Art from Anguish: Van Gogh and Munch
Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch are artists that have been known for their turbulent lives and magnificent paintings. Both men were highly affected by lives filled with angst, depression, illness, and loss. Post-Impressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh was an inspiration to Expressionist painter, Edvard Munch. Van Gogh and Munch are both known for their painting techniques in which thick brushstrokes of paint are used. I will address the pain and illness of these painters and how they used this as a driving force for inspiration in their art. I find it no coincident that they both had been physically maimed; one by a self-inflicted wound and the other by an accident, and that they both were drinkers of absinthe which was known to cause hallucinations.
I will first address Vincent van Gogh and his tempestuous life and the magnificent art that was the result of his illness. According to Dr. Deitrich Blumer, in the article “The Illness of Vincent van Gogh”, she writes, No incidents of mental illness are recorded among van Gogh’s ancestors” (American Journal of Psychiatry Blumer 519). According to her research and that of Gastaut, a former Doctor of Vincent’s, he likely suffered an early brain injury as a child because of what is observed from childhood pictures contrasted against later self-portraits in which he is painted with a significant craniofacial asymmetry (Blumer 519). His condition would later be exasperated by his drinking of absinthe, an alcoholic beverage that is known to cause hallucinations.
Van Gogh suffered severe disappointments in the different careers he tried his hand at. He failed as an art dealer and preacher, and as far as he was concerned, h...
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Works Cited
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Blumer, Dietrich. "The Illness of Vincent Van Gogh." The American Journal of Psychiatry 159.4 (2002): 519-26. ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.
Heenk, Liesbeth. Secrets of Van Gogh 2: Van Gogh’s Inner Struggle. Amsterdam: Amersterdam, 2013. Ebook.
Lubow, Arthur. “Edvard Munch: Beyond the Scream.” Smithsonian 36.12 (Mar. 2006). ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=19849848&site=ehost-live
Perry, Marvin, J. Wayne. Baker, Pamela Pfeiffer. Hollinger, and George W. Bock. The Humanities in the Western Tradition: Ideas and Aesthetics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print.
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Vincent Van Gogh is one of the world’s greatest and most well-known artists, but when he was alive he considered himself to be a complete failure. It was not until after he died that Van Gogh’s paintings received the recognition they deserved. Today he is thought to be the second best Dutch artist, after Rembrandt. Born in 1853, he was one of the biggest artistic influences of the 19th century. Vincent Van Gogh created a new era of art, he learned to use art to escape his mental illness, and he still continues to inspire artists over 100 years later.
Monetarily speaking, an artist such as Vermeer must paint in order to make a living and support his family of 11 children, “And there were other debts.” (pg. 209) Overall, the book describes the soul purpose of art to provide love, sorrow, warmth, depth and happiness to the soul and heart. The monetary wing is also very important because many of the owners had to sell the painting; no matter how much they treasured the painting, they still had to sell it because of monetary problems to keep them on their “feet.” Elevated feelings toward emotional values may be difficult to let go of.
Coming from a family greatly involved in art dealing, Vincent van Gogh was destined to have a place in the world of art. Van Gogh’s unique techniques and use of color, which clashed and differed greatly from the masters of the art world of his time, would eventually gain him the recognition as one of the founders of modern art. Van Gogh’s early life was heavily influenced by the role of his father who was a pastor and chose to follow in his footsteps. Although he abandoned the desire to become a pastor, van Gogh remained a spiritual being and was strong in faith. Plagued with a troubled mind and poor health, van Gogh’s life became filled with torment and isolation that would influence his career in later life as an artist. In his late twenties, van Gogh had decided that it was God’s divine plan for him to become a painter. His works would express through thoughtful composition and vibrant color, the emotions that he was unable to manifest in the real world. Van Gogh’s perception of reality and his technique would face harsh criticism and never receive full acceptance from his peers as a serious artist during his brief career. In a collection of correspondence entitled The Letters of a Post-Impressionist, Vincent confirmed these thoughts while writing to his brother Theo, “It irritates me to hear people say that I have no "technique." It is just possible that there is no trace of it, because I hold myself aloof from all painters” (27). His technique would later be marveled and revered by the art world. Vincent van Gogh’s legacy would thrive as it challenged the way the world envisioned modern art through his unique brush strokes and profound use of color as seen in his works The Sower and The Night Café. A brief look into...
Redfield Jamison explores the compelling connection between mental disorders and artistic creativity. Artists have long been considered different from the general population, and one often hears tales of authors, painters, and composers who both struggle with and are inspired by their "madness". Jamison's text explores these stereotypes in a medical context, attributing some artists' irrational behaviors to mental disorders, particularly manic-depressive illness. In order to establish this link, Jamison presents an impressive collection of artists who have suffered from mental illness, whether diagnosed correctly during their lifetime or discovered in hindsight. Well organized and interesting, Jamison provides an ideal introduction to this still
Van Gogh, being the son of a Lutheran minister, was very much drawn toward religion. Van Gogh decided to prepare himself for ministry by training in the study of theology. He failed at the courses and could not be the minister he hoped to become. Even though he failed the courses, he still had the desire to be a minister. His superiors sent him as a lay missionary to Belgium instead. There he wanted to be like his father and help out the unfortunates as a preacher. He tried to fight poverty through the teachings of Christ. Van Gogh's mission had to be discontinued. His approach to fighting poverty did not make his superiors happy. In 1879, he moved to his father's home in Ettan and stayed a while. He then left Ettan and went to The Hague.
The life span of 37 years saw Vincent Willem van Gogh (Vincent) in creating beautiful works he dearly loved. Painting was an avenue, which allowed him to express his inner thoughts or vent his struggles. My decision to research on Vincent’s painting, Starry Night (1889) came with the inspiration from Don Mclean’s Song, Starry Starry Night where his lyrics spoke about Vincent’s life that further intrigued me in writing this paper.
Vincent van Gogh was a poor artist in 19th century Europe that was constantly tortured by psychiatric issues. Van Gogh was born in Zundert, Netherlands on March 30, 1853. His father was a pastor and raised him with a very religious lifestyle and he originally set out to be a pastor himself. He was fired from his preaching job because of his intensity and fierceness and decided to be an artist. His many disorders eventually got the better of him and he was admitted to the St. Remy mental institution where he did the much of his art. After his release in May of 1890, van Gogh fell into deep depression and eventually committed suicide in July of that year. In my opinion van Gogh’s importance was shown through his different use of color that was looked down upon by the critics of the time but led to a new style of Post-Impressionism at the end of the Impressionistic era. Also, his large amounts of paintings, over 2,100, portray a large amount of subjects which virtually anyone can relate to. Finally, his importance is verified in the sheer price of his paintings, the most expensive, Portrait of Dr. Gatchet, was sold for 82 million dollars.
A 1949 study of 113 German artists, writers, architects, and composers was one of the first to undertake an extensive, in-depth investigation of both artists and their relatives. Although two-thirds of the 113 artists and writers were "psychically normal," there were more suicides and "insane and neurotic" individuals in the artistic group than could be expected in the general population, with the highest rates of psychiatric abnormality found in poets (50%) and musicians (38%). (1) Many other similar tests revealed th...
Van Gogh felt inspired by this depiction of human that gave a sentimental quality and began to draw replicas of Millet’s work, he held his work in the highest regard, even to the point of holiness.
Munch’s work is still popular today and continues to be in the media. In July of 2004, a few of Munch’s famous pieces, including, “The Scream,” were stolen from his museum in Oslo. This shows the continued popularity of Munch’s very personal powerful works.
Abortion is unlike any other subject debated today; millions of women have aborted a child, and the loss, pain, and emotional need to justify what was done, both on the part of the mother and on the part of her loved ones. Abortion is a gut-wrenching debate that has been going on for centuries, and does not plan to cool off anytime soon. The Supreme Court case in 1973, Roe vs. Wade, placed abortion on the map for the United States. The result of the Roe vs. Wade case legalized abortion to protect women’s health, however the good intentions of the ruling opened the doors for people to take advantage of the case outcome. Approximately 1.06 million abortions took place in the United States in 2011, which goes to show that women maybe abusing the privilege of the rules set in place to protect their health and practicing abortion as a form of contraception. Abortion is not only a dangerous procedure for women to endure, however it is also unethical to abort a child. Abortion is immoral because life begins at conception, people need to live with the consequences and not take the easy way out, and there are other available options.
In 1892 Munch submitted a series of paintings into a major Berlin art show. His exhibit was titled “The Frieze of Life. This show caused an even larger uproar than his previous work. Edvard became a celebrity overnight and he painted such paintings as “the sick child” “the scream” and “vampire”, which showed. his true emotions and feelings.
Edvard Munch - angst / anxiety." ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum - Oplevelser i Aarhus. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.< http://www.aros.dk/besoeg-aros/udstillinger/2012/edvard-munch-angst-anxiety/
Edvard Munch’s, “The Scream,” depicts a man’s inward scream in his piece in an unorthodox, provocative way through compositional choices. Munch reveals that his inspiration for his famous painting derived from an experience “walking with two friends . . . suddenly the sky turned blood-red. . . my friends walked on, and there I still stood, trembling with fear - and I sensed an endless scream passing through nature” (Munch)1. Munch’s experience contains an essence of melancholy with looming undertones of reclusiveness and hostility through bold color and harsh lines throughout the entire piece. The directness of Munch’s subject matter is bold as viewers relate to this “endless scream” that is so part of the natural element of the human condition (Munch). There is not an individual on this earth who has yet to feel completely overwhelmed and trapped in his or her life. Every person possesses an inner scream that their insecurities hide from society. Acting on such a natural reaction is typically looked down upon in our day yet not f...
Edvard Munch is regarded as the pioneer of the Expressionist movement in modern painting. At an early stage Munch was recognised in Germany and central Europe as one of the creators of a new and different movement of art, that helped artists to express their feelings about all the social change that was happening around them.