Van Gogh at school: a new digital educational service in French

Press Release - With the success of the Dutch and English online educational resource platforms, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has chosen to offer a French version and unveiled it on the anniversary of the painter's birth on March 30. 

Van Gogh at school offers teachers of students ages 4 to 18 the opportunity to teach classroom or online lessons on the life and work of Van Gogh. The free educational materials are displayed directly on an interactive whiteboard using a video projector or on a laptop in the classroom or at home. 

This educational material brings together a variety of elements, including illustrations, videos, homework assignments, interactive quiz questions, and course instructions. Van Gogh at School consists of over twenty unique lessons in French.

Over the past five years, 4 million students have been able to get to know Vincent through the Dutch and English versions of Van Gogh at School. Based on this success, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam decided to make the platform also available for French-speaking countries and to launch it on the painter's birthday. 

Francophone students

Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam: "We are convinced that every child in the world deserves access to the life and work of Vincent van Gogh. Not only because of the artistic value of his work, but also because elements of his life as a man and the relationships he had with his family and friends help to discover one's own talents and how to become who one really is."

Although Vincent van Gogh is a Dutch painter, he spent much of his life in France, where he is also an important part of the national cultural heritage.

"I believe there would be children who would become painters if only they saw good things..."
- Vincent van Gogh

Free online courses at school and at home

Van Gogh at school offers free online educational material to primary and secondary schools in French-speaking countries (France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and Luxembourg). It includes 24 lessons: 19 for primary education (students aged 4 to 12) and 5 for secondary education (students aged 12 to 18). Some lessons are suitable for both groups of students. To date, the most popular lesson is "Play Goose with Vincent", for students aged 10 to 15. 

The Van Gogh at School teaching material combines different modules such as illustrations, videos, homework and interactive quiz questions. The lessons are adapted to different subjects, including crafts, drawing, art, languages, history and geography. 

Each lesson accompanies the students step by step in the discovery of the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh. The variety of pedagogical tools makes it possible to solicit different types of skills and forms of learning in a playful manner. The programs alternate between stages of observation, reflection and exchange, and ensure, with the help of activities or quizzes, the assimilation of knowledge as the lessons progress.  

Using a video projector, lessons can be followed directly from an interactive whiteboard or laptop in the classroom or at home. 

To know the complete offer and the functioning of the service, Click here

Van Gogh at school was made possible by funding from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which provided financial support in 2019 and 2020 to enable the further development of Van Gogh at school to the French-speaking target audience. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation is one of the largest private philanthropic organizations in the world.