Van Gogh Paints Ribbons of Color
Lesson 19
Vincent Van Gogh’s (van GOH) greatest works were created within a ten year period. In these paintings he applied thick, bright colors to the canvas. His strokes look like ribbons of color winding around and through the picture. His landscapes are some of the most beautiful paintings ever created. In letters to
his brother Theo, Van Gogh talks about the colors that he thinks will properly show the inner beauty he sees in nature. Van Gogh was a religious man. He painted the beauty of nature with an understanding that it was a created world. His paintings show both his sensitivity to beauty, in the way he used color, and his wild emotions, in the way he applied the paint to the canvas. He is described as a humble man with a “ sense of mission” (Gombrich 423). This means that he felt there was a purpose to life and art that went beyond his own self- interests. Van Gogh was not a revolutionary who was out to break the rules. He was inspired by the Impressionists. He was self-taught by using a popular traditional
Vincent van Gogh. Self-Portrait as a Painter ; 1888. Photo Credit: Dover Publications Inc.
drawing course of his time. He looked for new ways of using color on canvas, to express what he felt for nature. His works have inspired all generations since his death in the summer of 1890.
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