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Vincent's Chair, 1888, 93 x 73.5 cm,
National Gallery.
's Chair, 1888, 90.5 x
72 cm, Rijksmuseum
Vincent anticipating arrival in
Arles brought him this chair, (of course Vincent has to
paint any new subject that comes his way). On
23 October 1888 Paul (l848-1903) arrived at the
Yellow House, where he stayed for nine weeks. He left
his temperamental friend on 26 December after several
serious disagreement and indents. Van Gogh had wanted
, whom he had meet in Paris, November 1887, to
come to Arles ever since May 1888, so that they could
work together. It was Van Gogh dream to form an art
colony, unfortunately it was never to come about in his
lifetime. It was during their last disagreement that
Vincent cut off part of his ear.
Vincent
probably got the notion for this painting from an engraving he purchase while he
worked at a London Gallery (1873), the print is of Charles Dickens’s empty
chair in commemoration of the great author.
This close up shows Vincent's impasto brush
work
and vibrant use of colours, the dark blue outlines to
exploit definition and strengthen the forms (Vincent's Chair,
1888).
| Towards 1886 Van Goth used an
impressionist technique he developed now known as "dashes"
to apply paint, this aids the light next to dark needed in
good painting. after this he moves on to "waves and
swirls" applied so thickly that the paint cast
shadows. |
 
Dashes And Swirls of Van Gogh
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Extract from a Letter To Vincent's Brother
Theo:
"I should not
be surprised if the Impressionists* soon find fault with
my way of working, for it has been fertilized by the
ideas of Delacroix rather than by theirs. Because,
instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before
my eyes, I use colour more arbitrarily so as to express
myself forcibly."
*Primarily Monet,
Renoir and
Pissarro
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