Vincent Van Gogh: works. Biography of van Gogh Artist Vincent van Gogh paintings

Van Gogh's portraits occupy a prominent place in the history of world painting. A significant part of them was written in the 1880-1890s, that is, just at a time when the famous artist was going through a very contradictory period of creativity: on the one hand, these were decades of rapid growth, and on the other hand, he was experiencing a severe depression, which affected his writing style.

Traits of creativity

Van Gogh's portraits should be considered in the context of the main features of his development as an artist. His style is very controversial and is still the subject of serious debate. But the originality of his letter is undoubted. Many art historians agree that he was greatly influenced by the movement of impressionism. And in fact, the author himself, when painting his 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, blurred 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 primarily paid attention to 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 personality and its inner world. The artist himself considered one of his main creative principles to be the need to depict and reproduce the human soul, his essence and main character traits. Thus, Van Gogh’s portraits do not so much convey the impression of what they saw, but rather reveal the deep essence of the people depicted.

Features of portraits

The artist considered portraiture to be one of the main things in his work. The peculiarity of his work in this genre is that he predominantly chose very ordinary people and sought to convey their complex inner world. He also paid special attention to the depiction of human suffering and experiences. Therefore, his depictions of people are distinguished by extreme seriousness and even some drama.

Some works

Portraits of Van Gogh with descriptions are very important for understanding the worldview of this famous artist. For example, the painting “Portrait of Doctor Gachet” was painted 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 the bright blue background with his dejected expression on his face. Van Gogh's works with the title especially expressively convey the idea of their author. The painting “The Grieving Old Man” is a shining example his work dedicated to human suffering. This topic, as mentioned above, occupied one of the main places in his work. In addition, the author attached special importance to the depiction of ordinary people. Thus, his painting “Peasant with a Pipe” especially truthfully conveys his psychology of a simple worker.

Female images also occupy important place in his portrait painting. For example, the painting “Arlesienne” depicts a light 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 picture draws attention to the fact that the girl’s figure is depicted against the background of a landscape, which sets off her beautiful appearance, and most importantly, emphasizes the spiritual features of her face.

Self-portraits

In conclusion, a brief word should be said about the artist’s depiction of himself. He has a whole series of self-portraits that allow us to better trace the path of his development as a master. In addition to paintings without titles, it is necessary to mention such paintings as “Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear” and “Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat”. In these paintings the artist appears as a complex personality with a difficult fate. This is especially noticeable 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 and inner world. The artist himself wrote that he sought to understand the depth of his experiences and therefore achieved special poignancy in the depiction of facial features. Van Gogh's portraits, photos with titles presented in this article, prove this.

Criticism and recognition

It is significant that the artist’s recognition 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 had a negative attitude towards the fact that he does not follow the rules of proportions, depicts his figures in an unusual way, and works too boldly with paints. But already in the 20th century, his canvases became recognized masterpieces and were sold for huge sums.

Vincent Willem van Gogh is a Dutch artist who laid the foundations of the post-impressionism movement, which largely determined the principles of creativity of modern masters.

Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in the village of Groot Zundert in the province of North Brabant, bordering Belgium.

Father Theodore Van Gogh was a Protestant clergyman. Mother Anna Cornelia Carbentus is from the family of a respected bookseller and bookbinding specialist from the city (Den Haag).

Vincent was the second child, but his brother died immediately after birth, so the boy was the eldest, and after him five more children were born in the family:

Theodorus (Theo);
Cornelis (Cor) (Cornelis, Cor);
Anna Cornelia;
Elizabeth (Liz) (Elizabeth, Liz);
Willemina (Vil) (Willamina, Vil).

The baby was named after his grandfather, a minister of Protestantism. The first child was supposed to have this name, but because of it early death Vincent got it.

Memories of loved ones depict Vincent's character as very strange, capricious and wayward, disobedient and capable of unexpected antics. Outside of home and family, he was well-mannered, quiet, polite, modest, kind, distinguished by an amazingly intelligent look and a heart full of compassion. However, he avoided his peers and did not join in their games and fun.

At the age of 7, his father and mother enrolled him in school, but a year later he and his sister Anna were transferred to home schooling, and the governess took care of the children.

At the age of 11, in 1864, Vincent was sent to school in Zevenbergen. Although it was only 20 km from his homeland, the child had a hard time withstanding the separation, and these experiences were remembered forever.

In 1866, Vincent was assigned as a student to the educational institution of Willem II in Tilburg (College Willem II in Tilburg). Great success did a teenager in mastering foreign languages, spoke and read French, English, and German perfectly. Teachers also noted Vincent’s ability to draw. However, in 1868 he suddenly abandoned his studies and returned home. He was no longer sent to educational institutions; he continued to receive his education at home. The famous artist’s memories of the beginning of his life were sad; childhood was associated with darkness, cold and emptiness.

Business

In 1869, in The Hague, Vincent was recruited by his uncle, who bore the same name, whom the future artist called “Uncle Saint”. Uncle was the owner of a branch of the company Goupil&Cie, which was engaged in the examination, evaluation and sale of art objects. Vincent acquired the profession of a dealer and made significant progress, so in 1873 he was sent to work in London.

Work with works of art was very interesting to Vincent, he learned to understand fine arts, and became a regular visitor to museums and exhibition halls. His favorite authors were Jean-François Millet and Jules Breton.

The story of Vincent's first love dates back to the same period. But the story was incomprehensible and confusing: he lived in a rented apartment with Ursula Loyer and her daughter Eugene; biographers argue about who was the object of love: one of them or Carolina Haanebeek. But no matter who the beloved was, Vincent was refused and lost interest in life, work, and art. He begins to read the Bible thoughtfully. During this period, in 1874, he had to transfer to the Paris branch of the company. There he again becomes a regular at museums and enjoys creating drawings. Having hated the dealer's activities, he stopped bringing income to the company, and he was fired in 1876.

Teaching and religion

In March 1876, Vincent moved to Great Britain and became a free teacher at a school in Ramsgate. At the same time, he is thinking about a career as a clergyman. In July 1876 he moved to school in Isleworth, where he additionally assisted the priest. In November 1876, Vincent reads a sermon and becomes convinced of his destiny to convey the truth of religious teaching.

In 1876, Vincent comes to the Christmas holidays in native home, and his mother and father begged him not to leave. Vincent got a job in a bookstore in Dordrecht, but he doesn’t like the trade. He devotes all his time to translating biblical texts and drawing.

His father and mother, rejoicing at his desire for religious service, send Vincent to Amsterdam, where he, with the help of a relative, Johannes Stricker, prepares for theological studies to enter the university, and lives with his uncle, Jan Van Gogh. Gogh), who had the rank of admiral.

After admission, Van Gogh was a theological student until July 1878, after which, disappointed, he abandoned further education and flees Amsterdam.

The next stage of the search was associated with the Protestant missionary school in the city of Laken, near Brussels. The school was led by Pastor Bokma. Vincent gains experience in composing and reading sermons for three months, but leaves this place too. Biographers' information is contradictory: either he quit his job himself, or was fired due to sloppiness in clothing and unbalanced behavior.

In December 1878, Vincent continued his missionary service, but now in the southern region of Belgium, in the village of Paturi. Mining families lived in the village, Van Gogh selflessly worked with children, visited houses and talked about the Bible, and cared for the sick. To support himself, he drew maps of the Holy Land and sold them. Van Gogh proved himself to be an ascetic, sincere and tireless, and as a result he was given a small salary from the Evangelical Society. He planned to enter the Evangelical school, but the education was paid, and this, according to Van Gogh, is incompatible with true faith, which cannot be associated with money. At the same time, he submits a request to the mine management to improve conditions labor activity miners. He was refused and deprived of the right to preach, which shocked him and led to another disappointment.

First steps

Van Gogh found peace at his easel, and in 1880 he decided to try himself at the Brussels Royal Academy of Arts. His brother Theo supports him, but a year later his studies are abandoned again, and the eldest son returns under his parents' roof. He is absorbed in self-education and works tirelessly.

He feels love for his widowed cousin Kee Vos-Stricker, who raised their son and came to visit the family. Van Gogh is rejected, but persists and is kicked out of his father's house. These events shocked young man, he flees to The Hague, immerses himself in creativity, takes lessons from Anton Mauve, comprehends the laws of fine art, and makes copies of lithographic works.

Van Gogh spends a lot of time in neighborhoods inhabited by the poor. The works of this period are sketches of courtyards, roofs, alleys:

“Backyards” (De achtertuin) (1882);
“Roofs. View from Van Gogh's studio" (Dak. Het uitzicht vanuit de Studio van Gogh) (1882).

An interesting technique is that combines watercolors, sepia, ink, chalk, etc.

In The Hague, he chooses a woman of easy virtue named Christine as his wife.(Van Christina), which he picked up right on the panel. Christine moved to Van Gogh with her children and became a model for the artist, but her character was terrible, and they had to separate. This episode leads to a final break with parents and loved ones.

After breaking up with Christine, Vincent leaves for Drenth, in countryside. During this period, landscape works by the artist appeared, as well as paintings depicting the life of the peasantry.

Early works

The creative period representing the first works carried out in Drenthe is distinguished by its realism, but it expresses the key characteristics individual manner of the artist. Many critics believe that these features are explained by the lack of basic art education: Van Gogh did not know the laws of human representation, therefore, the characters in paintings and sketches seem angular, ungraceful, as if emerging from the bosom of nature, like rocks on which the vault of heaven presses:

"Red Vineyards" (Rode wijngaard) (1888);
"Peasant Woman" (Boerin) (1885);
"The Potato Eaters" (De Aardappeleters) (1885);
“The Old Church Tower in Nuenen” (De Oude Begraafplaats Toren in Nuenen) (1885), etc.

These works are distinguished by a dark palette of shades that convey the painful atmosphere of the surrounding life, the painful situation of ordinary people, the sympathy, pain and drama of the author.

In 1885, he was forced to leave Drenthe, as he displeased the priest, who considered painting debauchery and forbade local residents to pose for paintings.

Parisian period

Van Gogh travels to Antwerp, takes lessons at the Academy of Arts and additionally at a private educational institution, where he works hard on depicting nudes.

In 1886, Vincent moved to Paris to join Theo, who worked in a dealership that specialized in transactions for the sale of art objects.

In Paris in 1887/88, Van Gogh took lessons at private school, learns the basics Japanese art, the basics of the impressionistic style of painting, the work of Paul Gauguin. This stage in creative biography Vag Gogh is called light, the leitmotif in his works are soft blue, bright yellow, fiery shades, his brushwork is light, betraying movement, the “flow” of life:

Agostina Segatori in het Café Tamboerijn;
“Bridge over the Seine” (Brug over de Seine);
"Papa Tanguy" and others.

Van Gogh admired the Impressionists and met celebrities thanks to his brother Theo:

Edgar Degas;
Camille Pissarro;
Henri Touluz-Lautrec;
Paul Gauguin;
Emile Bernard and others.

Van Gogh found himself among good friends and like-minded people, and was involved in the process of preparing exhibitions that were organized in restaurants, bars, and theater halls. The audience did not appreciate Van Gogh, they recognized them as terrible, but he immersed himself in learning and self-improvement, comprehending the theoretical basis of color technology.

In Paris, Van Gogh created about 230 works: still lifes, portraits and landscape painting, cycles of paintings (for example, the “Shoes” series of 1887) (Schoenen).

It's interesting what a person gains on canvas minor role, and the main thing is the bright world of nature, its airiness, the richness of colors, and their subtle transitions. Van Gogh opens a new direction - post-impressionism.

Blooming and finding your own style

In 1888, Van Gogh, worried about the lack of understanding of the audience, left for the southern french city Arles. Arles became the city in which Vincent understood the purpose of his work: not to strive to reflect the real visible world, but to express your inner “I” with the help of color and simple technical techniques.

He decides to break with the Impressionists, but the peculiarities of their style long years manifest themselves in his works, in the ways of depicting light and air, in the manner of arranging color accents. Typical for impressionistic works are a series of canvases in which the same landscape, but in different time day and under different lighting conditions.

The attractiveness of Van Gogh’s style of work from his heyday lies in the contradiction between the desire for a harmonious worldview and the awareness of one’s own helplessness in the face of a disharmonious world. Full of light and festive nature, the works of 1888 coexist with gloomy phantasmagoric images:

"Yellow House" (Gele huis);
"Gauguin's Chair" (De stoel van Gauguin);
“Cafe terrace at night” (Cafe terras bij nacht).

The dynamism, movement of color, and energy of the master’s brush are a reflection of the artist’s soul, his tragic quest, and impulses to understand the surrounding world of living and nonliving things:

"Red Vineyards in Arles";
"The Sower" (Zaaier);
"Night cafe" (Nachtkoffie).

The artist plans to establish a society uniting budding geniuses who will reflect the future of humanity. To open society, Vincent is helped by Theo. Van Gogh assigned the leading role to Paul Gauguin. When Gauguin arrived, they quarreled so much that Van Gogh almost cut his throat on December 23, 1888. Gauguin managed to escape, and Van Gogh, repenting, cut off part of his own earlobe.

Biographers have different assessments of this episode; many believe that this act was a sign of madness provoked by excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Van Gogh was sent to a mental hospital, where he was kept in strict conditions in the department for the violently insane. Gauguin leaves, Theo takes care of Vincent. After treatment, Vincent dreams of returning to Arles. But city residents protested, and the artist was offered to settle next to the Saint-Paul hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, near Arles.

Since May 1889, Van Gogh has lived in Saint-Rémy, and in a year he paints more than 150 large works and about 100 drawings and watercolors, demonstrating mastery of halftones and contrast. Among them the predominant landscape genre, still lifes that convey the mood, contradictions in the author’s soul:

"Starry Night" (Nightlights);
“Landscape with olive trees” (Landschap met olijfbomen), etc.

In 1889, the fruits of Van Gogh's creativity were exhibited in Brussels and were met with rave reviews from colleagues and critics. But Van Gogh does not feel joy from the recognition that has finally come; he moves to Auvers-sur-Oise, where his brother and his family live. There he constantly creates, but the author’s depressed mood and nervous excitement are transmitted to the canvases of 1890; they are distinguished by broken lines, distorted silhouettes of objects and faces:

“Village road with cypress trees” (Landelijke weg met cipressen);
“Landscape in Auvers after the rain” (Landschap in Auvers na de regen);
“Wheat field with crows” (Korenveld met kraaien), etc.

On July 27, 1890, Van Gogh was fatally wounded by a pistol. It is unknown whether the shot was planned or accidental, but the artist died a day later. He was buried in the same town, and 6 months later his brother Theo, whose grave is located next to Vincent, also died of nervous exhaustion.

Over 10 years of creativity, over 2,100 works appeared, of which about 860 were done in oils. Van Gogh became the founder of expressionism, post-impressionism, his principles formed the basis of Fauvism and modernism.

Posthumously, a series of triumphant exhibition events took place in Paris, Brussels, The Hague, and Antwerp. At the beginning of the 20th century, another wave of shows of works by the famous Dutchman took place in Paris, Cologne (Keulen), New York (New York), Berlin (Berlijn).

Paintings

It is not known exactly how many paintings Van Gogh painted, but art historians and researchers of his work are inclined to figure about 800. In the last 70 days of his life alone, he painted 70 paintings - one per day! Let's remember the most famous paintings with names and descriptions:

The Potato Eaters appeared in 1885 in Nuenen. The author described the task in a message to Theo: he sought to show people of hard work who received little reward for their work. The hands cultivating the field accept his gifts.

Red vineyards in Arles

The famous painting dates back to 1888. The plot of the film is not fictional; Vincent talks about it in one of his messages to Theo. On the canvas the artist conveys what struck him rich colors: deep red grape leaves, piercing green sky, bright purple rain-washed road with golden reflections from the rays of the setting sun. The colors seem to flow into one another, conveying the author’s anxious mood, his tension, and the depth of his philosophical thoughts about the world. Such a plot will be repeated in Van Gogh’s work, symbolizing life eternally renewed through work.

Night cafe

“Night Cafe” appeared in Arles and presented the author’s thoughts about a man who independently destroys his own life. The idea of self-destruction and steady movement towards madness is expressed by the contrast of bloody burgundy and green colors. To try to penetrate the secrets of twilight life, the author worked on the painting at night. The expressionistic style of writing conveys the fullness of passions, anxiety, and painfulness of life.

Van Gogh's legacy includes two series of works depicting sunflowers. In the first cycle there are flowers laid out on a table; they were painted during the Parisian period in 1887 and were soon acquired by Gauguin. The second series appeared in 1888/89 in Arles, on each canvas - sunflower flowers in a vase.

This flower symbolizes love and loyalty, friendship and warmth of human relationships, beneficence and gratitude. The artist expresses the depths of his worldview in sunflowers, associating himself with this sunny flower.

“Starry Night” was created in 1889 in Saint-Rémy; it depicts the stars and the moon in dynamics, framed by the boundless sky, the Universe eternally existing and rushing into infinity. The cypress trees located in the foreground strive to reach the stars, and the village in the valley is static, motionless and devoid of aspirations for the new and infinite. Expression of color approaches and use different types brush strokes convey the multidimensionality of space, its variability and depth.

This famous self-portrait was created in Arles in January 1889. An interesting feature is the dialogue of red-orange and blue-violet colors, against the backdrop of which a person plunges into the abyss of a person’s distorted consciousness. Attention is drawn to the face and eyes, as if looking deep into the personality. Self-portraits are a conversation between the painter and himself and the universe.

"Almond Blossoms" (Amandelbloesem) created in Saint-Rémy in 1890. The spring blossoming of almond trees is a symbol of renewal, the birth and strengthening of life. The unusual thing about the canvas is that the branches float without a foundation; they are self-sufficient and beautiful.

This portrait was painted in 1890. Bright colors convey the significance of every moment, brush work creates a dynamic image of man and nature, which are inextricably linked. The image of the hero of the picture is painful and nervous: we peer into the image of a sad old man, immersed in his thoughts, as if he had absorbed the painful experience of years.

“Wheat Field with Crows” was created in July 1890 and expresses the feeling of approaching death, the hopeless tragedy of existence. The picture is filled with symbolism: the sky before a thunderstorm, approaching black birds, roads leading to the unknown, but inaccessible.

Museum

(Van Gogh Museum) opened in Amsterdam in 1973 and presents not only the most fundamental collection of his creations, but also works of the Impressionists. This is the first most popular exhibition center in the Netherlands.

Quotes

Among the clergy, as well as among the masters of the brush, a despotic academicism reigns, dull and full of prejudices;
Thinking about future hardships and adversities, I would not be able to create;
Painting is my joy and tranquility, giving me the opportunity to escape from life’s troubles;

- great Dutch artist, post-impressionist. Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Grotto-Zundert. Died July 29, 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France. For my creative life created a large number of paintings that are today considered masterpieces of world painting. The work of Vincent van Gogh cannot be overestimated, since his art had a huge influence on the development of painting in the 20th century.

During his life, Van Gogh created more than 2,100 works! During the artist’s lifetime, his work was not as widely known as it is today. He lived in need and poverty. At the age of 37, he attempted suicide by shooting himself with a pistol, after which he died. After the death of Vincent van Gogh, connoisseurs and critics of painting paid close attention to his art; Exhibitions of the artist’s paintings began to open in different cities around the world, and he was soon recognized as one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time. Vincent van Gogh is one of the most recognizable artists in the world today. Some of his paintings are considered among the most expensive works art of the world. The painting "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" was sold for $82.5 million. The cost of the painting “Self-Portrait with a Cut Off Ear and Pipe” in 1990 was between 80 and 90 million dollars. The painting "Irises" was sold in 1987 for $53.9 million.

Vincent Van Gogh's collection of paintings contains a large number of paintings that are considered incredibly expensive, very famous, and from a cultural point of view, priceless. However, among all Van Gogh’s paintings there are also the most famous ones, which are not just fabulously expensive, but also real “ business cards" by this artist. Next you can see the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh with the titles that are considered the most famous.

The most famous paintings of Vincent Van Gogh

Self-portrait with cut off ear and pipe

Self-portrait

Memories of the garden in Etten

Potato eaters

Starry night over the Rhone

Starlight Night

Red vineyards in Arles

Bulb fields

Night terrace in a cafe

Night cafe

Sunflowers

Portrait of Doctor Gachet

Prisoners Walk

Wheat field with cypress trees

Bedroom in Arles

Four fading sunflowers

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Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch: Vincent Willem van Gogh; March 30, 1853, Grot-Zundert, near Breda, Netherlands - July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, France) - Dutch post-impressionist artist.

Biography of Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh born in the Dutch town of Groot-Zundert on March 30, 1853. Van Gogh was the first child in the family (not counting his brother, who was stillborn). His father's name was Theodore Van Gogh, his mother's name was Carnelia. They had a large family: 2 sons and three daughters. In Van Gogh's family, all the men dealt with paintings in one way or another, or served the church. By 1869, without even finishing school, he began working in a company that sold paintings. To tell the truth, Van Gogh was not good at selling paintings, but he had a boundless love for painting, and he was also good at languages. In 1873, at the age of 20, he came to London, where he spent 2 years that changed his whole life.

Van Gogh lived happily in London. He had a very good salary, which was enough to visit various art galleries and museums. He even bought himself a top hat, which he simply could not live without in London. Everything was going to the point that Van Gogh could become a successful merchant, but ... as often happens, love, yes, exactly love, got in the way of his career. Van Gogh fell madly in love with the daughter of his landlady, but upon learning that she was already engaged, he became very withdrawn and became indifferent to his work. When he returned to Paris he was fired.

In 1877, Van Gogh began living in Holland again, and increasingly found solace in religion. After moving to Amsterdam, he began studying to become a priest, but soon dropped out of his studies, as the situation at the faculty did not suit him.

In 1886, at the beginning of March, Van Gogh moved to Paris to live with his brother Theo, and lived in his apartment. There he takes painting lessons from Fernand Cormon, and meets such personalities as Pissarro, Gauguin and many other artists. Very quickly he forgets all the darkness Dutch life, and quickly gains respect as an artist. He draws clearly and brightly in the style of impressionism and post-impressionism.

Vincent Van Gogh After spending 3 months at an evangelical school located in Brussels, he became a preacher. He distributed money and clothes to the needy poor, although he himself was not well off. This aroused suspicion among the church authorities, and his activities were banned. He did not lose heart and found solace in drawing.

By the age of 27, Van Gogh understood what his calling was in this life, and decided that he must become an artist at all costs. Although Van Gogh took drawing lessons, he can confidently be considered self-taught, because he himself studied many books, tutorials, and copied paintings famous artists. At first he thought of becoming an illustrator, but then, when he took lessons from his artist relative Anton Mouwe, he painted his first works in oils.

It seemed that life began to get better, but Van Gogh again began to be haunted by failures, and love ones at that.

His cousin Keya Vos became a widow. He really liked her, but he received a refusal, which he experienced for a long time. In addition, because of Kei, he had a very serious quarrel with his father. This disagreement was the reason for Vincent's move to The Hague. It was there that he met Klazina Maria Hoornik, who was girl lung behavior. Van Gogh lived with her for almost a year, and more than once he had to be treated for sexually transmitted diseases. He wanted to save this poor woman, and even thought of marrying her. But then his family intervened, and thoughts of marriage were simply dispelled.

Returning to his homeland to his parents, who had already moved to Nyonen by that time, his skills began to improve.

He spent 2 years in his homeland. In 1885 Vincent settled in Antwerp, where he attended classes at the Academy of Arts. Then, in 1886, Van Gogh returned to Paris again, to his brother Theo, who throughout his life helped him, both morally and financially. France became Van Gogh's second home. It was in it that he lived the rest of his life. He didn't feel like a stranger here. Van Gogh drank a lot and had a very explosive temper. He could be described as a difficult person to deal with.

In 1888 he moved to Arles. Local residents were not happy to see him in their town, which was located in the south of France. They considered him an abnormal sleepwalker. Despite this, Vincent found friends here and felt quite good. Over time, he came up with the idea of creating a settlement here for artists, which he shared with his friend Gauguin. Everything went well, but there was a disagreement between the artists. Van Gogh rushed at Gauguin, who had already become an enemy, with a razor. Gauguin barely escaped with his feet, miraculously surviving. Out of anger at failure, Van Gogh cut off part of his left ear. After spending 2 weeks in a psychiatric clinic, he returned there again in 1889, as he began to suffer from hallucinations.

In May 1890, he finally left the asylum and went to Paris to live with his brother Theo and his wife, who had just given birth to a boy, who was named Vincent in honor of his uncle. Life began to improve, and Van Gogh was even happy, but his illness returned again. On July 27, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a pistol. He died in the arms of his brother Theo, who loved him very much. Six months later, Theo also died. The brothers are buried in the Auvers cemetery nearby.

Van Gogh's work

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) is considered a great Dutch artist who had a very strong influence on impressionism in art. His works, created over a ten-year period, are striking in their color, carelessness and roughness of strokes, and images of a mentally ill person, exhausted by suffering, who committed suicide.

Van Gogh became one of the greatest Post-Impressionist artists.

He can be considered self-taught, because... studied painting by copying paintings by old masters. During his life in the Netherlands, Van G. painted pictures about nature, labor and the life of peasants and workers, which he observed around him (“The Potato Eaters”).

In 1886, he moved to Paris and entered the studio of F. Cormon, where he met A. Toulouse-Lautrec and E. Bernard. Inspired by the paintings of the Impressionists and Japanese prints The artist’s style changed: an intense color scheme and a broad, energetic brush stroke characteristic of the late Van G. appeared (“Boulevard of Clichy”, “Portrait of Father Tanguy”).

In 1888 he moved to the south of France, to the town of Arles. This was the most fruitful period of the artist’s work. During his life, Van G. created more than 800 paintings and 700 drawings in a variety of genres, but his talent was most clearly manifested in the landscape: it was in it that his choleric explosive temperament found an outlet. The moving, nervous pictorial texture of his paintings reflected state of mind artist: he suffered mental illness which ultimately led him to suicide.

Features of creativity

“Much remains unclear and controversial to this day in the pathography of this severe bionegative personality. It can be assumed that there is a syphilitic provocation of schizo-epileptic psychosis. His feverish creativity is quite comparable to the increased productivity of the brain before the onset of syphilitic brain disease, as was the case with Nietzsche, Maupassant, and Schumann. Van Gogh presents good example how a mediocre talent, thanks to psychosis, turned into an internationally recognized genius.”

“The peculiar bipolarity, so clearly expressed in the life and psychosis of this remarkable patient, is simultaneously expressed in his artistic creativity. Essentially the style of his works remains the same all the time. Only the sinuous lines are repeated more and more often, giving his paintings a spirit of unbridledness, which reaches its culmination point in his last work, where the upward striving and the inevitability of destruction, fall, and destruction are clearly emphasized. These two movements - the movement of ascent and the movement of fall - form the structural basis of epileptic manifestations, just as two poles form the basis of the epileptoid constitution."

“Van Gogh painted brilliant paintings in the intervals between attacks. And the main secret of his genius was the extraordinary purity of consciousness and the special creative enthusiasm that arose as a result of his illness between attacks. F.M. also wrote about this special state of consciousness. Dostoevsky, who at one time suffered from similar attacks of mysterious mental disorder.”

Bright colors of Van Gogh

Dreaming of a brotherhood of artists and collective creativity, he completely forgot that he himself was an incorrigible individualist, irreconcilable to the point of restraint in matters of life and art. But this was also his strength. You need to have a sufficiently trained eye to distinguish Monet's paintings from paintings by, for example, Sisley. But only once having seen “Red Vineyards”, you will never confuse Van Gogh’s works with anyone else. Every line and stroke is an expression of his personality.

The dominant feature of the impressionistic system is color. In Van Gogh’s painting system, everything is equal and crushed into one inimitable bright ensemble: rhythm, color, texture, line, form.

At first glance, this seems like a bit of a stretch. Are the “red vineyards” pushing around with a color unheard of in intensity, isn’t the ringing chord of cobalt blue active in “The Sea at Sainte-Marie”, aren’t the colors of “Landscape at Auvers after the Rain” dazzlingly pure and sonorous, next to which any impressionistic painting looks hopelessly faded?

Exaggeratedly bright, these colors have the ability to sound in any intonation throughout the entire emotional range - from burning pain to the most delicate shades of joy. Sounding colors alternately intertwine into a softly and subtly harmonized melody, and then rear up in ear-piercing dissonance. Just as there are minor and major scales in music, so the colors of Van Gogh’s palette are divided in two. For Van Gogh, cold and warm are like life and death. At the head of the opposing camps are yellow and blue, both colors are deeply symbolic. However, this “symbolism” has the same living flesh as Vangogh’s ideal of beauty.

IN yellow paint from gently lemon to intense orange, Van Gogh saw some kind of bright beginning. The color of the sun and ripened bread in his understanding was the color of joy, solar warmth, human kindness, benevolence, love and happiness - all that in his understanding was included in the concept of “life”. The opposite in meaning is blue, from blue to almost black-lead - the color of sadness, infinity, melancholy, despair, mental anguish, fatal inevitability and, ultimately, death. Late paintings Van Gogh is the arena of the collision of these two colors. They are like the struggle between good and evil, daylight and darkness, hope and despair. Emotional and psychological possibilities of color - subject constant thoughts Van Gogh: “I hope to make a discovery in this area, for example, to express the feelings of two lovers by a combination of two complementary colors, their mixing and contrast, the mysterious vibration of related tones. Or express the thought that has arisen in the brain with the radiance of a light tone on a dark background...”

Speaking about Van Gogh, Tugendhold noted: “...the notes of his experiences are the graphic rhythms of things and the response of the heartbeat.” The concept of peace is unknown to Van Gogh's art. His element is movement.

In Van Gogh’s eyes, it is the same life, which means the ability to think, feel, and empathize. Take a closer look at the painting of the “red vineyards”. The brushstrokes, thrown onto the canvas by a swift hand, run, rush, collide, scatter again. Similar to dashes, dots, blots, commas, they are a transcript of Vangogh’s vision. From their cascades and whirlpools, simplified and expressive forms are born. They are a line that is composed into a drawing. Their relief - sometimes barely outlined, sometimes piled up in massive clumps - like plowed earth, forms a delightful, picturesque texture. And from all this a huge image emerges: in the scorching heat of the sun, like sinners on fire, the grapevines are writhing, trying to tear themselves away from the rich purple earth, to escape from the hands of the winegrowers, and now the peaceful bustle of the harvest looks like a fight between man and nature.

So, does that mean color still dominates? But aren’t these colors at the same time rhythm, line, form, and texture? This is precisely the most important feature of Van Gogh’s pictorial language, in which he speaks to us through his paintings.

It is often believed that Van Gogh's painting is a kind of uncontrollable emotional element, whipped up by unbridled insight. This misconception is “helped” by the uniqueness of Van Gogh’s artistic style, which indeed seems spontaneous, but in fact is subtly calculated and thoughtful: “Work and sober calculation, the mind is extremely tense, like an actor when playing a difficult role, when you have to think about a thousand things within one half hour...”

Van Gogh's inheritance and innovation

Van Gogh's inheritance

[Mother’s sister] “...Epileptic seizures, which indicates a severe nervous heredity, which also affects Anna Cornelia herself. Naturally gentle and loving, she is prone to unexpected outbursts of anger.”
[Brother Theo] “... died six months after Vincent’s suicide in a mental hospital in Utrecht, having lived 33 years.”
“None of Van Gogh’s brothers and sisters had epilepsy, while it is absolutely known that younger sister suffered from schizophrenia and spent 32 years in a psychiatric hospital.”

The human soul... not cathedrals

Let's turn to Van Gogh:

“I prefer to paint people’s eyes rather than cathedrals... human soul, even if the soul of an unfortunate beggar or a street girl, in my opinion, is much more interesting.”

“Whoever writes peasant life will stand the test of time better than the makers of cardinal receptions and harems written in Paris.” “I will remain myself, and even in crude works I will say strict, rude, but truthful things.” “The worker against the bourgeoisie is as ill-founded as a hundred years ago the third estate was against the other two.”

Could a person who, in these and a thousand similar statements, explain the meaning of life and art, count on success with “ powerful of the world this? " The bourgeois environment rejected Van Gogh.

Van Gogh had the only weapon against rejection - confidence in the correctness of his chosen path and work.

“Art is a struggle... it’s better to do nothing than to express yourself weakly.” “You have to work like several blacks.” He turns even a half-starved existence into an incentive for creativity: “In the harsh trials of poverty, you learn to look at things with completely different eyes.”

The bourgeois public does not forgive innovation, and Van Gogh was an innovator in the most direct and genuine sense of the word. His reading of the sublime and beautiful came through an understanding of the inner essence of objects and phenomena: from insignificant ones like torn shoes to crushing cosmic hurricanes. The ability to present these seemingly disparate values on an equally enormous artistic scale put Van Gogh not only outside the official aesthetic concept of academic artists, but also forced him to go beyond the boundaries of impressionistic painting.

Quotes by Vincent Van Gogh

(from letters to brother Theo)

There is nothing more artistic than loving people.
When something in you says: “You are not an artist,” immediately begin to write, my boy, - only in this way will you silence this inner voice. The one who, having heard it, runs to his friends and complains about his misfortune, loses part of his courage, part of the best that is in him.
And you shouldn’t take your shortcomings too seriously, for those who don’t have them still suffer from one thing - the absence of shortcomings; the one who believes that he has achieved perfect wisdom will do well if he grows stupid again.
A man carries a bright flame in his soul, but no one wants to bask near him; passersby notice only the smoke escaping through the chimney and go on their way.
When reading books, as well as looking at paintings, one must neither doubt nor hesitate: one must be confident in oneself and find beautiful what is beautiful.
What is drawing? How is it mastered? This is the ability to break through the iron wall that stands between what you feel and what you can do. How can one penetrate such a wall? In my opinion, banging your head against it is useless; you need to slowly and patiently dig it up and drill it out.
Blessed is he who has found his business.
I prefer not to say anything at all than to express myself indistinctly.
I admit, I also need beauty and sublimity, but even more something else, for example: kindness, responsiveness, tenderness.
You are a realist yourself, so bear with my realism.
A person only needs to consistently love what is worthy of love, and not waste his feelings on insignificant, unworthy and insignificant objects.
We cannot allow melancholy to stagnate in our souls, like water in a swamp.
When I see the weak trampled underfoot, I begin to doubt the value of what is called progress and civilization.

Bibliography

Van Gogh.Letters. Per. from Dutch - L.-M., 1966.
Rewald J. Post-Impressionism. Per. from English T. 1. - L.-M, 1962.
Perryucho A. The Life of Van Gogh. Per. from French - M., 1973.
Murina Elena. Van Gogh. - M.: Art, 1978. - 440 p. - 30,000 copies.
Dmitrieva N. A. Vincent Van Gogh. Man and artist. - M., 1980.
Stone I. Thirst for Life (book). The Tale of Vincent Van Gogh. Per. from English - M., Pravda, 1988.
Constantino PorcuVan Gogh. Zijn leven en de kunst. (from the Kunstklassiekers series) Netherlands, 2004.
Wolf StadlerVincent van Gogh. (from the De Grote Meesters series) Amsterdam Boek, 1974.
Frank KoolsVincent van Gogh en zijn geboorteplaats: als een boer van Zundert. De Walburg Pers, 1990.
G. Kozlov, “The Legend of Van Gogh”, “Around the World”, No. 7, 2007.
Van Gogh V. Letters to friends / Trans. from fr. P. Melkova. - St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2012. - 224 p. - “ABC Classic” series - 5,000 copies, ISBN 978-5-389-03122-7
Gordeeva M., Perova D. Vincent Van Gogh / In the book: Great Artists - T.18 - Kyiv, JSC " TVNZ- Ukraine", 2010. - 48 p.

Vincent van Gogh, a native of the Netherlands, is one of the most famous artists in the whole world. Thanks to the talent of the post-impressionist, a huge number of incredible beauty works. Van Gogh's most famous paintings are now considered his “calling card”.

However, not all of them were as widely known during the artist’s lifetime as they are in our time. Only after Van Gogh's death were his works noticed by critics, and only then were they appreciated. The collection of his paintings contains many priceless paintings, when considering them from a cultural point of view.

Blooming almond branches 1890

"Blossoming almond branches"(1890). At the beginning of 1890, Theo, Van Gogh's brother, had a son, who was named after the artist - also Vincent. Van Gogh became very attached to the child and once wrote in a letter to his daughter-in-law Jo: “He always looks at Uncle Vincent’s paintings with great interest.” This painting was painted by Van Gogh as a gift for his nephew's birthday. The artist himself was an admirer of Japanese art, especially the genre of Ukiyo-e engraving. The influence of this branch of Japanese painting can be seen in this, one of the most famous paintings Van Gogh, which was highly praised by critics.

Wheat field with cypress trees 1889

"Wheat field with cypress trees"(1889). “Wheat Field with Cypress Trees” is one of three famous paintings by Van Gogh that are similar in composition. The painting mentioned above is the first of three and was completed in July 1889. The artist himself loved cypress trees and wheat fields and spent a lot of time enjoying their beauty. He regarded this painting as one of his best landscape paintings and consequently created two more similar works. It is this work that takes pride of place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is located in New York.

Bedroom in Arles 1888

"Bedroom in Arles"(1888). This famous painting by Van Gogh is the first version of three subsequent similar paintings that reference it and are called much more simply - “The Bedroom”. The decision to paint this picture was made by the artist after a trip to the city of Arles, and subsequent move there. Van Gogh corresponded with his brother Theo and friend Paul Gauguin. He often sent them sketches of his future paintings, as he did with the painting “Bedroom in Arles.” However, along with the planned one painting, three versions were created during 1888–1889. This series of paintings is distinguished by the fact that it depicts other works of the artist within the canvas itself, such as self-portraits, portraits of friends and Japanese prints.

Potato Eaters 1885

"Potato Eaters"(1885). This piece was Van Gogh's first recognizable work. His goal while painting was to depict the peasants as realistically as possible. Before the world saw the final version of the canvas, the artist created many sketches and sketches. Critics noted the simple interior, which Van Gogh skillfully conveyed through the canvas, which contains only the necessary furniture. A lamp above the table casts a dim light, emphasizing the tired, simple faces peasants

Self-portrait with bandaged ear 1889

"Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear"(1889). Vincent Van Gogh became famous for his self-portraits. Throughout his life, he painted more than 30. This canvas has its own history. Once Van Gogh had a quarrel with one an outstanding artist of that time - Paul Gauguin, after which the first got rid of part of his left ear, namely, he cut off the lobe with an ordinary razor. This painting is one of the artist's most famous self-portraits. After an unpleasant incident with Gauguin, he painted another self-portrait. Critics believe that this painting plausibly describes the artist’s facial features, since he painted it while sitting in front of a mirror.

Night cafe terrace 1888

"Night cafe terrace"(1888). In this painting, Van Gogh depicted the terrace of a café at the Forum Square in Arles, France. Due to the recognition of this painting, which has become widely known throughout the world, the terrace, which is located in the northeast corner of the square, attracts more and more tourists every day. This work was the first in which the artist depicted the starry sky. Café Terrace at Night remains one of Van Gogh's most analyzed and discussed paintings. Interestingly, one of the cafes in Croatia copied the design from the artist’s painting.

Dr. Gachet's Porter 1890

"Doctor Gachet's Porter"(1890) Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a French doctor who treated the artist during last months his life. This portrait is one of Van Gogh's most famous paintings. However, there are two versions of the portrait, and this is the first version. In May 1990, this painting was auctioned for US$82 million, making it the most expensive painting ever sold. To date, this remains the highest price paid for a work of art at public auction.

Irises 1889

"Irises"(1889). Among Van Gogh's most recognizable works, this painting is the most famous. It was painted by Van Gogh a year before his death, and the artist himself defined it as “a lightning rod for my illness.” He believed that this painting was his hope not to go crazy. The artist’s canvas depicts a field, part of it strewn with flowers. There are other flowers among the irises, but it is the irises that occupy the central part of the picture. In September 1987, Irises sold for US$53.9 million. At that time it was the most high price, for which not a single painting has yet been sold. Today, the painting ranks 15th in the list of the most expensive works.

Sunflowers 1887

"Sunflowers"(1888). Vincent Van Gogh is considered a master of still life paintings and his series of sunflower paintings are considered the most famous still lifes ever created. The works are famous and memorable for depicting the natural beauty of plants and their vibrant colors. One of the paintings, “Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers,” was sold to a Japanese investor for almost $40 million in March 1987. Two years later, this record was transferred to the Irises.

Starry Night 1889

"Starlight Night"(1889). This masterpiece was painted by Van Gogh from memory. It depicts the view from the window of the artist's sanatorium, which is located in Saint-Rémy de Provence in France. The work also shows Vincent's interest in astronomy, and research carried out by one of the observatories revealed that Van Gogh represented the Moon, Venus and several stars in the exact position they occupied on that clear night, which is imprinted in the artist's memory. The canvas is considered one of greatest works V Western art and, of course, is the most famous work Vincent Van Gogh.