Lauren Brown
Drawing - Blog Post
2/28/2012
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent
van Gogh was born in 1853 in Groot Zundert, Holland and killed himself 37 years
later in 1890 Auvers-sur-Oise, France.
Before becoming a painter, van Gogh was a bookstore clerk, an art
salesman, and a preacher (likely due to his having been a preacher’s son). After having been released from his various
jobs due to his strong personality, van Gogh truly dedicated himself to art by
studying it in Belgium. He struggled
with his temper and epilepsy
throughout his life which eventually evolved into mental illness and required
that he attend an asylum to receive treatment.
In fact, van Gogh is most known to the general public for his having
tried to hurt fellow artist Gaugin with a razor which ultimately resulted in
his cutting off his own ear lobe.
Van
Gogh was known for his colorful, powerful, and emotive brush strokes. Many believe the passionate style of painting
was a way for him to channel his angst. Van
Gogh was famous for many things, but two identifying components of many of his
pieces were his use of beautiful ochers, evident in his signature sunflowers, and
small impressionistic brushstrokes, almost pointillism inspired. One of van Gogh’s most famous paintings is Starry Night which is exemplary of his
impressionistic brushstrokes. Some claim
that the gleams of light that swirl across the painting were actually seen by
van Gogh due to his seeing “halos” around any light source due to his enlarged
retinas. While van Gogh has become a
modern-day icon, he only sold one painting during his lifetime. This is incredible given his impact on the
Impressionistic era.
The
reason I chose van Gogh is because of his use of rich yellows, my favorite
color, as well as his beautiful brushstrokes.
I love Impressionism in particular because the drawings and paintings
seem to have incredible movement. I find
that van Gogh’s still lifes and landscapes especially capture the motion as the
colors and short strokes enable the nature to become alive and swirl across the
page. In particular, I like van Gogh’s still
lifes and landscapes. His ability to
give energy to inanimate but still living objects is extraordinary. Impressionism
was such a wonderful era as it broke away from drawing things as they are and
towards drawing things as they felt.
Drawings with free strokes make for a more dynamic experience. This is
something I try to incorporate into my own drawings.
(1) Vincent’s
Bedroom in Arles – Letter Sketch – 1888
Van
Gogh wrote numerous letters to family, friends and fellow artists and often
included drawings in his letters to depict certain scenes he had described. Van
Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles (1888) is a
sketch he included in one of his letters.
I chose this piece for three reasons.
First, I like that it was drawn quickly as it shows the bare bones of
van Gogh’s simple, short brushstroke style.
Second, I like that there is no nature depicted and that even though
none of these items are “living” van Gogh coveys the energy and dynamism
through his strokes that vary in techniques (various strengths of his pen
strokes), pattern, and direction. Third,
I like that the scene depicts his room. While he lives very simply, one can
tell that he seeks to find pattern and movement even in basic, everyday
objects.
(2) Street in
Saintes-Maries – 1888
Van Gogh’s
drawings are very interesting to observe particularly in comparison to his
paintings. While is paintings almost seem as though he was very cavalier in his
strokes, by observing his drawings one can see how deliberate van Gogh was in
every pen and brush stroke. This piece is called “Street in Saintes-Maries”
(1888) and I chose it because it is very clear how detailed and purposeful each
one of van Gogh’s strokes was. Given that he used pen, he could not really make
a mistake. Furthermore, his textures and
patterns that are sometimes lost in his paintings truly come out in his
drawings allowing for the observer to gain further depth into his style and technique.
(3) Starry Night -
1889
While
van Gogh’s drawings demonstrate his detailed precision in his work, his pieces
truly only come to life in his paintings given the dynamic use of color. “Starry Night” (1889) is one of van Gogh’s
most famous pieces due to not only his impressionistic brushstrokes, but his
incredible use of color. The contrast of
the blues and yellows make the piece truly captivating and vivacious. Personally, I like how van Gogh includes a darker
foreground through the dark green tree as it allows the rest of the painting in
contrast to really brighten up. Lastly,
one can see how other artists, like Seurat, inspired his work given the small,
detailed strokes.
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