Vincent Van Gogh video questions

Daniel Contreras
ART P112 CRN 32284
Professor James Entz
16 March 2011
Van Gogh video questions
Who was Vincent Van Gogh?
Vincent Van Gogh considered himself as a prophet and thinker. Van Gogh pictured a revelation of heaven on Earth. He lived his most of life in his mind. Gogh's father was a pastor in South Netherlands and his uncle was a London art dealer, so Van Gogh was in between these two differently similar worlds. At first he wanted to be a preacher as he had rediscovered Jesus. His goal was to search for salvation in either choice. Unsuccessful as a pastor, Van Gogh was exiled from preaching in the slums of Belgium. Van Gogh began a new approach to spread his message. Nearly thirty years old with little to no experience, Van Gogh began to paint. His father did not take his decision too lightly as the parents began to feel shame that Van Gogh chose art over preaching. His younger brother Theo did aid Van Gogh financially and work-wise by putting his paintings up for sale. Day in and day out he poured his thoughts into pages of art. Despite the quantity, the quality of the art was considered as dreary, murky and unsellable. As time passed his mental illness became stronger. Van Gogh suffered from epilepsy and depression which later led him to cut off a chunk of his ear. It didn't matter because his greatest creation was a result of his madness. Before dying, Van Gogh shot himself in the abdomen and was left mortally wounded. He died from a fever shortly after. Van Gogh hoped that one day his paintings would showcase and he could share his paintings as he was the "the lowest of the low."
What was he trying to say with his paintings?
His paintings reflected on his frustration and anger. He used paintings to show the lives of lowest people living as shown in Potato Eaters which was his first remarkable piece. Van Gogh believed that the painting itself was like the labor shown in the image creating a union of artist and painting. His paintings were an "ejaculation of energy" that had boundless and universal qualities. They also show us what was in inside his head and every mark was a letter to us. Van Gogh wants to tell us that he is trying to recover from himself as his life was art vs. craziness. He put a mental upheaval onto a canvas. All he wanted is for people to know and understand his message by opening their eyes and hearts.
How did his paintings convey his message?
Fascinated with complementary colors, Van Gogh included them in a number of his works. He also used powerful and visible brushstrokes. The images convey their message through the color as it trembles, sways and pulses. His artworks are wild, deeply insane, but comforting.

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