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🎨 Guide to Van Gogh Museum workshops (2026)

Participating in a Van Gogh Museum workshop offers visitors a hands-on way to connect with Vincent van Gogh’s art, techniques, and colour philosophy. Whether you want to master expressive brushwork or find an engaging activity for your children, the museum offers several distinct workshop options throughout 2026.

Why you should participate in a Van Gogh Museum painting workshop

Joining a Van Gogh Museum painting workshop is an immersive way to experience Vincent van Gogh’s art, colour philosophy, and techniques firsthand inside the museum’s studio.

  • Learn from masterpieces: Start in the main galleries studying brushwork and composition up close with an art instructor before stepping into the studio.
  • Master expressive techniques: Practice signature styles, dynamic impasto, and colour pairing on your own canvas.
  • All skill levels welcome: Guided step-by-step by studio facilitators—no prior painting experience needed.
  • Take home your artwork: High-quality studio materials, paint, aprons, and canvases are provided so you can bring home a custom keepsake.
  • Fun for families: Specialised children’s workshops (ages 6–12) offer interactive, hands-on art sessions in English and Dutch.
Van Gogh Museum exhibitions

🖌️ Adult painting workshops (ages 16+)

The Van Gogh Museum painting workshops for adults combines a guided gallery walkthrough of selected collection masterpieces with a practical session in the artist studio. No prior painting experience or technical knowledge is required.

Key practical details

  • Price: €35 per participant (includes all studio materials; museum entrance ticket must be purchased separately).
  • Duration: Approximately 2 hours (arrive 15–30 minutes prior to start time).
  • Capacity: 3 to 15 participants per session.
  • Languages: Available in both English and Dutch (separate booking links apply).
  • Policy: Sessions are cancelled if fewer than 3 participants register. Booking changes are permitted up to 2 weeks prior to the date (subject to availability).

Workshop themes:

Impressionist painting

  • Inspiration: By the Seine (1887).
  • Focus: Focuses on capturing fleeting moments on canvas using bright, unmixed colours and loose brushwork. Participants create a contemporary subject (a cityscape or still life) while experimenting with leaving a piece intentionally "unfinished."

Expressive still lifes

  • Inspiration: Sunflowers (1889).
  • Focus: Explores Van Gogh’s signature style. After analysing original still lifes in the galleries, participants choose whether to paint their own version of Sunflowers, a fresh fruit study, or a pair of worn-out shoes.

Nature in detail

  • Inspiration: The Harvest (1888).
  • Focus: Teaches composition, atmospheric depth, and colour theory (such as pairing azure blue with warm yellows and greens). Participants learn how to convey raw emotion through landscape painting.

The chair as a portrait

  • Inspiration: Gauguin’s Chair (1888).
  • Focus: Focuses on symbolic portraiture. Participants study how Van Gogh used personal items and colors to represent character, then paint a symbolic portrait of themselves or someone they know using a chair and meaningful objects.

🎨 Children's workshops (ages 6–12)

English-led Van Gogh Museum workshops for children are designed to make art history fun and accessible. Kids examine artworks in the main museum galleries before heading into the children's studio to paint on canvas.

Key practical details

  • When: Every Saturday afternoon, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm (2 hours).
  • Price: €15 per child (or €2.50 with a valid Citypass).
  • Inclusions: All paint materials, protective aprons, and soft drinks are included. Children receive free entry to the museum.
  • Capacity: 3 to 10 children per workshop (maximum 1 group of 4 children per booking).
  • Adult participation: Workshops are strictly for children. Parents cannot accompany kids inside the studio but are free to explore the museum during the 2-hour session (adult admission is €27).

Seasonal themes:

Almond Blossom

  • Dates: May 17 – August 31, 2026 (excluding Dutch school holidays).
  • Inspiration: Almond Blossom (1890).
  • Experience: Children learn how Van Gogh painted blossoming trees against bright blue skies, then use paint and brushwork to create their own vibrant canvas.

Skulls

  • Dates: September 1 – October 9, 2026.
  • Inspiration: Skull (1887).
  • Experience: Kids discover why Van Gogh studied and painted skulls, using bold colours and energetic strokes to paint a unique, expressive skull on canvas (cheerful, cool, or spooky).

✏️ Free drop-in activity: Open Studio

For visitors of all ages looking for a relaxed creative outlet without booking a formal Van Gogh Museum painting workshop, the museum offers Drawing at the Open Studio.

  • Eligibility: Free for all valid museum ticket holders of any age.
  • Location: Situated right next to Bistro Vincent in the museum, featuring a dedicated Family Corner.
  • Activity: Drop-in drawing station stocked with paper, pencils, drawing prompts, and props. Guests can draw sunflower arrangements or sketch the coffee pot from The Potato Eaters.

Frequently asked questions about Van Gogh Museum workshops

The museum offers several options, including hands-on adult painting workshops (ages 16+), interactive children’s creative workshops (ages 6–12), and free drop-in drawing sessions at the Open Studio.