Van Gogh Distinctively Visual Analysis Essay

A person’s childhood could eventually lead them to either a success or failure. Two men, later to become widely known across the globe because of their success, have had situations that helped developed them during their childhoods. Two such men would be Frederick Douglass and Vincent Van Gogh. Both excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass and Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, the reader gets an insight into their childhoods. Frederick Douglass was born an American slave, and became an abolitionist. Vincent Van Gogh, lived a normal childhood in the Netherlands, and became a famous painter after death. The childhood of Frederick Douglass lead to his success while the childhood of Vincent Van Gogh did not lead to his success while he was still alive.

In 1880 at the age of 27, Van Gogh moved to Brussels began taking lessons on his own. He took some lessons from his cousin by marriage. He studied some books like Travaux des champs by Jean-Francois Millet and Cours de dessin by Charles Bargue. After completing his

I image him creating this amazing painting while sitting in his room and looking out his window early in the morning, or late at night. I think the rich blue colors make the painting seem less depressing and actually makes the photo have a much more charming feel to it. I think this is interesting because you would think van Gogh would draw something darker since he was basically locked up and couldn’t

Van Gogh and Monet had both lived exceptionally different lives. Van Gogh did not start off wanting to become an artist, he was actually very interested in theology and had eventually become a minister. It had seemed as though Van Gogh had found his calling. Unfortunately, he was released from the church after his generosity had betrayed him. While trying to help miners, he gave away all of his clothes and was only left with a cloth. The church committee overseeing Van Gogh let him go because he did not dress or preach eloquently. This led to Van Gogh gaining an interest in art which would lead him to go to an art school in Paris to

The tone used in Vincent’s painting were a mixed of warm and cool colours to convey his emotions. In order to achieve the dramatic mood of this painting, Vincent used white and yellow oil paints, which marries well with the blue and green to create the night sky.

In Van Gogh’s piece of art “Prisoners Exercising” (1890) is shown sadness, depression, and despair of the prisoners. You can say that prisoners are also hopeless, by how the artist drew faces of some of the prisoners. The artist used black, gray, dark blue, brown and dull orange colors, these colors make you feel sad and distressed. By looking at this painting and the colours that were used we can say that Van Gogh was feeling depressed and he had a life crisis. I believe that the artist’s message that he wanted to deliver is, this is how life can look like, making circles in a small room, loneliness, being controlled by other people who are watching your each and every step that you take. Maybe he wanted to show how people look like when they are freedomless.

     Van Gogh's use of line really gives depth and character to the piece. The first line that caught my eye was the line outlining the bottom of the bed. The strong stroke really gives you a sense of distance between the bottom of the frame and the floor. Had it been a thin line like those to depict the floorboards, it would look like the bed was sitting directly on the floor. His use of brush strokes and the thickness of them vary immensely in the painting to create depth. The strong strokes of

I have chosen Romanticism/ Post Impressionism, Olive Trees with yellow sky and sun, by Vincent Van Gogh; The Oxbow, by Thomas Cole, comparing it to the “Spirit Rising, by Christophe Vacher”.

When I first saw Vincent van Gogh’s painting of The Starry Night, I was immediately drawn to the peaceful luminescent stars emanating outward like vibrant yellow halos into the captivating striking blue sky. I felt a sense of calm and tranquility as the bright orange moon shone intently over the serene village below. The sprawling mountain range, grassy hills and fields of wheat intensified this feeling as a soft wind swept through the countryside. Under the immense stars and vibrant night sky, the people of the village sleep soundly in their cottages. This painting exudes an overwhelming feeling of calmness and peace in my mind.

When comparing the lines in the Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night painting and Sol LeWitt’s the Wall Drawing No. 681, the lines are the opposite. In the Starry Night painting the lines of the sky are very curvy and flowing, but the lines of the buildings are very straight. The artist in this painting is showing you a vision he has had during the time he was in the asylum. The lines of the sky are erratic, and it shows how the artist was feeling very unstable during the time he painted the piece. You can feel how peaceful the buildings are, but the sky is not peaceful. The artist is fighting with himself, and it shows in the painting. The Wall Drawing No.681 shows very straight and precise lines.

Vincent Van Gogh painted many figures, landscapes, cityscapes, and sceneries during the post-impressionism art movement. He used lighter palettes of reds, yellows, oranges, greens, and blues. Van Gogh also experimented with broken brushstrokes. The work of impressionists inspired Van Gogh during his trip to Paris. Influenced by a fellow artist, Gauguin, Van Gogh began to paint from memory, making his paintings more decorative and less accurate. His unique techniques inspired many artists including Matisse, Derain, Pollock, and Bacon. Each of these artists adopted/extended Van Gogh’s style to preserve his techniques.

Each artist is an individual with a unique style, and although these styles can be similar in practice – the individuality of the artist often proves the discriminating factor for a successful artwork. Self-portraits are beneficial when looking at the individuality of the artist as there are two aspects to look at – the artist’s style, and the artist’s view of him/herself. The latter can provide a brief insight into the mental situation of the artist as well as any apparent influencing factors of the artwork. This view can often also include fragmental insights into the society and culture of the time. Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh are 2 artists of whom are well represented by this statement.

Vincent Van Gogh was formed by his social, cultural and historical context. This is expressed clearly in the underlying stories of both paintings, Starry Night, 1889 and Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889. Both of these paintings portray a narrative relating to Van Gogh significantly as he emotionally connects to the subject in each painting. Van Gogh’s aim of these subjective works was to express meaning through colour and express the painting to a more personal emotion for the viewer. Van Gogh belonged to a small style of Post Impressionism which was a reaction against Impressionism and their formality.

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30th 1853, in Zundert, The Netherlands. Van Gogh spent his teenage year’s working for a firm of art dealers; however, he did not embark upon his art career until 1880. Originally, he worked only with dark and gloomy colors, until he came across the art movements developed in Paris known as, Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism (Meier-Graefe 4). Van Gogh than included their brighter colors and unique style of painting into his very own creations. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life (Meier-Graefe 10). However, most of his best-known works were produced in his last

          4.Vincent would stay there for two years and transfer to paris for a year and then come back to london.