, will have a permanent place in Drenthe. The rust-coloured statue will be placed along the Vaart in the twin village of Nieuw-Amsterdam/Veenoord. This is close to where the painter lived and worked for about three months in 1883.

Designer Eelco Bügel is happy that a place has been found for his statue. “I am a real Drent,” he says. RTV Drenthe“I come from Assen, so it’s definitely a good idea to keep it for the county.”

The rust-coloured statue, which stands four and a half metres tall, was created by Bogle last year. It was intended to attract tourists to Drenthe and draw attention to the exhibition. Travel with Vincent In the Drents Museum in Assen. I have paid great attention to the three months that Van Gogh spent in Drenthe from September 11, 1883.

The exhibition will continue until the end of January. used to be A huge success with nearly 100,000 visitors. But then there was no longer room for the statue in Assen. There were briefly rumours of interest from the Van Gogh Village Museum in Nuenen, Brabant. But from enquiries from RTV Drenthe It turns out the museum never put on an exhibit.

The fact that the statue has now arrived in Nieuw Amsterdam/Feenoord is the work of the Van Gogh Village Drenthe Foundation. The foundation points out that Van Gogh spent only three months in south-eastern Drenthe, but that he made an important development in his paintings there. The foundation says he is one of Drenthe’s icons.

The foundation, together with the county and municipalities of Emmen, Hoogeveen and Coevorden, is reportedly paying €40,000 for the statue. The statue will be moved to the twin village this autumn. But first we will stay in Hoogeveen for three weeks in September, just as Van Gogh did in 1883.

It is still unknown whether there will also be a plaque with the statue. The truth is that Van Gogh did not have the happiest period of his life in Drenthe. In letters He describes to his brother Theo how he became increasingly lonely as the days grew shorter and one autumn storm after another blew through the bleak, deserted landscape. On 5 December 1883, Van Gogh turned his back on Drenthe and returned to Brabant, to his parents’ home in Nuenen.