By the time he died at age 37, Van Gogh had lived in 37 separate homes in 23 cities.  Perhaps that’s why, when his wanderings came to an end and he had found the sanctuary of the Yellow House in Arles, he should want to paint The Bedroom not just once, but three times.  The two paintings normally found at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Musée D’Orsay in Paris have been brought together with the third at The Art Institute of Chicago for one of those “mega exhibitions” that breaks all attendance records and that curators and visitors seem to love.

It is an extraordinary exhibition that includes more than 30 of the artist’s works, a digital reconstruction of his bedroom, and findings from the latest scientific research into the three famous canvases.  None of this explains the remarkable popularity of this show, which I caught the day before it closed.  What is it that draws us in such numbers to these exhibitions?  After all, it isn’t an especially comfortable or enjoyable experience, standing in line for an hour, shuffling around at a snail’s pace, catching glimpses of pictures over other people’s shoulders.  Is it the rarity value –  the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these beautiful paintings in the same room?  Perhaps.  Whatever the explanation, once you stand in front of them, the minor discomforts and irritations disappear and you’re left with those three timeless and glorious expressions of the artist’s quest for a home.