Ryan has been a friend of Vincent's myspace for a while now... He is a college student at The University Of Massachusetts and sent his "A+" essay on Vincent van Gogh for me to share! Great job Ryan...
Van Gogh and the Poor
By Ryan J. Flynn
During the nineteenth century, a period in which gigantic leaps were taken in the world of painting, an artist emerged that forever changed the world of art. His name was Vincent Van Gogh, and his new ideas about form, style and method where so revolutionary, that his brilliance was not discovered until after his death, when the rest of the art world finally caught up to his genius.
Born in Groot-Zundert, a town in the Netherlands, on March 30th, 1853, Vincent Willem Van Gogh was the eldest son Theodorus Van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus. Theodorus was a local village preacher of a protestant church, and his wife, like most women of the time, was a housewife, and occasional midwife, helping the church's women through the danger of their pregnancies. With this upbringing Van Gogh was raised around the poor of his village. In theory, his time with the poor, was not while they were working, but when they were cleaned up, and presenting themselves to his fathers position, or in regards of church business, giving this young man a permanent view of the praiseworthiness of the lower class worker.
In 1869, at the age of sixteen, Vincent began working as an apprentice at an international art dealership. The firm, Groupil and Cie, was one of the leading art dealers in nineteenth century France; specializing in high quality reproductions of paintings and sculptures, the firm was reaching it's commercial height, with branches in Berlin, Vienna, and New York. Van Gogh worked in the branch in Hague, where his uncle Vincent had worked for several years. While working there, young Vincent began writing to his beloved younger brother Theodorus, (Theo) a relationship that lasted the rest of Van Gogh's life, and can be seen through nearly 700 letters from brother to brother. Theo would be Vincent's sole provider, paying for his living expenses and art materials for Vincent's entire career.
In 1873, Vincent moved to London, where as before, he works around the new forms of art and method. Van Gogh takes all of this in, viewing the new ideas of brushstroke and color at a daily rate. Here, Van Gogh saw the works of artists like Millet, a painter who specialized in painting the world of the lower class. Examples of Millet's works on the poor include his 1857 painting "The Gleaners", in which three women are shown working the in fields; and the painting "Faggot Carriers," where we see a dark scene of three women carrying large bundles of sticks.
Van Gogh must have seen these, because his earlier works reflect the same treatment of the poor and their lives. This must have reminded Van Gogh of his past, and the people from his roots because three years later in 1876, Van Gogh, after being let go from Groupil and Cei, made the decision to as an assistant clergyman and a teacher. Vincent's preaching was widely known for relating to the turmoil's of the poor. He becomes so involved with the poor that he eventually leaves the comforts of England, where he had been teaching and moves to Borinage, a poor industrial region in the south of Belgium. There he works solely with the poor, so dedicated in fact, that he was know for sleeping on the floor, with the coal miners of the region. He continued this idea of simple living throughout the rest of his life, in one letter to his brother Theo, Vincent wrote:
January 1: I shall move into the new studio. I will take the simplest furniture, a wooden table and a few chairs. I would be satisfied with a blanket on the floor instead of a bed. But Mauve wants me to get a bed, and will lend me the money if necessary.
News of his extreme tactics of preaching to the poor, reached the church and Van Gogh was eventually defrocked. Because of yet another failure in life, Vincent decided to become an artist. And with the remarkable constant support of his brother, Van Gogh begins drawing and Painting. With his brother's support, Vincent never took complete credit for any of his works through his life; he was quoted many times as calling his works "a combined effort," reminding us that without his brother's love and support, we would have never heard of Vincent Van Gogh.
Throughout the life of Van Gogh, he painted, sketched, and etched numerous subjects including his famous landscapes and portraits. Yet he also frequently painted the poor, either in the fields working diligently, eating at the table after a hard days work, or in their working environment. In these images of the poor, subtle color choices, and the application of the paint make the paintings not only beautiful images, but statements of how Vincent views his fellow man.
Believing in the working classes value, and societies respect towards them, Van Gogh followed Millet's example and painted the poor people of his world in a way that not only showed them in their natural surroundings, yet simultaneously tells us his thoughts on their situations. An example of this is his painting Weaver facing left with Spinning Wheel. Van Gogh painted this in the Netherlands town of Nuenen. There in March of 1884, Vincent begins to paint the weavers with their looms. In this painting Van Gogh uses color to show not only his views but also the views of the social order.
Looking at the painting, viewers are automatically drawn to the bright red fabric being produces in the loom. It stands out with its bright color that strongly contradicts the dark browns and slight greens that make up the rest of the image. The room's walls, floor, the loom, and even the weaver himself, blend in together in variant shades of brown and green. This gives us the elusion of a small baron room that the weaver works in. Judging by the light source, and the shadows produced, we can imagine a small, high window in this baron room giving the worker just enough light to work his trade, and a slight view of the outside world while he works. The colors presented do not only give the viewer eye's direction, but makes a very clear statement on how the public views this scene.
Red is a very powerful color, symbolizing passion, love and life itself. Not only that, but it is the brightest and purist color on the canvas, making the viewers eyes go directly to it. Aiding in this is Van Gogh's use of the complimentary color, green. It is used in every other part of the painting, making the cloth look even brighter. But more importantly, is the coincidence that the man operating the loom blends into the loom, and thus the background. Van Gogh's purpose for this can be interpreted as a statement about what society sees with the working class. Van Gogh is saying that the product that is produced, and that the worker is just a tool, to be treated the same as the inanimate as the loom or the spindle or even the room that he works in.
This can be assumed because in Vincent Van Gogh's other paintings of wavers at their looms, Van Gogh in many instances purposely makes the color of the worker the opposite of the fabric being produced. This is a constant theme with his Weaver series, in another of the series, entitled Weaver, we see the weaver from his right side, with a window open, showing a small, quiet landscape. The dark blue-green, and black shirt that the loom operator is wearing contrasts the light yellow fabric that is being produced.
In contrast to this Van Gogh treats the loom, spinning wheel, and the weaver are portrayed similarly. Greens and browns make up the shades as tans and light greens produce highlights
Another one of his earlier works depicting the poor is Vincent's 1885 painting, The Potato Eaters. This is the ultimate example of Van Gogh's sympathy for the lower, farming class. Here we see five peasants sitting at a table eating in a darkly lit room. Van Gogh gives us many things to ponder as we see this painting. One thing is that we do not know what time the image represents. On the table we see two objects, a plate of cooked potatoes, a usual meal for workers on a potato farm, and a pot of coffee. These two dishes tell us that this is either an early morning, before day brake, or the opposite, dinnertime, on a dark night. This painting is also unique because her wrote numerous letters to Theo describing his arduous work on the painting, and more importantly, his reasoning for the decisions he made with his technique. He writes in a letter to Theo in April 1885:
The point is that I've tried to bring out the idea that these people eating potatoes by the light of their lamp have dug the earth with the same self-same hands they are now putting into the dish, and it thus suggests manual labor and a meal honestly earned. I wanted to convey a picture of a way of life quite different then ours, from that of civilized people. So the last thing I would want is for people to admire or approve of it without knowing why.
Vincent then goes on to tell about his choice of colors for the painting. Vincent loved to use complimentary colors, and tested out patterns and mixtures by using twine. Van Gogh carried with his a small wooden box that carried a multitude of different colored yarn and twine which he would choose colors and twist them together, noting the effect given, then he would carefully mix each of the colors and apply them to the canvas.
I've held the threads of this fabric in my hands all winter long and searched for the definitive pattern- and although it is now a fabric of rough and coarse appearance, the threads have none the less been chosen with certain care and according to certain rules. And it might just turn out to be a genuine peasant painting. I know that it is.
Van Gogh is showing us the long hard hours of their life style, he does not paint them eating with a light source peeking through the windows, or with eggs, meat or cheese on the table. Van Gogh adds highlights on the on the window frames to give the room a prison like emotion to the scene. Also, the vertical lines of the posts, chairs and table edges, coupled with the condensed composition, give the viewer the uneasy sense that these farmers are all sharing a tiny prison cell, with no hope of ever escaping it. Van Gogh also portrays the faces of the workers with a color, shape and texture scheme, that mimics the very thing that they farm, potatoes. Looking at the figure holding the cup, the facial construction of dark greens and browns with the tan highlights could easily be mistaken for the surface of a potato. The hand resting on the leg of the woman on the right, seems to be more like a still life of that a portrait of a woman's hand. He describes the technique in his letters.
Personally, I am convinced that in the long run one gets better results from painting them in all their coarseness than from introducing a conventional sweetness.
A peasant girl in her patched and dusty blue skirt & bodice, which have acquired the most delicate shades from the weather, wind and sun, is better looking – in my opinion –than a lady. But if she dons a lady's clothes, then her authenticity is gone.
Van Gogh's underlying sympathy for the poor is the true subject of this painting, it is in no way a dinner scene, but a tribute to the hard working peasants that are trapped in a life that is a constant struggle for survival and comfort, a struggle that will never end. These people will eat at this table for the rest of their lives, and work every day of it. Van Gogh has made a statement; Vincent used the idea of melting the subject into its surroundings, symbolizing societies inability to realize the lower class working man. In his eyes these are paintings and symbols. He is very adamant about how he, and other artists should represent the poor in paintings, constantly referring to Millet as a suitable example of this idea.
Painting peasant life is a serious business, and I for one would blame myself if I didn't try to make pictures that give rise to serious reflections in those who think seriously about art and life...
One must paint peasants as if one were one of them, as if no one felt and thought as they do. Being unable to help what one actually is. I very often think that peasants are a world apart, in many respects one so much better that the civilized world. Not in all Respects, for what do they know of art and many other things?
Van Gogh used the idea of relating the lifestyle of the poor directly into his application of the paint for the rest of his short career. He continuously refers to his adoration of Millets paintings in his letters to his brother, calling them a "proud proclamation of the hardships of the peasant." In fact, Van Gogh uses similar subjects in his paintings when he traveled to Nuenen in April 1885. Here he painted Peasant Man and Woman Planting Potatoes. His work is a homage to Millet, with obvious ties to The Gleaners." Here Van Gogh again restricts his palette to the colors of the sun burnt fields that surround his subject.
He also brings out the subject of tedious labor with the hard angles produced by the diligent work that is seen. The man on the right bends over and away from the viewer creating an uneasy feeling as we see this man shoveling the dirt. Van Gogh gives the man no facial identification, only hinting at it with one single dark brushstroke, another trait borrowed from Millet, who also barely added facial features to his peasant subjects.
Again, the people portrayed in the painting are not the subject, but the situation itself. Van Gogh makes it's extremely clear that these nameless people, are the true honest workers of the world. He seems to be saying that they are not worried about how society perceives them; they are only concerned about the work they do which is essential to their survival.
Millet influenced Van Gogh throughout the rest of his life. In 1890, months before his untimely death, he paints his last paintings of peasant life. One of these is Noon Rest. The painting is quite different than the others in his peasant series. Here we see two peasants, sleeping in a pile of hay. The paining is vibrant, with two thirds of it covered by a bright golden hue. In a letter to his brother, he writes, "you'll be amazed how effective the 'Field Workers' (Millet) becomes through the use of color."
Van Gogh makes his final statement about the life of the poor here. The blues and greens of the sky, cart and figures compliment the gold, yellow, and browns, creating a harmony in everything that is seen in the painting. Every aspect of color relates to another in the painting. The two figures rest, naturally in the pile that their hard work created, shoes off, and worry free. Van Gogh is telling us all, that this is an amazing situation. They sleep, one with nature, all creating an amazing harmony. Everything here, the peasant, the fields, the earth, sun, and shade, all naturally belong together and create comfort and appease. He tells his brother:
I have drawn into myself so much that I literally do not see any other people anymore, excepting the peasants with whom I have direct contact, since I paint them.
In conclusion, Vincent Van Gogh saw the world in a different way; he analyzed the world according to hues, values, and tones, yet simultaneously he saw something else. Van Gogh was not just painting what he saw, but what he felt. Whenever someone views a scene of a person working in the fields, or working at their loom, or even eating at a candle lit table, attention should be diverted to not just the image, but the artists intentional use of style to depict his feelings on the situation. Van Gogh, till the day he died, new the importance of the lives of the peasants he painted so eloquently. Their struggle to survive, and the genuine conviction with their way of life, inspired Vincent Van Gogh to produce works of art that showed his appreciation. Van Gogh treated the poor as a sacred part of a society that ignored them. When he showed works like "the Weaver" he made a statement on societies view on the people who produce the needs of the masses. With his painting "The Potato Eaters" he showed the humbleness of the hard working farmers. And with his painting "Noon Rest" we see a spiritual side to the workers in the fields.
An artist's adoration towards his or her subject greatly affects the outcome of the work. Van Gogh was very vocal on how he appreciated the underprivileged members of society. He frequently wrote to his brother that to paint the subject, one must understand the subject. Van Gogh lived a life of poverty, and thus understood the lives of the poor he represented in his work, and he showed with every deliberate brushstroke.
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