Last week students were inspired by the artist, Vincent Van Gogh. Many of our students already could recognise many of his famous paintings and we learned more about his life and the lasting impact his artwork has had on the world.
Students began with sponges and acrylic paint to make their own blended background with a lighter area in the middle.
Next they made their own lilac makers out of Q-tips and tape and stamped on colourful lilac blooms.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
-Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. He was the oldest of six children.
Throughout his life he was supported by his brother, Theo, who was an art dealer in Paris.
Van Gogh developed a unique painterly style while studying in Paris. He used energetic brush strokes and unique colour combinations that make his work instantly recognizable.
His art was influenced in part by the impressionists, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro. He was also friends with artist Paul Gauguin.
Van Gogh’s struggles with mental health lasted throughout his life. Some of his most famous works such as Starry Night were done while he was being treated in a mental asylum.
In a short span of 10 years, Van Gogh painted over 2,100 paintings.
Although his works have been sold for some of the largest sums in the art world – for example Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold in 1990 for $149.5 million – he only sold one piece of art, The Red Vineyards near Arles, while he was alive. He sold this painting in 1888 for 400 francs (about $1000 today) to Anna Boch an impressionist painter and collector from Belgium. She was a friend to Van Gogh.
Sadly, he died at the young age of 37.