Van Gogh created many self-portraits over his short career but this one takes place in January of 1889, shortly after van Gogh cut off part of his own ear. It is uncertain why he did this to himself but it may be due to his mental issues and an argument with fellow painter Gauguin. Gauguin had been living and working with van Gogh in the Yellow House but left in late December 1888, around the time of this incident (Courtauld). It is believed that van Gogh gave the piece of his ear that he cut off to a prostitute leading many to believe that he was psychotic (Khan). In this painting, van Gogh appears to be still and in thought. This combined with the fact that he is turned so that the viewer can see his bandage represents his acknowledgement
…show more content…
He would suffer from “attacks” that would leave him confused (Van Gogh Museum). After several such incidents throughout 1888, he checked himself into an asylum at St. Rémy, in France, in May 1889. At first, he painted in and around the hospital but eventually moved to painting in the countryside. It was there that van Gogh became obsessed with cypress trees. He wrote to his brother Theo and described his desire to paint the cypresses. He also wrote of his surprise that no one had yet painted them the way that he envisioned them. Van Gogh compared the trees to Egyptian obelisks and saw them as somber due to their being known as the tree of death. He saw them as black areas against the light background (Leighton, et al.). Van Gogh’s focus on cypresses began in June 1889. He sent reed pen drawings of the cypresses to his brother and over the span of several months he included the trees in many of his paintings. He was so pleased with the painting Wheat Field with Cypresses that he made two replicas of it. The original is hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City while one near identical studio version of it is located in the National Gallery in London. The other was a smaller version he made for his mother and sister that is currently being held in a private collection (“Wheat Field with Cypresses”). Van Gogh’s practice of making reproductions of his paintings allowed him to explore his style of art and refine and perfect it (Leighton, et al.). Van Gogh is known for the impasto, thick layers of paint, and noticeable brush strokes of his paintings. In Wheat Field with Cypresses, he used different strokes for different parts of the painting. For example, he used curvy broad strokes in the sky and narrower strokes in the cypresses themselves. He also used hatching patterns for the wheat stalks and loops for the grass. These strokes are less prominent in the later version that currently
He would suffer from “attacks” that would leave him confused (Van Gogh Museum). After several such incidents throughout 1888, he checked himself into an asylum at St. Rémy, in France, in May 1889. At first, he painted in and around the hospital but eventually moved to painting in the countryside. It was there that van Gogh became obsessed with cypress trees. He wrote to his brother Theo and described his desire to paint the cypresses. He also wrote of his surprise that no one had yet painted them the way that he envisioned them. Van Gogh compared the trees to Egyptian obelisks and saw them as somber due to their being known as the tree of death. He saw them as black areas against the light background (Leighton, et al.). Van Gogh’s focus on cypresses began in June 1889. He sent reed pen drawings of the cypresses to his brother and over the span of several months he included the trees in many of his paintings. He was so pleased with the painting Wheat Field with Cypresses that he made two replicas of it. The original is hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City while one near identical studio version of it is located in the National Gallery in London. The other was a smaller version he made for his mother and sister that is currently being held in a private collection (“Wheat Field with Cypresses”). Van Gogh’s practice of making reproductions of his paintings allowed him to explore his style of art and refine and perfect it (Leighton, et al.). Van Gogh is known for the impasto, thick layers of paint, and noticeable brush strokes of his paintings. In Wheat Field with Cypresses, he used different strokes for different parts of the painting. For example, he used curvy broad strokes in the sky and narrower strokes in the cypresses themselves. He also used hatching patterns for the wheat stalks and loops for the grass. These strokes are less prominent in the later version that currently