The EY exhibition Van Gogh and Britain at Tate Britain

I went to see the Van Gogh exhibition on 8th August 2019.

Van Gogh arrived in London in May 1873 at the age of twenty. He worked for two years at the art dealers Goupil which was located in Covent Garden. He lived in Stockwell and later Oval in South London in lodgings. He travelled to work by boat or by the railway and loved to walk in the city.

Whilst Van Gogh worked for the art dealers, there was an expanding trade in prints and ‘Black and white’, he looked closely at Illustrators and print makers of that day as they were skilled in subjects as drama of light and shade. Later when Van Gogh became a painter he collected over 2000 prints for his own research and inspiration and studying these prints help him compose unusual compositions and he had little or no formal training.

Gogh Van, (1874) Tree lined avenue [pencil sketch] Tate Britain

You can see above the sketches from Van Gogh’s sketch book, these were included in a letter to Betsy Tersteeg on 7th July 1874.

Radical ideas of religion thrived in Britain at this time and Van Gogh’s interest in the hardship of working people led him to teaching and preaching after losing his job at the art dealers. His new job took him to Kent and Isleworth, but in December 1876 he left London for good.

Gogh Van, (1880) Miners in the snow, Cuesmes [Graphite chalk and watercolour on paper] Kroller-Muller museum, Otterlo, Netherlands.

Van Gogh took up art in 1880 and studied and researched artworks to help him, he started drawing men and women and miners from the Belgian mining region. He had lived in this region and took up a job preaching, but spent all his spare time drawing and practising.

Gogh Van, (1882) Old man with umbrella and watch, The Hague [graphite on paper] Kroller-Muller museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

Van Gogh wanted to draw people that you would meet every day, He wanted to draw people for the people, one of his friends modelled for these drawings and dressed up with props to create different characters.

Gogh Van, (1883) The public soup kitchen [Graphite, chalk and watercolour] Collection Rijks museum Twenthe, Enschede, Loan private collection.

He also asked in the local soup kitchen for models, this is where he met Sien Hoornik, she then moved in with Van Gogh, she had two children and was pregnant with a third. Here she stands with her son and daughter and holding the baby in her arms.

Gogh Van, (1882) Seated mother with child [Graphite on paper] Kroller Muller museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

Gogh Van, (1883) Mourning woman seated on a basket [Lithographic crayon and watercolour on paper] Kruller Muller museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

Gogh Van, (1881) Man reading at the fireside [Black chalk, charcoal, grey wash, opaque watercolour, on laid paper] Kroller Muller museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

Van Gogh decided to go to Paris with his brother Theo when he was 32 years old. Van Gogh met a network of artists there and his brother was an art dealer. This is where Van Gogh developed his style which was distinct and mature; he spent 2 years in Paris but later moved to Arles in the south of France to set up a artists community. Unfortunately this only lasted for 10 months as Van Gogh was ill with severe mental illness, which seemed to come back every few months. Although putting himself into a mental institution, he continued to paint here.

Gogh Van, (1888) Wheatfield, Arles [Oil paint on canvas] P & N de Boer foundation, Amsterdam.

In the below close up you can really see Van Gogh’s distinct style, the way he uses the oil paint to create textures, the paint looks really thick here and he has used it in his style of lines. Van Gogh’s great quality is being able to use the right colours to create the depth and highlights needed for the landscape.

Gogh Van, (1887) Path in the woods, Paris [Oil paint on canvas] Van Gogh museum, Amsterdam.

Again you can see his distinct style here, with the path and the leaves on the trees, the thick lines that he puts down on the canvas to create the textures. How he uses the lighter colours, like the white and the yellow to dab on for hints of highlights.

Gogh Van, (1888) The trunk of an old Yew tree, Arles [Oil paint on canvas] Private collection.

This is the trunk of an old yew tree, which Van Gogh painted whilst he was in Arles; his unmistakable style is seen again, with the lines and thick textures. This is really good as it shows the bark of the tree and the textures it has, you can feel how it would feel by the strokes he has used. Adding the small amounts of black to show the deeper crevasses of the bark.

Gogh Van, (1889) Hospital at Saint Remy [Oil paint on canvas] The Armand Hammer coolection, Los angeles.

This is one of my favourite pictures, I like the colours used, the flow and movement of the painting, and the bold style. This could be a representation of the state of Van Gogh’s mind; it seems to be busy, somewhat frantic in nature. There is lots going on, but it seems to be quite a nice picture in that the colours are bright, they are not dark or cold!?

Maybe being in the hospital had helped Van Gogh at this time, and painting everyday has helped his mental state and he feels brighter and happier?

Gogh Van, (1888) Sunflowers [Oil paint on canvas] The National Gallery London, for the Courtauld fund 1924.

Here you can see how thick the paint is that Van Gogh used to create his textures, he has used different colours of what looks like burnt sienna here for the middle part of the sunflowers. He painted this picture to decorate his house with in Arles.

After Van Gogh’s death and later in 1910 and 1923 the pictures of his sunflowers were exhibited around London, and then acquired by The National Gallery (The Tate).

Gogh Van, (1888) Starry night, Arles [Oil paint on canvas] Kroller-Muller museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

Starry night has a lot of elements of Van Gogh’s unusual style within it, you can see the line strokes he uses throughout his other paintings, the thickness of the paint, the texture of the paint, the highlights of the white and yellow paint and the depth to the darker colours. This painting represents Van Gogh at his best.

Gogh Van, (1889) Olive trees, Saint Remy [Oil paint on canvas] National gallery Scotland.

In this painting of olive trees, from the hospital in Saint Remy where Van Gogh was being treated for mental illness. You can see the flow and writhing brushwork that adds impact to this painting. The usual thick textures and paint can been seen here in abundance. Van Gogh was fascinated by gnarled structures and changing colours in olive trees, old trees and thick barks. This could reflect Van Gogh’s agitated frame of mind in the hospital.

Gogh Van, (1888) Pollard williows at sunset, Arles [Oil paint on canvas] Kroller-Muller museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

This picture has a real exuberance about it, it feels quite quick/ frantic, and all of the strokes are pointing upwards apart from the sun’s rays, which mellow in a circle. The vibrant blue sky which is in a vertical stripe across the middle of the canvas. The autumnal colours and baked feel of the picture.

Gogh Van, (1890) Farms near Auvers [Oil paint on canvas] Bequeathed by C. Frank Stoop 1933.

This is the last painting Van gogh ever did, he spent the last few months of his life in a small town called ‘Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris. He left the mental hospital in May 1890 and died at the end of July. In that time this picture had begun, he painted it directly onto the canvas and created a entirely personal depiction of the subject, making it his own with his lines and textures, curving outlines and to express his energy and vitality, or mental state?!

Gogh Van, (1889) Self portrait, Saint Remy [Oil paint on canvas] National Gallery of Art, Washington, collection of Mr and Mr’s John Hay Whitney.

Van Gogh painted this last self portrait in the mental hospital in Saint Remy after the reoccurrence of some mental illness. Lots of people see writhing brush strokes which show suffering, but others say it shows a reassurance of his convalescence. The colour palette is strong, with deep rich blues; the light in the face is luminescent. Van Gogh looks as though he has lost weight in the face his features are thinner, but the texture and brush strokes are still there, the energy and passions still comes through.

He later moved to the village of Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris to be with his brother. He created a painting every day, but on the 27th July 1890 he shot himself in the chest and died from the wounds.