I have seen some Van Gogh paintings in person and I definitely wouldn't have known they were originals unless someone told me.
It kind of reminds me of people who claim you will never really have truly good sushi unless you get it from an old master in Tokyo. Or how people tend to like wine better if they are told it was very expensive.
Not OP, but I doubt it. The originals I've seen have a thick layer of paint on the surface which adds visible texture to the work. Van Gogh paintings are really a 3D experience, which just happen to also look great in 2D.
Van Gogh was exceptionally good at using the texture and layers too, making them even more special when you see them AFK.
Speaking just for myself- I had a similar experience as the parent comment, and at the time, I was kind of 'meh' about even going to the museum in the first place. But my girlfriend at the time was majoring in art history, and she always had fascinating things to tell me to help fill in the missing context of whatever we saw together. So I thought that with her, the trip would be worth it.
And it was! But, and I can't stress this enough- Irises utterly captivated me (both of us, actually), before she had even uttered a word. the gap between the real thing and a flat reproduction is that wide.
I recall seeing a brilliant red pointillist painting by some artist I had never heard of and the impact it had on me as I got close and each little red dot 'dancing' was surreal.