Vincent van Gogh
Self Portrait Grid Painting
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; PostImpressionism; 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:
These paintings are on the reverse side
of each other!
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:
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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; PostImpressionism; Oil on canvas
A Group of Children Playing under the
Plum Blossoms in the Snow;
Hashimoto Chikanobu; 1887; Japanese
Woodblock Print
Still Lifes in Arles
*Oleanders: joyous and life-affirming
• Oleanders; 1888; Oil on Canvas
Shoes; Vincent van Gogh; 1888; PostImpressionism; 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 SaintRémy 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
Cypresses; 1889; Oil on canvas
Wheat Field with Cypresses; 1889;
Oil on canvas
He also painted Starry Night (1889) from the eastfacing window of his room at Saint-Rémy
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
Vincent, 1866, Age 13
Vincent, 1872, Age 19
Self Portrait with Straw Hat, Vincent
van Gogh, 1887
Self Portrait, Vincent van Gogh,
1887
Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat,
Vincent van Gogh, 1887-1888
Self Portrait, Vincent van Gogh,
1887
Self Portrait with Japanese Print,
Vincent van Gogh, 1887
Self Portrait Without Beard, Vincent
van Gogh, 1888
Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Easel, and
Japanese Print, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear,
Vincent van Gogh, 1889