Vincent van Gogh's Paintings and Life

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), perhaps the most famous artist in the world, is perceived by
many as the 'mad' artist, the man who painted in a frenzy or simply the tormented soul who cuts off
his ear. His artistic genius is often overshadowed by those who see his paintings as mere visual
manifestations of his troubled mind. Whilst in part this may be true, in reality his innovative and
unique artistic style was of enormous importance to a host of artists who followed in his wake. Even
when openly influenced by his predecessors or contemporaries his art remained identifiably his own,
developing a distinctive style that failed to be accepted by the art-buying public in his own time. The
career of Vincent van Gogh as a painter was short, but his paintings revolutionized artistic practice
and styles. The intensity of his vision, his wonderful sense of color, and the extraordinary boldness of
his technique created masterpieces that exercise a profound influence on the art of the twentieth
century.

His earliest works, completed from 1881 through 1883, reflect a novice's attention to detail as
well as hints of the nascent genius that would fully emerge in his later paintings. Although his
sketches and watercolor drawings may, at first glance, seem two-dimensional and amateurish, they
are fascinating in terms of their testament to the van Gogh's early studies in Realism.

Vincent van Gogh produced his first drawings while staying at his parents' home in Etten, The
Netherlands, schooled chiefly by books on anatomy, perspective and artistic technique. The artist
restricted his first drawings to a black and white palette, believing mastery of this discipline to be
essential before attempting works in color.

His first drawings of people depict various peasants in static poses, some in profile, while his
premier landscapes are largely studies in perspective. In his early pen and watercolor drawings,
Vincent incorporated shadow and light rather than color to create dimension. Drawing upon the
weighty influences of masters such as Millet, Rembrandt and Daumier, the artist's focus on the human
figure was critical to his artistic development.

Vincent's Still Life With Cabbage and Clogs, one of his first paintings, makes use of the
somber earth tones that characterize his early works in the Dutch style. It also features a rich splash of
color, a harbinger of the brilliant Van Gogh painting style to come.

Still Life With Cabbage and Clogs

View of the Sea at Scheveningen

Van Gogh landscape painting of 1883 Bulb Fields testifies to the artist's awakening to the
expressive use of light and color so prominent in his later work. In the foreground of the painting,
hyacinths in white, blue, pink and golden hues fill garden boxes that lead to eye toward a distant
hillside and a sky filled with white clouds. Shadowed, thatch-roofed houses frame the scene while a
gardener walks between boxes in the middle distance.

Bulb Fields
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 In 1885, the artist produced The Potato Eaters, a work many consider to be his first
masterpiece. In this depiction of a farm family seated around their humble table, Vincent van Gogh
invokes the influence of Rembrandt by virtue of the shadowy setting that is nevertheless filled with
personality and life. A heaping plate of potatoes illustrates the simple wealth of those who earn their
living on the land. The companionable atmosphere, lit by the warm glow of a single lamp, inspires in
the viewer a yearning to take part in this lowly yet companionable scene.

The Potato Eaters

In 1887, Vincent van Gogh experimented with the pointillist technique espoused by Seurat,
who used it in such works as A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. In one of his
many self-portraits: Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, Vincent utilizes tiny points of light-reflecting
color to reveal a sharp-featured man with the world-weary expression of someone who has seen more
than his share of hardship.

Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat

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 Vincent van Gogh painted his brilliant 1889 work, Irises, in the garden at the asylum at Saint-
Remy -de-Provence during his stay struggling with rapid mental deterioration. The painting, which
exhibits some characteristics of Japanese woodcuts as well as the artist's penchant for color and light.

Irises, in the garden

With his illness exacting an increasing toll on his daily activities, the last months of Vincent
van Gogh's life were nevertheless his most productive. Amid gradually increasing recognition for his
work, he entered a period of extreme fruitfulness during his final 60 days on earth. Wheatfield with
Crows is believed to be the last work of Vincent van Gogh.

Wheatfield with Crows

As he approached the end of his life, Vincent van Gogh transitioned to the green and blue
color spectrum prominent in Thatched Cottages at Cordeville. He also favored curved, undulating
lines to indicate movement and energy, such as the fence line in the foreground of the painting and the
treetops behind. The distortion of familiar shapes, such as the cottages themselves, takes the artwork
beyond Impressionism toward new iterations of expression. Vincent van Gogh was establishing an
entirely fresh Post-Impressionistic style as he advanced toward the day of his death at the age of 37.

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 Thatched Cottages at Cordeville

On 27 July 1890, Vincent van Gogh was shot in the stomach, and passed away in the early
morning of 29 July 1890 in his room at the Auberge Ravoux in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise in
northern France. Although official history maintains that Van Gogh committed suicide, the latest
research reveals that Van Gogh's death might be caused by an accident.

Today Vincent van Gogh is generally regarded as the greatest Dutch painter since Rembrandt
Even though he garnered only a very limited following during his lifetime, Van Gogh's artistic style
had a considerable impact on scores of artists who followed. His works heralded the development of
the Fauvism, Expressionism and Modernism schools of the 20th century.

In the decade following van Gogh's death, his former colleagues, including Gauguin, Paul
Cezanne, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as well as contemporaries such as Edvard Munch and
Gustav Klimt continued to innovate, incorporating influences from the now-mainstream school of
Impressionism as well as Van Gogh's brand of Post-Expressionism into new artistic styles.

Vincent van Gogh did not live to see his talent recognized. Nor could he possibly ever have
dream that he would be an enduring source of inspiration for subsequent generations of artists. The
career of Vincent van Gogh as a painter was short, but his paintings revolutionized artistic practice
and styles. The intensity of his vision, his wonderful sense of color and the extraordinary boldness of
his technique created masterpieces that exercised a profound influence on the art of the twentieth
century.