Vincent Van Gogh Outline

Public Figure: Vincent Van Gogh
General Purpose: To inform + to persuade= To praise
Specific Purpose: To praise Vincent van Gogh to my classmates for being a major influence in the art world.

Thesis: Vincent Van Gogh’s life and works has served as a major influence in the art world.

1. Introduction

A. “Starry, starry night; Paint your palette blue and gray; Lookout on a summer’s day; With eyes that know the darkness in my soul” This is from a song written by Don Mclean to commemorate Vincent van Gogh. The lyrics accurately portray the short, tortured life of this iconic artist. (Attention Getter).

B. Van Gogh strove to convey his emotional and spiritual state in his artwork. As noted by David Sweetman in his book about Van Gogh, Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime (Sweetman 1990). Despite this, he is considered one of the most famous artists of all time. Whether it be Starry Night, Sunflowers, or one of his many self-portraits, I’m confident that everyone in this room has seen at least one of his paintings (Credibility and Common Ground). His style, that was deeply inspired by Impressionism, has continued to affect artists and movements throughout the 20th century and even to today.

C.

Vincent Van Gogh’s life and works has served as a major influence in the art world. (Thesis)

D. I will cover two areas: (Preview)
a. Van Gogh’s art career: his style that inspired many
b. Van Gogh’s mental state: his way of putting his emotions into his work helped develop the typical artist’s persona we know today

Transition: I will begin by starting with the development of Van Gogh’s iconic style.

2.

Body
A. Throughout his art career, Van Gogh’s style saw many changes. According to Richard Kendall,
a. needed to master black and white before touching color; used color reaslistically at first (Richards 1998)
b. imitated fellow artist, Paul Gaugin, which resulted in his well-known style; color used to capture mood instead of realistic; thick impressionistic brushstrokes (Leymarie 1968)
c. influenced Fauvism, Expressionism, and Neo-Expressionism; work is still being recreated and influencing others even 127 years after his death.

B. Often referred to as the “Mad Artist” (Leymarie 1968), Van Gogh’s unstable mental state became synonymous with the idea of the tortured artist. His self-destructive nature was embodied by many in the 20th century and later.
a. fight with Paul Gaugin, suffered a manic episode and cut of his ear- December 1888 just before his death in 1890 (Leymarie 1968)
b. feared he might suffer another break so he put himself in a mental hospital- where he painted starry night
c. he died 30 hours after shooting himself in an empty field- claimed some kids playing with a shot gun had injured him

Transition: For these reasons, Van Gogh has left an immense legacy.

3. Conclusion
A. I have provided some examples (Signal the close) of how Van Gogh is worthy of praise and my admiration as an artist (Review).
B. Van Gogh’s works have served as influence for myself as well as countless other artists in the years since his death (Restate thesis).
C. Whenever you are discouraged about whatever you are doing, remember these words Van Gogh wrote to his father,“By working hard, old man, I hope to make something good one day. I haven’t yet, but I am pursuing it and fighting for it . . .”(Clincher)