Van Gogh could readily be known as the greatest artists of all time, especially due to his immense popularity. I read an article yesterday about the most popular museums in the world, where they stated in some facets the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands was rated greater than the Louvre in Paris; see forbes.com.
The Louvre show cases thousands of works, whereas the Van Gogh Museum is simply about one man’s work; Vincent Van Gogh.
What a phenomenon! How many Museums are like this in the world, revolving around one person? And importantly, why?
Many will comment that his art is alive, has life and movement. His paintings so distinctively reveal these features.
The question I have for us today is, what is behind these features? And how can we attain to this calibre today?
To understand, we must understand the artist behind the art better. Van wrote many hundreds of letters to his younger brother Theo, where he is often explaining his artistic evolution. We see a maturing artist being established before our eyes from such humble beginnings.
He wrote, what I believe was a major key behind his dynamic paintings, the reason they had such life and movement:
“I want to touch people deeply with my art. I want them to say, he feels deeply, he feels tenderly.”
Friends, as a former missionary and pastor his heart for God and people continued to translate into his art, well after he ended that phase of his life.
Van Gogh knew God’s words from the bible and despite his failings carried God’s heart: Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1- 3 says, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Do listen to this video to give more details about this and how you can add the Van Goghian features of life and movement into your paintings and creative expression.
Enjoy: