I’m battling a cold and don’t feel like I have much to share today but I did want to show this piece, Flower Beds, from Vincent Van Gogh. It’s not one of his better known iconic pieces but whenever I come across it, it makes me stop and look. It’s from early in his career and is painted in a more impressionistic fashion than his later, more signature works with their bold strokes of vivid color. This piece seems to be a bridge between his influences and the style that he later adopted as his own, going from the darkness of the past as represented by the cottages to the new, colorful strokes that are the flower beds.
I like seeing that transition, almost can feel how Van Gogh was taking on his own voice at that time. Seeing things with his own eyes for the first time. Becoming the Van Gogh we know now.
I don’t know why I mention this piece today. I was thinking that I don’t often mention Van Gogh as an influence even though I consider him a large one. I think I try to avoid invoking his name simply because I hear so many painters list him as their primary influence and seldom see the energy or passion in their work. His work had an incredible accessibility and drew such an immediate basal reaction that it makes him an easy, romantic choice as an influence for many. I guess it’s a fear that if I come out and say it, that I’ll be lumped in with the posers when I would rather just have my work speak for itself, away from any comparison.
As it should be.
But how do you not like the guy’s work, not feel inspired by his need to constantly move forward in his desire to express the rhythm and feeling of the world around him? How can a painter not want to capture the essence of his singular voice?
Wow. I’d never seen this piece before and it’s terrific. Thanks.
While it doesn’t have the big WOW factor of his later paintings, it is a great piece. As I said, it’s really interesting, knowing where his work went from here, to see his painter’s voice transform. You can see him starting to move beyond mimicking his influences, which is a big step in any field.
I’ve not seen it, either. My first thought was, “The artist is growing his own palette!”
And what a palette!
Thank you so much for this, I thought I’d seen nearly all his work, of which I love. But have never seen this piece before. Love it.
It’s always nice to find something new and unexpected, isn’t it? I think there’s an interesting mix of restraint and desire here that gives this painting lovely tension.