vincentvan

gogh

By Jai lohia

Vincent Van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh was a painter whose work, notable for its rough beauty, emotional honesty and bold colour, had a far-reaching influence on 20th-century art.

He had one of the briefest careers, it spanned only 10 years but the volume of his output is astonishing. Almost 1700 of his work survived about 900 drawing and 800 paintings.

His work was then known to only a handful of people and appreciated by fewer still. During his lifetime he sold only one painting for the equivalent of 5000 rupees.

Today his works are owned by the finest museums and richest art collectors around the world and cost millions of dollars.

While he was alive Van Gogh was regarded as an exceedingly difficult, obstinate and even frightening man. Now that he lies safely in his grave for 120 years he is widely considered a hero.

Van Gogh is now ranked as one of the founding fathers of modern art.

Early Years His father

Vincent

Anna Cornelia van Gogh  

His mother

Vincent’s father was a pastor of a small church and his mother a homemaker was a mild soul. They had a narrow minded out look with an emphasis on proprieties and out ward appearances which was the opposite of his own.

Born : March 30 1853 Holland

Theodorus van Gogh

A Mission in Art

Having decided at long last that his mission in life was to be an artist, Van Gogh established his first “studio” the cottage of a Borinage coal miner, in Belgium, where he

was earlier working as a preacher.

From Paris, his brother Theo who was to support him all his life, sent him material to

study and copy.

Vincent was brought in a religious and cultured atmosphere but was highly emotional and lacked

self-confidence. He tried various careers as a clerk in a

bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher but was unsuccessful. Finally at the age of twenty-

seven he decided to become an artist.

From childhood he had made little sketches of things around him but he now realised that he was badly in need of formal instruction. He thought of asking Jules Breton, a French painter he met while working as an art salesman. He walked many miles for days, sleeping in the open air, in an abandoned wagon and once in a haystack with very little money in his pocket to reach his studio.

Upon reaching Breton’s studio, he was too intimidated to knock on the door, so he turned back and walked all the way back to Borinage

Once home, he was

overcome with fatigue and

quite melancholy but he

decided that inspite of

everything he would rise

again, take up his pencil

and go on with his

drawing. After this, Van Gogh pursued art

single-mindedly. Basically self

taught, he worked hard to

perfect his technique and style.

He drew hundreds of studies, still

life drawings and painting until

he could produce stunningly

realistically work.

The Bleaching Ground -1882

It was after five years of such work that Van Gogh created the masterpiece of his early period, “The Potato Eaters.” In dark earthen colours he depicts the grim life of peasants to whom dinner consists of stabbing at boiled potatoes in a room as grim as a stable. In the details, like the work worn hands and coarse features, he attests to their harsh but all too human reality.

The Potato Eaters

The next big influence on Van Gogh was Paris. He arrived there in early 1886 on a brisk February morning , to join his brother Théo ,eager to learn and be stimulated by new experiences.

Paris in that year was the place to be, the city was bubbling with innovations in science, literature and art. Theo worked there as a manager of an art gallery. He introduced him to a world of different art forms- Impressionism, Pointillism and Japanese Art

Vincent , still shy and reserved , became friendly with other painters like Toulouse –Lautrec, Pisarro and Gaugin

The Impact Of Paris

In Paris, Van Gogh's art changed dramatically under the influence of impressionism and postimpressionism. Brightness and lightness flooded his work and he painted serene café interiors and breezy landscapes.

The dark palette of his Holland period gave way to bright colors, and he began experimenting with divided, flickering brushstrokes that make the surface of the canvas vibrate. More attracted to rural subjects than to cityscapes and he often painted the suburbs of Paris.

Van Gogh's use of this new style altered not only his work, but also all of art history 

Boulevard de Clichy

Interior of A Restaurant

The impressionist style of painting concentrates on the general impression

produced by a scene or object rather than its actual fine details. Unmixed primary colors and small strokes are used to emphasise actual reflected light and paintings are usually of landscapes and daily aspects of life

   Imp r e s s io n is m

Impressionism

Pointillism is an original form of art created by George Seurat. Pointillism is a bunch of tiny dots formed together to make a picture which is brighter than the other kinds of paintings. Pointillism takes a long time. For example, Seurat’s “A Sunday in the Park” took him two years to complete.

Pointillism

As his art changed, so did Vincent’s relations with those around him. Nervous and exhausted, he had begun to drink heavily and quarrel with Theo who however did not give up on him.

His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health

Vincent realised he was on the verge of a complete breakdown and decided to leave Paris. In Feb 1888, he left for Arles in the South of France, he had heard much about it and was attracted by the idea of a warmer sun and brighter sky.

ARLES

The Harvest, June 1888

The year he spent in Arles was Van Gogh's most productive period. Among his favorite subjects were blossoming trees and wheatfields, appropriate symbols of renewal and fertility.

Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, June 1888

In September 1888 Van Gogh moved to the so-called Yellow House in Arles -- the corner house with the green shutters -- which he had rented as a studio for several months. Hoping to establish a colony of artists, he invited his friends from Paris to join him in the house, for which he conceived a complex program. However only Gauguin in October 1888 but with disastrous results

The Yellow House

The Yellow House

During this time, the first signs of Van Gogh's mental illness began to take hold. He suffered from various types of epilepsy, psychotic attacks, and delusions. One such episode entailed Vincent pursuing Gauguin with a knife and threatening him intensely. Later that day, Vincent returned to their house and mutilated his ear, then offered it to a prostitute as a gift. When Vincent came back , he found Gauguin swiftly leaving Arles and his dream of an artistic community shattered. 

Saint-Remy

Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and admitted himself to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment As the year of 1888 came to an end, Vincent travelled to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence where he committed himself to an asylum. He was treated by Dr. Paul Gachet who supported his paintings and became a friend.

Here his paintings became a torrent of activity. Although he could not draw and paint for long periods of time without suffering , between attacks he painted with great lucidity and a renewed lyricism the landscapes seen from his bedroom window and in the garden of the asylum

Van Gogh painted this blossom, symbol of new life, to celebrate the birth of his nephew, Theo's son. It was probably painted  out-of-doors, looking up into the branches of a tree. Unpainted areas around the branches indicate that the tree  was painted before the sky

  The Starry Night

Athough he could not draw and paint for long periods of time without suffering from an attack, he managed to create The Starry Night which resides as his most popular work and one of the most influence pieces in history. The swirling lines of the sky are a possible representation of his mental state. This same shaken style is visible in all of his work during his time in the asylum

In May of 1890, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Here he spent his time, painting the hilly countryside and wheat fields around the village, and the rustic cottages characteristic of Auvers

Auvers-sur-Oise

Van Gogh continued working and created a number of pieces; nearly one painting day even though his mental condition often made it very difficult for him to paint.

This took a heavy toll on him and he was increasingly depressed by his condition. Vincent began to view his life as horribly wasted and impossible. On July 27, 1890 Van Gogh attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest. He survived, but died two days later from the wound. 

Last Rush of Genius

Theo, who had collected the majority of Vincent's work from Paris, died only six months later. His widow took the collection to Holland and dedicated herself to getting the now deceased Vincent the recognition he deserved. She published his work and Vincent became famous nearly instantly. His reputation has been growing since.

 Tragically, Van Gogh died not knowing the acclaim his art would receive. Vincent van Gogh lived more than 120 years ago , and yet his artwork is still altering the way mankind views beauty, persona, individuality, and style in art. Van Gogh's unique life has inspired millions to become active in art. 

Vincent van Gogh has altered mankind forever... and he believed his life was a terrible failure!  Today his legacy is immortal and he will be forever known as one of the greatest artists of the modern era

Bibliography

•The World of Van Gogh – Time Life Books

•Wikipedia

•www. Wikipaintings.org

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Vincent

Van Gogh

•www.vangogh gallery.com

•National Gallery of Art – Van Gogh Virtual

Tour

•Library.thinkquest.org

Thank You