Around the name of this Dutch painter there are many myths and conjectures, but one thing remains certain: Vincent Van Gogh is a genius of the era of post-impressionism.
Painting as a Confession
Van Gogh's painting “Irises”, written in May 1889, is not only a masterpiece confirming the emotional and unique style of writing of the great artist, it is also a touching attempt to tell the world about his passion for painting and his loneliness. In the composition, in the colors, in the technique of execution there is a secret idea of the master that the unimaginable cosmic magnificence of nature is reflected in the universe of human souls. To verify this, let's take a look at what time and under what circumstances Van Gogh created his “Irises,” and what preceded the writing of this colorful canvas.
Biography Pages
Vincent Van Gogh was born in the small Dutch town of Zundert, was brought up in the spirit of religious asceticism. He received a good education, knew languages. At one time, the young man dreamed of the fate of a priest, preparing to follow in the footsteps of his father, the pastor of the local church. At the age of twenty, Vincent made a successful career in an uncle company selling paintings. This work gave Van Gogh a taste for high painting. The missionary's experience in the gloomy mining town on the border of Belgium and France in the young preacher revealed such keen compassion for the unfortunate miners and their families that Van Gogh decided to share their suffering with them, he was cold, hungry and did dozens of sketches and sketches. The first heroes of the paintings of the master were workers and peasants. His cherished success, he considered written in 1885, "Potato Eaters", mercilessly criticized by friends.
Paris impressions
When solitude was boring to Vincent, he left for Paris, raging with life, plunged into the world of impressionism. From this moment his painting becomes lighter and more colorful. Still far ahead is his famous "Irises." Van Gogh draws flowers for weeks, achieving a contrast in which mixed tones would correspond to sharp opposites. In the same period, Vincent "fell ill" with Japanese prints. Together with his brother Theo and his money, Vincent buys colorful prints, collecting a bizarre oriental collection, tirelessly copies them, adding his own artistic style. Echoes of this passion are demonstrated by the painting “Irises”. Van Gogh painted it with the same charm of color and cut lines that he enjoyed in Japanese prints, and with the same non-Western simplicity of perspective.
A period of hope, doubt and tears
Parisian life with fierce disputes, night vigils for absinthe tired the artist, whom friends and women often rejected because of his impulsive strange character, and he went to the southern province of France - Arles. Here Vincent resignedly surrendered to the charm of nature and devoted himself to the search for harmony in its pure and furious colors. Van Gogh convinced his friend Gauguin to come here to create a community of artists. Two months of joint work led the two geniuses to a heated quarrel, after which Vincent injured his left ear and ended up in a psychiatric clinic. The artist suffered from nerve attacks more often, the diagnosis that he was given by the doctor now sounds like a bipolar personality disorder . From the hospital in Arles, where he created more than 150 paintings, the artist agreed to move to a hospital near the village of San Remy, where solitude and architecture inspired a monastic spirit in the painting of a brilliant Dutchman. His first work in this place was “Irises”. Van Gogh wrote these amazing spring flowers, symbolizing in local folklore awakening and resurrection, as if playing a musical opus.
Symphony in colors
Gardens in San Remy became his mystical planet, the artist paints flowers, butterflies, beetles. He is driven by the eastern idea that space is enclosed in every blade of grass and bug. The master writes passionately, impulsively, juicy. Like sound rhythms, Van Gogh lays strokes and lines in the painting Irises. The description of the canvas can be compared with how the colorful bends in the foreground and background of the picture pulsate like a melody pouring. It is no accident that the painter admitted in a letter to his brother that the brush in his hand is like a bow of a violin. The author writes dynamically, rushing first to a climax, and then to the completion of the canvas. Against the sunlit background of the field and the accentuated red earth, saturated blue flowers are raging, among which one white iris suddenly stands out . Does the artist himself personify this flower, unlike other flowers?
What did a genius dream about?
The recognition was a painter during his lifetime. Critics wrote about the stunning expression of his canvases and that the color in his canvases looks like a jewel, while the content of the paintings reveals a courageous and sophisticated personality. But this did not save the artist from the tragedy. In July 1890, at the age of 37, he shot himself in the chest and died two days later.
Once an artist told his brother that he had been striving all his life for something comforting in his art. Well, today we can definitely say that the great Van Gogh's dream came true ...