Revised Sept. 2011
FAMOUS ARTISTS SERIES: VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890)
“Bedroom At Arles”, Oil on canvas
Musee D’Orsay, Paris
“Les Irises”, (on wall in art closet)
Supplies Needed:
* Framed prints of van Gogh’s “Les Irises” and “Bedroom at Arles”
* Half sheet of 8 ½ x 11” white art paper from supply box
* Yellow, red, and green, poster paint from supply box
* Paper plates from supply box (one for the center of each group of
desks)
* Q-Tips from supply box (one or two for each student)
*Blue or orange construction paper for matting from teachers’
workroom
* van Gogh book from supply box
* Laminated visual aids from supply box (11 total)
*Project sample
• Van Gogh & Gauguin: The Studio of the South book for
additional pictures.
Reference Books
Van Gogh: The touch of yellow, J. Loumaye
Van Gogh’s Van Goghs, Richard Kendall
Van Gogh An Appreciation of His Art, Gerhard Gruitrooy
Eyewitness Art Van Gogh, Bruce Bernard
Van Gogh, W. Uhde
Art for Young People Vincent Van Gogh, Peter Harrison
Vincent Van Gogh, John Malam
AHEAD OF TIME NOTE: Please make copies of the Famous Artists
Series notes for each student, as well as copies of the flower
drawing for the students to take home to color.
Please cut white paper in half, enough for each student. Also,
place a half sheet of paper and Q-Tip on each desk, and pour some
yellow paint on each paper plate. Mix in 1 tablespoon cornstarch
or flour to ½ cup paint to thicken, so their “brush” strokes will
show up. Use paper cups to mix.
PRESENTATION
Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. (over 150 years
ago) He painted most of his pictures in the last ten years of his short life,
he died at age 37. It was only after he died that people realized what a
great artist he really was.
Vincent was the oldest of three sisters and two brothers and his father
was a minister. Vincent was not a happy child and people said he was
rude and bad tempered. He had red hair, freckles and didn’t smile
much. Present laminate #1 self portrait 1886. Does van Gogh look
happy or sad in this picture?
Vincent’s parents worried about their unhappy son and when he was 16,
they sent him to work for his uncle, an art dealer. Vincent liked his
uncle and enjoyed studying the paintings in his gallery. Vincent did this
for about 7 years, but got bored. He worked as a teacher and a minister
before deciding to become an artist. Vincent’s younger brother Theo, also
an art dealer, encouraged Vincent to work on his paintings.
In 1885, van Gogh painted his first true masterpiece, “The Potato
Eaters”. Present laminate #2 of this painting done in 1885. It
shows a family huddled around a single lamp eating their one
meal of the day- a plate of potatoes. Note the dull, dark colors and
the light of the lamp showing their work-worn hands. Van Gogh
did many sketches of peasant hands before doing the final
painting.
When van Gogh was 33 he moved to Paris to live with his brother Theo
and paint. Theo had many contacts with groundbreaking artists people
called the Impressionists. Van Gogh was influenced by their methods
and met with Seurat, Monet, Degas, Pissaro and Gaugin. Van Gogh’s
palette began to move away from the darker, traditional colors of his
Dutch homeland and he started using the more vibrant hues of the
Impressionists.
Present laminate #3 “Courting Couples in a Park at Asnieres”
1887. Van Gogh said this picture is a “joyous celebration of
colors…which marry each other…complement each other as a man
and woman do.” Note the slanted blue strokes on white for the
sky, which gives the sense of light falling like rain. How is this
painting different from “Potato Eaters?” Van Gogh often used
paths, roads and tracks as symbolic devices in his paintings. Here
the paths seem to simply be offering the couples a variety of walks.
The Impressionists influenced Van Gogh, but he always remained
faithful to his own unique style. Van Gogh said he used color more for
symbolism to express himself in a very bold way. Van Gogh left Paris
after two years to go to Arles, a town in the south of France. He wanted
to be near the sea and where it was warm. Over the next 16 months, he
painted over 200 canvases and some of his best-loved works.
Show laminates #4 & #5, “Alles des Tombeaux” and “Yellow House”
both done in 1888. Do you see the heavy, bold brush strokes? If
you could run your fingers over one of his real paintings, do you
think it would feel smooth or bumpy? You can actually see texture
in the painting. Can you tell by these paintings what van Gogh’s
favorite color was…yellow!
Van Gogh often painted things over and over again. He painted his
bedroom in Arles, France three different times, made ten different
pictures of sunflowers and 35 paintings of himself (self-portraits).
Present laminate #6 “Sunflowers”. These paintings are probably
his most well known paintings. He first started painting them to
decorate the Yellow House and also in honor of Gaugin’s arrival, a
fellow painter coming to paint with him.
Present laminate #7 “The Bedroom at Arles 1888”. Van Gogh felt
that this picture represented peace and restfulness. Does this
painting make you feel rested? On the walls he displayed some of
is own paintings. Note the floor-how many colors do you see and
what direction are the brushstrokes going?
Present laminates#1, 8 & 9, self-portraits of van Gogh’s. Do you
think he looks happy or sad in these? Do they reflect how sad and
troubled he was during his life. Can you see the changes in
his style? How do the colors change?
•
•
•
#1 “Self-portrait” 1886. This is the first self-portrait van
Gogh ever did.
#8 “Self-portrait as a Painter” 1889. This was painted right
before he moved to France and he was said to be very
depressed. Van Gogh fought mental illness much of his life.
#9 “Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear” 1889. He actually
painted 2 of these after a fight with his friend Gaugin and
cut off the lower part of his ear lobe.
Vincent van Gogh went into the hospital many times, but the doctors
could not help him. He had bad dreams and was depressed. Although he
was very sick, he continued to paint. His paintings began to take on a
swirling effect with very bold brushstrokes. This gave the paintings
movement.
Present laminate #10 “Café Terrace at Night” 1988. This is one of
several night scenes he did. Note the small, bold dashes of color
and how it contrasts against the warmth of the light in the café.
Do the cobblestones seem to reflect the light? It is said that he
stuck candles in the brim of his hat to paint this picture at night.
Show laminate #11 “Starry Night” 1889. Note the dashes in this
painting, but they are mostly in swirls and circles. The waving
trees appeared in many of his last paintings. Do you think this
showed movement?
In May of 1890, van Gogh left Arles and went to the town of Auvers, near
Paris where he spent the last 3 months of his life. He thought he would
never recover from his mental illness and on July 29, 1890 he died from
the results of a self-inflicted bullet wound. Vincent van Gogh died a poor
man at the age of 37. He sold only one of his paintings during his lifetime
and hardly anyone was interested in his paintings. But now his
paintings are worth millions of dollars and we have a deep appreciation
for the beauty and style in his works. It is among the most popular
artwork in the world.
Project:
Today, you are going to paint some van Gogh “Sunflowers”.
Instead of paintbrushes, you will use a Q-Tip. It will help you paint
with brush strokes like van Gogh’s.
We cannot erase mistakes when we are painting, so I will need
good listening ears as we work step-by-step together. When I am
demonstrating each step, you should watch me before you do it.
Demonstrate on a large sheet of paper, taped to the board, the
following steps:
1. Using a pencil, write your name on a back corner of your paper.
2. Paint a smile in the center of your paper.
3. Add a “u” or two letter “c”s to make a pot.
4. Paint a smile in the middle of the pot and
paint ONLY the bottom yellow.
5. Paint 3 or 4 circles above the pot, but do not fill in the circles.
Make sure you leave room for the stems; we will make them later.
6. Paint straight lines out from your circles (like the rays of a sun)
to make the petals.
7. Add red paint to the paper plates. Chose one student at each
table to mix it with the yellow to make orange.
8. Fill in the other half of your pot and the centers of flowers with
orange paint. Then have them paint a table for the pot to sit on,
also in orange.
9. Add green paint to the paper plates. Tell the students to use
the other side of their Q-tip for the green. Some students may need
a new Q-tip.
10. Demonstrate painting stems and leaves with the green paint.
11. Frame with blue or orange construction paper.
FAMOUS ARTISTS SERIES
Vincent van Gogh
Today in class a volunteer parent presented the works of Dutch artist
Vincent van Gogh to your child’s class. They learned about van Gogh’s
background, as well as made an art project in the style of his work. Ask
your student about van Gogh’s work – what made his style of painting so
unique? How would one of his paintings feel if you could touch it?
The Art Institute of Chicago has five of van Gogh’s paintings on exhibit:
“Montmarte”, “The Bedroom”, “Still Life with Apples”, “The Drinkers” and
“A Peasant Woman Digging”. In addition, there are a number of good
children’s story books which present van Gogh’s works:
Painting the Wind by M. Dionetti
Anna’s Art Adventure by Elling
The First Starry Night by J. Isom
The Starry Night by N. Waldman
Katie and the Sunflowers by J. Mayhew
Sincerely yours,
Art Volunteer