Vincent van Gogh is a Dutch painter who is probably one of the most remembered artists in our time. His work, though hated in his time, is admired today especially for his unique brush stroke style and coloring, as well as the texture of his paintings (the impressions left from globs of paint).
On zzzclan.com, I was able to find a page that includes modern day pictures of places/buildings/areas featured in some of his artwork, most are from Arles, France.
Getting a sense of where these places are can give us a sense of what van Gogh was trying to perceive. By seeing these artworks and places of location we can better understand the mindset of van Gogh and how he saw the world allowing us to see the world through his eyes, which, in my opinion, appears to be a sort of fruitful and colorful. Also, it is interesting to see some ways in which the places have changed from van Gogh’s times to ours.
The Yellow House In Arles, 1888, Arles, France
Cafe Terrace At Night, 1888, Arles, France
Langlois Bridge at Arles, 1888, Arles, France
Trinquetaille Bridge in Arles, 1888, Arles, France
The Bridge at Trinquetaille, 1888, Arles, France
The Church at Auvers, 1890, Auversur-Oise, France
Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles, 1888, Arles, France
What’s interesting about these works is the variety of color. Van Gogh uses very distinct yellow, blues, and greens that personal his work; such as the one I saw within the MET of Madame Roulin and Her Baby. I would have to say that the painting that looks less likely to be van Gogh’s is Langlois Bridge at Arles, 1888, Arles, France, because it includes bright blues and orange. Though it is not uncommon to see variety of color in his work, it’s more common to see darker shades of the three colors stated above.
Personally, I would love to live in the world that van Gogh portrays in these paintings – they may not seem super bright, but they present the world in a unique way; also, it may be the same places that are present today, but van Gogh is able to create a world that seems more inviting. It’s fascinating to know that you can go visit these places and you know that someone as brilliant as van Gogh was not only here but took the time to create a piece about it.
van Gogh’s Self Protraits from artsology.com
