Mister and Lady: Van Gogh at the DMA

It's a Van Gogh year, right? Seems like everywhere you turn, there is an ad for some type of Van Gogh experience. Yes, we did the immersive event earlier this summer (here is a LINK in case you missed it) and loved it. Now to see the original paintings - well, at least one series of them. The coolest part of all this is how up close and personal we can get. The brush strokes and palette knife marks are so evident, along with other items as well.

This is the first time all of the olive grove paintings have been together in the same place since he painted them more than 100 years ago.

"Upon arriving at the asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in Southern France, Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) was immediately captivated by the region's abundant olive groves. From June through December 1889, he produced a striking series of paintings that capture olive trees at different times of day and in different seasons. Across the series, Van Gogh experimented with the expressive power of color, line, and form in a quest to unlock the motif's quintessential features. For Van Gogh, the olive trees reflected the spirit of Provence, the region in southeastern France he called home from 1888 to 1890."

The Olive Trees (June 1889) "'At last I have a landscape with olive trees and also a new study of a starry sky,' Van Gogh wrote to his brother in mid-June "Although I haven't seen the latest canvasses either by Gauguin or Bernard, I'm fairly sure that these two studies I speak of are comparable in sentiment.' The 'two studies' are The Olive Trees and The Starry Night, a kind of pendant he believed followed his friends' development of a new style called Synthetism. Rather than faithfully capturing objective appearance, Synthetism emphasized the role of memory, imagination, and personal expression through exaggerated color, form, and line. The Olive Trees was Van Gogh's only attempt to create a Synthetist olive grove. It boasts a distinctive, abstracted style intended to express his deep feelings about the motif. Like the cypress in the foreground of the The Starry Night, the olive trees symbolizes immortality - a concept that Van Gogh associated with Christ's Resurrection. This sense of eternity provided him with spiritual solace, something he longed for during his difficult time at the asylum. Van Gogh called these works 'consolatory painting' as they offer messages of hope and comfort he felt was missing in modern life."

I can definitely see the similarities between this and The Starry Night.

Olive Trees (June 1889) "In the second painting from the series, undulating patterns of line and color guide our eyes through a sun-dappled grove. /a variety of short blue and green strokes evoke the sensation of light and wind flickering through the foliage. Alternating bands of blues and yellow-greens convey light and shadow in addition to the illusion of plunging depth. Van Gogh announced this painting in a letter from mid-June: 'I've just finished a landscape of an olive grove with grey foliage more of less like that of the willows, their cast shadows violet on the sun-drenched sand.' Although today the shadows appear blue, research has revealed that they were once shades of violet and purple, just as described."

"Just as Van Gogh was hitting his stride, he suffered a severe breakdown in mid-July that left him incapacitated for six weeks. As he recovered he turned to Christianity, although he was afraid of the religious visions that manifested during his attacks, for comfort in times of great distress. Van Gogh finally returned to painting outdoors in late September and captured the 'fine autumnal effects' of the olive groves in these small studies."

This is Olive Grove (September 1889) "The olive trees were the first subject Van Gogh tackled upon returning outdoors in September after two months of confinement. With is sketchy execution and modest format, this small study was probably Van Gogh's first attempt to regain his footing. 'This is a pretty awful little part of the world, everything's hard to do here, to disentangle its intimate character,' he wrote to Emile Bernard in early October. 'The olive trees down here . . they'd suit your book; I haven't been fortunate this year in making a success of them, but I'll go back to it, that's my intention.'"

"Olive Grove, Saint-Remy" November 1889. This "presents a dramatic view of olive trees backlit against a fiery sunset. Mowed grass, bushy olive trees, and a light-streaked sky are rendered in parallel strokes of individual color. Clustered on the trees in yellow-green dots are ripening olives that reinforce the subject's symbolism as the Tree of Life. Underscored by the orderly strokes and harmonious palette, the composition exudes a sense of peace, abundance, and serenity. The artist's brother found its atmospheric effects to be 'especially superb' and submitted it to the Societe des Artistes Independants exhibition (Paris) in the spring of 1890, making it the only olive tree painting to be exhibited in Van Gogh's lifetime."

"In the fall of 1889, Van Gogh continued to explore the expressive potential of Synthetism, the style his friends Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard developed that emphasized abstracting color and form to reveal something deeper about a subject. Yet, ironically, the artists who set him on this path prompted a sudden change of heart. In mid-November, they each sent Van Gogh reproductions of their respective takes on the biblical story of Christ in the Garden of Olives (Gethsemane). Van Gogh was shocked to see what form their Synthetist ideals had taken. In his letters, he disparaged their chosen subject matter and the extent of their stylized exaggeration. Unlike his close observation of nature, their paintings were entirely imagined. After weeks of deliberating the value of inventing or exaggerating forms, by late November Van Gogh concluded this his own forays in abstraction were a dangerous setback."

This is a letter Van Gogh received around November 10-13, 1889 from Gaugin. It says, "At home I have a thing I haven't sent and which would suit you, Gauguin wrote. "It's Christ in the Garden of Olives - blue-green sky, dusk, trees all bent into a purple mass, ground violet and Christ wrapped in a dark ochre garment has vermilion hair. As this canvas isn't destined to be understood, I'm keeping it for a long time." "Although Van Gogh's response is unknown, Gauguin sent a defensive reply the following month: 'I've only done one religious painting this year, and it's good sometimes to make attempts of every sort, so as to sustain one's imaginative powers, and afterwards one looks at nature with pleasure again. Anyway, that's all a matter of temperament.'"

I love that the letter has a drawing of his painting included.

"Van Gogh's angry response to his friends' depictions of Christ in the Garden of Olives suggests there was more at stake than purely aesthetic concerns. Gaugin and Bernard had undoubtedly gotten the idea for the subject from Van Gogh, who had tried and failed twice to render it the year before. Adding insult to injury, as see here Gauguin gave Christ his own facial features but with Van Gogh's red hair and beard. He deliberately conflated Van Gogh's isolation and anguish among Saint-Remy's olive groves with his own self-crafter image as a suffering artist. This disturbing personalization, combined with Van Gogh's proprietary feelings over the motif, prompted a complete reversal regarding such imaginative abstraction."

Van Gogh also painted on other topics during this time. He was also working on "Impressions of Provence."

A Wheatfield, with Cypresses (September 1889) This is "one of only a handful of paintings that feature all three of Van Gogh's favorite Provencal motifs: olive trees, the Alpilles, and cypresses. Symbols of death and immortality in the Mediterranean, cypress trees had captivated Van Gogh since his arrival in Saint-Remy. He made a few initial studies in June 1889, but, interrupted by illness in July, did not resume the motif until the fall. This painting is among the copies Van Gogh made of earlier pictures to console himself during his slow recovery in the asylum in September. Here, the cypresses' elegant silhouettes and deep green foliage are contrasted with the olive trees' bushy forms and silvery-green tonality."

"Despite Van Gogh's strong desire to remain in Saint-Remy until his series of Aliplles and cypresses were complete, his worsening health forced him to abandon that plan. Before leaving in May 1890, he made one last painting that summarized all of his ideas, hopes, and dreams for his 'Impressions of Provence.' He painted himself strolling with a woman through the olive groves at dusk, the scene set against the Aliplles and framed by cypresses. A farewell to the region he had grown to deeply cherish, the painting evokes the comforting feelings of peace and eternity that he associated with this imagery. Deeply personal, it reflects his longing for spiritual consolation as he struggled to accept his increasing troubles with courage, strength, and optimism."

Upon leaving the Saint-Remy area, Van Gogh left for Auvers-sur-Oise, a small village north of Paris on May 13, 1890. "In Auvers Van Gogh embarked upon an ambitious new series that resumes his recording of nature's infinite cycles through ripening pastures and summertime harvests. These decorative panoramas are his attempt to create his own allegories of art and nature, combining timeless subjects around Auvers with a modern approach to painting.

Daubigny's Garden (July 1890) Van Gogh paid homage to Charles-Francois Daubigny, the most famous painter-resident of Auvers, whom he admired a great deal, in this painting. Daubigny preferred elongated rectangular canvases for his sweeping views of the region's waterways and plains.