Looked like Van Gogh. The most famous paintings by Van Gogh. Night cafe terrace

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch: Vincent Willem van Gogh; March 30, 1853, Grote-Zundert, Netherlands - July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, France) was a Dutch post-impressionist artist whose work had a timeless influence on 20th-century painting. In just over ten years, he created more than 2,100 works, including about 860 oil paintings. Among them are portraits, self-portraits, landscapes and still lifes, depicting olive trees, cypress trees, wheat fields and sunflowers. Van Gogh was overlooked by most critics until his suicide at the age of 37, which was preceded by years of anxiety, poverty and mental disorders.

Born on March 30, 1853 in the village of Groot Zundert (Dutch. Groot Zundert) in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, near the Belgian border. Vincent's father was Theodore Van Gogh (born 02/08/1822), a Protestant pastor, and his mother was Anna Cornelia Carbenthus, the daughter of a venerable bookbinder and bookseller from The Hague. Vincent was the second of seven children of Theodore and Anna Cornelia. He received his name in honor of his paternal grandfather, who also devoted his entire life to the Protestant church. This name was intended for Theodore and Anna's first child, who was born a year earlier than Vincent and died on the first day. So Vincent, although born second, became the eldest of the children.

Four years after Vincent's birth, on May 1, 1857, his brother Theodorus van Gogh (Theo) was born. In addition to him, Vincent had a brother Cor (Cornelis Vincent, May 17, 1867) and three sisters - Anna Cornelia (February 17, 1855), Liz (Elizabeth Guberta, May 16, 1859) and Wil (Willemina Jacoba, March 16, 1862). Family members remember Vincent as a willful, difficult and boring child with “strange manners”, which was the reason for his frequent punishments. According to the governess, there was something strange about him that distinguished him from the others: of all the children, Vincent was the least pleasant to her, and she did not believe that anything worthwhile could come of him. Outside the family, on the contrary, Vincent showed reverse side of his character - he was quiet, serious and thoughtful. He hardly played with other children. In the eyes of his fellow villagers, he was a good-natured, friendly, helpful, compassionate, sweet and modest child. When he was 7 years old, he went to a village school, but a year later he was taken away from there, and together with his sister Anna he studied at home, with a governess. On October 1, 1864, he went to boarding school in Zevenbergen, located 20 km from home. Leaving home caused Vincent a lot of suffering; he could not forget it, even as an adult. On September 15, 1866, he began studying at another boarding school - Willem II College in Tilburg. Vincent is good at languages ​​- French, English, German. There he received drawing lessons. In March 1868, in the middle school year, Vincent suddenly dropped out of school and returned to Father's house. This ends his formal education. He recalled his childhood like this: “My childhood was dark, cold and empty...”.

In July 1869, Vincent got a job in the Hague branch of the large art and trading company Goupil & Cie, owned by his uncle Vincent (“Uncle Saint”). There he received the necessary training as a dealer. Initially future artist set to work with great zeal and achieved good results, and in June 1873 he was transferred to the London branch of Goupil & Cie. Through daily contact with works of art, Vincent began to understand and appreciate painting. In addition, he visited the city's museums and galleries, admiring the works of Jean-François Millet and Jules Breton. At the end of August, Vincent moved to 87 Hackford Road and rented a room in the house of Ursula Loyer and her daughter Eugenie. There is a version that he was in love with Eugenia, although many early biographers mistakenly call her by the name of her mother, Ursula. In addition to this naming confusion that has been going on for decades, recent research suggests that Vincent was not in love with Eugenie at all, but with a German woman named Caroline Haanebeek. What actually happened remains unknown. The lover's refusal shocked and disappointed the future artist; he gradually lost interest in his work and began to turn to the Bible. In 1874, Vincent was transferred to the Paris branch of the company, but after three months of work he again left for London. Things were getting worse for him, and in May 1875 he was again transferred to Paris, where he attended exhibitions at the Salon and Louvre and eventually began to try his hand at painting. Gradually, this activity began to take up more of his time, and Vincent finally lost interest in work, deciding for himself that “art has no worse enemies than art dealers.” As a result, at the end of March 1876 he was fired from Goupil & Cie due to poor performance, despite the patronage of his relatives who were co-owners of the company.

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A madman, a hermit, a genius... no matter how many contradictory words his contemporaries defined the personality of Vincent Van Gogh. This is the name now Dutch artist is known to many, and his paintings lead the ranking of the most expensive works of art. But during life things were completely different. Loneliness and misunderstanding from others were Van Gogh's constant companions. He became a shining example a man whose talent was appreciated only after his tragic death, as extraordinary and dual as the artist himself.

It is paradoxical that Van Gogh did not take up painting brushes at a young age. Only the last seven years of his life were associated with painting. This circumstance did not prevent him from becoming the author of about 900 paintings. Their inner mystery attracts the attention of not only professional art connoisseurs, but also ordinary people. Let's plunge into mysterious world Van Gogh's paintings, examining the most famous of them.

Van Gogh painted the painting in April 1885. This is one of early works, in which the author’s distinctive style began to appear. The plot is taken from real life— the canvas shows a family of poor peasants at dinner. The entire severity of their condition is conveyed by the artist with dark colors. The steam from the potatoes is the only thing that warms their souls. The dim light from the lamp, like an unquenchable fire of hope for better things, brings loved ones closer together. The entire depth of the emotional state of the peasants is so subtly expressed by Van Gogh that it subconsciously evokes a feeling of compassion in the audience.

The creation of this painting took place during the artist’s stay in a psychiatric hospital in the small town of Saint-Rémy. Van Gogh's idea was to show the powerful power of human imagination - that state that saturates everyday things with meaning, depth, and amazing colors. Made in the post-impressionist genre, the painting depicts the night sky, which purposefully occupies the main place of the canvas. The author focuses on the huge bright yellow stars, the passing month and the amazing cypress trees growing on the hill. This composition is absorbed into the mysterious whirlwind of galaxies, the calm and harmony of the Universe. Only in the distance can you see the outline of a mountain and a sleepy town. Thus, Van Gogh subtly shows the contrast between the earthly and the heavenly.

It is not surprising that such themes occupied a special place in the work of the Dutch artist. Van Gogh repeatedly admitted brother that while looking at the stars, he indulged in dreams, was close to them in soul and heart.

Work on the painting was completed in June 1889. In the mid-twentieth century, Van Gogh's work was transferred under the patronage of the New York Museum contemporary art, where and now Starlight Night the artist is available for public viewing.

This painting is one of Van Gogh's last creations. By the end of 1889, the illness had completely taken hold of the master, but he stubbornly continued to work with canvas and his favorite brushes. Foretelling its inevitable end, great artist I was looking for peace in creativity. Many art historians argue that it was the illness that influenced Van Gogh so much that he moved away from his usual style of painting. The picture is filled with a new state - weightlessness, lightness, which is skillfully emphasized by the color scheme.

The plot conveys the beauty of nature - a field dotted different colors. However, irises appear central to the composition, which explains the name of the masterpiece. Van Gogh chose an unusual angle for the key object. The flowers are arranged in such a way that it seems that the viewer himself is present in the field and contemplates nature alive. Warm shades of blue give the picture peace and harmony. The influence of such popular Japanese painting can be seen with the naked eye in the work. Van Gogh combined innovation with his usual impressionism, which ensured the success of his work.

The painting was first purchased for 300 francs by the French art critic Octave Mirbeau. At the end of the century, “Irises” acquired the status of the most expensive painting, since it hit the jackpot at auction - Van Gogh’s work was valued at more than $50 million.

Not enjoying success as an artist, Van Gogh did not give up hope of creating the work that was supposed to light his star in the firmament of famous and sought-after masters. One day, returning home in the evening, he was captivated by what was happening - the people who were harvesting grapes appeared in Van Gogh's eyes as purple and blue dots, drowning in the bright light of the setting sun. The author decided to capture this moment in a new work and was not mistaken.

For for long years the painting was considered the only work that was sold during the artist’s lifetime. It was purchased for 400 francs by Anna Bosch during an exhibition in Brussels. Later, “Red Vineyards in Arles” came into the possession of the Russian collector Ivan Morozov. Nowadays it is exhibited in the Museum fine arts named after A.S. Pushkin.

This painting once again shows the artist’s admiration for the night time. It was painted during the so-called Arles period, when Van Gogh was developing own style in painting. It seems surprising that when depicting the night sky, the artist completely abandoned the use of black paint. The rich yellow color seems to break through the deep darkness of the night and captivate with its bright radiance.

It is interesting that Van Gogh did not recreate the night in the studio, as his contemporaries usually did, but created under open air. According to rumors, in order to be able to see his canvas, the artist attached candles to his hat and thus fought the darkness.

It should be noted that Van Gogh throughout his creative activity repeatedly turned to the genre of self-portrait. The result of this hobby was a series of paintings with his own image. However, it is “Self-Portrait with a Cut-off Ear and Pipe” that has its own ambiguous backstory. Researchers of the artist’s work claim that it was a quarrel with an old friend that pushed the artist to inflict bodily harm on himself. Suffering from mental instability, Van Gogh could not cope with violent emotions, and cut off his earlobe. Actually, this is how the famous artist is presented on the canvas, tired of illness and despair.

“Starry Night” is recognized as one of the artist’s most successful works. It was created in 1889, when Vincent was in a mental hospital. The masterpiece measures 73.7 cm x 92.1 cm, painted in post-impressionist style on oil on canvas.

The magical view of the night sky over the fictional city is best viewed from a distance. The artist often painted paintings using the impasto technique, creating large strokes that do not form a solid image up close.

There are cypress trees in the foreground, but main element in the picture there is a beautiful starry sky, seeming so endless compared to the small town.

The painting is part of the New York collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Sunflowers

The artist created this famous painting in 1889. It is filled with light and emotions. However, critics consider the too bright yellow colors to be a manifestation of a mental illness that the genius was already suffering from.

Sunflowers carelessly placed in a vase are drawn in a lifelike manner; you want to straighten them in the vase. They call strong feelings, as if trying to take the viewer into the irrational world of a fevered imagination. Vincent said that some stories are told to him by a voice from within, and he has to draw to drown out these sounds.

The painting is painted on canvas in oil using thick strokes to create a three-dimensional image.

The work is kept in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts.

Irises

Van Gogh's remarkable painting, painted in 1889 in a mental hospital, depicts a fragment of a field of flowers, in which irises form the basis of the composition.

The style of the work differs from his other works, gloomy and pessimistic. It is cheerful and light, similar to the technique of Japanese prints with thin contours, an original angle and unrealistically drawn areas filled with one color.

The objects in the picture are static, but the gaze unconsciously directs itself to the upper left part. A special feature of the painting is its symmetrical composition, in which the irises are located along the middle line, and the flowers in the upper left corner are combined with the ground.

This brilliant work can be seen at the Getty Museum in California.

Night cafe

The painting, painted in 1888, depicts the interior of a cafe near the Arles train station.

The brilliant idea is that the emotional state associated with this place is conveyed through color accents. In the future, this style will be called expressionism. As Van Gogh explained, he wanted to convey the atmosphere moral failure drunkards and hopeless loneliness using the color green.

The red color of the walls symbolizes horror and confusion, and the yellow reflects a stuffy, suffocating environment saturated with cigarette smoke.

Fuzzy silhouettes and careless outlines of objects create the feeling that the viewer is looking at everything that happens in the cafe through the eyes of one of the tipsy visitors.

Blooming almond branches

In the year of his death, Van Gogh created wonderful work characterized by softness and tranquility. The artist dedicated this painting to his newborn nephew. Almond flowers represent the beginning of a new life, as they are among the first to bloom.

Composition of the painting and characteristic features clear contours inspired by Japanese motifs. Vincent once admitted to his brother that he considered this work his most important masterpiece.

Potato eaters

The sad realism of this work leaves a feeling of desperate melancholy and doom for a long time. The canvas was painted in 1885 and belongs to the initial period of Van Gogh’s work. In the painting, the artist depicted the de Groot peasant family, with whom he often communicated.

Reflecting the harsh rural life, Van Gogh uses somber colors in greenish-brown tones. He paints with heavy, aggressive strokes, depicting calloused working hands and wrinkled, thoughtful faces.

The picture is filled with deep symbolism. The dim light of the lamp represents fading hope, and the bars on the windows show that there is no way out of this miserable existence. Van Gogh's idea was to convey that, despite the difficult life, these are honest and worthy people.

Starry night over the Rhone

The view of the Rhone River embankment is depicted on the canvas in a variety of shades of blue, echoing the bright yellow lights of the city and pale yellow stars. Work on the painting took Van Gogh a year and was completed in 1888.

The blue night sky is lit Big Dipper And polar Star, in the distance lies a glowing city, and in the foreground a middle-aged couple is leisurely strolling along the river.

Night scenes have always fascinated the artist, admiring their beauty and mystery. He used his favorite technique when drawing oil paints on the canvas with large volumetric strokes.

Now this priceless masterpiece delights art lovers at the Musée d'Orsay, located in Paris.

Wheat field with crows

The painting is considered last job a genius created two weeks before suicide. Van Gogh conveyed anxiety and attempts to find the right path. The atmosphere of the picture is gloomy and oppressive.

A dark sky hangs over a light yellow field depicting a crossroads. This is how the artist expressed anxiety and indecision, discussing which of the three roads to prefer. And black birds are approaching menacingly in the sky, personifying impending misfortune. Rough, chaotic strokes of oil paints form a dynamic image, reflecting excitement and mental turmoil.

The original work is kept in the Vincent Van Gogh Museum, located in Amsterdam.

Self-portrait with cut off ear and pipe

Having once again quarreled with Gauguin, the artist cut off part of his ear, then was sent to a hospital, where the self-portrait was painted. This one is comparatively small painting measuring 51 x 45 cm was created for the purpose of self-reflection.

Bright colors are disharmonious with each other, and the appearance of Van Gogh himself expresses awareness of guilt, fatigue and torment from the powerlessness to resist his condition. What attracts the most attention is Van Gogh's gaze, filled with madness and detachment, directed into emptiness.

The picture is presented in Private collection Niarchos in Chicago.

Road with cypress and star

Vincent had the idea to paint a picture with a view of night nature and cypress trees in 1888 in Arles, but he realized it only two years later, shortly before his death.

Cypress trees fascinated the artist with their perfect lines and shape. The premonition of approaching death is embodied in a metaphor that projects human life on the scale of the universe.

On the right in the sky you can see the growing month, on the left - a fading pale star that has practically disappeared from the canvas, and in the middle a cypress tree grows, dividing them like the line between the beginning and the end of existence.

The tree is so tall that the top extends beyond the canvas, as if trying to reach infinity.

Red vineyards in Arles

The expressive nature of the south of France gave Vincent Van Gogh a magnificent subject. Villagers picked grapes against the backdrop of the sunset, in the rays of which the grape leaves shone red and the sky seemed golden.

This bright spectacle inspired the genius with its colorfulness and symbolism. He viewed the harvest process as representing the cyclical nature of nature and the vitality that comes from hard work.

Van Gogh uses pure colors, applying them to the canvas with contrasting strokes.

Those who want to see this painting can go to the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.

Night cafe terrace

Van Gogh demonstrates his mastery of color in this evocative painting created in 1888 in Arles. During this period, the artist often preferred yellow color in his works.

A lively cafe evokes joyful and bright feelings. On a warm summer night it is full of life. Van Gogh brilliantly depicted the night without using black paint.

He handed over dark time day, using shades of blue ranging from the light blue of the building above the cafe to the dark blue of the houses in the background. The bright yellow terrace contrasts with the dark background, creating an illuminated effect.

The canvas is in the Kreller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands.

Shoes

Van Gogh embodied the unusual subject for the painting in the summer of 1886, while in Paris. He spent a long time looking for a pair of shoes suitable for the image in the picture. Vincent finally found them at a flea market. Cleaned and repaired for sale, they belonged to a worker.

But the artist did not immediately rush to paint a picture from them. Having put them on in rainy weather, he walked for a long time through mud and puddles. Upon returning home, Van Gogh captured them on canvas in this form.

The brilliant painter saw in them not just old junk, but the embodiment of the hard lot of workers who preserve nobility and dignity. Later, this painting became the subject of various analogies, including in relation to the life of the artist himself.

Church in Auvers

Van Gogh settled in a village near Paris called Auvers-sur-Oise in the spring of 1890, living there for the last months of his life.

Oil on canvas, church in gothic style occupies the main place in the picture and is distinguished by high detail of all elements of the building. The painting shows a woman walking towards the church. It is drawn superficially, as it plays a secondary role.

The most striking and controversial feature is the dissonance between the bright sunny meadow covered with grass and the dark night sky, which causes disagreement regarding the time of day depicted in the painting.

When the artist died, the painting was given to his friend Paul Gachet and then kept in the Louvre. Now you can admire it in the Orsay Museum.

Sea view near Scheveningen

The painting is one of the artist’s early works painted with paints. On it, Vincent captured a storm raging at sea. Work on the work took place in difficult weather conditions: due to strong wind The sand was constantly rising from the ground. Having made the sketch, Van Gogh completed it indoors. But small particles of sand stuck to the painting and had to be cleaned off.

The canvas conveys the state of nature during a storm: gloomy clouds hanging over the sea, through which small rays of the sun break through, illuminating the waves. Silhouettes of people and boats appear blurry due to low lighting. The gray-green sky and sea almost merge, and the yellowish shore only slightly stands out.

The painting is part of the collection of the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Vincent Van Gogh, a native of the Netherlands, is one of the most famous artists worldwide. Thanks to the talent of the post-impressionist, a huge number of incredibly beautiful works were created. The most famous paintings Van Gogh is now considered his “calling card”.

However, not all of them were as widely known during the artist’s lifetime as they are in our time. Only after Van Gogh's death were his works noticed by critics, and only then were they appreciated. The collection of his paintings contains many priceless paintings, when considering them from a cultural point of view.

Blooming almond branches 1890

« Blooming branches almonds"(1890). At the beginning of 1890, Theo, Van Gogh's brother, had a son, who was named after the artist - also Vincent. Van Gogh became very attached to the child and once wrote in a letter to his daughter-in-law Jo: “He always looks at Uncle Vincent’s paintings with great interest.” This painting was painted by Van Gogh as a gift for his nephew's birthday. The artist himself was an admirer Japanese art, especially the Ukiyo-e engraving genre. The influence of this branch of Japanese painting can be seen in this, one of Van Gogh's most famous paintings, which was highly acclaimed by critics.

Wheat field with cypress trees 1889

"Wheat field with cypress trees"(1889). “Wheat Field with Cypress Trees” is one of three famous paintings by Van Gogh that are similar in composition. The painting mentioned above is the first of three and was completed in July 1889. The artist himself loved cypress trees and wheat fields and spent a lot of time enjoying their beauty. He regarded this painting as one of his best landscape paintings and, consequently, created two more similar works. It is this work that takes pride of place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is located in New York.

Bedroom in Arles 1888

"Bedroom in Arles"(1888). This famous painting Van Gogh is the first version of the subsequent three similar paintings, which allude to it and are called much more simply - “The Bedroom”. The decision to paint this picture was made by the artist after a trip to the city of Arles, and subsequent move there. Van Gogh corresponded with his brother Theo and friend Paul Gauguin. He often sent them sketches of his future paintings, as he did with the painting “Bedroom in Arles.” However, along with the planned one painting, three versions were created during 1888–1889. This series of paintings is distinctive in that it depicts other works of the artist within the canvas itself, such as self-portraits, portraits of friends and Japanese prints.

Potato Eaters 1885

"Potato Eaters"(1885). This piece was Van Gogh's first recognizable work. His goal while painting was to depict the peasants as realistically as possible. Before the world saw final version canvases, the artist created many sketches and sketches. Critics noted the simple interior, which Van Gogh skillfully conveyed through the canvas, which contains only the necessary furniture. A lamp above the table casts a dim light, emphasizing the tired, simple faces peasants

Self-portrait with bandaged ear 1889

"Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear"(1889). Vincent Van Gogh became famous for his self-portraits. Throughout his life, he painted more than 30. This canvas has its own history. Once Van Gogh had a quarrel with one outstanding artist of that time, Paul Gauguin, after which the former got rid of part of his left ear, namely, he cut off the lobe with an ordinary razor. This painting is one of the artist's most famous self-portraits. After an unpleasant incident with Gauguin, he painted another self-portrait. Critics believe that this painting plausibly describes the artist’s facial features, since he painted it while sitting in front of a mirror.

Night cafe terrace 1888

"Night cafe terrace"(1888). In this painting, Van Gogh depicted the terrace of a café at the Forum Square in Arles, France. Due to the recognition of this painting, which has become widely known throughout the world, the terrace, which is located in the northeast corner of the square, attracts more and more tourists every day. This work was the first in which the artist depicted the starry sky. Café Terrace at Night remains one of Van Gogh's most analyzed and discussed paintings. Interestingly, one of the cafes in Croatia copied the design from the artist’s painting.

Dr. Gachet's Porter 1890

"Doctor Gachet's Porter"(1890) Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a French doctor who treated the artist during the last months of his life. This portrait is one of Van Gogh's most famous paintings. However, there are two versions of the portrait, and this is the first version. In May 1990, this painting was auctioned for US$82 million, making it the most expensive painting ever sold. To date, this remains the highest price for a work of art at public auction.

Irises 1889

"Irises"(1889). Among Van Gogh's most recognizable works, this painting is the most famous. It was painted by Van Gogh a year before his death, and the artist himself defined it as “a lightning rod for my illness.” He believed that this painting was his hope not to go crazy. The artist’s canvas depicts a field, part of it strewn with flowers. There are other flowers among the irises, but it is the irises that occupy the central part of the picture. In September 1987, Irises sold for US$53.9 million. At that time it was the most high price, for which not a single painting has yet been sold. Today, the painting ranks 15th in the list of the most expensive works.

Sunflowers 1887

"Sunflowers"(1888). Vincent Van Gogh is considered a master of still life paintings and his series of sunflower paintings are considered the most famous still lifes ever created. The works are known and remembered for what they depict natural beauty plants and their bright colors. One of the paintings, “Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers,” was sold to a Japanese investor for almost $40 million in March 1987. Two years later, this record was transferred to the Irises.

Starry Night 1889

"Starlight Night"(1889). This masterpiece was painted by Van Gogh from memory. It depicts the view from the window of the artist's sanatorium, which is located in Saint-Rémy de Provence in France. The work also shows Vincent's interest in astronomy, and research carried out by one of the observatories revealed that Van Gogh represented the Moon, Venus and several stars in the exact position they occupied on that clear night, which is imprinted in the artist's memory. The canvas is considered one of greatest works in Western art and is certainly the most famous work Vincent Van Gogh.