Philosophy of Art Van Gogh Painting Essay Example

Art is something that can cause difference of opinion, controversy, and many other contemporary issues. Art can also been viewed in many different mediums; such as music, paintings, the written word whether that be prose or poetry, photography as well as many more forms. I will be discussing the famous painter of Van Gogh and a painting that he described as ugly. Van Gogh described this painting as “…one of the ugliest I have done…” He then stated that he tried to show the fervor of the human race describing various colors when visualized would not be appealing together. He also regarded the room he painted as “blood red and dark yellow” which gives another negative attribute to the painting. The lamps that Van Gogh describes are not bright and vibrant but they are dark, dull and give off “a glow of orange and green.” The statement ends with Van Gogh saying “there is a clash and contrast of the most disparate reds greens…” Van Gogh described this painting in a very negative way but the way he described it does not mean we have to agree with him. Each person is entitled to their own opinion and when it comes to art, opinions can vary to the moon and back. For example, one person can look at Van Gough’s painting and dislike only certain parts of it, such as the placement of the billiard table or the shades of red used to paint the room. Van Gogh may be very displeased with his piece of work but the people that appreciate his work may think of it as just another great piece of fine art to look at. Because Van Gogh stated that he did not appreciate his piece of art as much as his other works, I do not believe that spectators should not look at the work with any less value than his other pieces. Viewers should look at his art with the same value, but each piece of art should be appreciated and judged differently from one another.
I think each piece of art is given an aesthetic value by three people: the artist, the critic and the average man or woman. The