Artist Project: Vincent Van GoghElizabeth HeinJune 6, 2010

Mrs. Tang8th Grade English

Vital Statistics Born March 30,

1853 Died July 29, 1890 Born in Holland Lived primarily in

France as an adult

Male

Personal Background Extremely close to his brother Theo who encouraged

Van Gogh throughout his career as a painter He was a temporary missionary in Belgium in 1879

but the church did not accept him In Paris, Van Gogh often visited The Louvre where he

saw beautiful paintings that partly inspired him to paint

Van Gogh learned to draw by copying the works of Jean Francois Millet

His later years were defined by his insanity and extreme depression

Key Historical Events Absinthe was a popular drink in the late 1800s in

France, which lead to Van Gogh’s addiction to the drink which triggered his alleged temporal lobe epilepsy, bipolar disorder, thujone poisoning, and hypergraphia, in addition to his schizophrenia

The Franco-Prussian War was in 1870 and since France lost this, it presumably resulted in economical struggles for Van Gogh’s family

Spending much of his life in the South of France, Van Gogh was inspired by the summer foliage and intense colors and landscapes, as well as the natives, which he often painted

Influence of the Art World The Impressionists inspired Van Gogh to

paint in impressionism and lighten his palette

Friend Gauguin introduced painting by memory

Because Van Gogh’s palette was so light, artists who followed him also had lighter palettes

Van Gogh painted unique things He continues to influence people such as

singer/songwriter Don Mclean who even wrote a song about him called “Vincent”

Van Gogh’s Influence

Van Gogh’s bedroom in Arles (1889)

1890 Release (unknown)

Vincent (Starry Starry Night)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dipFMJckZOM

Stylistic Traits Impressionism Swirls Smudged/ blurred Colorful Palette

Impressionism

Self Portrait with Straw Hat (1887)

The beard, hat and background all reflect the broad brushstrokes common in Impressionistic artwork

Swirls

Starry Night (1889)

The swirls that make up the sky as well as the plant demonstrate a frequent style found in Van Gogh’s work

Smudges/ Blurred

Fritillaries in a Copper Vase (1887)

Van Gogh smudged/ blurred the flowers and vase in the picture and he did so in various

Colorful Palette

Café Terrace at Night (1888)

Van Gogh used a variety of colors in all his work to accent shadows and show that everything has more than one color

Inspiration for my Artwork

Starry Night (1889)

Vase of Lilacs, Daisies, and Anemones (1887)

Stylistic Traits of My Original Art

Daisies in a Vase with Wildflowers (2010)

Impressionism- the presence of the individual lines and colors in the vaseSwirls- the background has swirls similarly found in Starry NightSmudges/ Blurred- I smudged the flowers and blurred the leavesSubject- Van Gogh often painted vases of flowers similar to mineColors- Van Gogh used many different bright colors in his work and I used a variety of colors, especially with the flowers

Conclusion My work has swirls in the background, has a subject that

could have been painted by Van Gogh, demonstrates the smudges common to van Gogh's work, uses bright colors, and uses the various lines of impressionism

I have learned that it is important to plan every detail of a work of art before beginning

The most challenging part was deciding what to draw The principal strength of my artwork is the vase because it

has clear impressionistic lines and is made up of numerous colors

A weakness of my artwork is the leaves in the vase because they look awkward and too well defined, they are not rough enough

Thanks! Questions?