DESPITE its rather pretentious title Poets And Lovers the National Gallery’s major Van Gogh exhibition is one of the highlights of 2024.

Although he never joined a political group, Van Gogh devoted his life to expressing his empathy with workers and peasants coupled with a disgust for social injustice. He worked from 1880, yet his best known works date from 1888 to his untimely death in 1890.

It was a pleasure to see paintings such as Starry Night over the Rhone, The Sower and his own Bedroom. The latter’s rough-hewn pine furniture, plain blue distempered walls and uncarpeted floor reflect his desire for raw simplicity which critiqued the contemporary bourgeois taste for ornate decoration. He gave such love of nature, humanity and culture that it is tragic that his professional and personal life were unfulfilled during his lifetime.