Compare and Contrast Claude Monet's Bouquet of Sunflowers Impressionism and Van Gogh's Vase with Twelve Sunflowers Post-impressionism
In this paper there will be the comparison and the contrasting of two paintings made by Claude Monet and Van Gogh. Both of them are paintings of flowers in a vase. The description of these two paintings is as below.
Origin: France.
Medium: Oil painting on canvas
Size: 40 inches by 32 inches.
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Artist’s name: Vincent van Gogh
Start: c.1888
Completion: c.1889
Origin: Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Medium: Oil on canvas
Material: canvas
Size: 91 x 71 cm
Gallery: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, Germany
Analysis
Bouquet of Sunflowers
This painting the style of impressionism that became famous in the 19th Century in Paris. It became prominent in the period between 1870 and 1890. It relates with this period in that it was completed in 1881 and it was then exhibited in 1882 in Paris during the private exhibitions that were run by impressionist artists. Impressionism dealt with painting of things that were present in day to day life and thus Monet painted a vase with a bouquet of flowers (El-Arifi).
Impressionism involved painting real life objects and thus Monet had to use various colors and styles so as to bring his painting into life. In bringing his painting into life, we can see the presence of real vivacity about it. There is the usage of brushstrokes which seem to sweep across the canvas. This effect contributes to the artist bringing the flowers from in the vase alive. When one looks closer to the painting, one can see that there is no delicate detail that is used to paint the flowers. It can be interpreted that the artist is trying to create an effect that evokes the feelings of the flowers being alive to whoever is viewing the painting. From the painting, the richness of the yellows that Monet has bestowed to the sunflowers is almost stunning. From the way that the paint is applied on the canvas there is the effect that is rendered suggests that this was created by using pastels.
There is the clever usage of colors in this painting. Impressionist did not usually use black in their paintings. Instead they used complementary colors so that they can create a color that was as close to black as possible. This is evident in Monet’s painting of the flowers. So as to achieve his objective of impressionism, he went ahead to layer the paint, starting with a light green color and then adding a dark green layer on top so that it can seem like the flowers are capturing light. The vase is painted in a way that it complements the flowers. Even though the flowers are the main subject here, the vase is painted with detail and very exquisite way. There is also the illusion of the arranged flowers with each flower being painted with an individual touch. Different shades are employed to bring about the various positions of the flowers. The background is created in such a way it pushes the flowers to the foreground and it seems invisible (El-Arifi).
It is said that Monet’s style influenced van Gogh to become one of the most famous painters who dealt with paintings of flowers.
Vase with Twelve Sunflowers
This painting came from the Post-impressionist era. This era had the same qualities as the impressionist era but with varied differences. Even though both aimed at producing paintings of day to day objects, the post-impressionists started having the independence of using abstract art in their work and also changed the way viewers saw their paintings – as a window to the artist’s soul. From the painting we can see that the artist has used various abstract and cubic shapes to bring about the subject of his paintings. From the image we can see that this is a representation of flowers but they do not look real like those of Monet. There is abstraction and line flow haphazardly all over the canvas (Visual-arts-cork.com).
He uses chrome yellow and vivid blue to bring about the subject of his painting. The artist thickly worked the paint. He used this to sculpt the flower petals. This then created a basket-weave pattern that can be observed on the table's surface and also on the curve of the vase which holds the flowers and in doing so heightens the color effects. The sunflowers to the painter were held in a religious manner, they represented the sun and the soul of a person. By painting the flowers in a vivid color, it represents the brilliance of the sun and brings forth the subject of a man’s soul.
The painting by Gogh combines beautiful and unattractive qualities. It goes on to celebrate nature in its vibrancy and also when it is unadorned. By use of uncompromising rendering, there is the presentation of fading, worn blossoms with some of them having lost their plumage. There are even the corpses of what used to be flowers.
Both paintings obey the rules of impressionism to bring about the representation of objects that are present in day to day lives. They are both paintings of flowers which are in vase. There is the clever usage of colors so as to deliver to the viewer the brilliance of the flowers that are the main subjects of the painting. Looking closely at both, it can be seen that the artists spent a lot of time on them to make masterpieces that they are known for today. (Visual-arts-cork.com)
On the other hand, these two paintings have various differences. Monet’s painting tries to bring to life the flowers while on the other hand van Gogh veers away from this and paints the flowers in a way in which they do not look like the real thing but they present it. The painting by van Gogh can be said to have a spiritual meaning while Monet’s painting tries to show the viewer the glory of nature. The two paintings are very important as each represents their individual style and how one influenced the other. They are both good examples of each style.
Works Cited
"Analysis of Bouquet of Sunflowers by French Artist Claude Monet | PAH".Pahnation.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
El-Arifi, Sally. "Monet Bouquet Of Sunflowers". prezi.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
Monet, Claude. "Bouquet Of Sunflowers - Claude Monet - Wikipaintings.Org". Wikiart.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Vincent Van Gogh: Dutch Expressionist Painter". Visual-arts-cork.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Vincent Van Gogh: The Paintings (Still Life: Vase With Twelve Sunflowers)". Vggallery.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
