Vincent Van Gogh, an artist way ahead of his era, if he had only known that his life was much more precious than the individual who took it from him at 37 years old, surviving for an excruciating 29 hours after being shot in the stomach. Mysteriously the weapon of the killers choice has never been recovered, nor has the suspicions subsided even to this day. A mix of just wanting to give up when every day is tormented by a group of hoodlums until you check yourself into an insane asylum and move to a new city with little to support yourself but still not giving up. Then to have your closest family member never becoming your best friend, however, to the family eye they're your biggest fan and they became your best friend in the first place because you never sent all of the letters that you wrote them in fear that they would not understand just like the rest of society. This is what you won't read about in museum write-ups, or editorials.....this is the real philosophy based on countless hours of scholarly research I did on my own. Not for a class, not because some professor was breathing down my neck, not because I "had" to. The reason stands for my inspiration blossoming from the artist's rebelliously unique artistic style coined post-impressionism.
I feel that so many people still do not know that much about Van Gogh other than rumors after you bring up one of his eye-opening painting titles and rattle off the usual jargon that follows. The perfect alignments of perspectives and depth along with the thickness of symbolism and meaning portrays each of his artworks on so many levels. His brush strokes outline the rich color choices that were all explained to his brother, Theo, throughout numerous letters recovered.
Recently, I took my son on a trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art, where sadly much to my dismay Van Gogh cannot be seen there at this time. However, upon returning home I had so many questions going through my mind. Where can you find his art? I thought I knew everything there was to know about this artist, I love how there are always new theories and new information surfacing. I also noticed that within the same time frame and during the impressionism era, how smooth and blended all the other artworks were. In contrast, Van Gogh ended up paving the way for the modern art generation, in my opinion, nothing compares to the level he was at nor could be duplicated.-This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and Van Gogh Studio. If you make a purchase from one of these links I receive a small commission that I utilize to keep creating works of art and writing blog posts. If you want to read more please visit my full disclosure and privacy policy link above.
Most of his sketches and paintings were done from memory
Van Gogh was not outdoors enjoying the scenery while he painted his most famous, Starry Night
or Cafe Terrace at Night as he normally was. He was actually gazing out the window while staying at a mental hospital after a few bouts of depression and other paranoia that kept creeping into his mind. Some theorize that he may have been hiding from people that were harassing him and not actually paranoid at all. A group of local hoodlums that would drink beyond their limit and terrorize anyone vulnerable seemed to target Van Gogh for his unusual sleep patterns and his stubborn spirit.In today's age, it's very easy to take a photo or look at one off of the internet and mimic the subject in your own style. I've never done this nor did Van Gogh. His most favored past times were absorbing and observing the great outdoors and marveling the beauty of nature. This is what got me into viewing deeper into the artwork of his, as I also share a love of outdoors that cannot be explained. I wasn't always so enthusiastic about nature until I started getting into the art world, nature has absolutely been the best and only art education I've had.
He was highly misunderstood
This might be obvious however, it might not be so I decided to include this in here. Often times even bullied and made enemies quicker than friends. His missing ear came from a brawl that occurred during a strategic business negotiation with a friend, Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh did, in fact, enter this altercation with a razor suspected that this fellow was not who he seemed to be after reading the letter from Theo that his brother had actually bribed this man to be a roommate and to keep watch on Vincent during his stay in Arles. Vincent receiving this notification rather later than normal due to other circumstances had no idea that his brother was such a paranoid weirdo completely sabotaging the idea that Vincent had arrived thinking. So these two men begin to fight in a standoff type of conversation at first similar to the Wild West show with Clint Eastwood. Suddenly things become really intense and Gaugin being a master at fencing sliced off Van Gogh's ear during this quarrel. Since Vincent still wholeheartedly believed perhaps they would still do business together he vouched to not go to the authorities nor tell the townspeople of such as this happened in the last hours of the night. Interesting how Vincent took the wrath for more than one demeanor that was not his fault much like Jesus took the wrath for our sins.My suspicion is that Theo just couldn't help himself and was somewhat jealous of Vincent, however, valuing himself higher stereotypically doing the right thing in society by getting married and having a family instead of living a dream as he saw Vincent doing. He also financially sponsored Vincent in his endeavors which might have left him bitter. There are hints of jealousy throughout the entire saga of letters between the two. One of them stating that he dreamed of venturing outside of the area he lived in and residing in a new area for the sake of just seeing the world from a different view every day.
Even though they both ended up dying extremely young, I hold a rather low respect for Theo. As much as the art community wants to hold his status as higher I will always refuse. As I'm a business educated woman, I will probably be the first but not last person to state that Theo took full advantage of Vincent in every aspect throughout his life. Theo could have stomped his feet and stood up for his brother well before his death but he didn't. Instead, he stood back continuing to hoard the letters and artworks that his dear brother trusted him with never communicating what Vincent actually meant to him. Coincidently, at the same time when Vincent's ear incident happened, Theo announced that he was getting married which I believe has perpetuated the rumors that Vincent did it himself. I will repeat yet again, Vincent did not cut off his own ear! After the death of Vincent, Theo began going full force, before his own death, within the managing department as he supposedly had many art connections on the business side of things. My question being, if he had so many lucrative connections why were these negotiations taken place after Vincent's death? Was he afraid that Vincent would mess something up and get his other ear cut off?
His mediums
Other than the usage of oil on canvas, Van Gogh, as well as many other artists, is the post-impressionism era and prior mixed their own paints and also the veneer. The paints on the market in that era were not always available when needed and difficult to purchase as negotiations with the merchant was necessary.Artists used different colored dry pigments mixed with linseed oil when the markets ran dry before restocking the paint inventory. The significant lag time between receiving the paint that they needed being available for purchase gave rise to improvising and finding pigments on their own. To obtain the colored dry pigments for the linseed oil recipe different mediums were sourced such as cochineal insects for a deep red hue, and chalk mixed with a glue base used as gesso to make the canvas tough enough to withstand cracking and non-rollable once the painting started.
Van Gogh was one of the known artists to use an egg white mixture as a veneer, keep in mind this definition does not equally varnish as it can be interchangeable upon use in this era. Most of the time, Van Gogh simply mixed the egg white right into his recipe of the color mix before applying the last layer of paint. He did not utilize any other type of a varnish to preserve his artwork, it was only until his works were being preserved within the later 19th century that they used a varnish to start a preservation process.
Where his paintings reside
The majority of Van Gogh's paintings and sketches grace the walls of the Van Gogh Museum located in Amsterdam including my favorites Potatoe Eaters, Sunflowers (1 out of the 5 in that series) and Wheat Field With Crows. Not only does it house Van Gogh, many of his inspirations also reside here including View Seen Through a Balcony one of my largest inspirations as well. The second largest collection can be found about an hour East from Amsterdam in Otterlo, the Netherlands at the Kroller Muller Museum holding 90 paintings and 130 sketches including Cafe Terrace At Night. To see a comprehensive view of where each painting is in the world visit https://www.vangoghgallery.com/museum/list.html His inspirations
View Seen Through A Balcony created by Gustave Caillebotte, was a huge influence for Van Gogh. As he was in Saint-Paul Asylum when this artist was on exhibit where Theo lived at the time, Vincent wrote to Theo and asked him if he could visit while on display. Starry Night by Vincent was created before from the window of his room during this stay in the hospital as he was isolated from the world the cypress tree represents himself aligned with the perspective of the city farther out. He wanted to portray the perspective that Caillebotte had done however, he was not able to see this man's masterpiece nor would the iron bars of the window give justice to the situation that perpetuated his stay.My most recent painting, View Seen Through the Ivy II, is an inspired artwork from Van Gogh's inspiration. When I first viewed the artwork from Caillebotte, I was deeply moved as during this painting I remained at a standstill creative-wise for at least a week before I could find my reseasoning to complete it. I certainly envy these artist gurus as I have no idea how in the world they created an oil painting in one sitting while outdoors.
Acquaintances loomed within the neo-impressionist span of 3 artists during his residency in Arles, France where his style of painting rapidly changed as if his eyes were suddenly wide open again and his creativity, as well as his color palette, exploded with genius. The color and light alterations that were abandoned from the rules of the impressionists past the point where he had stagnantly dragged his paintbrush can be viewed in Cafe Terrace At Night as well as the third version of The Bedroom. When compared side by side the third version of The Bedroom was painted with a more violet hue that was intended for the first version. When he painted it the first time this was his initial intention according to a letter written to Theo however, when making your own paint from scratch the hues dried intensely diverse from when applied to the canvas especially if you were painting outdoors in the sunlight.
Paintings used As A drywall substitute
Upon his death, Theo, who helped him by giving a second opinion before finishing each painting, and financing his painting career by being his one and only sponsor, went to retrieve art that Vincent had left inside an old chicken coop where he discovered a plethora of artworks as well as their use to cover cracks and holes in the walls. Theo did not do this out of the kindness of his own heart mind you, he did this because he wanted to get all of his investments back. Van Gogh had been storing over 70 pieces of art in his mom's barn, she wasn't sure what to do with them. When Theo arrived he wasn't actually too upset as they had been kept out of direct sunlight and remained in a somewhat stable environment.Asylum
During his first and only involuntary stay at the Saint-Paul Asylum near Saint Remy, his main treatment was taking long baths when he wasn't having conversations with his psychiatrists. He suffered from seizures, not depression or bipolar disorder. As the community, he lived in before he moved to France had no idea what was going on when he would randomly start seizing in public. The local hoodlums took this as a perfect opportunity to bully him as he was considered vulnerable in certain circumstances. Back in time, they did not have medication like they do now for seizures and he was pushed into the asylum with the public outcry from his own family and where he called home.Dead Grasshopper
If you are lucky enough to ever view Van Gogh's, Olive Trees, one of 18 other paintings within that series look really close and you might spot the dead grasshopper that ended up on his canvas before the paint was dry. Van Gogh voluntarily went back to the asylum later in the year specifically to paint the olive trees that fascinated him. All of these paintings were completed outdoors where the olive groves were seen the best out in the fields. When you paint outside back in the 1800's, there was not a weather app to tell you when rain was going to be headed your way or if the wind was going to randomly pick up so environmental hazards tended to be part of the thrill.I will admit I am not an expert nor am I claiming to know everything about Vincent Van Gogh. The quest is ongoing as I find out more my drive to create art increases. I hope that these morsels of information reach you with an enlightened view of Van Gogh, laying to rest many of the rumors that still continue to circle. Check out my artworks on my website or follow me on Instagram!
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