Formal Analysis of Olive Trees With Yellow Sky and Sun

Olive Trees With Yellow Sky and Sun: A Formal Analysis

Description

The first thing that can be noticed about Van Gogh's 1889 painting is that it appears to be divided into two distinct parts: above and below. Above is the bright, yellow sun, taking up the entire space of the sky with its warm blaze. Lighted and fed by this blaze are the olive trees below. The dark green of their leaves, together with the browns of their branches and the ground in which the trees grow form the striking contrast of the more somber "below." In the background are distant blue mountains. These are noticed only after the contrast between the sun and the trees catch the viewer's eye. The mountains are also the only part of the painting not enveloped in blazing color. The softer tones of blue then served two purposes: to form another contrast with the intensity of the foreground colors; and to connect the sun above with the trees below.

Because of its brilliance then, the sun first draws the viewer's eye, after which the eye moves lower to notice the darker colors of leaves, branches and earth. After these, the shadows of the trees become apparent for their softer hues, and finally the mountains in the distance can be seen for their connection with the shadows of the trees on the earth. These shadows are created by the sun, forming a cycle that brings the viewer back to the blazing sun.

Like the visual contrast of colors above and below, there is also a contrast in texture. The foreground textures are rough, but even. The sun's rays are painted in a circular fashion around the globe of the sun itself, while spreading out as they move further from the sun towards the earth. This is a visualization of the cycle in which the reader is led to view the various elements of the painting.

The leaves of the trees are also rough in texture, and appear to reach towards the rays of the yellow sun, connecting them with its life-giving force. The brush strokes of the leaves also draw the eye away from the sun towards the branches and trunks of the trees. These are depicted in a twisted, knotty fashion. This seems to suggest a harsh, dry climate, where the force of the sun is both life giving and destructive. The green of the leaves, as well as the number of trees however suggest that the olive trees are well adapted to their harsh environment.

The earth from which the olive trees derive their existence echoes the yellow of the sun in more somber tones. This at once connects and contrasts it with the sun above. Punctuating and reinforcing this somberness is the shadow from each tree. These shadows are painted in the same rough strokes as the rest of the environment, but contrastingly punctuated with black, white and blue instead of yellow. The strokes from the earth appear to reach to the viewer, inviting the viewer into the painted world.

The strongest contrast in both color and texture is provided by the mountains in the distance. The mountains are blue, smooth and shadowy. There are several connecting elements to the rest of the texture, despite the immediately obvious contrast. The blue of the mountains are foreshadowed as it were by the shadows on the foreground earth. Furthermore distance is depicted both by the trees and the mountains. There appears to be a forest of trees reaching up to the distant mountains. In this way the reader appears to make an impossibly long journey to once again reach the overwhelmingly bright sun.

Contrasts of bright, somber colors, as well as rough and smooth texture, are all composed in a connected fashion in order to provide the reader with a circular journey. This journey begins and ends with the sun. The time during which Van Gogh created this work was also a time during which he was particularly enamored with especially the color yellow.

Interpretation

The scene in the painting is a depiction of a natural setting, free of any human creation or indeed human beings altogether. This, together with the cyclic fashion in which it can be viewed, can be interpreted as a depiction of life and its adaptation to its environment. Life is also cyclic, beginning with birth, ending with death, and perpetuated in this manner through births and deaths. The absence of humanity in the painting then indicates the absence of individuality in its depiction of life. Life is cyclic when viewed in a collective manner.

In general, the painting strikes me as positive in its general mood. The striking yellow of the sun appears warm and joyous rather than harsh and dry. It is only when seeing the twisted branches of the trees and the dryness of the earth when this illusion is punctuated with reality. Yet it appears that life itself is irrepressible, as is the possibility in the face of harshness. The leaves of the trees are green, with the twisted branches the only indication of the harshness of life for these trees.