2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The picture "The Scream", created presumably at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, has gained incredible popularity in our time. She has been repeatedly parodied, created comics and reimagined sketches. The image from the picture was used in advertising, cartoons, videos. The idea of a mask from the horror movie "Scream" was inspired by this particular canvas. There are legends about the curse of the painting - there are many mysterious diseases, deaths, mysterious cases around it.
Did Vincent van Gogh paint this painting? The Scream painting was originally called Nature's Cry.
Painter Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in the village of Grotto (Netherlands). In addition to him, the pastor's family had five more children. And only one of them, the younger brother Theo, was of great importance in the life of Vincent. Theo financed his brother all his life, he was the only one who believed in his genius.
Van Gogh, according to family tradition, tried himself as a commission agent in an art and trading company, was a preacher and teacher. Having failed in these fields, he turned to art.
Studying painting, Van Gogh copied the paintings of masters of past centuries. He studied the intricacies of the craft on the example of brilliant artists. At the same time, he created his own unique author's style.
Introduction to painting
By the age of 30, Van Gogh devoted himself entirely to painting. In landscapes, still lifes, portraits, the artist was looking for his color and light. He often worked in nature - under the hot sun or in the piercing wind. Van Gogh's he alth deteriorated rapidly. He was treated several times in a psychiatric clinic. The artist understood that the increased frequency of seizures and hallucinations indicated an imminent death.
He sets to work furiously, depicting a bright and beautiful world (The Harvest, Fishing Boats at Sainte-Marie, La Crau Valley). During periods of melancholy and loneliness, a completely different mood of the paintings appears (“At the Gates of Eternity”, “Night Cafe in Arles”, “Prisoners' Walk”). When you look at these canvases, you get the feeling that the painting “The Scream” was created in the same condition. Van Gogh is often considered the author of this masterpiece. Is this statement true?
His only sale in his lifetime was the painting Red Vineyards at Arles. Remaining misunderstood by his contemporaries, the artist contemplates suicide. On July 29, 1890, he shot himself in the chest with a pistol. Van Gogh always understood that his time was limited. He worked with the last of his strength, devoting himself to art. Museum in Amsterdam, dedicated to the work of the crazy artist, annually gathers crowds of tourists and fans.
Realizing yourgenius, was Van Gogh happy in life? The picture "Scream" is full of ringing horror and hopelessness. But who is the author of this painting?
Starry Night Painting
One of Van Gogh's most famous paintings, in addition to fields and sunflowers, is Starry Night. The fact is known that it was written in the psychiatric hospital of Saint-Remy. During periods of improved he alth, the artist was allowed to paint.
Brother Theo made sure that Vincent was given a private room for painting. Van Gogh depicted local landscapes and flowers from life. But Starry Night was written from memory. The movements of the stars are depicted in broad strokes - the luminous lights seem to spin in a spiral in a bizarre dance. Thin branches of cypress stretch to the sky. And under this mysterious firmament, the village froze, surrounded by the blue of the sky.
What did Van Gogh want to say with his painting? The painting "Scream" resembles the style of "Starry Night". The same wavy lines and inner restlessness - the insignificance of man in front of the power of nature. A sense of misfortune, looming despair peep through the cosmic immensity of existence.
Reality or altered state?
In the environment of art historians and psychiatrists to this day there are disputes about how truthfully Vincent van Gogh saw reality. "The Scream" is an unusual picture. It clearly indicates the deformation of the artist's consciousness.
Van Gogh's late painting is the fruit of research into the work of the mentally ill. Psychiatrists, far from the evolution of art, callthe artist's painting is the fruit of an altered consciousness. They argue that reality in his canvases passes through the prism of an unhe althy state. The unusual style indicates a pathological mental state.
Art critics' opinion
Art historians, on the contrary, agree that Van Gogh's painting is a manifestation of genius. The unique style, based on the classics and impressionism, points to the individualism of the artist. Between bouts of madness and hallucinations, Van Gogh showed amazing accuracy in setting artistic goals and objectives. His self-control emphasizes the clarity of thinking at the moment of creation.
Means for creating an imaginary world - this is how Van Gogh sees his painting. The painting "The Scream" is permeated with a gloomy foreboding of trouble. A rattling haze in the background, a scream of horror in the foreground - this is truly a mystical premonition of a future catastrophe.
Ear story
Paul Gauguin, French painter, was a friend of Van Gogh. In 1888 they decided to spend the winter together in Arles. The temper of both painters, their violent quarrels led to trouble. In a half-mad state, Vincent cut off his ear after the scandal with Gauguin - this is one of the versions of the artist's act.
According to another version, the joint drinking of alcohol and heated arguments about painting led to a small brawl between friends. Could it be that Gauguin cut off Van Gogh's ear? There is an option that not all of the artist's ear was cut off, but only the lobe.
There is another version according to which Van Goghsuffered from otitis media. Severe pain, joint drinking with Gauguin and their quarrels inspired Vincent to this way of getting rid of suffering.
The legend of the prostitute, over which two comrades argued, ended in an unpleasant ear incident. This version of the development of events appealed to creative people. It was this version of the conflict that formed the basis of the book and film about Van Gogh.
The most banal version of what happened: after a stormy feast the next morning, Vincent accidentally cut off his ear. While shaving, a strong tremor of the hands led to an absurd incident that became the hallmark of the artist.
Is there a connection between this event and the image of the canvas "Scream"? The protagonist of the picture, clutching his ears with his hands, desperately screams in pain. Such a characterization of Van Gogh's painting "The Scream" is impossible for the simple reason that he is not its author.
Mysterious painting
The Scream was painted between 1893 and 1910. The blazing glow of the sky, the terrible despair in the eyes of the protagonist, the unreality of everything that was happening - the author was in a state of complete spiritual confusion. Is it possible to assume that the painting "The Scream" is Van Gogh?
Some features of this mysterious painting have been noticed. When a person "interacts" with a picture, he suddenly starts having problems. Some people had relatives die, some went crazy or fell into a long-term depression.
Most often, museum workers became victims of the painting. They most of all had to contact with the canvas. There is a tragic story about an employee who accidentally dropped a painting. The onset of severe pain in the head drove the unfortunate man to suicide. Another museum worker touched the painting for the purity of the experiment. In the evening, he was burned alive in his own house. How true are these stories? It is not known for certain. But the negative energy of the picture is felt even on the reproduction.
Given alcoholism and mental illness, we can assume that the painting "The Scream" - Van Gogh. The photo of the canvas conveys a wave of hopelessness to the viewer. But the true author is another artist.
Description of the painting "Scream"
The real area is depicted on the canvas. It is located in the city of Oslo, next to the clinic for the mentally ill. The sister of the author of the painting was treated for an illness in it.
The screaming figure on the canvas evokes different associations. She is compared to a skeleton, a mummy or an embryo. The protagonist of the picture screams from the despair that seized him. Pain and fear emanates from the undulating lines of the landscape. They, as if in a haze, rattle on a high note, giving rise to dissonance with the cry of the hero. The painting "The Scream" is permeated with a polytonal chord. Van Gogh (description, emotions, general style of the masterpiece) is not without reason considered the author of the canvas. Apparently, his state of mind was similar to that in which Edvard Munch painted his painting.
Who wrote "The Scream"?
Edvard Munch - Norwegian painter, theater artist, graphic artist, art theorist is the author of "The Scream". It is possible that the general style of the canvas was inspired by the work of the Dutchartist. Cosmic vibrations in the background seem to be drawn by Van Gogh. The painting "The Scream" is in the National Gallery and the Munch Museum (Oslo, Norway).
Edvard Munch created several versions of the masterpiece in a desire to get rid of his painful sensation. The bridge on the canvas, two figures in the background - the only reality of the chaos into which the main character plunges. The indifference of these figures emphasizes the complete loneliness of a person before fear and longing.
The author seemed to foresee the future catastrophes of the 20th century - revolutions, world wars, environmental disasters.
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