Vincent Van Gogh Comparing and Contrasting
...an Gogh, because he is my favorite artist and their names were Portrait of Dr. Gachet and Portrait of a Peasant. The reason I chose this painting was because they really stood apart from the rest. They had more depth than the rest and I thought I could talk more about them, because they got so much to tell. There are many comparisons that I can describe to you about these particular paintings. They are both painting by Vincent van Gogh. Both were painted in the 1800’s, and both of them involve a portrait of a man. Portrait of Dr. Gachet was etched on paper around 1890 and Portrait of a Peasant was painted on 1888. What you can see from these two paintings is that Vincent van Gogh has painted two men and both of them have a sad expression on their face. The reason being is that around the dates when the pictures were painted Vincent van Gogh was under severe depression and later killed himself in 1890. Both of the men look to be all alone, and they feel as though they haven’t accomplished anything in their lives, just like Vincent van Gogh thought the same way. They both suggest a similar image of a cry for help in a way. Vincent van Gogh’s brother Theo had always helped him out, but then when he stopped, Vincent sank deeper and deeper into depression, and it shows that Vincent van Gogh needed somebody with him, someone who could take care of him, because the love he felt always faded away after a while. You can also tell that both men are thinking about something, but it’s making them sad in a way. Also the paintings suggest that these two people knew Vincent and that he had talked to them and got to known them better. Finishing up with the comparisons, there are many contrasting elements we can describe here. The first being the dates that he had painted the two drawings. One was in 1888 and the other 1890; though 1890 is the year he had died. One is a drawing and the other is etching on paper. The one with color you can see has more depth to it, because the color brings out the expression in him. Also the background of the colorful one is just a blue imagine which could mean his depression, the other one is maybe the mans house or a part he used to like to go. You can see he spent more time on the colorful painting because he has more depth to him, the lines are better formed and the overall painting is lively. Also Vincent van Gogh believed that the Portrait of A Peasant was one of a small group that marked his break from the principles of Impressionism. Instead of using color to achieve a greater naturalism, van Gogh used color subjectively to express emotion. Also the blue he used is most intense blue he could conceive, and by this single combination of the...