Artists had many original ideas during van Sago’s lifetime, though they could not be conveniently categorized. The term ‘Post-Impressionist’ denotes a few independent artists, like van Gogh who at the end of the 19th century rebelled against the limitations of traditional Impressionism. However, it does not account for an artistic style or formal movement. They expressed a range of individual styles which focused on the emotional, structural, symbolic and spiritual elements that they felt where missing from Impressionism.
The work of these painters formed a basis for several art movements. Van Gogh was an important artist in the late 19th century Symbolist movement. Symbolism emerged in France between 1885 and 1910 as a reaction against Realism and Impressionism. The symbolic value or meaning of an artwork came from the recreation of emotional experiences in the viewer through color, line, and composition. The first works of van Gogh were produced through Color Symbolism. He felt that certain colors had a symbolic meaning, as he associated them with different moods.
Dark blue and black signified dread and fear, light and brighter tones, such as turquoise and yellow were used to create a sense of peace and calm. Van Sago’s preferred color was yellow; he strongly linked this color with happiness and warmth. His Sunflowers 1888) painting evidently features many shades of yellow as it was painted during one of the most hopeful times of van Sago’s life. His tendency to make stress on symbolic colors became a worldwide phenomenon in various cultures. Van Sago’s guidance on Symbolism had a large practice in the following art movements, Fauvism and Expressionism.
Van Gogh was involved in the development of Fauvism. It was the first 20th century movement in modern art, a short-lived approach to painting focused in France between 1900 and 1908. Van Sago’s experiments with paint application, subject matter, form and most significantly, pure unmixed color undistributed to the beginnings that brought forth Fauvism. Henry Matisse was a prominent leader in the Fauvist movement. He created the Fauve style after experimenting with several Post-Impressionist approaches, primarily the technique of Vincent van Gogh.
Matisse’s influence inspired him to reject traditional methods of perception however he retained the realistic values of Impressionism. He adopted van Sago’s use of strong colors and loose application of it into his work. In 1901, Maurice De Villains encountered a display of van Sago’s work at the Galleries Beriberi-Jejune in Paris. “I was so moved that I wanted to cry with Joy and despair. On that day I loved van Gogh more than I loved my father”, he declared. This turned Villains decisively towards an art career indebted to van Gogh.
Ultimately, Villains became an original member of the Fauve group, alongside Henry Matisse. Together, they formally launched Fauvism at the 1905 Salon autonomy. Van Gogh once wrote to his brother Thee, “Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more arbitrarily in order to express myself forcibly… To exaggerate the essential and to leave the obvious vague”, this confirms his technique which was used excessively by the Fauvists. Van Sago’s unique style clearly had an influence upon later artists which stemmed into the establishment Fauvism.
The first phase of the 20th century Expressionist movement was led by van Gogh. The movement originated from Germany and had spread across Europe lasting from 1905 to 1920. Expressionism came into existence as a reaction against Impressionism; it was mainly inspired by the expressive and symbolist currents in late 19th century art. In the words of art critic Sue Hubbard, “At the beginning of the twentieth century Van Gogh gave the Expressionists a new painterly language that enabled them to go beyond reface appearance and penetrate deeper essential truths”.
He proved particularly influential on the Expressionists encouraging them to employ symbolic colors, distorted forms, surfaces and shapes to produce a highly emotional effect. Van Gogh was more popular in Germany than anywhere else. German Expressionist, Ernest Ludwig Kerchief and other artists of Die Brooke (The Bridge) were fascinated by van Sago’s technique, adopting his dramatic brushwork and sharp color contrasts. Another major German Expressionist, Vastly Sandusky and the artists of the Deer Blade Ritter (The Blue Rider) movement lasting from 1911 to 1914, admired van Gogh or rejecting visible reality in his artworks.
Private collectors and museum directors in Germany were among the first to purchase van Sago’s work, providing evidence that he was in fact involved in the beginning of the Expressionist movement. Jackson Pollock and Willie De Cooking were arguably the most important pioneers of Abstract Expressionism who were influenced by van Gogh in the sass and sass. The artists have been described as , “… Powerfully inventive developing a radically new approach to painting” . Yet, their work was not completely original; they incorporated van Sago’s experimental technique of sweeping, expressive restructures into their artworks.
Vincent brushstrokes reflected his mood; he used many short, broken strokes to create a sense of agitation, and longer brushstrokes to convey a feeling of greater calm. His technique was used excessively by Abstract Expressionists, having a moderate impact on the movement. Artists today are still inspired by van Sago’s unique vision. ‘America’s Vincent van Gogh’ of the 21st century is currently leading Contemporary Impressionists. Stefan Duncan has been greatly influenced by van Gogh in that he uses a vibrant, kinetic style with an updated quinine to draw quick unblended strokes into long curvy lines.
His impressionistic approach attempts to capture nature’s beauty in all of his work. Duncan has currently classified his art approach into a new branch of Impressionism known as, Squiggles. The new Contemporary Impressionists strive to prove that van Sago’s style is no longer a dead art form and is still developing and altering with the times. The legacies of van Sago’s work have contributed to modern cultural depiction of art. Van Gogh produced 900 paintings and made 1,100 sketches in the last ten years of is life, while only selling one of them in his career, The Red Vineyard (1888).
His most acclaimed works were created within a span less than three years, a time in which he suffered from mental illness and instability. Greatly contrasting his lifetime of poverty, Van Sago’s paintings have become extremely iconic; some have established record prices being among the world’s most expensive paintings, such as his portrait of Dry. Cachet (1890), sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. Thus, the works of van Gogh contain aspects of high culture that are seen as of lasting artistic alee, furthering how art is now culturally depicted.
A majority of our greatest painters enjoyed fame and often wealth during their lifetime; however van Sago’s reputation steadily increased after his death. The dramatic elements of his personal tale involved poverty, self-mutilation, mental breakdown and suicide. Sadly, his mental state has tended to overshadow modern perceptions of his art. Van Gogh has become almost inseparable from his work inspiring others to dramatist his saga in poems, novels, films, operas, dance ensembles, orchestral compositions and popular music.
Lust for Life” (1956) is a biographical film of the life of van Gogh, based on Irving Stone’s 1932 novel. It describes the origins of van Sago’s paintings and letters between him and his brother, Thee. The film reveals van Gogh as a tortured genius and recounts significant moments in his lifetime, particularly his suffering from mental illness and obsession with painting. Van Sago’s conception as an artist is largely based on his reputation and personal tale which has had an overall impact on how art is now culturally depicted. Vincent van Gogh has become enormously influential on art over the last 200 years.
His involvement in the early development of Symbolism, Fauvism and Expressionism as well as various other aspects of art has shaped our present world. Van Gogh has clearly demonstrated that painting was not merely a study of the visible surroundings, but also an expression of the artist’s emotional response. Consequently, artists continue to mimic his signature style. His artwork legacy and personal tale has inspired countless people to become art involved. Van Gogh will persistently be regarded as one of history greatest painters and a vital contributor to the foundations of modern art.
