Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night

August 24, 2008

Starting September 21, the Museum of Modern Art in New York will feature the exhibition ‘Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night’.

Starry Night Exhibition

This exhibition will present new insight into Van Gogh’s depictions of night landscapes, interior scenes, and the effects of both gaslight and natural light on their surroundings. Representing all periods of the artist’s career, the exhibition will comprise over two dozen works of superlative quality—several of which have never been seen together, even though they were very clearly conceived with each other in mind.

The artwork was acquired by MoMA through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest.

Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889.
Oil on canvas, 29 x 36 1/4″ (73.7 x 92.1 cm).

About Van Gogh

Throughout his career, Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890) attempted the paradoxical task of representing night by light. His procedure followed the trend set by the Impressionists of “translating” visual light effects with various color combinations, informs MoMA.

At the same time, this concern was grafted onto Van Gogh’s desire to interweave the visual and the metaphorical in order to produce fresh and deeply original works of art. These different artistic concerns found themselves powerfully bound together in Van Gogh’s nocturnal and twilight paintings and drawings.

About the Exhibition

This exhibition was organized by an international curating team, comprised of Joachim Pissarro, Adjunct Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Bershad Professor of Art History and Director of the Hunter College Galleries; and Sjraar van Heugten, Head of Collections, the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

The MoMA exhibition will end January 5, 2009. Subsequently, it will be shown at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from February 13 till June 7, 2009.

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Art 39 Basel: THE International Art World Fair

June 2, 2008

Tomorrow, Art 39 Basel kicks off with a vernissage for invited guests. The 39th edition of Art Basel takes place in the museum-rich city of Basel (Switzerland) from June 4 through June 8, 2008. As the world’s premier art show, Art Basel is the annual meeting place of the international art world. This year’s 300 exhibiting galleries from all over the world were selected out of a record number of over 1,000 applications and will be showing works by over 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Art Unlimited hall, with its 60 large-scale projects, and Art Basel Conversations, featuring internationally respected panelists, represent further highlights. The Art on Stage platform (presented in association with the Theater Basel) will provide the framework for the performance Drama Queens by artists Michael Elmgreen (Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (Norway). The local museums also have fascinating exhibitions (including Chaim Soutine, Andrea Zittel, Monika Sosnowska, and Fernand Léger) and a broad range of events in store.

This annual reunion of the international art world regularly attracts some 60,000 artists, collectors, gallerists, curators, and art enthusiasts from across the globe, who come to see the largest, most rigorously juried overview of what the international art market has to offer and to meet the stars and insiders of the international art scene.

Presenting Art Galleries

Once again, the world’s leading galleries will be exhibiting at the show, for which 99% of last year’s exhibitors reapplied. This year’s unrivaled roster of participants will be enhanced by a number of distinguished dealers of classical modern art and photography, and diverse young galleries.

Features Art 39 Basel

This art fair is well-known for its many specialty exhibits and happenings:

Artistic Expression
Art 39 Basel will be showcasing all forms of artistic expression, the repertoire extending from paintings, drawings, editions, and sculptures to installations, photography, performances, and internet and video art. Works from a few thousand francs by young emerging artists will be on display alongside museum-quality masterpieces priced in the millions.
Art Premiere
This year’s special Art Premiere sector will be running under the heading of «Artists in Dialogue». Each of the 16 curated projects showcases a fascinating juxtaposition of works by two artists.
Art Statements
This year’s Art Statements sector will expand to include 31 solo exhibitions of young artists. The projects on display are new and often created specifically for presentation in this highly regarded sector for young artists. Since 1999, the Baloise Insurance Group has awarded its annual Baloise Art Prize of CHF 25,000 each to two outstanding Art Statements projects. The company also acquires works by the prizewinning artists and donates them to important museums such as the Kunsthalle in Hamburg and the Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna.
Art Unlimited
Art Unlimited will spotlight approximately 60 unconventional works. The platform enables artists to exhibit works that would ordinarily be subject to spatial, temporal, technical, financial contextual, or conceptual constraints. Art, with the accent on innovation.
This is just a handful of features and events at the art fair; it has many more: Art magazines, Art Conversations, Public Art …

In Conclusion

Art Basel is the art world’s most important annual marketplace and offers its visitors the most extensive temporary museum of our day. Art experts and enthusiasts alike can come here to find works they have been looking for, discover new talents, compare prices, and scent out trends. For the artists themselves, it is a prestigious platform with worldwide impact. The intimate atmosphere of the beautiful, art-loving city of Basel adds to the appeal of the event.

Special exhibitions and social functions at the local museums provide further attractions and meeting places. And in the evening, the place to go is the Art Club at the Kunsthalle, featuring DJs flown in by Carhartt from all over Europe.

FINE ART FAIR CATALOG

The art fair is accompanied by a lavish catalog, as it was last year.

ART 39 BASEL CATALOG

for more info: ~ see other articles at eArtfair.com/blog

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Art and Form

June 1, 2008

Oh, it is not always easy to decide what is art, why art is art, and how art comes about being art.
This article discusses the relationship between art and form.

Defining Art from Form
“Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.” – Joseph Conrad

When you finally decide on a course of action, all the usual psychological blocks are bound to occur. Where shall I begin? Have I a right to make a choice, based on any sensible guides? Is a piece of ceramics a work of art? Is a piece of Tiffany glass? Is a rug designed by Matisse? Should I buy a painting… a print… a drawing?

There is no crystal-clear answer. As I have tried to indicate in foregoing chapters, you are dealing with your own personal reactions, as well as with certain rules and laws which are vague, at best.

One of the first muddles that need clarifying is the sharp line often drawn to set off arts from crafts. I cannot see why these two should be so summarily opposed to each other. How can anybody decide at first blush that a man who has a sense of form, an eye for color, and a definite quest for the beautiful is producing only a vessel – if he spins a lovely pot on his wheel, applies glowing glazes, and fires his work to produce a handsome jar glowing with a jewel-like finish? Yet there are critics and collectors who would dismiss the man’s work with a snobbish shrug that it is a fine example of the potter’s craft… but as a work of art there is no room for it.

Why, I ask, this strange, if fine, distinction? Is it because the jar is intended for functional use and the higherbrows believe such a pragmatic approach precludes it from joining the upper world of “fine arts”?

Let us go back almost 3,000 years to a Greek potter in his workshop as he formed a vessel for oil or wine. The term “vase” is now applied to most of the early Greek ceramic pieces; but their original purpose was functional… for everyday use. On such vases we see indications of an entirely new way of looking at things by the artist. He was no longer hidebound by the old style he had inherited from earlier Egyptian forms. Yet there was still the same regard for a sharp outline and exact symmetry. So vases from this period are not only valuable for their beauty of color, dimension, and proportion; they are esteemed for their obvious role in shaping a new course for the artist to follow as he broke the shackles of a hardened past. Yet it is clear that the objects as originally created had a humble purpose indeed. Such intent has not lessened their artistic validity or value.

Let us go even farther back into history. Museums which own objects from the Sumerian period display them proudly. In the University of Pennsylvania Museum there is a gold cup used by Queen Shu-Bad of Mesopotamia. It has a graceful form, a delicate gold color, and intricate decorative fluting. Obviously it was designed to provide the queen with a drinking vessel. Is it therefore less beautiful than it would have been had it lacked practical purpose?

The same will naturally apply to the pottery tomb figures of the Ming dynasty in China… to T’ang glazed pottery… to the heroic bronze cats and baboons of the Egyptians. Recently I saw a cover design for the bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, showing a drawing of an Incan Empire Poncho, made about 1500. It was an almost pure design… with cubes of black and white. At the top was a reverse triangle of deep brown. I have seen many paintings of the abstract school which could have hung side by side with this poncho reproduction.

So I say: judge by the results and forget the notion that one can always erect a false fence to separate the beautiful from the functional. If the object is beautiful to you, then it is worthy of your collector’s eye and instincts. This attitude can open up many new fields to you – for example, the folk arts.

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Famous Vogel Collection of 2500 artworks to be gifted in 2008/2009

May 1, 2008

A dream is coming through for 50 art institutions around the nation, as the renowned Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection of 2500 works of contemporary art is gifted and distributed among America’s 50 states, art museums around the country are getting excited.

The Dorothy & Herbert Vogel Collection’s focus of the collection is on conceptual and minimalist art. They were ahead of their time and selected artists who were lesser known (before they were well-known) for their collection. They bought directly from the artists, and often developed a relationship of ongoing support of the artists.

The first 10 art institutions to receive 50 artworks each of the collection as art gift were announced in April. They are: Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas (Texas), Delaware Art Museum (Delaware), Harvard University Art Museum (Massachusetts), High Museum of Art, Atlanta (Georgia), Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indianapolis), Montclair Art Museum (New Jersey), Museum of Contemporary Art ~ LA (California), New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans), Seattle Art Museum (Washington), and Speed Art Museum (Kentucky).

Twenty more institutions will receive gifts in 2008, and the another twenty art institutions will receive theirs in 2009.

There are works by 170 artists in the collection. Some of the artists in the collection: Lynda Benglis, Sol LeWitt, Michael Lucero, Robert Mangold, Edda Renouf, Richard Tuttle and Tony Smith.

Dorothy & Herbert Vogel have the refreshingly different professional profile of librarian and postal worker ~ abolishing all stereotypes around who art collectors are. Their impeccable and discerning taste led them to buy ‘bargains’ which will soon bejewel 50 museums and other art institutions in America.

The Vogels began collecting art in the ’60s. They went for drawings, smaller paintings & sculptures, prints, photographs, and illustrated books ~ all sized to befit their apartment.

For more information about the Vogel Art Gift http://vogel5050.org/vogel/index.htm

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Klimt: video on ‘The Kiss’ & his love for Women

April 19, 2008

This is a short informational video lecture about the classic impressionist painting ‘The Kiss’ by Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt (1862 – 1918).

The video pulls together strands of his background, his passion, his travels, and shows you how these inputs translate into his painting. It comes as no surprise that Klimt’s favorite subject to paint was women.

As a prominent member of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement, Gustav Klimt made major artistic contributions in paintings, murals, sketches and objects d’art. Many of his works can be found in the Vienna Secession gallery, as well as in museums around the world.

Art Education @ Art Schools in the US

April 17, 2008

I’m often asked what in my opinion the best art schools are in the United States. So, I researched the topic before making my careful selection. Of course, some schools are better for film and others for fine art/paintings, and others again for art history. And this list is no more than my opinion after research. All rankings are subjective, and there is more to selecting the university that is best for you, beyond its general ranking.

Art Education Stimulates Exploration of New Media
It is important to know that art school is to push your artistic abilities and interests further. So, you may end up graduating from your art school in an other art discipline that what you initially signed up for. So, no matter what your art medium of choice is when going into art school, consider the list below of art colleges and universities.

Art School Personality & Academic Objectives Must Match
Schools like people have personalities. First, the selection criteria for new art students vary from art school to art school. although all want what they call a ’strong portfolio’, a ‘passion for art’, and a ‘good ability to draw from life’.

Approaching it from the other side, prospective art students must research the academic and artistic achievements of faculty and graduates. Do you like what they produce? Does it feel like great art? Inspirational? Also consider if the school’s faculty has strong connections into various art industries. Are they typically the ones who win national awards?

These and your own personal considerations will help you select the fine art school that is best for you.

Ranking US Art Schools

Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
California College of Arts & Crafts, Berkeley, CA
California Institute of Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield hills, MI
Maryland Institute College of Art, Est.1826

Painting/Drawing

Yale University, CT
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
University of California–Los Angeles, CA

Printmaking

University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Iowa
Arizona State University
University of Georgia
University of Tennessee–Knoxville

Sculpture

Virginia Commonwealth University
Yale University
School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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Vincent Van Gogh – A Depth of Passion Transformed – II

April 3, 2008

By John Keaton

Continuation of part I of his article:

Arles : A New Hope Turns Tragic

Arriving in Arles on February 20, 1888, Vincent had most certainly hoped that the light of provence would inspire his work and raise his artistic abilities to a new, creative plateau. By this point, the plein-air painting he had explored along with the influence of impressionism and the japonaisse elements he utilized were fused and became, certainly without his own realization, the style that would become distinctly “Vincent “

The Sower, painted in June of 1888, displays a return to one of Van Gogh’s favorite motifs, and his lifelong fascination with the work of Millet. At one point, Vincent painted seven copies of the Sower in one week. Here in Arles, the Sower takes on a majestic quality with the brilliant sun blazing across the fields with a divine intensity.

It is a well know fact that Vincent could not afford to hire models for his paintings and very often painted himself. No fewer than 35 of these portraits exist, certainly more self-portraits than any artist had ever painted.

They are intriguing, not merely for the versatility of style, but also because they provide insight into Vincent’s state of mind at the particular point of time in which they were created.
The Self Portrait with Pipe and Straw Hat was painted in August of 1888. In my view, it is a charming portrayal of the artist’s optimism and hope for a productive, creative period of his life. There is a sense of peace and renewal evident in his face and in the simple, yet confident brush strokes.

Vincent’s intention in Arles was to create a colony of artists in the southern provincial city. The Painter, Paul Gauguin joined him for a brief time on this artistic excursion of pure expression. Their time together proved to be short-lived however, as their temperaments were vastly different.
While boarding at the yellow house, a bizarre incident occurred which was to mark the end of their relationship. In an atmosphere fueled by alcohol and Vincent’s delusional tantrums, the two personalities clashed, an argument ensued, and Van Gogh cut off a portion of his ear and delivered it to a prostitute named Rachel.

Much has been written regarding this episode and some of the facts have been misconstrued by dramatic interpretations. It is clear that Vincent suffered from both visual and aural hallucinations and that he also partook heavily in the drinking of absinthe, a highly potent mixture, with the same effects as opium. More than likely, the combination of all these elements, along with Vincent’s damaged self-esteem and string of emotional disappointments, led to this bizarre act.
Of the 187 Painting created in Arles, many are Vincent’s best loved works. The painting, Vincent’s Bedroom in Arles, is considered the best of five different versions of the scene. Vincent was so pleased with the work that he wrote highly detailed letters describing the painting: “In a word, looking at the picture ought to rest the brain, or rather the imagination.”

The unusual forced perspective of the room with its slanted back wall is in fact a contradiction to Vincent’s intended vision. Once again we see a composition influenced by Vincent’s preoccupation with Asian art, some prints of which can be seen on the walls. The room grows narrow and perhaps reflect Van Gogh’s sense of isolation and an attempt to record some sense of order in a world of lonely chaos.

“I feel the desire to renew myself and to try to apologize for the fact that my pictures are after all almost a cry of anguish, although in the rustic sunflower they may symbolize gratitude.”

-Vincent Van Gogh, Letter to Wil, Letter W20
c.20 February 1890

After Van Gogh’s self mutilation episode on a December Sunday in 1888, the young surgeon, Doctor Felix Rey, was placed in charge of Vincent’s care. Perhaps as a token of his appreciation, Van Gogh immortalized the doctor in a portrait in January 1889.

By this point the citizens of Arles had registered a formal complaint against Van Gogh and considered him a threat to the stability and security of their peaceful community.
Doctor Rey’s parents were so mortified by the portrait that they actually used the painting to patch up a hole in their chicken coop. Some twenty years later, Rey rescued the painting which now resides in the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Art in Moscow.

Saint-Remy: The Elation of Heightened Nature

Perhaps realizing the seriousness of his own mental deterioration, Van Gogh voluntarily committed himself to a mental asylum in Saint-Remy de Provence in May of 1889. This was to be one of the most difficult years of his life, ironically though, and in the true spirit of this gifted artist, it was also to be one of Vincent’s most productive periods. Despite being at times completely incapacitated and at battle with his own horrific demons, Van Gogh created some of the most enduring images of all time. We see them now, and they appear to us as old friends. Stars and Trees, etched upon our conscious. This is perhaps Vincent’s greatest gift to us: The depth of his passion transformed through the tragedy of madness into visions that transcend time and space and become tangible visual icons of the human experience.

In this enchanting work, there is a rolling energy as stars explode across the cool blue sky while wild cypress trees rise like flames from the tiny hamlet created entirely from imagination and memory. Considering the popularity of this exquisite painting, let’s take a look at a drawing of the very same composition from Moscow’s Museum of Architecture.

During his convalescence, Van Gogh created no less than 142 paintings from May of 1889 to May of 1890. An ardent admirer of Eugene Delacroix and Rembrandt, he painted his own unique interpretations of their works. Perhaps sensing his own demise, the tormented artist reinterpreted Delacroix’s Pieta. A compelling work, Vincent’s Pieta, is one of compassion and expresses a return to the religious roots of his childhood. The image of Christ being taken down from the cross is much lighter in color than the heavier, more classically influenced work of Delacroix. Nevertheless the emotion and power of expression are clearly evident.

The Painting, Road with Cypress and Stars, is nearly a companion piece to Starry Night. There is a bit of human activity in the foreground and we even see a carriage with two passengers on the far left. The Cypress Tree is the main focus with its turbulent fiery presence in front a blazing sky.
The chisel-like brushwork and amplified surface texture had become hallmarks of Vincent’s work by this time. This was to be one of Van Gogh’s last paintings at the Asylum in Saint Remy.
Upon the advice of his brother, Theo, Vincent moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, a small village north of Paris. Here he was placed under the care of the Flemish Doctor Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, a sixty two year old specialist in mental illness. While Gachet’s competency was questionable, the situation of Van Gogh’s increasingly tragic sense of melancholy called for some drastic measure. An avid admirer of Vincent’s work, Dr. Gachet was thoroughly delighted with his Portrait.
In more recent years, The Portrait of Dr. Gachet fetched an astounding 82.5 Million Dollars at Christie’s Auction House in New York, the highest price ever paid for a painting.
An image of turbulent vitality and vividly colored anguish, Wheat Fields With Crows is considered Van Gogh’s last painting. While this may or not be true, the painting is explosive and there is a terrific atmosphere of an ominous and even sinister nature.

Armed with a revolver, Van Gogh shot himself on the afternoon of July 27, 1890. Two days later, Vincent died with his brother Theo and Paul Gachet, the doctor’s son at his side. Leaving behind a tormented and emotionally disastrous past fraught with despair and sorrow, Vincent Van Gogh’s artistic contribution is unrivalled in its emotional complexity and the sheer power of a tormented soul’s creative capacity.

An Overview

In the course of his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh created a veritable treasure trove of artwork. Over 1000 Drawings, 870 Paintings, 150 Watercolors and more than 133 letter sketches form the body of his vast accomplishments as an artist. The majority of these works were done within a period of four years from 1886 to 1890. Barely recognized during his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh is now recognized as one of the world’s greatest and most influential Artists.

Website References:

The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery: http://www.vangoghgallery.com/

(This website is the absolute definitive source on all things Van Gogh. The site provides a comprehensive overview on Van Gogh’s life and work and is also endorsed by the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam)

http://www.artelino.com/articles/van_gogh_japonisme.asp

http://www.island-of-freedom.com/VANGOGH.HTM

http://www.gardenofpraise.com/art19.htm

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/159/4/519

http://www.dalehobson.org/prolight/notes.html

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/t-10432_Why_Van_Gogh_Cut_His_Ear.html

http://www.artquotes.net/masters/vangogh_biography.htm

http://www.art-artist.co.uk/vincent_van_gogh/artist/gogh-felix-rey.htm

Bibliography:

Van Gogh By Pierre Cabanne
Copyright by Finest S.A.
Editions Pierre Terrail
Paris 2003

Living with Art
By Rita Gilbert
Copyright 1995 by Rita Gilbert
McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Van Gogh
By Rene Huyghe
Crown Publishers, Inc. New York
Printed in Italy
Copyright 1967 by Ufficipress
S.A. Lugano

Civilisation
By Kenneth Clark
Published by the BBC
Copyright 1969 by Kenneth Clark

ART: Context and Criticism
By John Kissick
Penn State University
Copyright 1993
By Wm. C. Brown Communications

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Keaton

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Vincent Van Gogh – A Depth of Passion Transformed – I

April 1, 2008

By John Keaton

“And my aim in my life is to make pictures and drawings, as many and as well as I can; then, at the end of my life, I hope to pass away, looking back with love and tender regret, and thinking, ‘Oh, the pictures I might have made!’”

-Vincent Van Gogh, Letter 338, 9 November 1883

In the annals of art history, there is no comparison to the enduringly tragic and passionate life of Vincent Van Gogh. His works have been embraced and are treasured by a world which once scarcely understood or accepted this tragic and tortured genius.

The beauty of his remarkably prolific career lies in the intensity and conviction of heart, which he placed in his images. His works remain etched and embossed within our subconscious and still linger in our minds long after this tormented soul’s dramatic departure from this life.

Born March 30, 1853, Vincent Wilhelm Van Gogh’s young life was overshadowed by the death of a brother exactly one year prior to Vincent’s birth. Ironically, the brother’s name was also Vincent. Imagine the confusion of a meditative young boy dealing with the concept of being a replacement child and actually visiting a grave on a regular basis bearing his name. Nevertheless, the mournful and desolate countryside of Vincent’s birthplace in Groot-Zundert, Holland became the nurturing source and breeding ground for Van Gogh’s intense exploration of nature and the world around him.

His favorite brother was Theo, who became and remained a beacon of hope, support and encouragement throughout Van Gogh’s entire life. They were kindred spirits and their eloquent and tender correspondences (over 700 letters) are thoroughly archived as a living testimony to their symbiotic closeness.

In May of 1873, Vincent was sent to London to work at the Goupil Gallery as a young art salesman, where he began to explore and developed an appreciation for art of all sorts. While there he met a young woman named Ursula Loyer of whom Vincent became completely enamored and proposed marriage. Ursula mocked him and refused his advances with nothing short of contempt for the 21-year-old Van Gogh.

This disappointment, the basis of a lifetime of isolation and despair, became an awe-consuming event which shattered his expectations of a “normal life” While this may seem a childish exaggeration, this pattern of rejection was to repeat itself many times over the course of Vincent’s Life and influence his perception of the world around him.

The Emerging Artist: Nuenen

While speculation on Van Gogh’s personal life, emotional and physical troubles could fill volumes; we will focus on his art. This is best achieved by concentrating on the specific regions in which Van Gogh lived and worked and his reasons for being there, as opposed to a lengthy analysis of his coming and goings. Van Gogh did travel quite extensively for someone of his stature and class, but more relevant are the images themselves, which were created in a certain area at a significant point in his artistic growth.

The son of a Dutch protestant minister, Vincent’s early life was spent studying theology and acting as lay preacher for the miners of the region. Herein lies his fascination with common folk and workers of the lands and fields. In one of the artist’s earliest works entitled Sorrow, the trials and tribulations of life take on an overwhelming somber tone.

In his first truly serious painting, The Potato Eaters, painted in Nuenen in April of 1885, we see a poverty stricken world with characters neatly sculpted in sharp, deep tones of thickly applied oil paint. It was during this stage of the artist’s development that the themes of the harvest and character studies of the miners took priority. The 192 canvases painted during this period are portraits of courage and dignity in spite of oppressive poverty and depressive circumstances.

“The point is that I have tried to bring out the idea that these people eating potatoes by the light of their lamp have dug the earth with the self-same hands they are now putting into the dish, and it thus suggests manual labor and — a meal honestly earned.”

-Vincent Van Gogh, Letter to Theo, c. 30 April 1885

Antwerp : Academic Reinforcement

During Van Gogh’s brief stay in the city of Antwerp, he attended the Academic Royale des Beaux Art. Although he painted only seven paintings during his three month tenure, the focus was on academic precision and it’s inclusion in the refinement of his art and technique. Arising from his studies of anatomy and the human figure, Van Gogh produced this rather startling macabre image entitled, Skull with Burning Cigarette. Perhaps Vincent was reflecting on his own ill health at the time with complaints of rotting teeth and stomach ailments.

Paris : Pivotal Artistic Exploration

In 1886 Vincent moved to Paris to stay with his brother Theo, now an art dealer. This period of Vincent’s life is remarkable in Van Gogh’s exposure to new art movements and his willingness to experiment and apply these new concepts to his own creations.

Influenced by the Impressionists, his palette became much lighter and the colors more brilliant. Other influences include Japanese prints with their flat, decorative panels of color, which were highly popular at the time. Vincent incorporated many of these new influences in this incredibly vibrant stage of his life and career.

The painting Interior of a Restaurant with its speckles of yellow, gold and green, clearly displays the influence of Divisionism and even Pointillism, a technique developed by George Seurat. During his stay in Paris, Van Gogh met and associated with many of the premiere impressionists of his day, among them, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissaro, Seurat and of Course, Gauguin. Upon viewing Vincent’s work for the first time, Gauguin remarked, “You really do paint like a madman!”

This incident took place in an art supply store, which was run by Pere Tanguy, who also displayed paintings and considered himself an art dealer. Van Gogh’s Portrait of Pere Tanguy. is of special interest with the colorful Japanese prints and woodcuts, which profoundly influenced Vincent’s work at the time, that form the background of this unique portrait.

Vase-with-twelve-sunflowers, 1888 by Vincent Van Gogh

Painted in the late summer months of 1887, the painting, Two Cut Sunflowers, is particularly striking. Vincent’s fascination with the vivid yellow of these huge flowers is well known. The intensity of the color is only matched with Van Gogh’s seemingly manic strokes. During his stay in Paris, Vincent painted 222 paintings, many of which are considered masterpieces. Rural scenes of the area, numerous self-portraits and landscapes of the city itself are the subjects of Vincent’s incredible outpour of vivacious and enchanting imagery.

– continued in part II of this article.

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No Name For Art – Blog Carnival

March 13, 2008

OK. I’m doing it: filling the art gap…
So, here it is: the ART BLOG CARNIVAL #1.

Theme

Fine Art.

Content

Articles that collectors need.

Schedule

March 31 (first edition).

Interval

Every 6-8 weeks.

Questions?

Drop me an email, or a comment below.
Best: submit really good articles on fine art and chances are:
I’ll publish it and give you a nice PR3 link back to your blog!

Just before you go, enjoy this fine art drawing from Banksy, from his own official website

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Outsider Art – Is It Really Art? – part 1

February 28, 2008

What actually is art? Give me ten people and I’ll give you ten different definitions of the word. What it means to you is as unique to you as your fingerprints. But who’s to say what qualifies as art, or fine art? What distinguishes the art of Jean Michel Basquiat from Rembrandt van Rijn? Besides the time differences, each artist’s art have been met with different types of criticism. Was one art, and the other just crummy art? Who’s to say?

What we can say though is there is an unmistakable mainstream art circuit with art dealers and galleries, critics and fine artists with or without their MFA’s. Sometimes this crowd can be quite pretentious and judges art in its own way, usually following the natural cycles of fads and trends. What’s hip today may be tomorrow’s old news. That’s just how it is.

But true art and artistry can be found everywhere. Wherever there is creativity there is art. You don’t need to hang around in posh upper class galleries and drink expensive wine to be a real artist.

Jean Dubuffet and Art Brut

“Art Brut” in French literally means “rough” or “raw” art. This was translated to “Outsider Art” in English. It was started by the painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet to describe art that is outside of the official art culture. He knew the value of art which normally doesn’t hang on gallery walls but nonetheless should be recognized and not necessarily written off as lesser art.

Dubuffet mainly focused on the art of the mentally ill in insane asylums. One particularly noteworthy example was Adolf Wolfli. As a mental patient diagnosed with psychosis, he was an extremely prolific artist creating epic novels of 45 volumes with over 25,000 pages and 1600 illustrations. With minimal resources he would slowly create work after work with only one pencil and two sheets of paper a week at his disposal. This meant drawing on tiny bits of paper, using small stubs of pencils, and anything he could find or beg off of people to get his work done.

Wolfli’s work was often characterized as “schizophrenic art” with obsessive symmetry, ornamental patterns, reduced depth. Every piece of the paper is covered, leaving no white or empty space. Another similar work is by the psychiatric patient Friederich Schroder, who drew the “Swan Doll’s Dance of Death.” With a perfect mirror symmetry down the middle, the drawing shows a monster with a grotesque smile wearing a crown and holding his arms curving downward with birds’ heads for hands, combining animal with man.

By Daniel Kretschmer
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Written by e Art fair .com · Filed Under Art History, Art in America, Art in Europe, Artists, Collecting & Archiving Art, Famous Artists, Modern Art, Outsider Art & Folk Art, Paintings | 2 Comments