A wounded soul, Vincent Van Gogh battled despair his whole life. But despite having lost half of his left ear and spending his final months in a mental institution, he was nevertheless able to achieve a stunning artistic breakthrough. In 1853, Vincent was born in the little Dutch community of Groot-Zundert. He was an avid reader and art enthusiast as a youngster.
He studied at the secondary school of theology in Utrecht to prepare for missionary service after working as an apprentice clerk. Vincent, however, decided to pursue his passion for painting despite twice failing his examinations and going through personal struggles.
Van Gogh enrolled in the Academy of Antwerp in 1879, when he fell in love with Eugénie Loyer, his landlady’s daughter. Their romance, which lasted until 1883, served as the basis for some of Vincent’s most well-known pieces, including Yellow Chair and The Potato Eaters.
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How Van Gogh Created His Masterpieces by Combining Shapes and Colors
Vincent van Gogh’s artwork is typically associated with his vivid color palette and recognizable brushstrokes. But, many individuals are unaware that his fascination with Japanese woodblock prints significantly impacted the colors he used. While on vacation in the South of France in 1882, Vincent came upon the Impressionist movement.
The Impressionists rejected the academic art of their day and chose to concentrate on what they saw to be the realism of the world around them, such as the reflection of light on water, the shifting hues of the sky, and the changing of the seasons. However, the impressionist movement was rejected by the young Van Gogh because he believed the painters were overly preoccupied with the effects of light.
He believed that light and color must be combined into one entity to produce an exquisite picture. Vincent van Gogh drawings describe an artistic breakthrough that is still relevant today.
Wheatfield with Cypress I – Vincent Van Gogh
Learning About the Magic of Color
When Van Gogh relocated to Paris in 1886, he met Paul Gauguin, who shared his fascination with Japanese woodblock prints. The two artists browsed the old master paintings for hours in the Louvre, including those by Raphael, Rembrandt, and Leonardo da Vinci.
They were curious to research the color schemes employed by these painters and sought to understand why their creations were so potent. According to Gauguin and Van Gogh, the most potent colors were those that were hard to get. Therefore, they favored the pricey pigments of the old masters over the artificial colors employed by the Impressionists.
They were taught to appreciate color for its potency and intensity. Human emotions and color are linked, and color may influence mood. Therefore, the selection of color is crucial in every artwork. The intensity of ancient master paintings captivated Van Gogh and Gauguin, who believed that the colors of nature lacked the necessary intensity to produce great art.
How Van Gogh Came to Understand the Power of Shapes
Van Gogh gained a valuable understanding of the significance of an object’s shape as a result of his study of the works of the great masters. An object’s form should ideally match that of the thing itself. For instance, a tree’s trunk form should resemble a genuine tree trunk rather than a rectangle with a few leaves on it. Van Gogh came upon the work of French Impressionist painter Georges Seurat in 1888.
Seurat invented a novel technique known as pointillism with his painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Instead of attempting to portray the environment realistically, Seurat believed it was more vital to establish harmony between the many shapes and colors in a painting.
Road With Cypress And Star – Vincent Van Gogh
The Expression of Color
The use of clashing colors to generate various emotions is one of Vincent van Gogh’s drawings’ most pervasive motifs. For instance, the colors yellow, red, and orange are frequently related to vigor, passion, hope, and warmth. In general, the colors blue, green, and purple are relaxing and convey emotions of peace, serenity, and tranquility.
Van Gogh frequently accentuated yellow or orange backgrounds against blue or green ones in his paintings. He utilized these hues to represent various concepts, including the contrast between the dark earth and the bright sun and the idea that life is round and ever-changing.
Last Words
It’s critical to remember that creative breakthroughs don’t just happen. They are the outcome of arduous effort and endurance. If you’re having trouble with your craft, keep in mind that you can succeed.
Simply have faith in yourself. If you’re having trouble with your craft, remember that you can succeed. Simply have faith in yourself. For example, despite having a mental illness for most of his life, Van Gogh was nevertheless able to produce outstanding works of art. You can accomplish it if he does, too!
His achievements
Van Gogh’s commitment to expressing the underlying spirituality of both man and nature resulted in a union of style and subject matter that produced dramatic, inventive, rhythmic, and dynamic works that transmit much more than the simple outward aspect of the subject. While it caused him great distress throughout his life, Van Gogh’s mental instability served as the frenetic inspiration for his passionate depictions of his surroundings. It gave each painting a deeper psychological significance.
The romanticized picture of the anguished artist became linked with Van Gogh’s volatile personal nature. Van Gogh employed spontaneous, expressive painting and symbolic hues to convey his innermost feelings. From abstract expressionism through fauvism, many succeeding contemporary movements came to be defined by these practices and approaches.
Conclusion
Van Gogh’s widespread impact is observed across art history. He was a truly gifted artist. Van Gogh produced 1,100 drawings and paintings during his lifetime in addition to 900 paintings, yet he only ever sold one picture. Almost all of Van Gogh’s artwork was entrusted to his brother Theo because he had no biological offspring.
