1. vincent van gogh self portrait grid painting
TRANSCRIPT
Post-Impressionism
• Response to Impressionism: broke away from the naturalism associated with Impressionism
• Express emotions instead of just painting from observation
• Deeper Symbolism• Simplified Colors• Definitive Forms• Slightly Abstract Tendencies
Post-Impressionism
• The major artists of this movement did not really work with each other; they each pursued independent paths of artistic discovery:– Vincent van Gogh– Paul Gauguin– Georges Seurat– Paul Cézanne (the eldest of the group)
The Potato Eaters; Vincent van Gogh; 1885; Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas
• van Gogh Started with images of Dutch peasant life:– Dark, earthy tones and rugged brushstrokes
Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace; Vincent van Gogh; 1885; Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas
• Fascination with the working class:– Thickly applied dark pigments
Road in Etten; Vincent van Gogh; 1881; Post-Impressionism; Chalk, Pencil, Pastel, Watercolor
• Outdoors, laborers in Dutch landscape
Vincent van Gogh
• Although largely self-taught, van Gogh did briefly work with and was influenced by:– Paul Gauguin
• Van Gogh worked with Paul Gauguin briefly in Arles, France, and was inspired by the emotional intensity of Gauguin’s work
• Van Gogh wanted to create his own personal emotional expressions in his art as well
– Paul Signac (a Neo-Impressionist)• Became friends with Signac in Paris • Learned to use rapidly applied divisionist brushstrokes
– Georges Seurat (a Neo-Impressionist)• Met in Paris
Influence of Signac and Seurat: Self–Portrait with a Straw Hat (on the back of The Potato Peeler); Vincent van Gogh; 1887;
Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas
• van Gogh lightened his palette and experimented with broken brushstrokes:
Vincent van Gogh
• In Paris, van Gogh created over 20 self-portraits, displaying his continuing experimentation with complementary color contrast and a bolder style
• Eventually, van Gogh left Paris for Arles in Southern France, hoping to establish a new community of artists
• He was inspired by Arles:– Clarity of light– Vibrant colors of Spring– 14 paintings of orchards in less than a month– Painting outdoors varied his style and technique– Also influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e Prints, which van Gogh collected
• Emphasis on line quality
The Flowering Orchard; Vincent van Gogh; 1888; Post-Impressionism; Oil on canvas
A Group of Children Playing under the Plum Blossoms in the Snow;Hashimoto Chikanobu; 1887; Japanese Woodblock Print
Shoes; Vincent van Gogh; 1888; Post-Impressionism; Oil on Canvas
• Unlaced shoes: representative of van Gogh’s nomadic lifestyle
The EAR!!!
• Paul Gauguin joined van Gogh in Arles until van Gogh’s “breakdown,” in which he was originally believed to have cut his own ear off…
• It is also theorized that van Gogh made up that story to protect Gauguin, who cut van Gogh’s ear off with a sword during an argument!
• Gauguin, who was unhappy in Arles, packed his bags to leave, sword (épée) in hand (he was a fencer); van Gogh had earlier thrown a glass at him, and followed him as he tried to leave
The EAR!!!
• The argument continued as Gauguin was trying to leave and ultimately he cut van Gogh’s ear off either in self-defense or anger
• He threw his sword into the Rhône, and van Gogh delivered the ear to a woman he was seeing and staggered home, where police discovered him the next day
The EAR!!!
• Both kept a pact of silence, van Gogh so that he could keep Gauguin as a friend, and Gauguin to avoid prosecution…!
• BUT, van Gogh AND Gauguin sort of broke that pact, which is what generated this new theory…
Evidence!
• In van Gogh’s final recorded words to Gauguin, he writes “You are quiet, I will be, too.”
• In writing to his brother, Theo, van Gogh hints at what happened without directly breaking the pact of silence
• Gauguin made a request to van Gogh to recover his fencing mask and gloves from Arles, but not his sword…
• Van Gogh made a sketch of an ear, and wrote the word “ictus” on it: Latin term used in fencing meaning a “hit.” The zig-zag patterns above the ear are believed to represent Gauguin’s sword stroke
The EAR!!!
• Historians say that although van Gogh clearly suffered from seizures, he was not “mad”/crazy at this point
• It is believed that van Gogh never recovered from the shock of this event, and that it led to the aggravation of his seizures and paved the way to his suicide
• There is not enough solid evidence to prove any of these theories, however…
Vincent van Gogh’s Life Continued…
• Voluntarily committed himself to asylum in Saint-Rémy in 1889, where his paintings changed yet again: extraordinarily poignant emotion, thick, brilliant colors with dark, definitive outlines, agitated lines, and distorted perspective• Stayed at this asylum for a year• Painted over 150 canvases here!!!
Originally, he was confined to hospital grounds, here are some of his paintings:
• A Corridor in the Asylum; 1889; Black chalk and gouache on pink Ingres paper
Eventually, he was allowed to venture outside, and devoted a series to Olive Groves and Cypress trees
• Olive Trees; 1889; Oil on canvas
Just before he checked himself out of the asylum, van Gogh painted four still lifes of bouquets of flowers, including:
Irises, 1890; Oil on canvas
Vincent van Gogh
• After his stay in asylum, van Gogh moved closer to Paris to be near his brother, Theo
• He averaged 1 painting per day after 2 months there• On July 27, 1890, at age 37, van Gogh is believed to
have shot himself in the chest in a wheat field while painting. He was able to make his way back to his room late that evening, and died two days later
• His death is relatively controversial, as a gun was never recovered. There are several theories as to whether or not his death was truly a suicide
Overall
• In his short, 10 year career as an artist, van Gogh produced nearly 900 paintings and more than 1,100 works on paper
• Although his work was not respected during his lifetime, his art currently holds a highly respected status in the world of art today for its rough beauty, emotional honesty, and bold use of color
• Van Gogh’s work ultimately influenced other famous artists that followed him: Henri Matisse and the Fauvists, the German Expressionists, and even Pablo Picasso
Assignment
• Your self portrait needs to be as honest as possible
• Include your flaws• Show your true personality• Use facial expression and color to communicate
your personality• Apply the paint in a similar manner to Post-
Impressionism (short, rapid, brushstrokes or dabs of pure color)