St. violet the iconographer3/10/2023 But it’s the only way of getting away from the conventional black night with a poor, pallid and whitish light, while in fact a mere candle by itself gives us the richest yellows and oranges.” Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his sister, 14 September 1888. “It’s quite true that I may take a blue for a green in the dark, a blue lilac for a pink lilac, since you can’t make out the nature of the tone clearly. Van Gogh acknowledged this challenge in a letter to his sister and explained it was the only way he could faithfully capture the night’s brilliance. You are working in the dark, both literally and figuratively. Reds don’t look like reds, yellows don’t look like yellows. The colors on your palette look different. I’m not sure if you have tried painting at night, but it’s a logistical nightmare. It mimics the contrast in the foreground of the bright yellow and orange café against the cool blue and green surroundings.Īs mentioned earlier, van Gogh painted on location at night. There’s a strong contrast between the bright yellow and white stars and the rich blue sky. And without my expatiating on this theme it is obvious that putting little white dots on the blue-black is not enough to paint a starry sky.” Vincent van Gogh If only you pay attention to it you will see that certain stars are lemon-yellow, others pink or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance. “It often seems to me that night is still more richly coloured than the day having hues of the most intense violets, blues and greens. The use of black is clever-it makes the sky look alive and filled with color by comparison. Van Gogh used black for outlining and for the dark buildings in the distance. Van Gogh is using color to lead us through the painting. That weak blue leads to the rich blue of the sky. Then that green gradually turns blue at the top of the building. Notice how the yellow light on the wall gradually turns green. The striking contrast between yellow and blue is softened by the use of color gradation. You might want to push the saturation of those flowers to draw attention to them, whilst staying true to observation for the rest of the painting.) For example, say you’re painting a landscape with some beautiful flowers in the foreground. But, you don’t need to take it to the level of van Gogh’s work.Ī safer approach might be to rely on observation but push certain elements that really speak to you. Otherwise, we may as well just take photos. He captured how he saw, interpreted, and experienced the world.Įvery great painting needs an injection of emotion. That’s perhaps why his work is so special and iconic. Just look at the stars-he positioned them in the precise spots, yet exaggerated their appearances. He closely observed but wasn’t bound to what he saw. He painted from emotion and instinct rather than relying strictly on observation. Van Gogh had a knack for weaving vivid colors together without it appearing garish or overdone. The colors aren’t realistic, but they work. It provides insight into how van Gogh thought about the composition, patterns, and details. Below is a preliminary sketch of the painting.He would continue this theme in Starry Night Over the Rhône (which he painted the same month), The Starry Night, and the background of The Poet: Eugène Boch. The painting features van Gogh’s iconic depiction of a starry night, with deep blues and bright stars.Not sure why, as he signed most of his other works. But I find that it suits me to paint the thing straightaway.” Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his sister, 14 September 1888. In the past they used to draw, and paint the picture from the drawing in the daytime. “I enormously enjoy painting on the spot at night. You can stand in the same spot he painted and see the café which was renamed Café Van Gogh (now that is smart marketing!). It was first exhibited in 1891, then titled Coffeehouse, in the Evening (Café, Le Soir).(Bonus: Click here to download a PDF copy of my Color Theory Cheat Sheet.) Key Facts and Ideas
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