Paintings by vincent van gogh - Essay Example

? Artistic analysis of Vincent van Gogh 3 paintings Personal history Vincent van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland on March 30, 1853. Being a pastors’ son, Vincent van Gogh was brought up in a religious environment. Vincent lacked self-confidence and, he was said to be highly emotional. It took him over 30 years to discover his talent and start painting at early 1880 (Meier-Graete, 2001). Vincent van Gogh tried two unsuitable and unhappy romances in vain. He also worked unsuccessfully as an art salesman, a library clerk and as a preacher in Borinage (a mining district in Belgium). He decided to study art in Belgium, since he was determined to give happiness by creating beauty. He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty (Meier-Graete, 2001). In 1886, he joined his brother Theo in Paris, who was a manager in Goupil's gallery. There he had a chance to meet with Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet and Paul Gauguin, a French post-impressionist who brightened his very dark skid and to make him such a great Impressionist. In the year 1888, he decided to leave France to Arles where he hoped that his companions would join him and start a school of art (Meier-Graete, 2001). Nearly the end of the same year Gauguin joined him but an incident led Gauguin to leave Arles. Van Gogh pleaded to Gaugian not to leave him by threatening to kill Gaugian with a razor blade. This led him to be sent in an asylum in St. Remy for treatment. He was dismissed from the hospital in May 1890 and kept under close check of Dr. Gachet. Two months later he shot himself to death. He sold only one of his paintings in his short but prolific career (Meier-Graete, 2001). The potato eaters One of Vincent van Gogh painting is called ‘the potato eaters' was painted in 1885. It is currently in Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam Having hardly been used to the art of painting. Van Gogh portrayed five people and tried to make them as natural as possible regardless the effect of the lamb light cast by an oil lamb which makes the work more difficulty. He was not ambitious for color, since he put the gloomy interior as bright as he could (Sunwall, 2004). Their heads and hands are ugly earthed and relatively bigger than their body, just as they have been made from the land they dig. They seem to enjoy their meal more than a rich man can do from his exquisite meal. Van Gogh wanted to convey the idea that the peasant people eat potatoes using an oil lamb with the same hands with which they take potatoes from the plate to serve their land. It was his first attempt to create a work that would establish his reputation. It brings us into common peasants’ expressions on their home settings. There is a young woman looking presumably her husband an attracting manner (Sunwall, 2004). The artist shows us there is love in them, and the people are sexually alive.      Above everything, the yellow and reddish flame of the oil lamp depicted the existence of warmth and light, mineral-grey space that represents night, terror and the cold world. The painting depicts these people lives as harsh and miserable. For instance, the man sited on the left is lost deep in his thought while the woman pours coffee. They might be thinking of injustice around them (Sunwall, 2004). Wheat field under threatening skies Another is called ‘wheat field under threatening skies’ painted in 1890 remains one of the most debated work of van Gogh’s painting due to its many interpretation by different people. Some people see it as his ‘suicide note’ placed on canvas, while others go beyond the shallow overview of the subject matter and think of a more positive approach (Klein, 2006). The painting conveys a sense of loneliness in the wheat fields depicting his final year kind of life. The separate paths in wheat field and crow with the path represent the present and the future of Van Gogh’s life. The paths are displayed in three sets one in the middle towards the horizon and the other two in each foreground corner. The two foreground paths defy common logic because they originate from nowhere and lead to nowhere. The third single path leaves one with numerous questions; where is it leading to? Does it transverse the wheat field to other horizons? It’s left for the viewer to comprehend (Klein, 2006). In this painting, the sky can be viewed. This is a representation of how Van Gogh respected forces of natures. Inclusion of such is a powerful tool as it symbolized things we do not have control over (Klein, 2006). The most powerful image in this painting seems to be the flock of crows. The question being asked here by the viewer is that, are the crows flying away from the viewer or towards. If the decides to view as though flying away, then it depicts a sign of relief, if towards, then foreboding (Klein, 2006). The Bedroom The bedroom, painted in 1888, is a striking feature and one of the master pieces of Vincent van Gogh. The painting got striking colors with unusual perspective. Van Gogh’s by choosing a familiar subject work understandable by many people helped it to withstand the test of time and became one of his popular paintings. The painting got red tile covering the floor plus a pale violet painted walls. In the painting, the bed is made of wood and the color of the chairs is yellow. In addition, pillows and sheets are depicted with light green –citron. The coverlet is painted scarlet while the window green. The basin is blue, toilet table orange and the doors lilac (Bassil, 2004). In the painting, there are broad lines around the furniture that express inviolable rest. In addition, its conception is simple. The cast shadows and the shadows are suppressed in the painting and they are painted in flat tints that resemble those from Japanese prints (Bassil, 2004. The most unusual and striking aspect of this painting is its peculiar perspective. This work of Van Gogh is unrealistic in that its warped portrayal of a bedroom with the subject in the painting looking at the viewer adds to uniqueness of the painting. The perspective used also seemed extreme (Bassil, 2004). In conclusion, Van Gogh was a gifted man who used art in a special way. Reference Bassil, A. (2004). Vincent Van Gogh. NewYork: Gareth Stevens Pub. Klein, A. G. (2006). Vincent Van Gogh. Kansas: ABDO. Meier-Graefe, J. (2001). Vincent van Gogh: a biography. Mineola, NewYork: Dover Publications. Sunwall, J. (2004). The Potato Eaters. Carlifornia: Players Press. Read More