Vincent van Gogh's Top Five Paintings (or How Vincent Changed my Life)
The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, scanned by the Google Art Project
Vincent van Gogh changed my life. I started my art education as an illustrator. But I was terrible. I wouldn’t do the homework properly. I couldn’t paint boxes of Cheerios (back then, we hand-painted everything, no computers.) It seemed so dull. Instead, I would paint a large reclining nude in front of the box of Cheerios. I exasperated my teachers. My paintings were good, but I could not follow directions. So after a year or so of struggling and making lousy grades, the director of the illustration department called me into her office. She told me in no uncertain terms that I did not belong in the commercial art department. I should change my major to painting and go to the “other building with the fine art majors.” I was terrified. The students in that building all wore black, carried huge portfolios, and looked well, kinda mean. But I did as I was told. I changed my major, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But it was all because of Vincent that it worked for me. I saw his paintings up close and personal in Paris and London, which changed my life. I knew I wanted to paint with that kind of feeling. His work impacted me so much that I went back to school and graduated in painting with top grades.
Was it the feeling of the paintings that impacted me? Was it the history of his struggle? I’m not sure exactly why. I only know I’ll be forever grateful to that darling little Dutchman.
Here are five of his most famous paintings, in my humble opinion. Number two is the one that brought me to tears in the National Gallery in London and changed my life forever.
The Starry Night - Painted in 1889, this landscape painting depicts a night sky filled with swirling clouds, stars, and a crescent moon. The village below is depicted with small houses, a church, and a cypress tree, which are rendered in thick, swirling brushstrokes.
Sunflowers - Van Gogh painted a series of still-life paintings of sunflowers in 1888 and 1889. These paintings feature bright yellow sunflowers arranged in a vase against a blue background. Van Gogh's use of color and texture creates a sense of depth and richness.
The Potato Eaters - Painted in 1885, this dark and somber painting depicts five peasants gathered around a table, eating potatoes. The painting is rendered in dark colors and heavy, gestural brushstrokes and is one of van Gogh's earliest and most socially engaged works.
Irises - Painted in 1889, this vibrant still-life painting features a bouquet of irises against a blue-green background. The flowers are rendered in bold, expressive strokes of purple, blue, and yellow and are set off against the muted background.
Wheatfield with Crows - Painted in 1890, shortly before van Gogh's death, this landscape painting features a wheatfield with a dramatic, cloudy sky. The painting is rendered in bold, dark colors, and the crows in the sky are interpreted by some as a symbol of death and despair.
A couple of my favorite books about Vincent:
Vincent van Gogh - A Life In Letters This edition is published by the Van Gogh Museum.
The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh (Penguin Classics)
Van Gogh - The Complete Paintings
Jo van Gogh-Bonger: The Woman Who Made Vincent Famous I’m currently reading this one.