Saturday, March 5, 2011

                                                 Vinvent Van Gogh - Self-portrait with bandaged ear
( Painted when he cutted of his ear after his room-mate , Paul Gauguin , became famous and moved out. )

About the Artwork :

"Self Portrait with a Bandaged ear" was painted in 1889. Van Gogh left Paris (where he was) to Arles to paint more of nature. He induced Paul Gauguin who he met in Paris to join him and they painted together. But after less than two months, they began to have violent disagreements. At this period of time Van Gogh began to suffer from serious mental illness, including madness and delusions. Hence, during one of the quarrels, Van Gogh chased and threatened Gauguin with a razor. Immediately following this episode, Van Gogh returned home, cut his ear off in remorse and offered it to a prostitute as a gift. This painting was created two weeks after this breakdown and directly motivated by the psychotic attack. Soon after, Van Gogh discovered that Gauguin had left Arles. He felt deep remorse at that and also disappointment that his own behavior had destroyed his dreams of forming an artistic community. After suffering from a nervous breakdown, Van Gogh checked himself into a sanatorium.

                   Background Info of Vincent Van Gogh :           

Vincent Willem van Gogh -30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose work had a far-reaching influence on 20th century art for its vivid colors and emotional impact. He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life and died, largely unknown, at the age of 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
                                 
Little appreciated during his lifetime, his fame grew in the years after his death. Today, he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest painters and an important contributor to the foundations of modern art. Van Gogh did not begin painting until his late twenties, and most of his best-known works were produced during his final two years. He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. Today many of his pieces—including his numerous self portraits, landscapes, portraits and sunflowers—are among the world's most recognizable and expensive works of art.


Description :
- This painting is dominated by the self portrait of Van Gogh himself , with a bandaged ear.
- In the foreground, Van Gogh is the main subject that is wearing a green coat and a black hat.
- He also has a somber expression on his face and he looks sad but calm.
- In the background , there is a Japanese print with Mt.Fuji in it.
- The colours used are warm for the forground , slighting brighter for the background.
- The texture created by the brushstrokes are short and vertical for Van Gogh's clothings.
- The walls of the painting are painted long and vertical.

Analysis :
- The composition of the painting is painted where Van Gogh is positioned slightly to the left so that the Japanese print could be seen.
- The background is characterized by the Japanese print.
- The foreground is dominated by Van Gogh himself.
- The artist draws focus to himself by contrasting it with monochromatic colours around him.
- The brushstrokes executed are short and vertical , making the painting looks flat but with shadow.

Interpretation :
- The painting depicts Van Gogh's remorse but calmness towards the argument with Gauguin.
- The subject matter is a reflection of Van Gogh's disappointment towards himself of destroying the chance of having a group of artists painting together.
- Unlike other paintings , this painting is dominated by cools colours which gives us a calm feeling and the expression on his face further exaggerated the feeling and emotion he had at that point of time.

Analysis :
- In my opinion , this painting Japonism , which greatly influenced Van Gogh.
- The choice of colours portrayed the emotions of Van Gogh.
- The strength of the painting is that it is realistic and naturalistic .
- It is a successful attempt because the artist has used his colors well, providing a somber atmosphere which he wants to show. His purpose is met and the emotion that he had at that point of time is well depicted and clear for the viewers to feel. Moreover, we feel that he had painted the facial features well and gave them shape although it was not that much of a concern of his.




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