2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Portraits of Van Gogh occupy a prominent place in the history of world painting. A significant part of them was written in the 1880s-1890s, that is, just at the time when the famous artist was going through a very controversial period of creativity: on the one hand, these were decades of rapid growth, and on the other hand, he was going through a difficult depression, which affected his style of writing.
Creative traits
Portraits of Van Gogh should be considered in the context of the main features of his formation as an artist. His style is highly ambiguous and is still the subject of considerable controversy. But the originality of his letter is undeniable. Many art historians agree that the course of impressionism had a great influence on him. And in fact, the author himself, when writing canvases, adhered to the principle of the need to depict, first of all, the inner world and complex psychological experiences. This determined the manner and style of his writing: some uneven lines, blurring of colors, play with colors, lack of proportionality in the composition. This clearly shows the influence of the Impressionists.
Differences from the Impressionists
However, if the latter paid attention first of allon the emotional component, Van Gogh's portraits are distinguished by depth and even some drama. In this respect, he is not at all like the Impressionists, who sought to capture only their fleeting impressions of what they saw, while Van Gogh sought to explore the personality and its inner world. The artist himself considered one of his main creative principles the need to depict and reproduce the soul of a person, his essence and main character traits. Thus, the portraits of Van Gogh not only convey the impression of what they saw, but rather reveal the deep essence of the people depicted.
Features of portraits
The artist considered portrait painting to be one of the most important in his work. A feature of his works in this genre is that he mainly chose very simple people as models and sought to convey their complex inner world. He also paid special attention to the image of human suffering, experiences. Therefore, his images of people are extremely serious and even somewhat dramatic.
Some work
Portraits of Van Gogh with descriptions are very important for understanding the attitude of this famous artist. For example, the painting "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" is written in a rather melancholy spirit. The author conveyed the difficult state of his hero, who is in heavy thoughts, which is especially noticeable against the background of the contrast of a bright blue background with his dejected expression on his face. Van Gogh's works with the title are especially expressive in conveyingtheir author's idea. The painting “Grieving Old Man” is a prime example of his work dedicated to human suffering. This theme, as mentioned above, occupied one of the main places in his work. In addition, the author attached special importance to the image of ordinary people. So, his painting "Peasant with a Pipe" especially truthfully conveys his psychology of a simple worker.
Female images also occupy an important place in his portraiture. For example, the painting "Arlesian" depicts a bright image of a woman on a beige background, which emphasizes her calm and peaceful state of mind. Particularly interesting is the painting "Portrait of a young girl against the backdrop of a grain field." Among the above works, this painting draws attention to itself by the fact that the figure of the girl is drawn against the backdrop of a landscape that sets off her beautiful appearance, and most importantly, emphasizes the spiritual features of her face.
Self-portraits
In conclusion, I should say briefly about the artist's depiction of himself. He has a whole series of self-portraits that allow you to better trace the path of his development as a master. In addition to paintings without titles, it is necessary to mention such canvases as "Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear" and "Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat". In these paintings, the artist appears as a complex personality with a difficult fate. This is especially evident in his face and expression. Finally, the composition itself and the background were chosen by Van Gogh in such a way as to further emphasize his own psychology andinner world. The artist himself wrote that he sought to understand the depth of his experiences and therefore achieved a special poignancy in the depiction of facial features. The portraits of Van Gogh, the photos with the names of which are presented in this article, prove this.
Criticism and recognition
It is indicative that the recognition of the artist came after his death. During his lifetime, he was not immediately recognized and appreciated. However, some of his contemporaries recognized his talent and helped him in every possible way. However, most critics were negative about the fact that they did not follow the rules of proportions, depicted their figures in an unusual way, and worked too boldly with paints. But already in the 20th century, his canvases became recognized masterpieces and sold under the hammers for huge sums.
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