Airbnb Lists Replica Of Van Gogh's 'Bedroom' Painting In River North

By Rachel Cromidas in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 10, 2016 3:23PM

The Art Institute of Chicago has elevated the viral marketing of their upcoming Van Gogh exhibit to an art form. The museum has built a life-size replica of Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting, The Bedroom, in River North, and they're renting it out on the short-term rental website Airbnb.

The Art Institute's exhibit of Van Gogh's Bedrooms runs at the Loop museum from Feb. 14 to May 16, and during that time the museum will apparently be hosting Airbnb users at its Van Gogh bedroom in River North for a mere $10 a night.

"This room will make you feel like you're living in a painting," the listing reads. "It's decorated in a Post-Impressionist style, reminiscent of Southern France and times gone by. Its furniture, bright colors, and artwork will give you the experience of a lifetime."

The bedroom, which is modeled after a painting of the Dutch post-Impressionist artist's bedroom in Arles, France, sparsely decorated a la Van Gogh's painting with a painted wooden bed-frame, red bedspread, a side table with several water jugs and a couple of chairs. The listing advertises that the "entire home/apartment" is available for up to two guests a night, with one bedroom and one bed, a TV (how that jives with the verisimilitude of the 19th-century room is a mystery to us), wifi and kitchen.

Vincent himself appears to be the host, and he says he's only charging guests $10 a night "for no other reason than that I need to buy paint. However, I will be happy to provide you with tickets to my exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago." He also says guests will be required to sign a waiver before their stay.

The Art Institute has been posting about the bedroom on social media with the hashtag ‪#‎vangoghbnb. Select dates in February are no longer available, according to the Art Institute, but more dates will becoming available soon.