Art History
The first
painting which I have chosen to look at is Vincent van Gogh’s 2nd version of “The Bedroom in
Arles”, 1889. It is oil on canvas, 72x90cm and is currently kept in the Van
Gogh museum in Amsterdam. The painting is of his room in the Yellow House which
is furnished with simple pine furniture and his own paintings.
In his first
version over the bed hangs his portraits of the poet Eugene Boch and the
soldier Paul-Eugene Miliet.
The things that
are most striking about van Gogh’s painting is the bright patches of
contrasting colour, the thickly applied paint and the odd perspective of the
piece.
The rear wall
appears strangely angled. This was not a mistake, this corner of the yellow
house was, in fact, slightly skewed.
The objects seem
to tilt upward because he has not applied the laws of perspective accurately.
Van gogh worked
this way on purpose. In a letter to Theo (his brother) he said he had
“flattened” the interior and left out the shadows so that his picture would
more closely resemble a Japanese print.
But Van Gogh was
interested in more than just making a Japanese image. The simple interior and
bright colours were meant to convey notions of “rest” and “sleep”, both
literally and figuratively.
Van Gogh created
the 2nd version because the first got damaged in a flood. Theo
advised his brother to make a copy before having it restored.
Van Gogh repeated
the subject, without making an exact copy.
Theo’s request
was an expression of his admiration for the picture , and Van Gogh too was
proud of his work.
Encouraged by
the result, he made a 3rd smaller version, which he gave to his
mother and sister.
Discolouration…
After years of
painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, van gogh died at the age
of 37 due to a gunshot wound, which is generally accepted to be self-inflicted
although no gun was ever found. He actually died 29 hours after the gun shot
was inflicted due to an untreated infection. His brother Theo says that van
gogh’s last words were “The sadness will last forever”.
The painting
which I have chosen to compare to Van Gogh’s is by an American painter Andrew
Wyeth called “Her Room”. The piece was done in 1963. Many of Wyeth’s paintings
are of Christina Olson, one of his models/ neighbour. The room is hers, and
gives an insight into her life along with his other paintings of her.
Wyeth painted it
with tempera, watercolour, often using a dry brush technique. Wyeth maintained
a style strongly oriented towards realism when abstract expressionism was
all-prevalent.
Adhering to his
own path, he was snubbed by many prominent art critics.
However his
paintings have elements of abstraction in that the work derives from his strong
feelings about his subjects, which often appear in unusual positions, and with
features highlighted for emotional effect.
His work usually
suggests rural quiet, isolation and sombre mood and is devoid of modern day objects
such as cars.
In 1964 the
directors of Farnsworth museum paid $65,000 for the painting “her room”, which
is the highest price ever paid by a museum for the work of a living artist. The
olson house is also seen as the first property on the National register of
Historic places recognised as a site of a painting.
“Christina’s
world” is seen as one of the most recognised paintings in American art. Wyeth
has also received many other honours such as his series of paintings “Helga”
was the first exhibition by a living artist at the National Gallery of Art. In
1963 he was on the cover of TIME magazine. He received the Presidential Medal
of Freedom thanks to JFK and he was also the first artist to receive the
Congressional Gold Medal.
Wyeth passed on
his sleep at the age of 91 on January 16, 2009.
The obvious
comparisons between the pieces are that they are both of rooms, neither are
very abstract as it is clear that both resemble an interior.
Titles: “My
bedroom”. “Her Room”.
Van goghs
painting is of his own room so it is obvious there is something personal about
the piece due to the objects in the room. And Wyeths painting is of a room who
belonged to someone he cared about, the way in which he has painted it shows
that the piece is in a way personal to him…
(similar through content)
The paintings
are in completely different styles, especially the colour palette each one
uses. Van gogh uses bright and contrasting colours, saying its best to use the
colours on his palette rather than trying to force the colours he is seeing in
real life. Whereas Wyeth’s painting is much more realistic using the colours he
can see, yet the painting does come off quite dark…
Van gogh’s
perspective is completely off whereas Wyeth’s is exact; he did many prelimarily
sketches to get everything right, especially the lighting.
Neither artist
was appreciated by the critics, Wyeth went against art at the time (realism)
and Van Gogh did his own thing. (Both moved away from the city).
Times which done
at Wyeth when against and used realism, van Gogh went against… neither like by
critics
Van Gogh was
then only known to only a handful of people and appreciated by fewer still.
Wyeth’s art has
been controversial. He developed technically beautiful works, had a large
following and developed a considerable fortune as a result. There are
conflicting views by critics and art historians about the importance of his
work. Art historian, Robert Rosenblum was asked in 1977 to identity the “most
overrated and most underrated artist” he said one name, Andrew Wyeth. Also
other critics say his subject matter is tired and oversweet.
Wyeth was
appreciated when he was alive, despite the critics, as he made a fortune
through his art and received many honours. Although Van Gogh only achieved
recognition and any popularity after his death.
As with Van
Gogh, Wyeth also had abstraction in his work. Van Gogh used simple interior and
bright colours to portray rest and sleep. Wyeth was regarded as an
abstractionist in that his trees, birds and kitchen stoves, which look exactly
as they are, are metaphors for loniless, violence or decay.
