Art Appreciation: Stairway At Auvers By Vincent Van Gogh

Art Appreciation

Compare and Contrast
Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet

In this Essay I will compare and contrast two paintings. The first painting is Stairway at Auvers by Vincent Van Gogh. The painting is one of 80 paintings done by Van Gogh during his stay in Auvers. Stairway at Auvers was done on July 1890 shortly before his death. The second painting is Water Lilies 1916-1926 by Claude Monet. Both painting are oil canvas, Water Lilies is one of 250 water lilies paintings done by Monet. Both paintings are examples of art pieces that play an important role in art history.
I was able to personally see each painting at the St. Louis Art Museum on October 9, 2010. The Museum was beautiful; the rooms seemed to have art pieces organized
by styles. Stairway at Auvers and Water Lilies were located in the same room. The St. Louis art museum was very big. As I walked in, there was a beautiful sculpture to my right. The high ceilings made the place seem larger than life. The rooms were very spacious, allowing people to comfortably walk around. The museum somewhat reminded me of New York’s Metropolitan art museum.
Stairway at Auvers is a medium sized painting. The painting illustrates the village where Van Gogh lived. Van Gogh’s focus probably wasn’t to make the painting big, but to emphasize his use of heavy brush stroke. Van Gogh’s use of line is very important to the painting. The roads are heavily brushed which lead to the stairway. As the viewer’s eyes follow the road, the two characters are introduced, leaving a question regarding their relevance to the piece. The painting seems to focus on the surroundings; Van Gogh included people, houses and trees. The painting is heavy and filled with emotion. Shapes are part of what balances the busy piece. Stairway at Auvers is a very electrifying piece. By looking at the piece, one can sense the artist’s anguish and pain. Van Gogh made a calm village seem chaotic. With so much happening, Van Gogh seems to place everything in squares in order to keep the painting organized. The placement of the people, houses, trees, seem to be all enclosed in a squared cubical. Monet’s piece is calm and peaceful. Water Lilies’ focus isn’t on anything but the flowers. Unlike Van Gogh’s piece, Monet used mainly cool colors. The water is heavily painted with purple and blue. The water lilies are green and yellow. Some red is used on certain flowers, but the painting revolves around three main colors, blue, purple and green. Water Lilies isn’t a busy piece. It seems Monet wanted the viewers eyes to rest on the flowers and pond. Unlike Van Gogh’s painting, the attention isn’t directed to the detail in everything, looking at Van Gogh’s piece is almost tiring. Monet’s piece is easy to follow. Water Lilies is balanced through the use of colors and shapes. The painting can be cut in half and divided into light colors seen on the left side, and dark colors on the right. The flowers on the left side are yellowish and pink. The right side of the painting focuses most on the dark pond and dark green flowers. Like Van Gogh, Monet uses shapes in order to give a sense of balance to the piece. The flowers appear to form circular shapes, the way the water lilies are divided between the pond places part of the pond a circular shape in the middle of the piece. Monet’s Water Lilies is very big compared to Van Gogh’s Stairway to Auvers.
Seeing Monet’s piece in person was unforgettable. The painting is about 200 x 425cm in size. When looking at it live, texture was very present throughout the piece. The water lilies almost had a 3d appearance. Though the painting didn’t jump out straight at the viewer, the strokes seemed to be very dense and rough, giving a close to 3D illusion. The repetitions of the colors jump at the viewer. Van Gogh’s piece didn’t have much texture, the painting looked smooth, almost as if it was colored on a piece of paper. Both paintings did not seem to have much pattern to them.
Stairway at Auvers is a combination of figurative and abstract.
Though the piece focuses on the four characters painted in it, the setting seems realistic but has an abstract look. Van Gogh accomplishes this with his heavy use of brush strokes. The painting is dense, the roads and trees almost swerve in the painting. I wouldn’t introduce the painting as an abstract piece, but Van Gogh uses abstract in the painting to achieve his purpose. I consider Monet’s Water Lilies to be a combination between semi realistic and figurative. The piece gives an impression of something that could be true. The flowers and pond look real and the painting is highly focused on the water
lilies.
Water Lilies was painted during 1916 and 1926. Monet had lung cancer and was close to death. Culturally the piece has a significant meaning of peace, almost as an entrance to the after life. Monet spent his last years painting water lilies, which were found in his backyard and pond. He created a studio by his garden to ease his painting. The painting is soft and calm; the painting really illustrates how important life was to Monet. He could’ve painted many things, but he chose water lilies. The water lilies lie on the surface of the pond, restless, floating. Much can be learned about Monet by analyzing this specific painting, Water Lilies 1916-1926. Van Gogh was ill when he moved to Auvers to be close to his physician. Van Gogh died in 1890 by shooting himself in the chest. Stairway at Auvers was a painting done when Van Gogh was mentally ill, short before his death. The piece differentiates from Monet’s in a very interesting way. Here are two artists who paint these amazing paintings right before their death, and while Monet focuses on peace and serenity, Van Gogh focuses on making his painting active.
Van Gogh and Monet were two important artists to art history.
Their works are admired and cherished till today with pieces selling for millions of dollars. Thought they were different artists from a different time period, there are many similarities and contrasts that can be found in their pieces. From the styles to elements, when looking at Stairway at Auvers and Water Lilies, it is possible to compare and contrast the two pieces. Seeing those two pieces live was something I had never done before. I had never actually been to an art museum so it was a good experience that I’ll take with me forever. I have learned how to understand and appreciate a little more about art. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that even though something might not be appealing, it doesn’t mean it isn’t
art.