Favorite Painter

Write a short post discussing your favorite painter born before 1900. Explain in detail what it is exactly that you like about their work. Use the knowledge you have learned about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design to discuss what you like about their work., about the medium they use or the content they explore? minimum 200 words

My favorite Painter born before 1900 is Vincent Van Gogh. I love the paintings done by Van Gogh because they are very expressive of what was going on around him and his personal experiences. He uses lines freehandedly in his paintings which makes them all very unique compared to many other painters. Even though his use of lines seemed to be chaotic, there was always strong consistency. A lot of Pat Steir's work was influenced by Vincent Van Gogh. Pat Steir widely utilized Van Gogh's style of painting using lines, and tapping into her emotions much like Van Gogh did whenever he painted. The feeling of painting in this manner was compared to being on a merry-go-round by Steir. Van Gogh's paintings exhibited a strong cry of anguish, this is due to the way he utilizes his lines. This is especially evident in his painting of Starry Night. There is one artwork in particular that draws my attention when I think of Vincent Van Gogh. This particular work of art is The Sower, which was produced on the medium of oil on canvas. It took Van Gogh a great deal of time to complete this piece. He faced numerous difficulties, the biggest of which was finding the right color to set the painting off. He adjusted this artwork until he got the focal point where he wanted it. He did this by using a variety of different lines, straight, wide, narrow and curved. In the final product of The Sower, Van Gogh eliminated the house and tree which gave allowed the viewer to focus more on the sower himself. All the different lines used gives the artwork a sense of direction and flow. Van Gogh's works were even considered to be autographic because of his style of painting.