Vincent Van Gogh - Blog on Art and Painting

19
May

Virtual Van Gogh

Van Gogh’s paintings can be seen in museums and galleries all over the world, and while there really is no comparison for seeing his brushstrokes up close and in person, it is amazing how many excellent virtual Van Gogh displays exist online. Virtual tours have improved over the years now offering the viewer an ever greater perspective of the object and its surroundings. In this virtual tour of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, you can see many of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and the works hanging alongside of them all from the comfort of your computer. If you prefer to travel online to Paris a virtual tour of the Musee d’Orsay will take you the Van Gogh collection there.

If you would rather avoid the sometimes dizzying effects of the virtual tour, check out some of the interactive exhibitions online such as the “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” exhibition which took place a couple of years ago at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but continues to display online. There are also a selection of videos on Van Gogh’s works and research on the Van Gogh channel on Art Babble. So if you want to experience the works of Van Gogh, but can’t make it to the museum, a Van Gogh tour may just be a click away.

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12
May

Van Gogh Self Portraits

From the years 1886 through 1889 Van Gogh completed over 30 self-portrait paintings. This is not only an incredible number of self-portraits in general, but to have completed so many in such a short time frame is impressive as well. Despite the fact that these were all painted within the span of just a few years, Van Gogh’s appearance changes dramatically from one to the next. His early self-portraits, much like his earlier paintings, are dark and often in shadows, while his later ones are full of the color and light. While each resembles what we know Van Gogh to look like, his paintings and perception of himself changes. His impressions of himself are honest, not idealized, often conveying looks of pain in his eyes. View some of Van Gogh’s self-portraits below, or view this video compilation of his self-portraits to see them change over the years.

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06
May

Millet’s Influence on Van Gogh

Although Gauguin and other contemporaries had a profound impact on Van Gogh’s work, Van Gogh was also greatly influenced by some of his predecessors. The work of French artist Jean Francois Millet, in particular, resonated with Van Gogh. In many ways Millet’s experiences and the subjects he chose to paint mirrored Van Gogh’s life and work. Van Gogh could relate to Millet’s paintings of peasant life and the depiction of the plight of laborers. It was this realistic approach that Van Gogh often emulated in many of his paintings as shown.

Today we are still comparing the works of Van Gogh and Millet. In fact, in May of 2010 there was a special exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where Van Gogh’s The Sower, 1888 was seen along with Millet’s The Sower, 1850 for the first time ever.

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26
Apr

Van Gogh and Gauguin

Throughout history artists have worked together and inspired each other. Possibly one of the most recognized pairs of artists who had profound influences on each other was Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. One reason this is so well known is because of the collection of Van Gogh’s letters, which chronicles his artistic development first-hand, is an incredible record of the artist’s journey which we do not have in such great detail for many other artists. In addition, Van Gogh and Gauguin lived and worked together in a yellow house in Arles during 1888 called the Studio of the South. It was here that Van Gogh painted Sunflowers to decorate Gauguin’s room and here that the artists collaborated constantly learning from each other’s style and techniques.

The link between these two artists is so great that exhibitions have been held around these two artists and their influences on each other. The Art Institute of Chicago had an exhibition a number of years ago called Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South. On the site you will find information about the artists as well as a slide show and maps of Arles. In addition, The Van Gogh Museum has an interactive site which provides quotes from letters and images of paintings by the artists.

Below are some of Van Gogh’s paintings from this time.

Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin, September, 1888

Paul Gauguin’s Armchair, December, 1888

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15
Apr

Van Gogh – Early and Late Works

Van Gogh completed almost 900 paintings in the span of less than ten years. During this time it is incredible to look at how quickly his style and his works evolved. From dark still life paintings to colorful Post Impressionistic works, it is evident that Van Gogh worked hard to refine his technique and grow as an artist. Below are some of Van Gogh’s earliest paintings shown along with some of his last works.

Still Life with Cabbage and Clogs – November – late month to mid December, 1881
Still Life with Beer Mug and Fruit – December, 1881
Wheatfield with Crows – July, 1890
Wheatfields at Auvers Under Clouded Sky – July, 1890

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