The Study Of Painting Language Of Vincent Willem Van Gogh In The Period Of Arles

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a representative Post-Impressionist whose works are extremely unique and peculiar. He did not satisfied with simple portrait of objective things but insisted on unveiling the inner nature and personal feelings. Besides, rather than depicting people’s appearances and surrounding environment, he believed that paintings shall present people’s souls, emphasizing expressions of “subjective reality” which means the “personal feelings” of artists. Van Gogh was called “flame painter” for his crazy addiction to colors during creation, especially for color yellow and flaming brushwork. These painting characters of formed after he moved to Arles. In February, 1888, as soon as he arrived in Arles, he fell in love with the place. In Arles, glaring sunshine made him “crazy” and his creation had peaked since then. In terms of techniques of expressions, he applied so many curling brushwork, broken dots and ridges, pressing short lines and flat color chucks that his paintings usually contain messy structures, restless lines, strong and glaring colors as well as peculiar and abstract images, which present his intense personality.By analyzing especially unique paintings which Van Gogh created in Arles, this paper expects to give further demonstration on how his views of nature and painting styles enlightened the western modern painting in the 20 th Century through deeper study on his painting language. In addition, this paper contains four sections: the first section is Introduction which demonstrates the purposes and significance of the research as well as research status at home and abroad; based on Van Gogh’s early painting style, the second section analyzes the reasons for the formation of Van Gogh’s unique painting language when he was in Arles. Besides, the paper which holds the purpose of determining the reasons and process of his particular painting language takes special geographical environment of Arles and personality, religious belief and artistic views of him into consideration, undertaking the research in perspectives of Art Psychology, Art Ecology, Art Sociology and Iconology; the third section undertakes an analysis on characters of his painting language when he was in Arles. By concluding his landscape paintings and portraits created then, this paper provides a further demonstration on his particular, artistic, charming painting styles in terms of theme selection, simple figures and bold color and brushwork. In addition, this part goes beyond the superficial visual images and decodes the impressively hidden spiritual connotation of his works, unveiling the humanism spirit of his distinctive painting language as well as his painting styles that went ahead of time; the fourth section mainly introduces the influences of Van Gogh’s painting language, especially for fauvism, expressionism and abstractionism, introducing the fact that he was a innovative “future painter” who went ahead of his time and how his artistic creations positively influenced the western modern painting in the 20 th Century.