Yet, the warmth of the sun is overwhelming and the bright blue is a thing of beauty in itself, but there is something unsettling about this scene, too. It inspires loneliness. The house is there, as if in the middle of nowhere. The two black crows following the man, looking for the seeds are his only companions. Like in so many of Van Gogh's landscapes, the image seems to be reversed, like in a distorted image of a parallel reality or as if reflected by a huge mirror hung over the earth.
Van Gogh's love of literature and especially poetry transpires from his paintings. Although the painter does not abuse color, he creates a symbiosis between color and drawing, combining sketches and patches of color in such a successful way that he realizes true poems on a canvas. Be it a poem about the meaningless of human life in a Night Cafe or about fertility, rebirth, renewal, hope...
He was able to elaborate on his art in his numerous letters and although they are highly useful for those who want to understand it better, they are in no way destined to solve the enigma that belongs to such works of art. There will always be a place for interpretation and endless discussions on Van Gogh's choice of color or perspective, just as there will be thousands of pages left for critics and viewers alike to write upon studying his art.
Bibliography
1. van Heughten, Sjaar. Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. The Museum of Modern Art. New York. 2008.
2. Suh, Anna. Van Gogh's Letters: The Mind of the Artist in Paintings, Drawings and Words. September 2010.
Van Gogh's "Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat" (1887) With an oeuvre of over 2000 works Van Gogh's artistic passion matched the intensity of his religious fervor. Religion and art were, essentially, the basis of Van Gogh's life. And the history of his life is, in a way, a history of modern Europe; in another way it is a history of the prelude to 20th century modern art; and in another way
Van Gogh Vincent van Gogh's work is nearly always identifiable instantly, due to the artist's characteristic use of vivid color and his intense, long brushstrokes. However, earlier van Gogh paintings are more subdued than his later canon. Paintings like "The Potato Eaters," for example, rely on darker palettes. After his inspiring encounter with Japanese woodblocks, van Gogh started to incorporate a richer color palette and his brushstrokes become lengthened almost like
On the contrary, if I had been able to be a clergyman or an art dealer, then perhaps I should not have been fit for drawing and painting, and I should neither have resigned nor accepted my dismissal as such. I cannot stop drawing because I really have a draughtsman's fist, and I ask you, have I ever doubted or hesitated or wavered since the day I began to
Pissarro took a special interest in his attempts at painting, emphasizing that he should 'look for the nature that suits your temperament', and in 1876 Gauguin had a landscape in the style of Pissarro accepted at the Salon. In the meantime Pissarro had introduced him to Cezanne, for whose works he conceived a great respect-so much so that the older man began to fear that he would steal his
Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands to a preacher and his early life had inauspicious surroundings. He was well into maturity when he realized his true vocation was painting, and though he developed his talent in isolation at first, his later experiences in Paris had a profound affect on his painting. Van Gogh is extremely famous for his insanity and mental difficulties, but these conditions also provided the basis
By pointing straight up, it is emulating the church steeple, pointing perhaps to God, and Creator that has brought the stars and the moon and the clouds and the land to the people so they could build a village. In the village the lights are on in many of the houses, or are those bright windows merely reflecting the starry splendor from above? In conclusion, Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night"