Van Gogh- A wheatfeild, with cyprusses

Question 1

title

Answer 1

A Wheatfield, with Cypresses

Question 2

medium

Answer 2

oil on canvas

Question 3

year

Answer 3

1889

Question 4

location now

Answer 4

National Gallery (London)

Question 5

how many versions are there

Answer 5

*One of three almost identical versions of the composition.

*Part of his wheatfield series.

*All executed while Van Gogh was a voluntary patient at the mental asylum in Saint-Remy, Provençe.

Question 6

where did van gogh paint this

Answer 6

*All executed while Van Gogh was a voluntary patient at the mental asylum in Saint-Remy, Provençe.

he was in the the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole monastery, an asylum at Saint-Remy

*The works were inspired by the view from the asylum towards the Alpilles mountains.

Question 7

subject

Answer 7

*The painting depicts golden fields of ripe wheat, a dark, towering cypress tree, lighter green olive trees, with mountains visible behind and white clouds swirling in an azure sky above.

the landscape of June with the mistral winds

Question 8

what are mistral winds

Answer 8

*This shows the landscape of June with the mistral winds, which are northwesterly and sweep across Provence making a tranquil region swirl and tilt.

-van gogh became increasingly sensitive to the mistral as his mental health declined

Question 9

how did van Gogh strive to depict nature

Answer 9

strove to render the ‘inner character’ of the landscape

wasn’t concerned with correct representation- didnt care for what he called ‘steroscopic reality’

Question 10

how are colours used

Answer 10

*Colours and forms used to convey and evoke emotion.

*Colour is used both representationally and non-representationally.

*Use of saturated red and white in the foreground of the painting – complementary and brightest colours.

He preferred the brilliant white of zinc white for the clouds, rather than lead white, despite its poor drying qualities

Cobalt blue for the sky

Shades of chrome yellow for the wheat field

Viridian and emerald green for the bushes and cypresses

Touches of vermillion for the poppies in the foreground.

Question 11

how is this work pure nature

Answer 11

pure nature- no human figures or sign of human activity

Question 12

composition

Answer 12

-low horizon line

-diagonal axis leads our eye up to the cyprus tree on our right

-bold vertical of cyprus tree counteracts gentle ups and downs of the hills

-cyprus tree contrasts forms with its bold vertical emphasis and dark colour, hence becomes focal point

Question 13

effect of the cyprus tree

Answer 13

• bold veritcal of the cyprus tree counteracts the gentle ups and downs of the hills

-dark colour contrasts

-becomes focal point despite not being central

-diagonal emphasis created

Question 14

how did he describe the shade of green on the cyprus tree

Answer 14

‘somber green’

Question 15

how is a sense of movement created

Answer 15

a focus on swirling and curvuing forms create a sense of movement

curved mountains, clouds, flame like trees

Question 16

what are the other forms like that aren’t the strong veriical of the cyprus tree

Answer 16

a focus on swirling and curving forms

Question 17

description of sky

Answer 17

Dense clouds swirl furiously in the sky above.

Question 18

where is the impasto

Answer 18

-Thickest impasto is in the foreground.

*Rhythmic hatching to the wheat stalks (clotted impasto for the ears)
*Calligraphic loops for the grass in the foreground
*Addled impasto for the foliage of the olive tree in the field
-Broad, curving strokes were used in the sky (with the heaviest impasto in the white clouds)
-Narrower, flickering strokes for the cypresses

Question 19

techniques

Answer 19

• original painting is likely to have been painted “en plain air”, when Van Gogh was able to leave the asylum (but then had to take time off painting for his mental health)

-made a reed pen drawing of his initial composition and copied twice in oils

heavy impasto

-wet into wet

Question 20

how can we see wet into wet technique

Answer 20

worked almost entirely in wet in wet resulting in intermingling of colour:

Grass in the bottom right corner: dark green strokes added to pale green, and dark blue hatching worked into yellow-green

Question 21

influence of coloured japanese prints

Answer 21

-Van Gogh wanted his pictures to have the direct and strong effect of the coloured Japanese prints that he admired so much.

Question 22

what was the mental asylum called and where was it, and when was he there

Answer 22

the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole monastery, an asylum at Saint-Remy

20k north of Arles.

He entered the asylum voluntarily in 1889, and left in1890 (he had just left Arles, sick and broken, giving up his dream of a “Japanese utopia” in the Yellow House having quarrelled with Gauguin, suffered a psychotic episode and cut off his ear)

Question 23

what features of the meditteranian landscape was he fond of

Answer 23

the cypress trees, the olive groves and the sparse vegetation on the hills.

Question 24

critical quote on motifs of meditteranian provence

Answer 24

*He began to single out motifs and images that he saw as being “the essential that makes up the enduring character” of Provence

Question 25

what did he say about cypresses and olive trees

Answer 25

He called cypresses and olive trees “characteristic of Provence”, and wanted to paint “Impressions of Provence”

Question 26

cyprus context and significance

Answer 26

Traditionally cypresses were planted in Mediterranean cemeteries and association with death and the god of the underworld in classical tradition. However, cypresses were symbols of immortality as they were long-lived, evergreen and the wood doesn’t decay. showed the quality of darkness behind his art reflecting his mental state at the time, thoughts of death and underworld

Question 27

how does van gogh's love of provence link to a literary group

Answer 27

The artist’s vision of Provence as rural and enduring corresponded quite closely to important aspects of the conservative vision of the literary group known as the Félibres (authors who championed Provençal language, literature and traditional culture). shows social influence

Question 28

critical quotes about the mistral

Answer 28

As his mental health declined, van Gogh became increasingly sensitive to the wind, complaining bitterly to his brother about “a devil of a Mistral,” a wind that “doesn’t cheer me up.”

Question 29

link to scientific and cultural discourses on the psychological effect of the wind

Answer 29

we can think of van Gogh’s descriptions of the Mistral as part of a much broader set of European scientific and cultural discourses on the psychological effects of wind. Respected medical literature from the late nineteenth century warned against the wind’s deleterious effects (harmful) on human health. According to one scientific article, the Mistral was responsible for giving the people of Provence “their sudden passions, their sudden fits of anger, and their sudden returns to listlessness and languor.”

Question 30

what did a scientific article say about the effects of the winds in the areas

Answer 30

According to one scientific article, the Mistral was responsible for giving the people of Provence “their sudden passions, their sudden fits of anger, and their sudden returns to listlessness and languor.”

Question 31

influence of impressionism/ pointillism

Answer 31

-Van Gogh had taken on board the lessons of Impressionism, as well as Seurat’s Pointillism. He liked the technique of painting in dots and strokes of pure colour.

Question 32

critical quote on how he used individual brushstrokes

Answer 32

‘to convey his own excitement’ Gombrich

Question 33

influence of Gauguin

Answer 33

-symbolism -e.g in cyprus tree