vincent van gogh

Slide 1: 

Vincent Van Gogh All rights reserved. Available free for non-commercial and non-profit use only 1853 – 1890, aged 37 I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. Letter from Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo. Arles, c. 17 Sept 1888. [Van Gogh] has been occupied with contemporary society’s problems for so long, and he is still battling on with his good-heartedness and boundless energy. His efforts have not been in vain, but he will probably not live to see them come to fruition, for by the time people understand what he is saying in the paintings it will be too late. A letter from Theo van Gogh to his wife Jo. Paris. 9-10 Feb 1889. Jerry Tse. London. April 2007. version 1.0

They would not listen they did not know how : 

They would not listen they did not know how He passionately concerned for his fellowmen and a firm believer that art should concern with contemporary problems, seeking to stir consciences and change our society. His story is also about the love between two brothers. His brother, Theo encouraged him to paint and unfailingly supported him financially. Vincent even died in his arm. Theo died six months later. The story of Vincent Van Gogh is a story of a lonely and tragic man. He failed as a salesman, failed as a teacher, failed as a priest, failed to sell his painting, failed in his relationship with his friend Gauguin, failed to find love and failed to kill himself. Yet he succeeded in becoming one of the most admired and loved artist of our time. Vincent and Theo were buried side by side in the Auvers cemetery. The two graves are covered with ivy, Van Gogh’s favourite plant, which symbolises the bonds between the brothers. But above all Van Gogh was driven by his obsessive zeal, which is reflected in the numerous of paintings on the same subject and his excessive use of the yellow colour.

Weathered faces lined in pain : 

Weathered faces lined in pain After Van Gogh was dismissed as a art gallery salesman in Paris, he began his training as a missionary, in Brussels. In 1878, went to the Belgian mining district of the Borinage as a preacher. His devotion to the miners was total. He gave his clothes away and like them, he lived a life of extreme poverty. He was dismissed, due to his ‘unorthodoxed behavior’. It was in this period, he painted his first major painting The Potato Eaters. The painting takes on the colour of a ‘dusty potato’. It echoes Van Gogh’s concern for the poor and his respect for the dignity of labour. He wanted to paint the harsh reality of the peasant. “I have tried to emphasize that those people, eating their potatoes in the lamp-light have dug the earth with those very [bare] hands they put in the dish, and so it speaks of manual labour, and how they have honestly earned their food.” The painting appears ‘crude’ compared to his drawing (on the next slide). We do know Van Gogh took great care and planning when he worked on the painting. On the reflection on the girl’s eyes, Van Gogh was careful enough to use the same colour as with the lamp. On the lamp, he painted the flickering of the oil lamp with spikes of colours, around a glowing halo of the flame.

Slide 5: 

Look out on a summer’s day

The ragged men in ragged clothes : 

The ragged men in ragged clothes

Arles and Saint-Remy : 

Arles and Saint-Remy The landmark of Arles, Provence On first impression, Van Gogh thought Dr Gachet is sicker than he. He did two portraits of the doctor all emphasised on his melancholic mood.

Slide 8: 

Van Gogh lived on the first floor of the house, with green windows. He ate at the café next door. The house overlooks the River Rhone, in Arles. Like most of his later paintings, he liked to use strong contrasting colours, particularly blue and yellow. There is always a feeling of emptiness in his painting. The railway on the right link him to his brother in Paris. Van Gogh told Theo that his only friend in the town, lived between the two bridges. He was the postman.

Slide 9: 

The Night Cafe Also known as Café Terrace at Night, it is a painting of a popular café in Arles. Here Van Gogh used the strong contrasting warm, bright light of yellow against the cool deep blue sky of the sparkling stars. He used dashes of colour which he learnt in Paris. The technique used on the cobblestones of the street. A thick layer of yellow paint, as in the canopy of the cafe, gives the picture a brilliant glow.

Slide 10: 

The Night Cafe ‘The Night Café’ today at Arles. Cleverly, he placed the faceless people in middle ground, putting distances between the viewer / painter from human contacts. Thus emphasizing the isolation and created a sense of loneliness. The almost white colour of the circular table tops are echoed against the shinning stars. Whilst the strong contrast of blue and yellow, bright and darkness creates a sense of conflict in the painting.

Slide 12: 

Van Gogh copied several of Jean-Francois Millet’s (1814-1875) paintings. Millet had a strong influence on his peasant paintings.

Slide 13: 

Altogether he painted some seven paintings of Sunflower. Some of them are near identical. Flaming flowers that brightly blaze

The stranger that you’ve met : 

The stranger that you’ve met The Postman Joseph Roulin was one of Vincent’s few friends in Arles. The postman sits alertly, with raised eyebrows and a direct gaze, with a fish tail beard.

Painter of Empty Chairs & Dirty Shoes : 

Painter of Empty Chairs & Dirty Shoes Does these paintings reflect his loneliness and his obsessions?

Slide 18: 

Van Gogh was an admirer of the bold design, decorative colours and strong outlines of Japanese prints.

Swirling Clouds in violet haze. Reflecting Vincent’s eyes of China blue. : 

Swirling Clouds in violet haze. Reflecting Vincent’s eyes of China blue.

Slide 22: 

Van Gogh restricted his palette to a very few strong colours, but the effects he achieved are surprisingly varied. He liked – red and green, or blue and orange. In The Bridge at Langlois he used six basic colours and in The Starry Night he limited it to four basic colours. At least two versions of this paintings exist. Van Gogh managed to turn a small parish church into a much grander building. It has a strange perspective, with twisted shapes and harsh colours.

This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you. : 

This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you. This the last painting of Van Gogh, painted only days before his death. It was aggressively painted with slashes from a palette knife, creating a rough brutal scene, pulling in different directions. The path lead you into the picture but going nowhere. Two stormy clouds on swirled and stirred, thrashing ripples across the wheatfield. This frightened a flock of feeding crow to flee. It is a painting of contrasting colours and rhythm. It also marks the place where he tried to end his life.

The darkness in my soul : 

The darkness in my soul If Vincent Van Gogh is alive today, most people will find it difficult to make friend with him. In fact, the townspeople of Arles drew up a petition to have Van Gogh readmitted to the mental hospital. Vincent Van Gogh is driven by his passion. There is only a thin line between passion and obsession. It is clear that he threw himself totally into his mission in Borinage, perhaps beyond just passion would have done. In a different age, he maybe regarded as a saint, not unlike that of St Francis.

How you suffered for your sanity : 

How you suffered for your sanity Like everyone of us, Van Gogh had a dark side to his character. That should not take away his genuine concerned for his fellow beings. Life is full of contradiction. On one hand Van Gogh is the preacher and on another he frequently visited the brothel. He also suffered from syphilis as well. There are some who believe that his madness was caused by his illness or the mercuric treatment. Everybody heard about his story of cutting off bit of his ear lobe and presented it to his prostitute, Rachel, after his quarrel with Gauguin, who was going to desert him. Van Gogh had a history of self-harm, perhaps to draw sympathy to himself. The act of cutting off his ear lobe is a symbol of defeat. Like the bullfight in the Arena, it is customary to cut off the ear on the defeated bull to present it as trophy of defeat.

The End – Perhaps they’ll listen now : 

The End – Perhaps they’ll listen now Music : Vincent by Don Mclean. 1971 from his album “The very best of Don McLean” Created by : Jerry Tse. April 2007 London.