"Fine art enables us to detect ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time". – Thomas Merton

This inspired us to start a serial called 'Appreciating Art' where we take a closer look at the journey of a prominent artist through his art. First up is:

Vincent Willem van Gogh

Like most artists, he came from apprehensive beginnings because of a family that struggled with financial problems for near of his life. Fathered by a minister and a female parent who loved drawing nature with watercolours, Vincent would go on to imbibe both aspects of his parents all the same he would not find this until much after. At the historic period of 15, Vincent'south education ended and his professional life began. He went to work in his Uncle Cornelis's art dealership, Goupil & Cie. At age 20, he was transferred to the Goupil gallery in London where he vicious in love with the architecture of the metropolis, the civilisation of the people and everything in between. 1 of those things included his landlady's daughter, Eugenie Loyer. He wanted to marry her merely his proposal was rejected and this led to a breakdown for him that pushed him away from all fine art.

Even though his upbringing was in a religious household, Vincent had never felt shut to God. Being rejected changed something inside him; he devoted his life to God and soon, he became a teacher in a Methodist boys' school. He studied persistently over a year to become a minister. After, he refused to take the ministerial exams and instead, volunteered to go to a coal mine in the south of Belgium a place where preachers were unremarkably sent as penalty. He preached the word of God, ministered to the sick and occasionally drew pictures of the miners and their families, who called Van Gogh, "Christ of the coal mines." This action was not appreciated by the church committees who refused to renew his contract which forced him to observe another source of income. With assist of his brother, he decided to move to Brussels and go an artist in 1880.

Paintings

Even though he struggled through emotional instability, Vincent van Gogh completed more than than ii,100 artworks in his lifetime. He didn't get whatsoever recognition for his artwork until after his expiry. His indulgence in fine art helped him stay emotionally counterbalanced.

Potato Eaters

In 1885, he started working on "White potato Eaters", which would be his first masterpiece. Aiming to bear witness himself, this artwork began to show his skills in figure painting and composition. Van Gogh painted a family of 5 sitting around a small table under an oil lamp eating from a common dish on the table.

a painting of family eating around a table is painted titled potato eaters by vincent van gogh

A repast shared by peasants.

This painting depicts the harsh reality of the peasants living in the countryside, he gave them rough faces, a lean trunk structure and bony hands. The subjects in the painting are reaching for the food on the tabular array that they have earned. The single oil lamp above the pocket-sized tabular array in the room emphasizes the poor atmospheric condition of the family. His palette consisted mainly of sombre world tones and night colours to depict the relation of the subject to the globe itself. The same soil on which peasants worked the whole day which resulted in the earthy colours of their dress also.

Sunflowers

In 1888, Van Gogh wanted to decorate the room in the 'yellowish firm' that he rented in Arles in the Due south of French republic for his swain painter Paul Gauguin every bit a welcome gesture. He told Gauguin that he would follow him to invent a new fine art mode. With that thought in mind, he painted a vase full of sunflowers to portray himself every bit sunflowers considering they follow the dominicus. Fourteen sunflowers in a vase have five versions in total which reside in different museums across the globe. My personal favourite is the one displayed in the Van Gogh Museum in Netherlands.

a vase of sunflowers on a table titled sunflowers by vincent van gogh

Van Gogh painted a vase of fourteen sunflowers on the table in his yellowish room in the Arles.

In the vase, sunflowers are in diverse stages of their life cycle, from full bloom to dying blossom. His experimentation with the lines and textures in this serial requite the flowers in the painting a new life and a sense of singularity. The use of yellow palette in this painting depicts his gratitude towards Gauguin for coming to stay and work with him. The yellowish colour in the background of the painting depicts Gauguin as the dominicus who radiates with the warm energy and equally a leader that he is fix to follow.

Bedroom in Arles

In 1888, he wrote a letter with few sketches of the new painting that he wanted to work on chosen "The Bedroom". This painting is not just loved by people; it was one of the Van Gogh's favourite every bit well. After he returned from the Asylum in 1889, he saw this painting and considered to be 1 his best works. He later sent this painting to his brother to be lined as it suffered h2o damaged which was sent back by his brother to him to make a re-create for safety'southward sake. He then created a third, smaller version of it for his female parent.

a painting titled bedroom in arles by vincent van gogh

His article of furniture in the bedroom along with the paintings on the walls and his possessions at his time in Arles south of France.

The not-conventional perspective makes it so recognisable and gives it a unique identity. The use of a archaic colour palette clearly reflects his views on the Post-Impressionism art style. Bright colours in the painting requite it a sense of warmth and calmness and I think that'south why Van Gogh liked this painting afterwards his mental breakdown.

Self-Portraits

Van Gogh was taking selfies before it was absurd except that he had done it in the class of portraits. He created many renditions of himself over the years simply my personal favourite is the one with a bandaged ear. It was made after he returned to his studio at the 'yellow business firm' from the asylum. He wrote Gauguin an apology letter explaining 'the incident' and assuring him he would continue their friendship. He was cracking to get-go painting over again and a few weeks afterwards, worked on his self-portrait.

self-portrait painted by vincent van gogh

A portrait of himself where his ear is bandaged which he cut himself after a mental breakdown.

In this painting, Van Gogh has painted what he had perceived of himself at that fourth dimension. He believed that painting himself after the incident would bring emotional balance to his life. His apply of a deeper dark-green colour and steady brush strokes creates tension in the atmosphere. In the groundwork is a copy of a Japanese print, Utagawa Togokuni'southward Geishas in a Landscape. The lime yellow background indicated that he is in the back of his house.

The Starry Night

Widely recognised and appreciated, this painting is considered to be the elevation of his achievement. Unlike most of his art, Starry Night was not created during his viewing of the landscape; he painted this from his memory. He has painted variations of the view multiple times but the Starry Night is the only nocturne in the series of views from his bedchamber window. In early June, Vincent wrote to Theo, "This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long fourth dimension before sunrise with nada merely the morning star, which looked very big".

starry night, a painting by vincent van gogh

He painted the view of the Saint-Rémy village from his room at the mental asylum in the month of June.

Using swirling strokes and wavy lines to draw the sky outside, it reflects the mental imbalance that he faced during his time at Saint-Rémy. The hamlet is calm and notwithstanding, all the people in the hamlet are asleep and a brilliant star is illuminating the sky. Using this contrast, it shows how he perceived nature as existence in constant movement. He wanted to create the night sky and the stars interacting with each other's free energy. The shades of blue, black and yellow create a residual and sense of calmness in this chaotic world.

Conclusion

Though Van Gogh, in his lifetime, was viewed every bit a madman who cut off his ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel; he exemplifies the struggling artist. Van Gogh was aspirational, innovative and looked at the world in a new manner. He was kind, passionate and sympathetic to the suffering of those around him. What we must learn from his life is that art can be the best coping mechanism for the troubles in our lives. Information technology may not gain fame and appreciation from the world but you will definitely gain a deeper appreciation of yourself in the world you live in.

This web log can be addictive. We know you must be craving more so here's more:

This article was written by Aarin Garg. He likewise made the epitome you saw the top of the article. If you'd like to speak to him almost art and blueprint, send him an email at aarin@indiefolio.com

All images have been sourced from https://www.vangogh.net/