Utshaa Basu, Grade 11
UWC Mahindra
In June 1889, Vincent van Gogh painted “The Starry Night,” capturing the view from his room Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Interestingly, this was not Van Gogh’s first “Starry Night.” During his time in Arles, particularly in September of 1888, Van Gogh painted “Starry Night Over the Rhône” from the bank of the Rhône, a major river that runs through Europe. During this period, Van Gogh’s mental illnesses were rapidly worsening, and following a mental breakdown before a fellow artist, and proceeding to famously cut off his own ear, Van Gogh decided to check himself into the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum. Here, he painted an abstract, heightened version of the view he glimpsed of the “starry night” from his room- taking many creative liberties, including perhaps the omission of the window’s bars, as many art historians have speculated.
While “Starry Night” (1889) is considered Van Gogh’s most iconic work, it is Arles that his first major exhibition is devoted to. Watching Van Gogh at work is as potent and impossible a dream as the creation of the Mona Lisa, and if I had a time machine, I would go back to 1888, in Arles, France, where Van Gogh first arrived in February. According to Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, the artist’s intention was to stop by Arles on his way to Marseille, in pursuit of the bright lights and colours of the Provence so as to modernize his paintings. However, he never moved on to Marseilles, finding just what he wanted in the idyllic commune of Arles. It was in Arles that Van Gogh developed his signature style of expressive strokes and a bright, vivid colour palette. Moreover, the location of “Starry Night Over the Rhône” played into the artist’s interests of the effects of light, as well as his preoccupation with rich colours. Many of the iconic locations of Van Gogh’s paintings are set in Arles, including the Cafe Terrace, the Night Cafe, the Rhone, and the Bedroom in Arles series. If given the opportunity to travel back in time, I would visit every location that Van Gogh mapped in his paintings- there is something acutely special and significant about entering a place another artist did, decades ago, to create something that is now considered a masterpiece. It is every artist’s dream.
There has always been a sense of intrigue to Van Gogh’s paintings- the allure of the “tortured artist”. Van Gogh suffered from a form of epilepsy, accompanied by hallucinations and insanity. He has, on occasion, painted portraits of the mental health professionals that saw to him, and it has been speculated that his medicines made him experience certain colours, such as yellows and oranges, more intensely, leading to the creation of “Sunflowers”. The sense of urgency that comes through in the choppy strokes and spirals in Van Gogh’s artworks and the sense of movement in his expressive strokes have caused years of examination by art historians as to whether this was a result of Van Gogh’s mental state or his own purposeful style. Moreover, to what extent did Van Gogh use creative license with his works is still a point of contention- how accurately did Van Gogh capture the views he saw in his paintings, and to what extent were they exaggerated and romanticized. With an art style shrouded in such mystery, the opportunity to see Van Gogh at work would be enormous.
While “Starry Night” (1889) is considered Van Gogh’s most iconic work, it is Arles that his first major exhibition is devoted to. Watching Van Gogh at work is as potent and impossible a dream as the creation of the Mona Lisa, and if I had a time machine, I would go back to 1888, in Arles, France, where Van Gogh first arrived in February. According to Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, the artist’s intention was to stop by Arles on his way to Marseille, in pursuit of the bright lights and colours of the Provence so as to modernize his paintings. However, he never moved on to Marseilles, finding just what he wanted in the idyllic commune of Arles. It was in Arles that Van Gogh developed his signature style of expressive strokes and a bright, vivid colour palette. Moreover, the location of “Starry Night Over the Rhône” played into the artist’s interests of the effects of light, as well as his preoccupation with rich colours. Many of the iconic locations of Van Gogh’s paintings are set in Arles, including the Cafe Terrace, the Night Cafe, the Rhone, and the Bedroom in Arles series. If given the opportunity to travel back in time, I would visit every location that Van Gogh mapped in his paintings- there is something acutely special and significant about entering a place another artist did, decades ago, to create something that is now considered a masterpiece. It is every artist’s dream.
There has always been a sense of intrigue to Van Gogh’s paintings- the allure of the “tortured artist”. Van Gogh suffered from a form of epilepsy, accompanied by hallucinations and insanity. He has, on occasion, painted portraits of the mental health professionals that saw to him, and it has been speculated that his medicines made him experience certain colours, such as yellows and oranges, more intensely, leading to the creation of “Sunflowers”. The sense of urgency that comes through in the choppy strokes and spirals in Van Gogh’s artworks and the sense of movement in his expressive strokes have caused years of examination by art historians as to whether this was a result of Van Gogh’s mental state or his own purposeful style. Moreover, to what extent did Van Gogh use creative license with his works is still a point of contention- how accurately did Van Gogh capture the views he saw in his paintings, and to what extent were they exaggerated and romanticized. With an art style shrouded in such mystery, the opportunity to see Van Gogh at work would be enormous.
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