The Color in Vincent Van Gogh’s Life: An Analysis of The Sower and The Night Café

1263 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Vincent van gogh major accomplishments

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... ... middle of paper ... ...h’s Work. PSYART: A Hyperlink Journal for the Psychological Study of the Arts. December 15, 2009. Web. 8 March 2014. Meier-Graefe, Julius. Vincent Van Gogh. London: The Medici Society Limited, 1922. eBook. 8 March 2014. Sund, Judy. "The Sower and the Sheaf: Biblical Metaphor in the Art of Vincent van Gogh." Art Bulletin. December 1988: 660-676. Web. 8 March 2014. The Van Gogh Gallery. 15 January 2013. Templeton Reid, LLC. Web. 8 March 2014. Van Gogh, V. W. Memoir of J. Van Gogh-Bonger. The Vincent van Gogh Gallery. David Brooks. 1996. Web. 8 March 2014. Van Gogh, Vincent. The Letters of a Post-Impressionist Being the Familiar Correspondence of Vincent van Gogh. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913. eBook. 8 March 2014. Vincent and Theo. Dir. Robert Altman. Per. Tim Roth, Paul Rhys and Adrine Brine. Hemdale Film Corporation. 1990. Film.

Show More
Related

  • Van Gogh Influences

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Are There Visions and Ghosts in Van Gogh Paintings?

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There are no ghosts in the paintings of Van Gogh, no visions, no hallucinations. This is the torrid truth of the sun at two o’clock in the afternoon.” This quote that Antonin Artraud, stated from, Van Gogh, the Man Suicided by Society, explains the way in which Van Gogh approached his artwork. He believed in the dry truth and as a result his work was remarkably straightforward in the messages that he portrayed. While visiting Paris, France this past April, I was fortunate enough to have visited Musée d’Orsay, a museum that contains mostly French art from 1848-1914 and houses a large collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces and 19th century works from the Louvre [The Oxford Companion to Western Art]. I was also favored in having the opportunity to see the Vincent Van Gogh/Antonin Artaud exhibition, The Man Suicided by Society. The exhibition captured Antonin Artaud’s text about Van Gogh’s, “exceptional lucidity that made lesser minds uncomfortable,” or better known as his mental illness that had a major effect on his artwork [Musee d’Orsay]. In this exhibition, Vincent Van Gogh’s works visually present his life experience having spent 9 years in a mental institution and the way his imbalanced mind played a direct role on the outcome of his artwork. The darkness of Vincent Van Gogh’s illness that had a major impact on his art, was a form of expressionism which led to a collection of works that both told his life story, and later, led to his own suicide.

    Read More

  • Art from Anguish: Van Gogh and Munch

    1707 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • outline of Vincent Van Gogh

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    1.Van Gogh attended a boarding school in Zevenbergen from when he was ten to twelve.

    Read More

  • Starry Night a Paint by Vincent Van Gogh

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Art History Research Paper

    2690 Words  | 6 Pages

    Van Eyck’s work of the Ghent Altarpiece was not simply a representation of symbols that alluded to Christianity. Van Eyck’s vivid sense of the actual world allowed him to be able to reconstruct reality along with its endless limitations. His audience was so extensively involved with his paintings that it may seem almost esoteric. T...

    Read More

  • Griselda Pollock: Article Analysis

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article Artists Mythologies and Media Genius, Madness and Art History (1980) by Griselda Pollock is a forty page essay where Pollock (1980), argues and explains her views on the crucial question, "how art history works" (Pollock, 1980, p.57). She emphasizes that there should be changes to the practice of art history and uses Van Gogh as a major example in her study. Her thesis is to prove that the meaning behind artworks should not be restricted only to the artist who creates it, but also to realize what kind of economical, financial, social situation the artist may have been in to influence the subject that is used. (Pollock, 1980, pg. 57) She explains her views through this thesis and further develops this idea by engaging in scholarly debates with art historians and researcher, and objecting to how they claim there is a general state of how art is read. She structures her paragraphs in ways that allows her to present different kinds of evidences from a variety sources while using a formal yet persuasive tone of voice to get her point across to the reader.

    Read More

  • Vincent Van Gogh: Depression and Disorders

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vincent Van Gogh was a really unique individual. He was born on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Holland. He was raised by both his father and mother while growing up, and shared his parents with three sisters and two brothers. He was sixteen years old he when he started working at an art gallery and started to learn a lot about being an art dealer. He ended up moving away in order to sell art, but in 1875 he decided to leave the art dealing and devote his life to evangelism. His parents supported the decision and helped him to begin a ministry with miners in Borinage. By age 27, Van Gogh ended up moving back home to live with his parents and decided he was going to focus on art and drawing even though he did not have any experience. He ended up moving away to live near his cousin to take drawing lessons. While he was taking lessons from his cousin Mauve, he started dating a pregnant prostitute whom had a child out of wedlock already. Her name was Sien Hoomik. When his cousin Mauve found out about the relationship, he turned on Van Gogh and stopped lessons immediately. Soon after the lessons ended, Van Gogh ended up breaking off the relationship with Hoomik. Van Gogh ended up moving back home once again shortly after the relationship ended. When he got home, he discovered a new artist, Millet. Van Gogh was fascinated by his work. He started to try to copy his techniques and work and make it his own at the same time. In 1884 He started focusing on weathered hands and completed his painting, The Potato Eater’s. Though this painting was never known as his best after his life, it did get some attention at the time. In 1886 Van Gogh ended up moving to Paris to live with his brother, Theo. Theo always supported Van Go...

    Read More

  • Van Gogh's Potato Eaters and Starry Night

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vincent Van Gogh never gave up his style and insight in his early work compared to his later work. I will discuss the comparison of the Potato Eaters and Starry Night and even though there are obvious differences, the core of his passion and eccentricities can be seen.

    Read More

  • Gauguin Where Do We Come From What Are We Where Are We Going

    2218 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rewald, John. Post-Impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1978.

    Read More

  • The Bedroom By Vincent Van Gogh

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ella Hendriks, Leo Jansen, Johanna Salvant, Élisabeth Ravaud, Myriam Eveno, Michel Menu, Inge Fiedler, Muriel Geldof, Luc Megens, Maarten van Bommel, C. Richard Johnson Jr, Don. H. Johnson. "A comparative study of Vincent van Gogh’s Bedroom series." .

    Read More

  • The Bible's Influence On Western Culture

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Riches’ seventh chapter, “The Bible in High and Popular Culture,” attempts to explain the extent of the Bible’s influence on Western culture. This chapter seemed to be pretty self-explanatory, as almost all paintings, music, and writings in the Western fashion have allusions to the Bible and expand upon the themes and symbols presented in it. Riches describes specific situations in which the Bible has influenced Western art, but the extent of this inspiration from the Bible is no way limited to the examples mentioned. The Bible has become so integral to Western culture that most of our classic and modern stories have motifs and allusions to Biblical event, to the extent of some of them being retellings. Examples of this include the works of Shakespeare, especially The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth, and spanning centuries to the writing of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, in particular The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Though Riches attempts to explain the overwhelming effect the Bible has had on the art of Western culture, it is not possible to explain in just one chapter because of the sheer volume of works inspired by the Bible over hundreds of years. The chapter gives excellent examples of these works, but I feel as it does not stress enough the extent of these allusions and

    Read More

  • Van Gogh Influences

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    From an early age, van Gogh was heavily influenced by art. Both his brother and uncle belonged to a Paris-based art dealership, providing exposure to the contemporary art of the time. Heavily influenced by master artist such as Millet and Rembrandt, van Gogh focused much of his early work on human figures, drawing on shadows and light rather than color to create dimension. At the same time that van Gogh was developing his skills as an artist, a series of unfortunate events plague his life. A failed love affair, his father’s death, and a short-lived period of study at the Antwerp Academy help set the stage for what would be a life of hardship and perceived failure. At the same time, van Gogh developed a longing to serve humanity and took an

    Read More

  • Turner's Modern Rome: Campo Vaccino

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    An artist technique can be viewed as the foundation of the artist’s style. However, one’s technique does not stay the same forever, as a person grows, they change, so therefore the artist’s work will also change. Turner’s sceneries were detailed with scraped, blotted, and wiped the paint while it was still wet. “My businesses is to paint what I see, not what I know is there.” When Turner paints, he paints from observation and experience, and his techniques capture how the texture really looks like and feels like.

    Read More

  • Vincent Van Gogh Essay

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    For this self portrait assignment, I would be discussing about the artist, the masterwork, and the movement he was involved in. The masterwork I decided to work for the assignment features one of Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic pieces, At Eternity’s Gates painted in 1890, featuring an old man sitting on a chair near a fireplace with his hands on his face wallowing in sorrow. The reason I chosen the masterwork relates to the exquisiteness Van Gogh presented when he painted the piece revealing his unique style and how he convey the emotions of the figure. Vincent Van Gogh remains an interesting figure in modern art with paintings the different periods of his life, he received an enthusiastic crowd with his artistic breakthroughs near the final years of his life mastering and fine-tuning his art skills. Van Gogh I had to worry whether the lighting would be sufficient enough to capture the essence of the masterwork, later I went to my grand aunt's home to use her fireplace.

    Read More

More about The Color in Vincent Van Gogh’s Life: An Analysis of The Sower and The Night Café

Open Document