Van Gogh and Gauguin: Powerful Post-Impressionists

1 Post-Impressionism was an art movement that developed in Europe in the late nineteenth century. Two of the most famous artists of this movement are Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. They, along with other Post-Impressionist artists, turned against the limitations and what they saw as a lack of artistic structure of the Impressionist movement from which they were schooled. In particular, Van Gogh and Gauguin wanted to paint the emotional meaning behind their subject matter, not just objects. They used deep, vivid colors in order to express themselves in powerful ways. They sought to create spiritual experiences through art. The two painters met in Paris and admired each other's artistic abilities. Eventually they decided to collaborate and worked side-by-side for a short time in a studio in the South of France. Van Gogh and Gauguin, while contemporaries, and even close friends, differed in their inspiration for their art, in their style, and in their techniques.

2 Both painters enjoyed painting landscapes, flowers, and other natural subjects. They each sought to interpret the world around them and then express it with color, line, and form. Van Gogh preferred to be outdoors, surrounded by nature when he painted. He was inspired by the immense beauty around him and set out to paint how this made him feel; painting this way was almost sacred to him. Van Gogh expressed his emotional inspiration and hopes for those who view his art in this way: “I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly'.”

3 While Van Gogh wanted to be immersed in nature in order to see his subjects while he painted, Gauguin preferred to paint indoors, from his own memory and imagination. Gauguin was inspired to create art that was more dramatic than the subject itself. He believed that art should not be a direct representation of the subject, but instead an abstraction, meaning that it was an expression of how the subject made the artist feel, which was often more powerfully than it had actually been seen. Gauguin stated one reason he believed art should not merely be a copy of reality in this way: “Beautiful colors exist, though we do not realize it, and are glimpsed behind the veil that modesty has drawn over them.” In other words, there is more to the world than we can see, and he wanted to capture that hidden mystery in his art.

4 The styles of Van Gogh and Gauguin were similar in that they chose to break away from the Impressionist idea of trying to express the momentary impression a subject made on the artist. They wanted to go deeper than the mere visual sensations of a subject. However, their styles varied in how they approached this philosophy. Van Gogh was a master of perspective, meaning that he chose creative and realistic ways to represent three-dimensional objects on a flat canvas. Nevertheless, realism was not his goal. Van Gogh's style was imaginative and full of feeling. His content and color choices were deeply attached to his inner emotions. On the other hand, Gauguin is known for his heavily symbolic style, meaning he wished to steer away from literal interpretations of his subjects. Instead, he wanted to show the deeper, even spiritual meaning behind the things he chose to paint. Later in his life, Gauguin travelled extensively and lived for a time in Tahiti, where his style became even more symbolic and mystical. His style and content were greatly influenced by the "primitive" arts of the people who lived there and elsewhere in his travels.

5 While the two artists both used brilliant colors in their artistic expressions, their techniques for putting it on the canvas differed. Van Gogh used tubes and tubes of thick paint on his artwork. He preferred not to smooth his brushstrokes after applying them, creating a heavy texture and a sense of energy. Because he left visible brushstrokes, a variety of strokes such as swirls, dashes, dots, and lines can be seen in his works. Alternatively, Gauguin liked to create exaggerated, almost abstract shapes with smooth, blended brushstrokes. This created an effect of flatness and simplicity of form. In some of his paintings, Gauguin outlined his simple shapes of smooth color with dark paint, creating stark, energetic contrasts.

6 The dramatic art of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin has left an indelible imprint on the art world. They are considered artistic masters, each with their own unique inspiration, style, and techniques. Their works are spiritual and emotional, full of meaning. They sought to express the full beauty of the world, in all its wonder and mystery. Van Gogh and Gauguin were two of the most influential painters of the nineteenth century. They helped usher in the era of modern art and inspired artistic movements such as Fauvism, Expressionism, and Abstract Expressionism that followed them.