Light touch for Dutch master

The artworks of painter Vincent van Gogh are vividly brought to life at an immersive digital exhibition in Beijing, Lin Qi reports. 

Sunflowers gently wave in the breeze, windmills start to turn, and sitting in front of a canvas, an artist selects a color from a pile of paint tubes.

Then, the scene suddenly changes: A vase of blooming flowers appears and the water inside starts to overflow before turning into a stream.

These easily recognizable elements from Vincent van Gogh's paintings have been digitalized, animated, rearranged and projected onto the ceiling, walls and floor of an exhibition space that draws the audience into an immersive look at the life and inner world of the Dutch artist.

This engaging encounter created via a sound and light show is the focus for Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of China that runs through Sept 22. Technicians have used cutting-edge technology to bring to life the work of the gifted artist through an all-encompassing projection display of images taken from more than 200 paintings and drawings from the artist's oeuvre.