In 1886, the works of Gauguin were presented at the Eighth Impressionist Art Exhibition. Paul Gauguin was ten years younger than the Impressionists, which in this case is of major importance. Indeed, when Gauguin was still a child, Monet, Renoir and Sisley already used to meet up in Professor Gleyre’s studio and were starting their artistic journey. Nadar, the great photographer who offered them the premises for their first exhibition, was a friend of Gauguin’s tutor, Gustave Arosa. It is thus hardly surprising that Gauguin, an amateur painter of twenty-six, followed the turns taken by the newly born Impressionist movement with emotion. And it was of course an honor for…

Van Gogh drew everything he saw: a “death’s head” moth, grasshoppers, irises and even simple blades of grass. As soon as he was allowed to go beyond the gate, he started to paint blossoming meadows, and later yellow fields. He painted olive trees and the huge plane trees on the streets of the small town of Saint-Rémy. Van Gogh was not going to surrender. He drew and painted as if possessed, hoping that his thirst for work would help him recover. When there was no model, he copied with oil the engravings that his brother had sent to him at his request. He had always loved Millet, and now copied…

On the subject of his new motifs, Van Gogh had to solve the problem of black and white. In Impressionist and Pointillist painting, the world was full of colour overtones; black or white did not exist. For Van Gogh, colour consisted of a little of both, but he refused to abandon black and white, and attempted to integrate them into his contrast system to strengthen colours. Another motif was the people of Provence. From the very beginning, Van Gogh’s eye caught the remarkable variety in Arles: young and old women, loaders on barges, fishermen. Gradually, he began distinguishing among them those that interested him the most. In his portraits, colour…

In 1887 Vincent met Émile Bernard with Signac at the paint dealer “Père” Tanguy. Van Gogh saw Cézanne’s paintings for the first time in this shop. Its owner was such a picturesque person that Vincent immediately began painting portraits of Père Tanguy, Madame Tanguy and their friends. Van Gogh had placed great hope in these portraits, thinking in this manner he would be able to generate orders in Paris. Like many other artists, his hope was not justified. His portraits were fine and expressive, but lacked even a hint of the lustre sought by customers. What’s more, the artist’s manner of painting seemed strange, careless and non-professional. This type of…

The discussions with Rappard regarding the role the technical aspect of art should play helped Van Gogh formulate his own credo of painting at that time: “I’m simply saying that correctly drawing a figure according to academic recipe, with a uniform and studied brushstroke, does not respond to the pressing demands of the modern period regarding pictorial art.” Regarding themes of painting, Vincent was convinced that he should “paint the peasant at home, among the members of his entourage.” In 1885, he achieved his goal by creating his first masterpiece. The Potato Eaters was painted in the village of Nuenen, where Van Gogh’s parents had lived since 1883. Vincent lived…

In 1885 Vincent van Gogh wrote from Nuenen, a village in Holland, to his brother Theodorus (known as Theo) van Gogh in Paris: “There is, in my opinion, an impressionist school, though I know very little about it.” His notions about Impressionism were very approximate. He thought a new school had been formed around Delacroix, Millet and Corot. At the time when Impressionists were truly coming to the end of their shared artistic path, Van Gogh already had some idea as to where he wanted to go. His life was difficult. To escape a Dutch village and move into the realm of great art – not everyone could do it.…

In 1885 Vincent van Gogh wrote from Nuenen, a village in Holland, to his brother Theodorus (known as Theo) van Gogh in Paris: “There is, in my opinion, an impressionist school, though I know very little about it.” His notions about Impressionism were very approximate. He thought a new school had been formed around Delacroix, Millet and Corot. At the time when Impressionists were truly coming to the end of their shared artistic path, Van Gogh already had some idea as to where he wanted to go. His life was difficult. To escape a Dutch village and move into the realm of great art – not everyone could do it.…