Vincent van Gogh
From Sadness to Joy
11-15-2002
Patsy Riley Sedalia Elementary
Vincent van Gogh
1853 –1890 Dutch Post-impressionism Influenced by Millet, Rubens,and Japanese artists. Favorite color- yellow. Subjects-nature and humanity.
The Early Years
Vincent van Gogh was born the son of a preacher in Holland in 1853. The oldest of five children, Vincent was especially close to his brother Theo. His letters to Theo throughout his life give valuable insight into his thoughts and feelings. When he was 16, Vincent worked in the art dealership business.
Early Influences
Vincent was influenced by the great Dutch masters of the 17th century, especially Rembrandt. Themes of simplicity and honesty and the moral significance of art recur in Dutch painting. Rembrandt portrayed a profound humanity and captured both drama and tenderness through the interplay of light and shadow.
Vincent’s Humanity
Vincent worked as a lay preacher in one of Belgium’s poorest areas. He gave the miners much of his belongings. He was influenced by other artists’, poets’, and sculptors’ protests of the horrible working conditions there. Vincent tried to share the suffering of the miners but was labeled as mad by others.
Art Training
The Hague School, 1880 The Academy of Fine Arts, 1885 (Antwerp) Cormon Studio, 1886-1888 (Paris)- Monet, Russell, Rodin, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec Arles, France --“Yellow House” artist colony (House of Friends)
Vincent’s Style
Vincent believed colors should be bright and intense, full of expressive colors and lively. He believed color would continue to sing its own praise and shine in its own glory. Paintings are often chromatic, often bright greens and yellows (his favorite color). These artistic experiments were the basis for Fauvism and Expressionism of the 20th century. Vincent loved nature and felt plants and trees should be drawn as if they were human beings. He also said that “People are the root of everything.”
Vincent’s Dark Days
Vincent had a difficult adolescence. He felt guilty because his older brother, also named Vincent, died at birth. He did not understand why he lived and his brother did not. He often felt restless and even cut off part of his ear in a fit of rage over a disagreement with artist Gaugin. In 1889, Vincent was taken to a hospital in Arles, suffering from delusions. He was admitted to an asylum in Saint-Remy where he painted that countryside. On July 23, 1890, Vincent wrote, “This misery will never end.” On July 27 he went into the fields, shot himself and died in two days.
Van Gogh’s Influence
Vincent’s works caused a sensation in the world of art in the early 20th century. As Impressionism became increasingly sterile, Vincent’s fluid shapes and vibrant colors brought life and soul to art. Expressionism eventually developed from Vincent’s choice to express rather than represent subjects. Vincent’s legacy was a “mediation between art and life”.
Masterpieces
The Potato Eaters 1885 Le Tambourin 1887 Self-Portrait 1889 The White Orchard 1888 Portrait of Milliet 1888 Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear 1889
Vincent’s Bedroom 1889 Portrait of Joseph Roulin 1888 Night Café 1888 The Sower 1888 Still Life: Vase with Fourteen sunflowers 1889
Masterpieces
Road with Cypress and Star 1889 Still Life with Irises 1889 Starry Night 1889 The Church at Auvers 1890 Portrait of Doctor Gachet 1890
View of Auvers 1890 Wheat Field with Crows 1890