Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh is remembered for his harsh and often distorted style of impressionism. This twisted take of the usually light and airy form, in combination with mysterious rumors surrounding the artist’s personal life, leaves van Gogh labeled as a lunatic in the minds of many today. However, a recent publication of all of van Gogh’s letters, received and sent, unearths a van Gogh that is lively artist and cunning businessman. “The power and impact of his art are the result of work and though, not hallucinations,” says Matthew Collings. While many criticize van Gogh’s lack of professionalism and divergence from typical Impressionism, saying that he was a madman who never really grew up, these newly published letters reveal a “talkaholic” with impeccable talent in the art and business worlds.

Collings points out that these letters, in addition to the accounts of those who interacted with van Gogh, reveal a remarkably chatty man. While living with his brother Theo, he often returned from painting and “immediately began talking earnestly about art. He continued until it as time for his brother to sleep, and then he pulled up a chair beside the bed and kept it coming.” Collings describes van Gogh’s letters as “conversations in an utterly exhilarating way.” This is hardly the personality a man who was going insane, pushing the world away as he developed into a recluse, using his twisted art as his only form of outlet.

Van Gogh, as the letters illustrate, was also an intelligent and creative businessman. Collings describes him as a hustler, even, because of the way he talked with his brother about making arrangements with art dealers. The letters reveal a man who developed strategies for managing his brother’s art shop, and then analyzed their effectiveness and refined them. Many criticize his use of the signature “Vincent” instead of “van Gogh” on his paintings. Even this was carefully thought out; he realized his French audience could much more easily pronounce his first name than his last. He was strategic, careful, and even manipulative, unlike the lunatic who managed to hit a streak of artistic luck with his insanity portrayed by many.

While van Gogh’s personal life and mental stability are often discussed when assessing his sanity and credibility as an artist, most of the argument comes down to his artwork itself. Many argue that van Gogh’s use of deep, vibrant, and occasionally sickening tones with an Impressionist style is enough to revoke any praise one might have for the man. Impressionism, a sophisticated style usually characterized by open nature scenes painted in light and airy colors, often leaves viewers feeling as though they’ve just spent the afternoon in a breezy meadow in the countryside of France. Many of van Gogh’s works, however, use vibrant colors that leave viewers agitated rather than calmed. Collings observes
      His paintings combine a carpentered look—chunky shapes, improvised, fresh, and 
      lively—with a weird color vision whose power can be as much biliotis as beautiful. 
      It comes from Impressionism but it has a very different emotion. It can be strangely 
      dingy and airless as well as reminiscent of light or reminiscent of how reality appears. 
      He seems to want to capture his own inner sense of reality, a narrow, claustrophobic 
      world—a sort of trapped intensity.

Because of this, many categorize van Gogh among the artists driven to brilliance by their own insanity, using their art as their only way to escape whatever deranged thoughts occupy their heads, and unintentionally making masterpieces in the process. However, upon inspecting van Gogh’s letters, it is easy to see that he studied and analyzed color choices, moods created by color, and the psychology behind it all. Every color choice, including nauseating shades of yellow and green rather than pure white that leave one feeling uneasy, was carefully considered and planned out. Van Gogh’s use of unconventional color paired with Impressionism was not the result of the deterioration of his mind, but his careful expression of reality.

Van Gogh’s letters reveal a social, witty, and thoughtful man, despite the typical myths of a man too insane to function properly. Regardless of whether or not his art followed the conventions of the accepted art forms of his day, his work is product of careful planning and hard work. He was far from the social and artistic lunatic he is often portrayed as. He was an active member in society, helping to run his brother’s art shop, and a cunning businessman. His artwork is carefully thought out and executed with intentionality, despite its appearance as twisted or deranged. Nowhere is this clearer than in van Gogh’s letters, particularly those with his brother, which reveal his day to day life as well as the inner workings of his artistic mind.

Works Cited:
Collings, Matthew. "Think About van Gogh in a Different Way." Modern Painteres. 02 2010: 24-27. Print. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=466a9227-0639-43ae-8fba-61ae8fbe45cc@sessionmgr12&vid=6&hid=102>.