An image of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Irises,” 1889. Image provided by Darla McCammon.

By Darla McCammon
and Darlene Romano
Guest Columnists

WARSAW — This week we are continuing our series on self-taught artists and I am sure it will surprise many of my readers to learn that Vincent Van Gogh never received any formal art training.

In an article titled “The Case for Self-Taught Success” in Contemporary Art Issue, Julien Delegrange speaks about the challenges for self-taught artists, stating, “… there is still a looming taboo connected to being an ‘untrained artist,’ resulting in various challenges and obstacles on the road towards self-taught success …”

Van Gogh himself spoke about being labeled as an eccentric and a nobody, an unpleasant person who had no position in society, and how he overlooked the labels he was given and focused on his overriding passion to show what was in his heart. (https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/34583.Vincent_van_Gogh)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) moved in society aimlessly until 1880 when his brother Theo advised him to take up art. He applied himself to a curriculum he designed to study drawing and to learn through artist books on technique, anatomy and perspective. He focused on drawing figures and was influenced by the masters Rembrandt, Millet and Daumier. Although his focus was on drawing figures, he was more comfortable creating landscapes.

Next, Van Gogh headed to Paris to live with his brother and attempted to learn on his own at a local workshop. This provided him the opportunity to meet many fellow artists and under their influence, began painting nature scenes using short strokes that were popular with his contemporaries. In 1888, Van Gogh moved to Arles and by spending the next 15 months alone, he gained the distance necessary for his art to come into his own.

In May 1889, Van Gogh voluntarily spent a year under the care of doctors at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Remy and was diagnosed with a type of epilepsy. He continued painting and drawing during this time. He checked himself out of the asylum in May of 1890 and headed north to the town of Auvers. Enchanted by the quaint village and refreshed by the quality of the northern light, Van Gogh produced many paintings. His career abruptly came to an end when he died on July 29, 1890, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Despite only working for 10 years, Van Gogh was incredibly prolific. He produced more than 900 paintings (see attached image, “Irises,” 1889). By the time of his death, the paintings he had shown in recent exhibitions in Paris and Brussels had begun to command the interest of artists and critics. It is a shame that he did not know that he would go on to become one of the best-known artists in history.

Events

Ford Meter Box Calendar Competition: The annual calendar competition for Ford Meter Box is underway and artists are invited to submit artwork. For a list of the rules of the event or for more information, contact Michele Ilyas at [email protected] or Tanya Denney at [email protected].

Lakeland Art Center & Gallery: Coming in April, the LAA will be presenting the art of “Hilarie Couture: Unity with Variety.” The gallery hours are 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and admission is free. The gallery is located at 302 E. Winona Ave.,  Warsaw. For more information, email [email protected].

Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery: Kim Lanoue is the new exhibitor at the Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery. Her charming artwork in pastel and oil paint is on display for a limited time through the end of June. Please support our local artists by visiting Lanoue’s exhibit. The gallery is inside of Warsaw City Hall, which is located at 102 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and admission is free. To exhibit at Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery, contact Darla McCammon, curator, at (574) 527-4044 (please leave a message) or send an email to [email protected].

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