Color as Feeling

Van Gogh: From the Netherlands to Saint-Rémy

Five years, four places, and the turn from earth tones to expressive color

This part follows one painter across about five years, from peasant scenes in the Netherlands to the asylum at Saint-Rémy. Each move brought a change in color and handling. By the end, color and line carry emotion as much as they describe what he saw.

• Nuenen and the dark, earthy palette of his peasant pictures
• Paris, where Japanese prints and the dot painters lightened and broke up his touch
• Arles and Saint-Rémy, where heightened color, outline and thick paint express mood

Works in this part

• The Potato Eaters
• Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat
• Portrait of Père Tanguy
• Garden with Courting Couples: Square Saint-Pierre
• The Night Café
• Sunflowers
• Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin
• The Bedroom
• Irises
• The Starry Night
• Wheat Field with Cypresses
• Self-Portrait

Image: Wikimedia Commons · PD-Art