Van Gogh and "Sunflowers" (Story Series of Famous Paintings)

Author: Cheng Xiaomu
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2002-06-01
Features: Vincent van Gogh (VincidentVanGogh) was one of the most extreme figures in the history of art, whether in terms of his background, personality, beliefs, or art. He took the contrast between his destitute life during his lifetime and his fame after death to an extreme. He was humble, shy, and naive, yet also rebellious, suspicious, and cynical. He was once a devout pastor spreading the gospel of God, yet ultimately became a rebel and outcast of Christian society. Van Gogh said, "My works are my flesh and soul, and for them, I was willing to risk losing my life and sanity." His artistic career lasted only a short ten years, and before that, his life was turbulent. Van Gogh had been a gallery employee, teacher, minister, and pastor, wandering through The Hague, London, Paris, and the impoverished mining areas of Borinage in Belgium. His fervent, almost feverish piety toward life, his broad love for nature and humanity, and his genius for perception were constantly suppressed. Until the age of 27 in 1880, he chose art, or perhaps art chose him, and by the age of 37 in 1890, he died of a gunshot wound to the head in a mental breakdown. Perhaps the gateway to truth is also the gateway to hell. A person who glimpses the essence of beauty in the world must inevitably pay the price of life and reason. When the divine power, supernatural radiance, and spiritual gift descended upon an ordinary life, the tragedy of the individual and the evolution of human culture occurred simultaneously in a mysterious way. He said, "To reach the sublime is not just about relying on emotional impulses but also about persistently piercing through an iron window that separates people from the goals they feel capable of achieving." Van Gogh expressed this inner struggle that ultimately drained all his strength. He was hitting his fragile head against the limits of God's senses for humanity, touching and expressing the external world of light and color. He was not broken, though his life departed and his reason was destroyed, his works remained, and they profoundly changed our perception, aesthetics, and even our entire spiritual world. His works appear so tranquil and far-reaching, as if they have transcended the vast dimensions of time, frozen in the eternal existence of eternity. This feeling comes precisely from the extreme colors, twisted lines, and compositions of tension and anxiety that verge on collapse. This immense contradiction and tension fill his paintings with an irresistible charm that seems to whisper unspoken words. His works, which seem distant from the world, also deeply reflect the anxieties of the time. In an era when traditional academic painting was declining and classicalism was decaying, as naturalist novels and impressionism flickered with their last sparks of inspiration, Van Gogh emerged in time. His comprehensive exploration of painting with Cézanne and Gauguin laid the foundation for 20th-century art and sparked the vigorous modernist movement. Van Gogh's position and role in the history of art are similar to Nietzsche's in the history of philosophy. They stood on the ruins of the end of the century, accurately prophesying the picture of the next era. Almost all later schools and movements can find technical origins or spiritual support in them. Van Gogh always kept his distance from mainstream society and the art circles. During the brief two years he spent with the impressionists in Paris, he was always awkward, silent, and lost in the lively salons and exhibitions. He never conformed to anyone or any idea. He learned and changed with humility and sincerity, using his wisdom and sensitivity to create an independent world—one complete, self-sufficient in spirit, appearance, and technique. The price of this independence was loneliness, the bone-chilling loneliness that accompanied him throughout his short life. Great masters are often either ignored or excessively discussed. Van Gogh's misery in life was drowned out by the cheap praise and adoration of later generations. As Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" auction record becomes a series of symbols in the art market, we are already so far removed from his spirit.