Tuesday 6 October 2015

‘Red Vineyards’ - Vincent Van Gogh

VanGogh
I confess, I haven’t always been an admirer of Van Gogh’s work, but the more I see now the more I see to enjoy. Not so much what he chooses to paint —which is often little more than another peasant scene in the manner of Millet—as the depth he achieves with some few very coarse brush strokes.
He paints in three dimensions, experimenting with what paint can do to make two dimensional paint give a bold three-dimensional image.
I love the sweep of the trees away from that golden orb hanging ominously above the ensemble; the slight changes in hue of the coarse paint stroke that effortlessly delineate the depth of field; the people who quietly emerge to (eventually) dominate the scene; the feeling that one can sense the earth’s curvature going on beyond the horizon; the reflections on the pathway leading to … somewhere; the house (the abode of man) that quietly competes with that golden orb to dominate the composition.
This is one of those paintings that rewards opening up as big as you can and just sitting in front of for several minutes at a time, to discover how it affects you. (Click the painting to go to the largest pic I can find.)

1 comment:

paul scott said...

Its a really good feel painting. I have never seen 'Red Vineyards ' before . Alot of people working there and the hay field beside.