Vincent Van Gogh – An artist who changed the definition of ‘beauty’

(Originally Published on 29 JULY 2020 | Original Language: Marathi)

“Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” With this philosophy, a great painter who loved the world truly, who considered the welfare of the world in everything, whose smallest act was filled with some noble thought, Vincent Van Gogh was born in 1853. Born Dutch, this painter faced difficult financial situations and an unattractive appearance. Throughout his life, he faced adverse circumstances in every aspect, but his only asset was his emotional depth, love for nature, humanity, and the world.

He was working as a salesman in Goupil’s branch in The Hague, sent there due to his excellent performance in Paris. He admired paintings by Rembrandt, Corot, Millet. After a heartbreak, he quit his job and started teaching French in a school. Collecting boarding and dining fees from the girls’ parents, he came close to poverty. Unfortunately, poverty never left him. Being already very emotional, Van Gogh found it hard to handle collections. Failing to manage his duties, he was dismissed. After leaving the job as a French teacher in London, he tried to work as a preacher. Half-starved, helpless, miserable – observing such a life closely, he realized preaching was of no use. This restlessness led him to seek peace.

After spending 5-6 years in various jobs, including as a missionary, Van Gogh told his younger brother in a letter that he wished to paint. If anyone loved Van Gogh until the end, it was Theo. He provided financial support and took him in. From there, Van Gogh’s devotion to his art began. He studied and practiced paintings by Rembrandt in museums daily. His paintings from that period were free-spirited, straightforward. The subjects of his paintings between 1880-1886 were more humanistic. The life he observed closely in France to London and after the heartbreak influenced these paintings. Miners, their settlements, lifestyle were depicted on paper during this period.

Again, a woman entered his life. After both heartbreaks, the definition of expression for the artist within him changed. He brought home a pregnant prostitute to help her, and the drawings from that time depict the turmoil of the human mind. Known as ‘Sorrow’, this sketch reflects her physical and mental state. We cannot understand beauty by moving away from reality. Using art, colors as a medium of expression, this fact becomes more apparent to us. Emotions behind the artwork were more important to him than its external appearance. In a letter to Theo (his younger brother), he also says, ‘Not all viewers might like this painting, but making it attractive in a conventional way won’t be right.’ Real life, its emotional edges were the medium of his art. The supportive atmosphere in Paris, Theo’s encouragement made the artist in him flourish. His paintings from that period are more artistic, colorful. Dark green-brown colors of Dutch style were replaced by blues, yellows. In the company of Pissarro, Sisley, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, through exchanges of ideas, he developed his unique style. He began to deliberately give space to colors, beauty, and other artistic and aesthetic qualities in his paintings. During this period, he saw Rubens’ paintings and Japanese prints in Antwerp. Hokusai’s ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ series came into his observation. The influence of the East, especially Japanese art, is evident in his paintings.

Van Gogh, who preferred solitude, loved discussing and debating with other painters. He believed such discussions would aid in innovation. After leaving Paris for Arles, he also tried to have such discussions, to form a circle of friends. But except for Paul Gauguin, no one responded to his invitation. When together, both would discuss various topics, share opinions. Van Gogh prioritized painting objects or models, which led to disagreements with Paul Gauguin. He tried hard to divert Van Gogh from painting direct objects. However, Van Gogh, who attempted to animate even inanimate objects through his art, found it impossible to listen and implement Gauguin’s suggestions. Van Gogh had immense respect for Gauguin. He credited his art to him. Gauguin knew Van Gogh’s artistic perspective but still, during their disputes, once Van Gogh ended up cutting his own ear. A self-portrait with a bandaged ear remains significant in many aspects today.

Besides Theo and Paul Gauguin, a few others are credited with Van Gogh’s artistic creation. Pierre Tanguy was one of them. A famous personality portrait from his Parisian period, he was a merchant. His shop was a gathering place for Impressionist painters, and Tanguy participated in their discussions. He bought paintings from these artists. For those who couldn’t afford, he exchanged paintings for brushes, canvases, paints. Van Gogh, Sisley, Monet benefited greatly from his support, making his aid a boon to the art world. Later, leaving Paris, Van Gogh settled in Arles. The last two years of his life were the most significant in his art creation. He painted feverishly during this period. Most of these paintings are recognized as his best artworks. He created different artworks than his previous Dutch and Parisian pieces during this time. He moved beyond the influence of Impressionism. He truly played with colors here, giving symbolic meaning to colors during this period. Each color represents a certain emotion. Depending on the need of the painting, he brought the language of colors to the canvas. Red for intensity, love, while blue for calmness, depth, and yellow hues for happiness, hope. ‘Starry Night’ is a prime example of this. “I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.” – Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890), 1889.

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”

– Vincent van Gogh

His paintings, unbound by subject, time, or place, resonated with all emotions, whether they were still lifes or not. Even in inanimate objects like a vase, boots, he poured emotions through his paintings. Beauty is not in the object but in the viewer’s eyes. For the creation of artwork, it’s not necessary to have something beautiful in front; he proved this. Because of him, the perspective of looking at art changed for sure. Starting to create art at the age of twenty-seven, Van Gogh made over 900 paintings and numerous sketches in just ten years. Considering his career, he created artworks at a rate of one every thirty-six hours. Apart from paintings, reading and writing letters were also significant parts of his life. In the letters he wrote, sketches of many of his great artworks are found. This artist, who was in financial straits, would model for himself and sketch his own portraits. Often, due to the inability to afford new canvases, he painted new sketches over old ones. What a misfortune we must have missed out on so many great treasures. He had no formal education in art nor was he ever trapped by the rules, principles of prevailing art styles. He painted to express the turmoil of his emotions and the world as seen through his eyes. Critic Yuid says about his paintings, “They are stories of a solitary heart.” His personal life and experiences are inseparable from his artworks.

Van Gogh, who believed ‘the most beautiful thing in the world is truth,’ was an extreme humanist. Love and sorrow are two sides of the same coin, inseparable, and this was the essence of his life. Until the last moment, filled with the feeling of giving, though completely lonely from within, his heart, which embraced everything, became one with everything around, and taking cognizance of everything happening around, was a characteristic and his soul, which suffered in sorrow, produced some of the greatest artworks in the world. The artist, who never considered himself successful in his lifetime, had only one painting sold while he was alive, even that was because Theo insisted a friend buy it. The treasure that became invaluable after his death and the people inspired by him, generations of painters who worked inspired by him, should have shown him. He loved the world, people, wholeheartedly. But he did not expect love in return. While he was alive, he did not receive much love from people. The love he longed for throughout his life, he should have been showered with in these two hundred years. If he had received these things then, perhaps he wouldn’t have gone mad. In a fit of madness, he shot himself in the chest, and his end was in pain and sorrow. Two days after shooting himself, on July 29, this great artist dissolved into eternity. In the last few years of his life, losing everything, only pain stayed with him till the end. He spent his last moments with Theo, who loved him dearly. It is said his last words were ‘the sadness will last forever..’