Step Inside the Painting: The Immersive Van Gogh Craze

As museums reopened after lockdowns, a new kind of art experience swept the world: rooms where Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and 'Sunflowers' swirled across floors, walls and ceilings to a soaring soundtrack.

Multiple rival 'immersive Van Gogh' shows popped up in cities from New York to Sydney, drawing huge crowds — and pointed debate about whether projecting masterpieces is thrilling popularisation or theme-park kitsch.

Purists grumbled that there wasn't a single real brushstroke in sight. But for millions who would never queue at a museum, walking inside a swirling sky was their first, dazzling encounter with Vincent.

Image: “VanGogh-starry night ballance1” — Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.