Dissecting the brain of a master

2012-08-09T13:56:00.003-07:00

Image 1.1 ~ Self Portrait

Vincent Willem Van Gogh

Volume I, Number 1

Born March 30, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands
Died 29 July 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France

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QUOTE: "I cannot help it if my paintings do not sell. But the time will come when people realize that they are worth more than the cost of the paint."

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Suggested listening whilst reading this post:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLIRzn9lS5I

UNMATCHED GENIUS:
There are few artists that achieve the sort of genius like that of Vincent Van Gogh after death--or for that matter during life.

A FAILURE?
Vincent died believing he was mostly a failure in life only to become one of the preeminent painters of all time. Since his death, some of Vincent's paintings have sold for over 100 million U.S. dollars (2012 equivalent dollars).

Image 1.2 ~ ISBN: 978-0-681-56797-9

ABOVE:
The self portrait above was painted in the Spring of 1887 and is one of many self portraits (click on Image 1.1 to enlarge).

CRITIQUE:

"Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings"
This blog will focus the attention on the complete works of Vincent Van Gogh through the hard-cover book titled "Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings" by Ingo F. Walther & Rainer Metzger (see image 1.2 ~ click to enlarge).

3D Quality
I believe the painting above is especially interesting because of the three-dimensional quality the background provides. The dark-green top-right that transforms into lighter-green as you near the bottom left offers depth which I believe is not commonly found in paintings. Simply put, the man was a genius with color.

Image 1.3 ~ "Fritillaries In A Copper Vase"

Discovery Of Color
Van Gogh began painting in the traditional Dutch method of representing everyday life (Van Gogh sticking mostly to peasant everyday life) heavily influenced with dark colors. Once Van Gogh moved to France he discovered how "alive" his works would present themselves as he added more and more bright colors to his painting.

The painting of flowers (Image 1.3 ~ "Fritillaries in a copper vase" April - May 1887 ~ click to enlarge) is obviously after he began to practice adding brighter colors which eventually lead to his mastery of depth which was already well developed at this point. Notice the complimentary colors (which contrast) make the image jump out at the viewer.

Dabbling In Pointillism
The background's 3D quality is enhanced by the pointillism technique he dabbled with after studying the works of both Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. The premise is that the different colored spots will blend in the eye of the viewer--which also seems to add to the 3D experience.

Post Impressionism / Expressionism
After his exposure to the Impressionists of the time, Vincent's work began to take on the form for which he is most famous--the obvious and sometimes blatant brush strokes that hints at reality and leaves the rest to the viewer's imagination.

Image 1.4 ~ "Boy Cutting Grass With A Sickle"

RANDOM OBSERVATION
After checking out the book mentioned in the subheading of this blog, I've noticed Van Gogh is never caught in a photograph or painted with a smile--which speaks volumes about his temperament and personality.

According to the many biographies available today, Vincent Van Gogh suffered from a severe case of depression throughout most of his life and was a difficult person to be around because of he was stubborn and opinionated.

COMING UP
In the next post we will discuss some of Van Gogh's earliest paintings and his transition from drawings to painting.

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A Study of Vincent Van Gogh's Paintings

Dissecting the brain of a master

Vincent Willem Van Gogh

Volume I, Number 1