Day 5 of our trip to the Netherlands started out with a tour of the famous Anne Frank House. I have never been somewhere so powerful and filled with emotion as I could feel myself choking up hearing the story of the Franks hiding in the Secret Annex. The house was filled with quotes from Anne’s diary detailing their experience hiding from the Nazi regime, displays filled with items that were left behind from the house after the Franks were found, and countless memorials to the people who lost their lives during the Holocaust. It was a truly touching experience that leaves a visitor empathizing with those affected by this great tragedy, similar to how Anne Frank was.
After this, I was able to tour the Van Gogh Museum–who happens to be my favorite painter due to his style of short brush strokes and vibrant colors. I feel as though I can vividly read the emotions that Van Gogh was feeling as he was constructing his masterpieces through his use of both shapes and colors. What struck me as particularly interesting was how near the end of Van Gogh’s life, his paintings became darker and twisted, matching the depression that Van Gogh felt shortly before he tragically ended his own life. However, during this more dark timespan for Van Gogh’s paintings, he decided to paint a piece dedicated to his nephew, also named Vincent. This piece is called Almond Blossom (which I saw in the museum), and it is a vibrant blue and littered with white flowers on a branch. This painting is a visual representation of Van Gogh’s fleeting happiness that his nephew brought him during this dark time in his life. Some other notable paintings I saw included Sunflowers, The Bedroom, and The Potato Eaters.
In the evening, I was given the tremendous opportunity to participate in a dinner that involved several Pitt alumni! It was a very interesting and helpful time listening to these alumni give advice and detail their journey to success that began with Pitt. I would like to give the alumni a big thanks for taking the time to sit down and have dinner with us!