David Haynes
ART-115-112

“The Studio of the South" Vincent van Gogh’s “The Bedroom” is a magnificent representational painting. My initial reaction of the painting, which is on display at The Art Institute of Chicago, is the colors, which seem to balance each structural piece together. The painting made me think of sleep. I chose this artwork because growing up, and especially over the past three years, I had an interest in van Gogh’s work, and continue to do so. At first I enjoyed admiring van Gogh’s painting “Starry Night,” and then I took an interest in another piece of van Gogh’s work, “The Bedroom.” The brush strokes which he uses in the painting are remarkable, as well as, the way he includes overlap. The overlap results in the wondering of the eye upon what could be hidden behind the painting. Not only the color, but the lines and shapes really lead my eye to wonder all over the painting; assisting me to uncover the possible meaning of the artwork, and appreciate each and every specific detail of the painting. The harmony of the colors, leads to the thought of peacefulness. The brushwork portrayed in the piece seems to really focus on the structural qualities of each individual aspect of the painting. Such as, the green perfectly placed on the top left side of the mirror, which is reflecting off of the open window. The paint really helps to define the puffiness of the pillows, demonstrating the time and dedication which Vincent van Gogh put into his work. Van Gogh was a remarkable painter who seems to have a niche for connecting with me through his paintings. His particular painting, “The Bedroom” reminds me of my room as a child; and makes me feel as if it could be my room, portraying the sense of being at home. Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch painter, who lived from 1853–1890. Van Gogh grew up in Holland, and was raised in a religious family with his father being a minister. When his school ended, Vincent followed his uncle’s profession and became an art dealer learning the trade in Holland and then working in England and France. Van Gogh eventually outgrew interest in the field of art dealing, and went to on to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursued a degree in Theology. This path also was not for Vincent, as he failed a majority of his exams. Eventually as time passed, Vincent van Gogh began taking a bigger interest in art and made his first major work in 1885, called “Potato Eaters.” Van Gogh went on to become a miraculous painter and his artwork is legendary in the history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Van Gogh has become the prototype of the misunderstood, tormented artist, who sold only one work in his lifetime. Van Gogh was active as an artist for ten years, during which time he produced more than 1,100 watercolors, which consists of drawings and sketches, and about 1,250 paintings ranging from a dark realist style to an intense, expressionistic style. His paintings demonstrate a clear style of movement and color in thick layers of paint. Artists cannot gain attention without having an original, notable style of their own. So Vincent van Gogh worked on developing his distinct style. Instead of merely copying the impressionism style that was popular back then, he transformed it into his own. Now van Gogh is recognized as being an artist of post-impressionism (Gogh, Vincent). The post-impressionism movement, spanned from the mid-1880’s to the early 1900’s. The term post-impressionism was actually invented by Roger Fry as he prepared for an exhibition at Grafton Gallery in London in 1910. Other than Vincent van Gogh, the exhibition included: Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, George Seurat, Andre Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, Othon Friesz, and sculptor Aristide Maillol. These post-impressionists’ pushed the ideas of the standard impressionists of the time period into new directions. Each artist of the post-impressionist movement took an aspect of impressionism and exaggerated it. For example,