Vincent van Gogh

Self Portrait Grid Painting

Post-Impressionism

• Response to Impressionism: broke away from the naturalism associated with Impressionism

• Express emotions instead of just painting from observation

• Deeper Symbolism• Simplified Colors• Definitive Forms• Slightly Abstract Tendencies

Post-Impressionism

• The major artists of this movement did not really work with each other; they each pursued independent paths of artistic discovery:– Vincent van Gogh– Paul Gauguin– Georges Seurat– Paul Cézanne (the eldest of the group)

The Potato Eaters; Vincent van Gogh; 1885; Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas

• van Gogh Started with images of Dutch peasant life:– Dark, earthy tones and rugged brushstrokes

Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace; Vincent van Gogh; 1885; Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas

• Fascination with the working class:– Thickly applied dark pigments

Road in Etten; Vincent van Gogh; 1881; Post-Impressionism; Chalk, Pencil, Pastel, Watercolor

• Outdoors, laborers in Dutch landscape

Vincent van Gogh

• Although largely self-taught, van Gogh did briefly work with and was influenced by:– Paul Gauguin

• Van Gogh worked with Paul Gauguin briefly in Arles, France, and was inspired by the emotional intensity of Gauguin’s work

• Van Gogh wanted to create his own personal emotional expressions in his art as well

– Paul Signac (a Neo-Impressionist)• Became friends with Signac in Paris • Learned to use rapidly applied divisionist brushstrokes

– Georges Seurat (a Neo-Impressionist)• Met in Paris

Influence of Signac and Seurat: Self–Portrait with a Straw Hat (on the back of The Potato Peeler); Vincent van Gogh; 1887;

Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas

• van Gogh lightened his palette and experimented with broken brushstrokes:

These paintings are on the reverse side of each other!

Vincent van Gogh

• In Paris, van Gogh created over 20 self-portraits, displaying his continuing experimentation with complementary color contrast and a bolder style

• Eventually, van Gogh left Paris for Arles in Southern France, hoping to establish a new community of artists

• He was inspired by Arles:– Clarity of light– Vibrant colors of Spring– 14 paintings of orchards in less than a month– Painting outdoors varied his style and technique– Also influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e Prints, which van Gogh collected

• Emphasis on line quality

The Flowering Orchard; Vincent van Gogh; 1888; Post-Impressionism; Oil on canvas

A Group of Children Playing under the Plum Blossoms in the Snow;Hashimoto Chikanobu; 1887; Japanese Woodblock Print

Still Lifes in Arles

*Oleanders: joyous and life-affirming• Oleanders; 1888; Oil on Canvas

Shoes; Vincent van Gogh; 1888; Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas

• Unlaced shoes: representative of van Gogh’s nomadic lifestyle

The EAR!!!

• Paul Gauguin joined van Gogh in Arles until van Gogh’s “breakdown,” in which he was originally believed to have cut his own ear off…

• It is also theorized that van Gogh made up that story to protect Gauguin, who cut van Gogh’s ear off with a sword during an argument!

• Gauguin, who was unhappy in Arles, packed his bags to leave, sword (épée) in hand (he was a fencer); van Gogh had earlier thrown a glass at him, and followed him as he tried to leave

The EAR!!!

• The argument continued as Gauguin was trying to leave and ultimately he cut van Gogh’s ear off either in self-defense or anger

• He threw his sword into the Rhône, and van Gogh delivered the ear to a woman he was seeing and staggered home, where police discovered him the next day

The EAR!!!

• Both kept a pact of silence, van Gogh so that he could keep Gauguin as a friend, and Gauguin to avoid prosecution…!

• BUT, van Gogh AND Gauguin sort of broke that pact, which is what generated this new theory…

Evidence!

• In van Gogh’s final recorded words to Gauguin, he writes “You are quiet, I will be, too.”

• In writing to his brother, Theo, van Gogh hints at what happened without directly breaking the pact of silence

• Gauguin made a request to van Gogh to recover his fencing mask and gloves from Arles, but not his sword…

• Van Gogh made a sketch of an ear, and wrote the word “ictus” on it: Latin term used in fencing meaning a “hit.” The zig-zag patterns above the ear are believed to represent Gauguin’s sword stroke

The EAR!!!

• Historians say that although van Gogh clearly suffered from seizures, he was not “mad”/crazy at this point

• It is believed that van Gogh never recovered from the shock of this event, and that it led to the aggravation of his seizures and paved the way to his suicide

• There is not enough solid evidence to prove any of these theories, however…

Vincent van Gogh’s Life Continued…

• Voluntarily committed himself to asylum in Saint-Rémy in 1889, where his paintings changed yet again: extraordinarily poignant emotion, thick, brilliant colors with dark, definitive outlines, agitated lines, and distorted perspective• Stayed at this asylum for a year• Painted over 150 canvases here!!!

Originally, he was confined to hospital grounds, here are some of his paintings:

• A Corridor in the Asylum; 1889; Black chalk and gouache on pink Ingres paper

Eventually, he was allowed to venture outside, and devoted a series to Olive Groves and Cypress trees

• Olive Trees; 1889; Oil on canvas

Cypresses; 1889; Oil on canvas

Wheat Field with Cypresses; 1889;Oil on canvas

He also painted Starry Night (1889) from the east-facing window of his room at Saint-Rémy

Just before he checked himself out of the asylum, van Gogh painted four still lifes of bouquets of flowers, including:

Irises, 1890; Oil on canvas

Vincent van Gogh

• After his stay in asylum, van Gogh moved closer to Paris to be near his brother, Theo

• He averaged 1 painting per day after 2 months there• On July 27, 1890, at age 37, van Gogh is believed to

have shot himself in the chest in a wheat field while painting. He was able to make his way back to his room late that evening, and died two days later

• His death is relatively controversial, as a gun was never recovered. There are several theories as to whether or not his death was truly a suicide

Overall

• In his short, 10 year career as an artist, van Gogh produced nearly 900 paintings and more than 1,100 works on paper

• Although his work was not respected during his lifetime, his art currently holds a highly respected status in the world of art today for its rough beauty, emotional honesty, and bold use of color

• Van Gogh’s work ultimately influenced other famous artists that followed him: Henri Matisse and the Fauvists, the German Expressionists, and even Pablo Picasso

Vincent, 1866, Age 13

Vincent, 1872, Age 19

Self Portrait with Straw Hat, Vincent van Gogh, 1887

Self Portrait, Vincent van Gogh, 1887

Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, Vincent van Gogh, 1887-1888

Self Portrait, Vincent van Gogh, 1887

Self Portrait with Japanese Print, Vincent van Gogh, 1887

Self Portrait Without Beard, Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Easel, and Japanese Print, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Vincent van Gogh, 1889