Vincent Van Gogh's Portrait Of Dr. Gachet

Words: 974
Pages: 4

When considering an artist who understood and could express human emotion extremely well, my first thought went to Vincent Van Gogh. One of my most loved artist, Van Gogh could capture the feeling of sorrow, pain, and beauty, then throw it on canvas. The tortured artist, mainly known for cutting off his ear has always held fascination for me. Although I have always favored his lighter pieces; “The Starry night”, “Vase with Twelve Sunflowers”, “The Irises” and “Olive orchard” being some of my favorite. Yet, I found myself drawn to Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” for this paper. “Dr. Gachet” features a man with a sorrowful, heavy expression staring off into space. With his head resting on his hand leaning on the red table, you can see the …show more content…
I am referencing the second version for this paper. The main difference between the two is the colors and texture with which he painted with. The first features a more textured look, and gives more life the the painting in my opinion.Van Gogh gave color to Gachet’s face, the table, and space around him. I was always more fond of the first, while the face portrays sadness, the colors breath life into the scene. Although the first is more aesthetically pleasing, the second captures Dr. Gachets demeanor better. While the picture lacks color and life it shows the morbid outlook both Dr. Gachet and Van Gogh both held towards life. The dreary dark colors bleed with the sorrow he carried. Dr. Gachets expression is one of sorrow, you can feel the heaviness that weighs him down in this painting. While the in the first version you see bright yellow books and stiff colorful flowers, the second is missing the books and the flowers are heavier, one of the blooms wilted to the table. These paintings and their order can show how Van Gogh was slowly getting lower in life, his depression and inner torment growing stronger with