Pen & Ink Review: Visconti Van Gogh: Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds

Today is a quite a special review as I will discuss both the pen and ink in one post! I've been captivated by the Van Gogh line for quite some time, but this was my first purchase. I bought this pen secondhand from @ladyandthepens on Instagram. I'm glad I splurged! This is a lovely bright pen which reminds me of summer skies & freshly mown grass.

Visconti is an Italian company that was founded in 1988 in Florence. Today, there are several lines of Visconti fountain pens which range from affordable (Visconti Breeze) to luxury collections (Medici, Machina, Homo Sapiens).

Visconti's Van Gogh line pays tribute to none other than Viscent Van Gogh himself. The resin is meant to emulate the oil paints used for Van Gogh's famous paintings. Fan favorites of this line include: Starry Night, Self Portrait, and Irises. I'm also a fan of Souvenir de Mauve as it reminds me of strawberry milkshakes.

Unboxing: This pen arrived safely with its original packaging. The outside is a sleeve with the Visconti logo.

Inside was a lovely box with Van Gogh's Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds. The box isn't smooth, but is made to resemble acrylic paint.

The pen is comfortably nestled on a soft sleeve. The box includes a card and information on Van Gogh's painting, as well as the ink.

I have to say that I loved the artwork and detail placed into this packaging. It did not feel overly luxurious and paid homage to Van Gogh's beautiful artwork.

Onto the pen review!

Design (4/5): The newer Viscontis utilize magnetic caps. I am ambivalent about this--the cap doesn't slide on as securely as I expected. I would have preferred a snap-on cap like my Lamy Safari.

The body is made of resin and boasts an eighteen-faceted design. The grip section is metal but is not unpleasant.

Color (4.5/5) : At first I was not enthusiastic about the color. I thought it was garishly bright. However, I found that the more I looked at the pen, the more I liked it. The swirling blues and greens are calm and soothing, and provide a lovely depth to the design.

Nib (5/5): This Visconti sports a stainless steel nib, F. This was a smooth and wet writer. There was no scratchiness or issues with ink flow.

Ink Capacity: (4/5): The ink converter holds around 0.83 mL. I use this primarily as a desk pen, and haven't had any issues running out of ink. You can also use standard international short cartridges.

Ink Review: Wheatfields Under Thunderclouds

Swabs:

I found this ink to be well-behaved. There was no sheen, but high shading.

Writing Sample:

Green ink is rarely in my ink rotation. However, I do like the shading in this ink. It's a brigher green than Iroshizuku's Chiku-Rin.

I think Visconti nailed the pen and color combination on the head. I can't think of any other ink I would want to pair with this pen!

Overall: I'm quite happy with this pen. I would love to use it with bright blue or green ink on a sunny day!

Disclaimer: This pen and ink were purchased by me and all opinions/photos are my own. This post was not sponsored.