Van Gogh’s paintings from his Paris years will be on exhibit in Seoul from Thursday.

The exhibition, titled “Van Gogh in Paris: A Dialogue with Modernism,” features about 60 paintings on loan from the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam, including the late artist’s famous self-portraits and landscape paintings. It also displays historical research and data about the artist and his works, including x-radiographs of his paintings.

“Van Gogh’s time in Paris from 1886-1888 was when his style developed drastically, transforming him from a Realist painter who just followed a traditional painting style into a Modernist ahead of his time with a distinctive style,” said Lee Hae-min, curator of the exhibition. Van Gogh painted some 880 works during his lifetime, about 100 of which were done during his Paris period.

The highlight of the exhibition is the collection of Van Gogh’s self-portraits.

“A great deal of his self-portraits were made in Paris because he was too poor to hire a model. But that has contributed to the forming of his distinctive style,” said Lee. Nine portraits will be on view at the exhibition, including the famous “Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat.”

The portrait that depicted the artist aged around 33 or 34 is his most representative work, offering various perspectives of the artist including his misfortunes expressed in the depressed face.

The exhibition continues through March 24 next year at Hangaram Design Museum in Seoul Arts Center. The exhibition is closed on the last Monday of each month. Tickets are 15,000 won for adults; 10,000 for students aged 13-18; and 8,000 won for children aged 7-12.

There will be discounts for group visitors. For more information, call (02) 724-2900.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)