How To Score A Genuine Van Gogh For Under $200!

Summary

The website content discusses a LEGO set that replicates Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night," offering an affordable way to own a piece of art, and details the author's personal connection to van Gogh, the building experience, and the set's features.

Abstract

The article "How To Score A Genuine Van Gogh For Under $200!" introduces LEGO's Starry Night set #21333 as a unique and budget-friendly approach to art collecting. The author, Attila Vago, shares a personal connection to van Gogh's story, which was deepened by a Doctor Who episode featuring the artist. The LEGO set, comprising 2316 pieces, is described as a complex and rewarding build that captures the essence of the original painting in a three-dimensional format. The author emphasizes the emotional journey of constructing the set, the intricate techniques used, and the absence of stickers, with all details created from LEGO bricks. The finished piece is presented as a display item that can be hung on a wall, serving as a tribute to van Gogh's enduring influence on art and creativity.

Opinions

The author values the emotional connection to art, as evidenced by their reaction to the Doctor Who episode featuring van Gogh.
The LEGO set is considered superior to the original painting by the author due to its interactive building experience and the personal investment it requires.
The set's design and building process are praised for their ability to evoke a range of emotions, including focus, patience, excitement, and awe.
The author appreciates the set's lack of stickers, relying instead on printed bricks and solid construction.
The van Gogh minifigure is well-received, seen as a fitting homage to the artist.
The article suggests that the set is not just for LEGO enthusiasts but can appeal to anyone, including those who may not have an interest in traditional paintings.
The author advises displaying the set in a low-traffic area due to its protruding 3D elements, which could be easily damaged.
The building stages are highlighted as a fascinating transformation of art into a LEGO form, with the process being as valuable as the finished product.
The set is recommended as a must-have for music fans, alongside other LEGO sets like the Rolling Stones edition.
The author encourages readers to join Medium using their referral link, indicating a belief in the platform's value for accessing content like theirs.

It’s genuine. And it’s a van Gogh. Oh… And it’s also a LEGO set.

The decision has been made. I shall start investing into art. You know, Picasso, Van Gogh, Andy Warhol and the likes. Because apparently if everyone does something, Attila should do too, because if I’m not following a trend, then what is my life’s purpose, right? No. And no, I am not about to empty my bank account to have a can of tomato juice hang on the wall. But I did get a van Gogh. On the cheap, no less! But you know me, you have to wait until the end of the paragraph to really get what I mean. Indeed. It’s technically not a van Gogh painting, but a LEGO representation of it.

You know what? It’s better than the original. Sorry, Vincent, but thanks for the inspiration.

Now, before I get into reviewing LEGO’s Starry Night set #21333, I must tell you why this particular set is perhaps a tad more special to me, in fact, so special that I stayed up that night until after midnight to get my hands on it as soon as it was available in Europe. I didn’t know much about Vincent van Gogh apart from the usual stuff that he cut his ear off and had a special style to his brush-strokes. I didn’t really connect with the late artist until Doctor Who brought him to my attention a few years ago. Here’s a clip from the episode:

I will publicly admit, watching that episode I sobbed, and watching just this clip now, I’m tearing up again. Forget the cast, forget that it’s Doctor Who and a sci-fi show, the emotions of an artist realising their work wasn’t rubbish after all, that their life’s passion ended up becoming one of the most beloved pieces of art, is unmatchable, and I think it represents in its purest and deepest form every human’s need to be appreciated.

In some weird way, buying this set, was my own special kind of tribute to Vincent van Gogh and his work. I hope he knows, that, to this day, he still inspires many of us to imagine and create.

LEGO’s Starry Night is no ordinary set, and in many ways the entire building experience is an art in itself. As I kept building it, I found myself going through some interesting mental and emotional phases like deep focus, patience, excitement, and awe. There are build sections that will really, and I mean really, test your patience and focus. The various shades of blue are something you don’t want to mess up. Remember, this is not a small set, not even medium. This is on the lower end of a large set at 2316 pieces, and many pieces are small. I spent about 4 hours building it, but I would advise casual builders to give themselves more along the lines of 5 hours.

The easiest part to cobble together is probably the frame. Everything else, while not overly difficult, it takes a lot of focus. The set designer used some very intriguing techniques, among which, worth mentioning, miniature-scale building and SNOT.

While at a glance it might seem like a fairly flat build, it’s anything but. This set is very, very 3D, which I think contributes to the pretty jaw-dropping outcome at the end. The details of the houses, church, foliage are all very clever little arrangements that fit incredibly well together. Thankfully, this set doesn’t come with any stickers. Everything is either just solid bricks or printed. Which reminds me…

If you’re one of the nostalgics of Classic LEGO bricks, this is a good set for you. There’s barely anything else but bricks and plates here. Lots of them!

Of course, the cherry on top, is Vincent himself, or his minifig representation, to be more exact. I think they did an excellent job on the dude, kudos for capturing an actual artist in LEGO form!

Of course, no doubt, this is a display set, to the extent that you hang this on the wall and leave it there for all eternity. It has a hook element for hanging, so you only need one nail in the wall to hang this. I simply took off a photo frame, and replaced it with this set. It’s not very light, but also not very heavy. Definitely lighter than the Rolling Stones set, which hangs on two hooks!

One thing you want to make sure is that you hang it where there’s not a lot of traffic in the house. Given its 3D nature, it would be easy to knock parts of it off while walking past it.

Even if you’re not into paintings, this set will beat anything you currently have hanging on the walls.