Pop Goes the Artist!

I admit that it’s almost a given to say that this is one of my favorite paintings ever–after all, is there anyone who isn’t blown away by Starry Night? I do love it, though, and I love to talk about it; it moves me emotionally, for reasons I don’t entirely understand. I’m drawn to its dazzling blues and yellows and the vibrant curving lines of the sky that pull me through the painting.

That’s really why I love van Gogh’s landscapes, although landscapes in general do not hold my attention. By and large I find them too static, but van Gogh’s are bursting with life and movement. He takes earth and sky and grass and makes them joyful and compelling.

I heard it suggested once (and I wish I could remember where) that van Gogh was suffering from lead poisoning (or something similar) from prolonged exposure to the chemicals in his paints and the effect it had on his vision might explain the halo effect seen on the stars in Starry Night. I dislike this theory, however interesting and even true it may be, as I dislike all attempts to write off genius as the convenient by-product of disease and mental illness. (That’s another rant for another day, though.)

The other landscape I love particularly (possibly even more than Starry Night) is Wheat Field with Cypresses. It shares some characteristics with Starry Night: the flame-shaped trees, the swirling sky, etc. But what really sets it apart, for me, is its color scheme. I love color and this painting has the perfect contrast between sky blue and golden yellow, my favorite of all possible color combinations. (Vermeer also does this combination very well; one of the reasons I like his work.) Unfortunately, Wheat Field is apparently in someone’s private collection, so I will most likely never see it in person. Starry Night, on the other hand, is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, which begs the question: why on earth haven’t I taken a road trip yet?

(Both pictures from Olga’s Gallery. You can click to see them bigger.)

This entry was posted on Monday, September 25th, 2006 at 10:24 pm and is filed under Art I Love. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.