Van Gogh Post Impressionist

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Van GoghPost Impressionist
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Post-Impressionism
The Old Mill

• Post-Impressionism is an extension of
  Impressionism. Remember that the impressionist
  painters were not interested in making perfect
  copies of what they saw. Neither are
  post-impressionists.
• Post-impressionists continued to use vivid
  colors, and real-life subject matter, but they
  were more inclined
• to emphasize geometric shapes (like squares,
  triangles and rectangles)
• to distort forms on purpose
• to use unnatural or arbitrary colors.
• What shapes do you notice in this painting?
• Do you notice any colors that might not be the
  colors the artist saw?

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The Potato Eaters

• Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in
  1853. If he were alive today he would be over
  155 years old!
• Van Gogh worked as an art dealer for several
  years but decided he wasnt happy. He then
  decided to be a minister. Van Gogh really had a
  heart for people who were very poor and worked
  very hard. It was important to him to be able to
  minister to them and to try to make their lives a
  little better. He really liked being a
  minister, but he wasnt very good at it. He had
  to find another job.
• Van Gogh decided to be an artist. The only
  problem was that he didnt know how to do art at
  all. That didnt bother him, though. He threw
  himself into the study of art, working for hours
  and hours every day. Eventually, of course, he
  became quite good.

• This painting is known as van Goghs first great
  work.
• Can you tell what is happening in this painting?
• It shows a family of very poor people eating
  potatoes for supper.
• Van Gogh used dark colors here because some of
  the artists he liked best used these colors.
• Would you like to have this painting in your room?

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Red Vineyard

• Van Gogh spent all of his time painting and
  drawing, but people at the time didnt really
  like his work. Van Gogh could not make a living
  with his art.
• Van Goghs little brother, Theo, was an art
  dealer who loved van Gogh very much and who
  believed in his work. Theo sent van Gogh money
  every month to live on.
• Even with the money that his brother sent, van
  Gogh was still very poor. Sometimes he didnt
  have enough money to buy food and paint for his
  artwork. When he had to choose, van Gogh always
  chose paint. He would rather go hungry than not
  be able to paint.
• Van Gogh did not become a popular artist until
  after his death. He sold only one painting in
  his life. This is that painting.

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Van Goghs Room at Arles

• Van Gogh lived in Paris for 2 years and learned
  new styles of painting from the impressionists.
• One big influence the impressionists had on van
  Gogh was color. During his time in Paris, van
  Gogh began using bright colors.
• Van Gogh got tired of Paris and its cold, gloomy
  weather. He moved to the South of France to a
  city called Arles. While there, van Gogh painted
  some of his most famous works.

This is a painting of van Goghs bedroom in
Arles. What colors do you notice here? Would you
like to live in this room?
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12 Sunflowers

• Van Gogh painted many paintings of sunflowers.
• He would paint them quickly, before they could
  wilt.
• This painting is called 12 Sunflowers however,
  if you actually count, there are really 13
  sunflowers here.
• What do you think of this painting?
• How does this painting make you feel?
• Notice that you can see his brushstrokes,
  particularly on the vase.
• Notice the very thick application of paint.

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Starry Night

• This is probably van Goghs most famous painting.
  When it was sold several years ago, it sold for
  more money than any other painting ever had.
• Van Gogh liked painting at night and would go
  outside at night with candles on his hat so that
  he could see his paints well enough to paint.
• Why do you think this painting is so well-loved?
• What do you think is special about this painting?

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Café Terrace at Night

• This is another nighttime painting of van Goghs.
• He was delighted that he could paint the night
  sky without using any black paint at all.
• This café still exists today.
• What do you like about this painting?
• What colors do you notice?

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Self Portraits
1887
1889

• These are 2 self portraits of van Gogh painted
  two years apart.
• What do you think of the way he looks?
• These paintings have very different styles.
  Which do you like better?
• Notice all the swirls in the blue painting. They
  remind me of Starry Night.

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Art in Action!
Church in Auvers

• Using bright colors, draw a picture of something
  that is interesting to you.
• Try to use unexpected colors in your drawing.
• Use as many different shapes as you can in your
  drawing.