Why I Changed My Mind About Van Gogh?

An analysis of Van Gogh’s place in art history and how one should judge him.

(Self-portrait, Vincent Van Gogh, 1887)

The story of Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) is perhaps the most known in art history. Many people with no background knowledge or interest in art history may know that Van Gogh was a failure throughout his life, and only after his death did he finally become recognized. People may know that he had a supporting brother named Theo and, most famously, that Vincent had cut off his own ear.  

There is, indeed, something exceptional about Van Gogh. I will try to indicate what I think is so unique about his art, why it evokes a strong emotional reaction in so many people, and what made me change my mind about him. 

The Impressionist Revolution

(The Roses of Heliogabalus, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1888)

The mid-late 19th Century saw many esthetical revolutions. The Impressionists rebelled against the traditional academic schools of art. The academics were mainly drawing historical or mythological scenes. Their art was detached from daily life in the modern world. Impressionists such as Pissaro, Monet, Manet, Renior, and Degas aimed to capture a passing moment. They were interested in the here and now. With the industrial revolution, a massive increase in the quality of life was happening across Europe. The middle class was born. Ordinary people, who are far from aristocrats, could enjoy the theatre, restaurants, much better medicine, trains, nightclubs, and so on. The Impressionists were interested in all of these changes. However, the academics who painted beautiful mythological pictures continued as if there were still in the 17th Century. 

(Rouen Cathedral, Claude Monet, 1890s)

The Impressionist focus on modern bourgeoisie life was first met with outrage. But, after a few years and the success of the impressionist exhibitions, they were finally accepted into the french art mainstream. Although the impressionistic paintings were much less realistic due to their hasty creative process, they attempted to capture a specific passing moment, such as particular lighting, a sunrise, the movement of a horse, and more. 

(A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Édouard Manet, 1882) 

In a way, the Impressionists tried to mimic a camera; There was no attempt to change or distort reality. The Impressionists sometimes expressed their opinion; They expressed it by which scene they selected to paint, and by the manner they portrayed it. An interesting example is “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère,” where some art critics see it as an expression of Manet’s distaste for Parisian nightlife. This expression is achieved by portraying the barmaid as one of the products offered to the clients (I have to stress that this is a controversial analysis, but I see it as plausible). So, there is a beginning of expressing emotions in painting. Nevertheless, all the Impressionists still placed reality over emotions. This was the time when Van Gogh started his career. (Among other Post-Impressionists such as Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and others)

What Made Van Gogh Different?

(Vincent Van Gogh, Rooftops, View from the Atelier The Hague, 1882) 

Van Gogh began as an ordinary impressionist, drawing mundane daily scenes. After these few years, Van Gogh developed his unique and unmistakable style. The era of Expressionism began. 

(The Sower with Setting Sun, Vincent Van Gogh, 1888)

Following his move from Paris to Arles in Provence, a dramatic change in Van Gogh's style took place. The only remnant of his early impressionism is that he still portrays daily scenes, but how he chooses to show these scenes is dramatically different; One major attribute of Van Gogh’s new style is his expressionistic use of color. His color took only inspiration from reality. Van Gogh changed realistic colors to express emotions. It was one of the first instances in art history where emotion was placed over and above reality. The second major attribute of his new style was his famous thick brush strokes. These aggressive brush strokes also express Van Gogh’s incredible passion and enthusiasm for painting. The third and last major attribute of Van Gogh’s expressionism is his open willingness to distort reality to express emotions. 

His aggressive, impulsive, and vivid expressionistic style was causing robust negative responses. Imagine walking around the art salon in Paris, looking at all the pleasant paintings of Renior and Monet, and then looking at Van Gogh. This style was outrageous. Throughout his short career, Van Gogh only sold one painting. 

My Relationship With Van Gogh

(Vincent Van Gogh, Sunflowers 4#, 1888)

Like the people of his timeline, and as an Objectivist who tries to place reality over emotions, I reacted very negatively to Van Gogh. After all, he is one of the main precursors of modern art, the precursor of people like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and all the modernists who followed them on the route to destroy reality in art. After Van Gogh, the status of reality in art deteriorated rapidly up to its total death with the Abstract art of the 20th Century. Van Gogh, of course, is not the single originator of this idea. The Impressionists and many others from that period are also accountable. 

I was angry at Van Gogh for placing his emotions over reality. Angry for his expressionistic style. When I went to The National Gallery in London, I skipped his exhibition. But when I learned more about him, about his life story, I realized what is so special about Van Gogh.

As I said, his life story is well known: He went through tragic and painful life, suffered from alcoholism, and in the end, had a mental illness. Nobody recognized him. Gaugin, who Van Gogh wanted to befriend, was cruel to him, he only had his brother by his side, and it wasn’t enough. 

(Wheatfield with crows, Vincent Van Gogh, 1890)

The life story alone shouldn’t be enough to judge. True, it was tragic, but that doesn’t mean that he was a good artist or not. What is truly unique about him is that he had no malevolence, unlike some of his contemporaries (like Gaugin) and most of the artists that followed him. Van Gogh didn’t distort reality because he hated reality. He distorted reality because he was filled with distortion himself. Van Gogh lived and breathed painting. It was everything that he had. He painted these sunflowers because it is his favorite flower, and he filled the background with bright yellow because it was his favorite color. Van Gogh used painting to concretize his values, which is precisely the purpose of art. And his manner of concertizing his values was so pure and innocent.

In this version of the wheatfield, one of the last paintings he finished before his suicide, you can see his sorrow. The sadness of a painter who knew he was great, but nobody else had seen it. Without any recognition, money, or friends except for his brother Theo, he decided to end it. This landscape, by first account, could be seen as just another dull Impressionist landscape, but this is far from what it means. Van Gogh painted his soul. This is something more similar to a self-portrait than an actual landscape.

First is the location, the beautiful and Van Gogh’s most beloved Provence. The place where he had hoped to build a thriving community of painters but failed. But this is not a generic Provence scenery. This is his favorite wheatfield which he has painted many times over and over again. Secondly, the wheatfield itself is not very detailed, but the bold yellow, his favorite color, represents himself. Think of a man whose entire life is devoted to painting. His favorite color is something very significant and personal for him. That is why I think the wheatfield symbolizes Van Gogh himself. Lastly, the crows who start in the center of the field and fly up to the dark night sky represent Van Gogh's psychological state. He was contemplating suicide. 

This is possibly the best example of art being extremely personal to the artist. When a painter paints a work of art, he imprints a part of himself on the canvas. Our values are what shape us; Our value “galaxy” is the answer to the question, “Who am I?” The level of how much a painting is a concretization of the artist's soul depends on the artist himself. That is one of the most profound reasons why Van Gogh is so unique and why his works touch so many people; because they are the most personal artworks. 

It took me time to understand that. 

In July 2022, at The National Gallery in Washington DC. I paid Van Gogh a second visit. But in that time, I treated him appropriately with the respect and admiration he had worked so hard to deserve.