Vincent van Gogh
By: Zahabiyah Alibhai
Facts about Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy as well as other mental and physical conditions.
In a short period of 10 yrs., Van Gogh made approx. 43 self portraits.
Van Gogh only sold about 1 painting in his life. He became famous after his death.
Had a very difficult life with many hardships.
Self Portrait 1889
Details
Size: 65 x 54.5 cm
Media: Oil on paint
My Opinion
I think Van Gogh used oil because he really wanted to capture the texture. Oil must have been one of his specialties, so that is why he probably used it.
I find the way that Van Gogh used oil to make different textures very interesting. Not only did he texturize the background but he also did himself and his clothes. The texture in the artwork can tell a lot about how the artist was feeling at the time.
I think that Van Gogh used monochromatic because he wanted the subject and the background to really come together. He probably chose the color blue because his life was not the easiest and it represented his hardships. His face and beard had a bit of browns and oranges which really compliment the rest of the painting.