The Genius of Van Gogh

 

I never thought that I would actually make a specific trip just to see one painting.  I have now done it several times.

I had no idea how much Van Gogh would actually affect me.  I owe a large part of my acquired fascination with his work to my brother JJ.  I will never forget one day I came home when we were living in Norther VA and he was just home from wrapping up his freshman year of college.  I was just a few days back from my 2 year mission.

My mother had told me how much JJ had gotten into the humanities from a particular course he took at BYU.  Humanities 101.  She said he was "lit up" when he got home.  He would spend afternoons in D.C. at the National Gallery of Art.  He found it difficult to go home as he felt he needed to give more time to certain works of art.  I was astounded.  I couldn't wait to learn more.  When I first asked him about it he really didn't even want to get into it because he couldn't do it casually, and he didn't trust I was ready to absorb the energy that he needed to put into the explanation.  I found out quickly that this was serious business to him.  I could not listen passively.  I braced myself......

He finally conceded and decided to show me his Van Gogh book of art.  As he leafed through each piece he became more and more animated.  He had studied many of them in depth and was excitedly explaining about his technique and how he used light and how that until you see one in real life it was nothing like in books.  His used his hands to describe the patterns of paint and the wavy technique that Van Gogh employed in his paintings.  By the end, I was completely overwhelmed!  I was speechless.  All I know is that I could not stay in a the same emotional place when it came to art ever again.  I almost felt guilty not having been a better student of it.  JJ was able to get so much out of these paintings that I decided then to become a student and to let him teach me, which he did for several years.

I listened, I felt, I learned and I began to appreciate art, architecture and design in new ways.  I never knew if I would experience the emotional depth he did, but I was thankful for what I could learn and it started to get under my skin.

What I wasn't ready for was when I finally, a few years later, was able to visit Amsterdam with my dear friend Ricky who is an artist himself.  We went to the Van Gogh museum.  I will never forget that power of that experience.  The only way to see his art is live, in person with full light.  They literally come to life and leap off the canvas and manhandle you as you peer into them.  For the first time I felt emotion rise in me when I saw certain pieces that were JJ's favorites.  I knew he had only seen a few of them that came stateside like the piece above.  That is in the National Gallery of Art.  But, to see hundreds of his pieces in one place is absolutely amazing.  

Part of me doesn't even want to post these because 2 dimensional views just don't do them justice.  

But one can appreciate the incredible motion and energy he must have painted with.

The colors were so vivid for the day and age.

The trees are completely alive.

He related to the worker.  This brought his view down to the earth, where labor occurred.  Where people used their hands to live and eat.  He saw the savagery of nature and its combative nature juxtaposed with that of manual labor.  The opposition and tension it seemed to create against man. It was a metaphor for his own life's struggle.

In person, this tree literally leaps off the canvas!

Man working in the fields... I think of Sting's song "Fields of Gold"

The crows add so much to this scene.  The contrast of gold windswept wheat and ominous skies seems to make sense why the crows are in flight, as if escaping a pending doom.

Nothing to say here.... he could be so delicate and tender, so beautiful.

Being there with Ricky to share in the analysis, and our mutual feelings and inspiration was very special.  The one regret I will always carry in my heart is that JJ has not been there.  If there were anyone that would be deserving, it would be him.  I took that cross upon myself and doubled down on spending enough time on each painting that I knew was a favorite and I could feel him with me, experiencing seeing these works of fire and motion alive, breathing and moving under our mutual gaze.

I finally understood at the end.... why JJ couldn't leave the museum... there was always more to see, to understand and to learn.... This was a hard day to end.  It hurt so good!!

JJ, what can I say, thanks for taking the time when you weren't sure if I could handle it.... I almost couldn't.  But, you were patient and it made all the difference.  Art has blessed my life.  I am so much more connected to it because of you.

One day.... maybe you can see him paint for reals......