Dutch Van Gogh Museum Closes, Masterpieces Moved

staff
September 24, 2012 03:53 AM

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Dutch Van Gogh Museum Closes, Masterpieces Moved

Many of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest masterpieces, including "Sunflowers," ''Irises," and "Wheatfield with Crows," are being removed from the walls of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

While the museum closes for seven months for renovations, 75 works by the Dutch painter will be displayed instead across town at The Hermitage, an Amsterdam satellite of the Russian state museum.

The tricky process of transporting the artworks under police escort began immediately after the last visitors left the museum Sunday evening and carried on through the night into Monday morning. They are being packed into hard-shell cases that are resistant to temperature changes and bumps, Curator Leo Jansen said.

The Hermitage will have the popular paintings back on display by Saturday. The Van Gogh Museum reopens April 25, 2013.