Describe, Analyze, Interpret,
Compare and Contrast
Vincent Van Gogh
Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, 1853-1890, Post-Impressionism is an umbrella term
that encompasses a variety of artists who were influenced by Impressionism but took
their art in other directions.
Impressionism is a loose, spontaneous manner of painting.
Monet Water lillies
Vincent van Gogh is as famous
for his self-portraits. He painted
the majority of them, twenty-two
in all, during two years.
Van Gogh's images during that
period (1886-1888) and for the
two years before his suicide in
1890, painted self-portraits
capturing detailed emotions of
shock, disturbance, tranquility or
confusion.
Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin ,1888
He even captured his own
image, Self-Portrait with
Bandaged Head, (1889)
after his infamous
mutilation of his ear.
In it, he appears troubled
and somewhat dazed. He
appears to be lost within
himself, isolated, a sign of
how his tragic life would
ultimately end.
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Head, (1889)
This, the last of his self-portraits,
and one of the greatest, was
painted only months before his
death.
In this painting, the background
and the head have been painted
with swirls that create a feeling of
movement and excitement.
This is a contrast to the facial
features which are stern and
angry.
Self-Portrait,1889
Frida Kahlo
Mexican Painter, Surrealist,
1907-1954
Like Van Gogh, the story of Frida
Kahlo can be read in her selfportraits.
Approximately one-third of her
work is the exploration of her self,
physically and mentally.
Kahlo created some fifty-five selfportraits as a kind of therapy to
face the most troubling events of
her life; her leg crippled from
polio, permanent injuries from a
bus accident, and botched
surgeries.
Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1938
• In her selfportraits, she
could come out
from hiding and
reveal her
troubles in paint.
Self-Portrait (Dedicated to Leon Trotsky),1937
•
But unlike Vincent van Gogh,
who searched for an answer in
his self-portraits, Frida Kahlo
knew the answers. She used the
canvas to tell her story.
•
When she painted this painting,
she said the Mexican image was
the Frida that Diego, her
husband, loved and the
European one is the Frida
whom he did not.
•
Connecting the two Frida’s is an
artery. The artery starts at a
miniature Diego in the Mexican
Frida’s hand and the European
Frida is attempting to stop the
blood but is unsuccessful.
The Two Fridas, 1939
Self Portrait
• If you were to create a portrait would it be to
express and emotion or to tell a story?
• What would you include in the portrait?
• Write a description of the artwork.