Van Gogh Sketches

Author: People's Fine Arts Press
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Vincent van Gogh (1853.3.30-1890.7.29) was born into a Dutch country pastor family. He was one of the three giants of Post-Impressionism. In his youth, Van Gogh worked as a clerk in an art store, which could be considered his earliest "art education." Later, he moved to Paris and interacted with Impressionist painters, gaining inspiration and influence in color. As a result, he was called "Post-Impressionist." However, he learned more thoroughly about the expressive power of lines in Eastern art than the Impressionist painters. He highly admired the "Ukiyo-e" woodblock prints of Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika. Among Western painters, Rembrandt, Daumier, and Millet had a greater spiritual influence on him. All of Van Gogh's outstanding and original works were completed in the last sixteen years of his life. His early works often had a somber tone, but later, a large number of his works shifted from somber to bright and cheerful, as if he wanted to console the suffering of the world with joyful songs to express his strong ideals and hopes. An English critic said, "He devoted all his energy to pursuing the simplest and most ordinary thing in the world, which is the sun." His paintings were not only filled with bright colors under the sun but also depicted the sun itself multiple times, as well as sunflowers. To commemorate his deceased cousin Moche, he painted "Blooming Peach Blossoms in the Sun" and wrote a poem: "As long as the living live, the dead still live." Van Gogh had an extraordinary life. In his brief 37 years, he devoted one-third of his time entirely to art until the very end of his life. It seemed as if he was born just for art, arriving in the world in haste and leaving just as quickly. During his lifetime, he was not understood. His failures in love and the cruelty of life led him to despair, and he also sought no ultimate liberation in religion. With a wounded heart, he embarked on a lonely yet persistent artistic exploration: searching for the longing from within. This book selects several of Van Gogh's sketches to delight the readers.