Who Is Vincent Van Gogh?
Vincent van Gogh displays a large transition in the composition of his works towards his late career. While his early works were composed of dark colors, with a focus in browns and blacks, van Gogh developed a more colorful palette, larger painterly strokes, and a more diverse array of content towards his late career. Julie York states in her article, “His penetrating self-portraits… lend insight to human character and to van Gogh’s uncompromising vision.” Between 1886 and 1889 his self-portraits displayed these rapid developments; this transition can be seen when comparing van Gogh’s Self-Portrait of 1886 to his succeeding portraits, and most notably his final, Self-Portrait of 1889, where his styles and inspirations have drastically changed.
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by 49 cm. oil on canvas, where he has bandaged his ear following a mental breakdown upon Gauguin’s declaration of leaving Arles. Van Gogh further deviates from reality in that he elongates his face, highlighting different aspects, including a more distant and disconnected gaze. Unlike many of his other self-portraits, van Gogh includes a distinguishable background in which a Japanese print can be seen hanging on the wall behind him; this implies his strong inspiration from Japanese art. The continued use of contrasting blues and reds forces a feeling of uneasiness from the viewer, while placing more emphasis on his surroundings, when compared to other self-portraits in this period. He previously stated, in a letter to his brother Theo, that his use of these contrasting colors was to evoke a feeling of going mad, or one which a person could commit a crime, as described when speaking of his Night Café. This is indicative of his growing style and is seen throughout many of his works. Van Gogh considered his self-portraits following his mental breakdown as more calm and collected, while Zemel describes them as “framing the wounded man’s stoic calm.” While van Gogh had an opinion of how his work was proof of his sanity, or lack of it, the viewer can accurately view the decomposition of his mental health throughout his late career through his series of
by 49 cm. oil on canvas, where he has bandaged his ear following a mental breakdown upon Gauguin’s declaration of leaving Arles. Van Gogh further deviates from reality in that he elongates his face, highlighting different aspects, including a more distant and disconnected gaze. Unlike many of his other self-portraits, van Gogh includes a distinguishable background in which a Japanese print can be seen hanging on the wall behind him; this implies his strong inspiration from Japanese art. The continued use of contrasting blues and reds forces a feeling of uneasiness from the viewer, while placing more emphasis on his surroundings, when compared to other self-portraits in this period. He previously stated, in a letter to his brother Theo, that his use of these contrasting colors was to evoke a feeling of going mad, or one which a person could commit a crime, as described when speaking of his Night Café. This is indicative of his growing style and is seen throughout many of his works. Van Gogh considered his self-portraits following his mental breakdown as more calm and collected, while Zemel describes them as “framing the wounded man’s stoic calm.” While van Gogh had an opinion of how his work was proof of his sanity, or lack of it, the viewer can accurately view the decomposition of his mental health throughout his late career through his series of