Vincent van Gogh: Sunflowers
While van Gogh grieved at his inability to pay for human models, this financial drawback harbored a bright side, prompting him to seek other subjects, mostly in nature. Thus, a series of still lives featuring sunflowers came from under the artist’s brush. Though there are common elements shared between them, each piece carries unique characteristics that set it apart from the rest.
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Singling them out would require a compare and contrast type of analysis, which is not what I intend to do in this article. Instead, I will try to delve into the specifics of this particular painting and find out why it can be so attractive, as well as unattractive. Yes, unattractive: it presents fading, worn blossoms, some of which lost their plumage altogether, corpses of what used to be flowers. This is a naturalistic and uncompromising representation, and the result is not pretty, at least not in the conventional sense. One could claim that the beauty of this piece lies in its naked truth, but then, someone said once that realism, as opposed to fancy and allegory, is boring. In a way, this piece can serve as a litmus test for the viewer’s preference in art and art movements.
The artist is very meticulous in handling the ugly details. He provides almost every possible unflattering angle. All of the flowers appear to be in various stages of decay; some have only begun to droop, others are completely broken. One head already lost its color, others are on the way, having lost all of their petals. Differences in value also account for these metamorphoses: the darker the yellow, the closer the sunflower to the total withering. But even the livelier, fresher flowers are somehow exposed, showing their green hinder parts in a nearly indecent turn. It seems as though the artist makes this still life a botanical study — a painterly herbarium. Ultimately, the flowers appear to be in trouble, which brings out the worst in them. If this sounds familiar — perhaps it should: van Gogh may have used these subjects to comment on others, those who refused to pose for free.
Along with scientific interest, or instead of it, the sunflowers evoke pity and sympathy. The painting works on the emotional, rather than on the aesthetic level. This, by itself, is an achievement, as it is not easy to make a still life trigger a living sentiment. Personally, I wouldn’t stare at this painting for too long. It makes me feel unpleasant and uneasy, and even voyeuristic. Although, I do have a sensitive stomach; maybe too sensitive — after all, this is only a bunch of sunflowers.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 at 10:51 pm and is filed under Post-Impressionism, Vincent van Gogh. 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.
on June 25, 2009 at 12:59 am Max wrote:
It’s amazing how Van Gogh was so truly ahead of his time. It’s probably why we’re still talking about him today. I even read something on pandalous that suggests he may have been a precursor to all 20th century art. It’s here: http://www.pandalous.com/nodes/van_gogh_as_a_precursor