Monday 13 December 2010

that's My World, ABC Wednesday, V for Vincent




In September I wrote something about the Kröller-Müller museum in the national park "De Hoge Veluwe". Now I'd like to write about Vincent van Gogh, whose paintings are well represented in this museum.

Wikipedia says:"Vincent Willem van Gogh, born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose work had a far-reaching influence on 20th century art for its vivid colours and emotional impact. He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life, and died largely unknown, at the age of 37, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Little appreciated during his lifetime, his fame grew in the years after his death. Today, he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest painters and an important contributor to the foundations of modern art. Van Gogh did not begin painting until his late twenties, and most of his best-known works were produced during his final two years. He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches.
Van Gogh spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers and traveled between The Hague, London and Paris, after which he taught in England. An early vocational aspiration was to become a pastor and preach the gospel, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining region in Belgium. During this time he began to sketch people from the local community, and in 1885 painted his first major work The Potato Eaters. His palette at the time consisted mainly of sombre earth tones and showed no sign of the vivid coloration that distinguished his later work. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and discovered the French Impressionists. Later he moved to the south of France and was taken by the strong sunlight he found there. His work grew brighter in colour and he developed the unique and highly recognizable style which became fully realized during his stay in Arles in 1888.
"


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With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with V.

24 comments:

Arija said...

Just beautiful Wil, I saw the wonderful travelling exhibition of his work in Montreal in 1961. It was the first time I had seen the 'Potato Eaters' and was amazed at the size of it. I have also been privileged to see the collections at the Hermitage in St.Petersburg, at Amsterdam and the Musee d'Orsay in Paris as well as other works here and there.

Thank you.

Roger Owen Green said...

I saw a movie, Vincent & Theo, that I liked quite a bit. Youy might check it out.

Good post, as always.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Dina said...

Thanks for this enjoyable post.
It's a shame Vincent left us at such an early age.

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Wonderful, I am glad to say I saw the travelling exhibition here in Brisbane. I will never forget the experience of seeing so many of his great paintings.

Sylvia K said...

Such a marvelous post as always, Wil! I love Vincent and all his work. Saw some of his works when I was living in Europe and visited Paris. They were breathtaking! Thank you so much for the history and pictures! Have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

EG CameraGirl said...

The Netherlands should be very proud indeed of Van Gogh's work!

Brenda said...

I enjoy his talent even though we don't have any of his work. I wish he could have gotten help with his illness so that he could have been around longer. I may try and find the movie Roger talks about. Take care Wil!

Janice Thomson said...

van Gogh's work strikes a chord deep within I could and do look at his work often.Good choice for the "V Theme".

Vicki Lane said...

Wonderful pictures! I love Van Gogh's work -- except for The Potato Eaters -- that one is seriously depressing, in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Just wonderful! I do enjoy Van Gogh's paintings.

Arkansas Patti said...

Such variety in his styles. Many of these I was unaware of. Thank you for posting.
I love the couple resting in the hay.
Perhaps today, he would have been given pills for his illness that would have denied us his talent.

Rune Eide said...

Can one get a better person for V than Vincent van Gogh? Despite the tragedy that ended his life, he remains with us. Now I must just stop thinking of "Starry, starry night".

Unknown said...

Really Interesting essay!!! Boom & Gary Of The Vermilon River.

Rune Eide said...

Me again - Thank you so much for that very nice comment :-)

George said...

Thanks for sharing so many of Van Gogh's paintings with us. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing his works in person, but I enjoy seeing them here.

??? said...

Great V! I remember visiting the Amsterdam van Gogh museum on a school trip, I would love to visit again.

The Doctor Who episode featuring van Gogh was awesome ;)

Gigi Ann said...

Reader Wil,

What a beautiful and interesting post today. How fortunate that you got of view some of his work in the museum. I really enjoy the slide show as well as all the other works of art you shared with us today. Thanks, Wil.

photowannabe said...

I love all the pictures you gave us to view. The man had so much talent. Thanks for all the information too.

Tumblewords: said...

A pleasure to read your post and to see so many of his paintings. Thank you!

Rinkly Rimes said...

Had he lived today he might have been cured with medication. How would he have painted then?

Hildred said...

Beautiful work, but what a price he paid for his art....

Anonymous said...

I do like Vincent's work or most of it. I am the same way with Picasso. Some of his stuff is really sad and I don't like it but the rest is special, at least to me.

NB:
I don't believe the children could or would do the long walks in all kinds of weather to get to and from school. I don't think they are as tough as we were when we were young. I agree with you Reader Wil.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I read his biogaphy. Starry Starry night.

Thérèse said...

I like this post very much. We just happened to see one of the "Irises" by Van Gogh two weeks ago at the Getty Museum. Quite a large painting!
Have a blessed 2011!