Art History - Van Gogh - Essay Example

number Art History The artist, Van Gogh, set camp in Arles around 1888. Within the small Provencal town as well as the surrounding countryside, he sought to spend extraordinarily productive periods in activities of painting, writing, and drawing. Van Gogh went on to create this artwork at the river banks. One spot where the painting captures is close to the house he rented at the time. This view seen by the observer presents the houses from Rhone’s east side in evenings. His painting, ‘Starry Night’ is made of oil and developed on canvas. It features strong and definitive strokes of the brush using broken colour. Van Gogh has preference of painting outdoors coupled with the fascination of the night sky as part of the favourite subjects. One outstanding element of the painting ‘Starry Night over the Rhone’ is gas lighting that reflect off the elements of water through several strolls nearby. All this is neatly done in the painting’s foreground. The work is a revelation of the sky’s marvellous colours coupled with the scene’s reflections as well as the striking contrast of the artificial stars and the gas natural beauty lights. Street lanterns across the edge of the Rhone in the watershed provide sufficient lighting enabling Van Gogh fully to paint from observation direct. Van Gogh manipulated such reality into certain levels as a way of creating an impressive firmament. Through this view, the Arles town lay in the southwest while the Great Bear constellation painted within the sky is in the north. The media used by the artist include oil on canvas as well as the technique of weeping and broad brush strokes. In various letters to Wilhelmina, his sister, Gogh observed that this was aimed at painting starry sky. The display appears to be that the night is still richly coloured as compared to the day. It has hues from the intense greens, violets, and blues. If one pays attention to the painting, it is easy to see that a number of stars are lemon-yellow while others are blue or pink and green brilliance. Without expatiating on the theme, it becomes clearer that the little white dots put on blue-black are not sufficient in painting starry skies. Some hold the belief that there are hidden images that depict the Gate to Heaven while two coffins in its front seem relevant to his religious foundations. Van Gogh engaged the expressive and symbolic colour values to express emotions within the scope of reproduction for visual light, atmosphere, or appearances. Van Gogh also went on to paint the night sky immensely hanging on the gas-lit town and developing reflections on the water (Barthes 78). He confides that it is true that one can mistake green for blue in the dark, pink lilac for blue-lilac while others cannot distinguish the hue quality rightly. It allows shedding conventional night scenes where there are poor pale light. The artwork also reflects on the essence of having desperate men develop hope between the black nights. Starry Night appears to be a struggle between a man and individual anxiety. The painter was determined to deliver the context of night colours in the portrayal the spot. He described the relevance of capturing sparkling night sky colours as eluding the artificial lighting which was relatively new to the history. Van Gogh also painted a number of canvases in the night skies to accompany the portrait or a café scene. The bold scope of developing the sky as is in the painting brings about fireworks display that makes the piece (together with the water luminous reflections) both exciting and beautiful. The lively stars colours, the spirited strokes contrasting from the dark blues, as well as the night reflections of his call for hope, love and light, are a critical style carrying the pictorial theme. By 1888, Gogh had evidently abandoned the aspect of social realism. However, even under the combination of influence of Japanese and Gauguin woodcuts, he proceeded to lay on strong colour of broad and extensive brushstrokes (Kaufmann 19). He seeks to display his urge to return to the Barbizon roots. Gogh does not represent objects in full resemblance even though he prefers expressing through colour. This becomes a precise explanation of the presentation seen within the Starry Night where there is a heavy explosion of brush strokes geared by exaggerated perceptual depth. His highly religious nature did not hinder him from cultivating a personality that is explosive and obsessive. There are real movement moods from the painting while the strong color definition and strokes keep the eye of the viewer constantly moving. It can be interpreted to be a reflection of the inner torment and is unavoidable in developing the remarkable energy sense in the application of paint and brushstrokes. Van Gogh goes past the scientific depiction through the expansion of the luminosity and size of the stars through a combination of different viewpoints. It adds reflected lights below and a pair of lovers. The painting indicates why Van Gogh proceeded to abandon the Impressionist aesthetic through an indifferent aspect of a deeper understanding for response from nature and human emotional-spirits. Impressionism indicated the nature with respect to both light and colour. The post impressionists went on to reject the limitations and sought more expressive approaches. They could not develop concern with the depiction of the light effects and subsequent visual effects such as the ones seen within impressionism movements as less serene (Kaufmann 28). They expressed their meaning past the appearance surface while painting with emotion, the eye, and intellect. As a post-impressionism painter, Van stresses his personal view for the visual world and has freely expressive application of colour as a way of describing movement and emotions. Post-Impressionism targeted the attainment of structure and form, as well as more emotion and expression into his painting. The tortured soul of Van Gogh can be juxtaposed against bright stars described within featured artworks. In summary, Van Gogh presents an impressionist principle of transparency to nature while favouring the intense colour and restless feeling. ‘The bold, striking, intense colours propel the emphatic brushwork through the contoured forms of artwork with high expression of emotional connection. The glimmering of green and pink against the cobalt blue on the night sky and the town lights’ rigid reflections illustrate bronzed green and red-gold colour combinations. The manner in which Van Gogh mixes the colours attempts visually to feel within his soul (Barthes 78). Van Gogh tries to capture the beauty through trying to acquire something attached to the canvas while eluding the same visually. With this, the scope of lines together with the visible brushstrokes forms a part of it as well. Van Gogh must have undergone each of the works intensely and thoroughly as presented in the painting and his passion expressed onto this artwork. Works Cited Barthes, R., "The Winter Garden Photograph” From Camera Lucida: Refelctions on Photography (1981). Retrieved on 16th June 2014 from http://copleylib.sandiego.edu/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=2604&page=docs Kaufmann, T.D., "National Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Aesthetic Judgments in the Historiography of Art" from Art History, Aesthetics, Visual Studies. (2002). Retrieved on 16th June 2014 from http://copleylib.sandiego.edu/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=2604&page=docs# Read More