Art: Poppy Flowers by Vincent van Gogh

Some of Vincent van Gogh’s works were in sequence with each slightly different from the next, but also very much tied together in theme (1). As new paints and other tools become improved in the 19^th Century they also reflect differently on canvas. He did not paint what he saw but tried to paint how he felt about the images (2). This led to some of the most unique paintings in the world. Some of this work comes from the poverty and personality of the painter who sought to recreate a world on canvas.

Van Gogh painted flowers on a regular basis. He didn’t have much money to pay models so he would paint inanimate objects instead. It is believed that many of his poppy flower paintings came from images of fields in Southern France. Vincent lived much of his life relatively poor and had to stretch to buy supplies and other items needed to keep his work going. 

He states, “And now for what regards what I myself have been doing, I have lacked money for paying models else I had entirely given myself to figure painting. But I have made a series of colour studies in painting, simply flowers, red poppies, blue corn flowers and myosotys, white and rose roses, yellow chrysanthemums-seeking oppositions of blue with orange, red and green, yellow and violet seeking les tons rompus et neutres to harmonize brutal extremes. Trying to render intense colour and not a grey harmony. Now alter these gymnastics I lately did two heads which I dare say are better in light and colour than those I did before (3)

The painting has been stolen twice from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum. The first time, the painting disappeared in 1978 and recovered in Kuwait (4). It was believed at the time the first theft occurred security was lax. The same problem occurred again in 2010 and is still missing. Authorities thought they found the painting when a couple was boarding a plane to Italy (5). As of today, it is still missing without a trace. Perhaps someday it will show up and we will see the original again.

Lost Painting by Vincent van Gogh-The Road to Tarascon

The painting on the Road to Tarascon is a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh traveling with its artwork in 1888. It was seen as a lost masterpiece and a rare glimpse into van Gogh’s life as an individualist and a traveling painter. To him real painters don’t paint things how they are but they do paint them as they feel they are. Francis Bacon thought it was a haunting painting of van Gogh as an outsider to the world. 

Even though the artist is alone, hot, and following a path between Arles and Tarascon he will be meeting his friend Paul Gauguin in less than a month. Within a year of this time he had a seizure and within two years sold his first piece of artwork. With all of his life’s happenings his dark shadow indicates his only true friend is himself. 

The Nazi’s removed and destroyed the art as a degenerate for their culture. It was believed, at that time in history, that anyone not part of the overall Germanic bloodlines created art that was insulting to religion, Germans, and the world. Other artists were told not to paint if their art was not of sufficient Germanic qualities and regular inspections of their homes were common.  Anything that did not conform was removed. 

Vincent was a child who drew pictures and began painting in his late twenties. Over 2,100 paintings were produced and only six were ruined or destroyed.  Much of his time was spent as an art trader and he desired to someday be a pastor. As he matured his works became stronger and brighter. It is believed that his distinct style contributed to his overall success as a painter.  It was his type of signature. 

If you would like to seek a bit of Tarascon you may watch the following:

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

1888-Starry Night

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh is a depiction of a village in a whistling night. The swirls are designed to ensure the viewers eyes move around the picture and create a point-to-point effect.  It was a surreal painting designed to enhance the overall senses drawn from the picture. He purposely used things like lines where shadows would have been more correct and bright yellow stars where only small figure was needed. 

Some have argued that the peaceful village and stormy night are dichotomies. One offers safety and protection with inviting lights in the window. The night is uninviting, interesting, but wholly a wild place. As with all art, there are psychological interpretations that include his feelings and inner conflicts are expressed onto the painting. A few have argued he suffered from lead poisoning changing his perception.

The Cyprus brush is right in front of the viewer and sort of distorts the view. Analysts believe that the author is expressing his emotions and fears into the painting. He creates his own reality and gives the components within the painting a bigger than life expression indicating the vividness of his memory.  The brush appears to be knotty and creates disequilibrium within the painting that leaves viewers perplexed. 

Van Gough was a post impressionist who attempted to free the art from the forms of the world to create feelings and moods within the viewers. An impressionist would try and paint reality exactly as they saw through their emotions with heightened sensory colors. A post impressionist attempts to distort the lines and use unnatural colors to create feelings.  The paintings are not supposed to be exact reality but full of life beyond reality.

The interpretation I prefer is the people sleeping in the quiet night village are wholly unaware of the life of nature outside.  As humans we are focused on our routines and patterns that center around our immediate needs. Despite our narrow focus the world and its nature continues to move with more life than most of us understand. No one knows the true meaning of the painting thereby leaving the distinct possibility that Vincent van Gough was a night owl who simply enjoyed the life of the evening air. You have to decide for yourself.

The Potato Eaters by Vincent van Gogh

The Potato Eaters-1885

The Potato Eaters presents five figures of which three are females and two are males. One of which appears to be younger than the others and standing before her family. The meal is simple consisting of baked potatoes without any type of dressing. Spices were expensive and imported from other areas. 

This meal was a regular staple for people who did not have the access to the refrigerated varieties we have today. The other woman is serving coffee for the group through cheap cups and a pot. You can see the conversation within the picture as the family discusses their daily happenings. One might be talking about the hens and the other about the saving of seeds. Their lives consumed them and filled up their conversational needs. It was all about survival.

The colors are dark which gives the painting a dark and dirty look. On the ceiling is a single hanging lamp that brightens the families faces. Even though each female is wearing drab clothing and a bonnet we can see a touch of youth behind the center figure's face. Life has yet to wear her down as you can see from the wonderment in her eyes. As a peasant farming family clothing was likely in high demand and coarse by nature. People simply didn’t throw their clothes in the washing machine or run down to Macy’s for another pair. 

The depiction is a real family in the spirit of naturalism painting styles. At this time the Great Recession (before the modern one) ran until 1879. This time was replaced a few decades later by the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The painting was completed by a young Vincent Van Gogh in 1885 who had not yet mastered his skills. Poverty was still everywhere as people have not had equal opportunities to achieve economic footing. It was just the beginning of a more global economy. This picture is about poverty and the simplicity of life that existed at the time for a huge percentage of the population.

The painting was originally finished in Netherlands as a study of “real” people. Vincent van Gogh wanted to depict people as he saw them. To him these peasants were not only the backbone of the country but also legitimately earned their food. He stated in a letter, "You see, I really have wanted to make it so that people get the idea that these folk, who are eating their potatoes by the light of their little lamp, have tilled the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish, and so it speaks of manual labor and — that they have thus honestly earned their food. I wanted it to give the idea of a wholly different way of life from ours — civilized people. So I certainly don’t want everyone just to admire it or approve of it without knowing why.”

What Van Gogh was capable of doing was creating a “snap shot” of life in the rural countryside. Even though they were poor they were still together. To him people actually worked hard to achieve the things they needed in their lives. Imagine if we were living back then where backbreaking work was the norm and only a very few luxuries of life were available. There were no credit cards, buses, racks of clothing, and medical benefits. With such a hard time people had an average mortality rate of 50 years or less. Now look around at all the things you have! Do you still have each other? Perhaps their poverty provided them a rare gift?

Café Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh

Café Terrace at Night 1888

Café Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh was completed in 1888 as a representation of a famous coffee house in Arles France.  The location still exists and is now called Café van Gogh. Within the picture you can find shops as well as the tower of a church that has been converted into the Musée Lapidaire. The painting offers clash of light and dark, yellow and blue, and blue with black. The popular cafe is shown as an inviting and lively display of local socializing and attracted high levels of interest among locals.

The history of van Gogh is a little more troubling. Vincent van Gogh had a terrible start in life suffering from all types of personal and public turmoil’s. A son of a preacher he tried being a clerk, preacher, and an art salesman. In each of these instances he failed miserably before landing on painting art himself. He was considered a highly emotional person and lacking in self-confidence.  Even through chronic failure he eventually achieved success as a painter upon his death.  People now marvel at his works and colorful insight paying millions to own his works.

In a letter to his sister he writes about his experiences painting Café Terrace:

In point of fact I was interrupted these days by my toiling on a new picture representing the outside of a night cafe. On the terrace there are tiny figures of people drinking. An enormous yellow lantern sheds its light on the terrace, the house and the sidewalk, and even causes a certain brightness on the pavement of the street, which takes a pinkish violet tone. The gable-topped fronts of the houses in a street stretching away under a blue sky spangled with stars are dark blue or violet and there is a green tree. Here you have a night picture without any black in it, done with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green, and in these surroundings the lighted square acquires a pale sulphur and greenish citron-yellow colour. It amuses me enormously to paint the night right on the spot. They used to draw and paint the picture in the daytime after the rough sketch. But I find satisfaction in painting things immediately.

The history of the coffee shop is an interesting one that follows the path of the Enlightenment. Originally seen as a product of the Middle East, people in the West have come to frequent coffee shops for socialization, passing time, playing games, reading and entertaining. To many these cafes are informal clubs where the members come to understand and know one another from local communities.

The beginning of coffee houses appeared in Venice as a direct result of trade with the Ottomans.  The first being recorded around 1645. Such places attracted intellectuals from around the city. The first coffee house in America started in Boston around 1676. Since this time the coffee house has expanded into both independent establishments to chain coffee shops like Starbucks. To this day the coffee shop maintains its charm as a place of socialization and enlightenment.