V:Vincent Van Gogh

V is a no-brainer for me as well. I continue to be amazed at the fact that Vincent only acquired fame after his tumultuous, roller-coaster of a life ended. In my research today, I learned that his brother Theo, who had supported and encouraged Vincent throughout his artistic life, died six months after Van Gogh committed suicide. It was Theo’s widow who set about the task of gaining recognition for Vincent. According to the Van Gogh Gallery website, “Theo, who had collected the majority of Vincent's work from Paris, died only six months later. His widow took the collection to Holland and dedicated herself to getting the now deceased Vincent the recognition he deserved. She published his work and Vincent became famous nearly instantly. His reputation has been growing since.” (http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/bio.html)

When we traveled to New York in December, we were unable to see the full Van Gogh exhibit at MoMA. However, we did see a few of his works in the permanent collection. I think the thing that captures my attention most is how unique his style is and how it really breaks away from any painter of the time. “Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.” (http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/bio.html)

In Lust for Life, Kirk Douglas gives a haunting portrait of the artist and his life. The movie uses the paintings to set the scenes and they found amazing look-alikes to mirror the artwork in the movie. I highly recommend watching this movie if you are an art fan.

I have included several drawings here as well as Café at Night. I think this painting is particularly interesting because it is beautiful and so difficult to execute. His style is immediately recognizable in both forms.

For me, his work is so passionate and expressive and his story is tragic.