The Joy of Painting
The Joy of Painting is a collection of eleven paintings by Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh. It was created in Auvers, France, in toward the end of 18 94. The title is an allusion to the work’s focus on nature as seen through the painter’s view of the seascape. This was a period of Van Gogh’s most prolific work, where he painted almost everyday throughout his career. While this may seem somewhat uncommon for such a prolific artist, the images themselves are some of the best that he would create.
The painting takes place in Saint-Remy, Auvers, during the winter of the year, when temperatures are freezing and snowfall is extensive. The large town has a small population of around thirteen hundred strong, making it easily capable of supporting a small art community. One of the most striking features of the painting is the large mountain behind the viewer, which is accentuated by the surrounding landscape. Though the painting is in oil paint, the color is a pale gray, fitting in with the rest of the scene.
In the painting, we see the serene mountain behind the viewer as it is obscured by the thick, dark clouds that billow overhead. Behind the happy little clouds is an even more impressive mass of trees that make up the woods behind the mountains. Beyond the woods is the bright blue waters of the Seine River. This is an image from Van Gogh’s field of dreams, and the appearance of the water, and the woods, only adds to the illusion created by the painting.
The Seasons of Auvers
The Joy of Painting is a painting that represents Van Gogh’s feelings for the joy of everyday life. The main theme of the painting is a simple wish for the joy of summer, expressed through the colors of the rainbow. To Van Gogh, the bright colors and the happy feeling that these colors bring makes the summer season memorable. On this date in February, the colors of the rainbow are more vibrant than ever before. Though the sky may be gray and the cold weather might be threatening, the joy of painting remains. Van Gogh highlights this feeling by contrasting the gray skies of winter with the warm summer days.
The painting is a depiction of the painter’s own feelings about life, and how he wants it to be. Though he is young, at the age of 21, Van Gogh was already thinking about his death. Though he had long been considered a master only in his work, Van Gogh is also well known as a romantic artist, who created a number of beautiful paintings that include the above image. Though his thoughts about dying are sometimes jubilant, he is not under any fear of dying. He does not even want to leave his beloved wife and child, whom he loves so much, before he does.
Returning to the theme of the painting, it is easy to see why the joy of painting includes a sense of the mountains. Van Gogh’s home in Auvers, where he spent so much of his early years, is actually located at the very top of one of the mountains in the painting. These mountains, surrounded by the blue sky and the green fields of his painting, give the viewer a view not unlike that found in a dream. In the dream, the mountains are smiling. In the painting, they are sad. However, whether the painting is real or a dream, the joy is in the experience of looking up and seeing the beauty surrounding him.
