Image: The real-life replica of van Gogh’s bedroom | The Chicago Tribune
It turns out that life really does imitate art. The Art Institute of Chicago has created an exhibit called van Gogh’s Bedrooms, and for ten bucks a night, visitors can rent a real-life replica of Van Gogh’s famous painting of his bedroom in Arles, France. The bedroom is located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood as part of a larger apartment. The room also has TV and wireless internet, so it’s been a bit updated since it was painted.
“[The room] is our way to expend the experience of the exhibition,” said Amanda Hicks, a spokesperson for the Art Institute. “This bedroom is a creative way to take this storytelling about van Gogh’s human side and then extend that story into a real-life setting.”
The room really does look just like van Gogh’s painting. The walls mimic the same shades of blue, the floors a perfect blend of green and brown. Though the bed in the room is a double instead of van Gogh’s single, it looks like it could very well be the same bed, simple red blanket and all. Even the window looks decidedly Impressionist.
The Art Institute owns the second in the series of three paintings of the bedroom, created between 1888 and 1889. This particular exhibition brings all three paintings to North America for the first time ever. van Gogh’s original painting suffered water damage, so the artist repainted it while in an asylum in 1889.
You may struggle to book a night in the room, though, as the Institute reported that the Airbnb dates for booking sold out within hours. If you’re interested in making a reservation, go ahead and do it right this second before you can’t! But if you just can’t get the room, there are other delights for visitors, including 36 of van Gogh’s other works—drawings, paintings, letters, books, and other items.
How lovely that this artwork is becoming an immersive art experience—to live in a piece of art must be to truly experience it.