Chicago: How you can spend a night inside Van Gogh's bedroom for $10

Chicago: How you can spend a night inside Van Gogh’s bedroom for $10

By Mary Forgione

Feb. 18, 2016 8:15 AM PT

Vincent van Gogh posts this description of the bedroom in Arles, France, that he would like to rent out on Airbnb:

“I’m charging $10 for no other reason than that I need to buy paint.” He includes a photo of the modest room with a big yellow bed, straw chairs, paintings on the wall. It’s a famously familiar place to fans of the painter.

But is it real? Sort of. Clever? Immensely so.

The Art Institute of Chicago has recreated one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings -- “The Bedroom,” which is part of the museum’s collection -- and is inviting fans to stay during the run of a show that opened Sunday called “Van Gogh’s Bedrooms.”

Check out photos below of the painting that’s come to life.

“The idea is to give as many people as possible a chance to check in and grab a night during the run of the Van Gogh exhibition,” spokeswoman Amanda Hicks said in an email.

“We hope it’s a way to bring fresh eyes and fresh perspective to the painting. ... And it’s an innovative way to bring the painting to life for visitors to Chicago and to the Art Institute.”

The room exists inside a real apartment in the city’s River North neighborhood. Ravenswood Studio’s artists and designers created the room over four weeks. In addition to the bedroom, it has creature comforts Van Gogh didn’t have: a kitchen, bathroom and a living room with a TV.

Van Gogh painted the room in Arles, by the way, in 1888 and 1889. The show brings together three paintings of the room to give folks a feel for the space that was his refuge.

How do you rent the room?

One round of reservations was released Feb. 9 and sold out quickly. The museum will roll out more opportunities to book the last week in February and later until the show closes May 10. Check the museum’s social media -- Facebook, Twitter and Instagram -- for updates.

By the way, the $10 rental comes with tickets to the art exhibit.

If you don’t get to stay, you can still see a to-scale replica at the museum, surrounded by screens that display the words from Van Gogh’s letters, his sketchbooks and more.

Info: Art Institute of Chicago

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