Van Gogh the immortal
Before delving into the life and work of the painter Vincent Van Gogh, I pondered al lenght on how to conceptualize and produce this year's new program dedicated to him, by CATHEDRALE D'IMAGES;
Following in the footsteps of Van Gogh, I immediately felt the need for freedom and chose not to follow the chronological order imposed by biographers and art historians. I arrived at the decision through exploring the painter's self-portraits.
For hours during which like a police officer, tracing the anthropometric signs on the face of a missing person, I took the time to study the shape of this face, its ovalness, the nose, as well as the eyes.
Of course, being the lot of all humanity, due to ageing, the skin begins to sag, wrinkles appear, and time produced it own work of art !
Only one thing escapes the passage of time : the gaze. For Van Gogh, all art comes from this gaze. As it appears that everything has been said and written about Van Gogh, it would be out of place, even pretentious on my part, to add another chapter to the many works and publications that this Dutch painter has evoked and continues to evoke throughout the world since his tragie disappearance at Auvers sur Oise on July 29th, 1890.
A recluse, socially marginalized, he leaves us with an original, pictorial work of art unlike any other, a unique piece of art created through self-deprivation and toil, it testifies to the extent of his creative genius, exploring all the techniques of watercolour drawing, from the expressive art of portraits to the fantastic colours of nature which he discovered during his time spent in Provence.
All the canvasses painted during this period bear the artistic imprint of an artist at his absolute best. What was Van Gogh looking for by passing through France ? Was it a change of landscape from one season to another ? New faces ? No doubt he was looking for a little of all of these things. But one of the reasons for his travels between North and South was, definitely, his quest for light, this dreamlike yet powerful matter wich brings all colours to life ! I do not know, when Van Gogh became aware of the importance of light, but I imagine the the emotional impact must have been very intense, because from this period onwards, his paintings become ablaze with colour.
Crossing the countryside, from sunrise to sunset, one has a perfect image of him working on his pallet, wearing his straw hat which made him look like a scarecrow, and spending entire days painting int he midst of fields and peasants.
A truly happy painter ! It seems to me that Van Gogh was probably just that, a simple person, a workaholic, but certainly not the mental case portrayed by the press of the time ; without a doubt he was placed on a pedestal, as are many creative people, but not mad... definitely not !
Or else magnificently...
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