In the 1880s, the Post Impressionist situation emerged in France. This new generation of painters gained independence from Impressionism’s focus on empirical observation and experimented with a new, more abstract method of painting, despite the fact that it developed out of it. Paul Gauguin established a “primitive” picture based on simple flattened forms limited by thick outlines that defied Renaissance viewpoint and drawing standards instead of drawing inspiration from ancient flat styles, Japanese designs, and so-called primitive creative works. Vincent Van Gogh expressed deep emotion through brilliant colors and dense, vibrant brushstrokes. This work is written in order to compare two pieces of art: “Night Cafe” and “Jacob Wrestling with the Angel.”
Vincent Van Gogh, a Dutch painter, turned to artwork as a way to express his tormented spirit after a mediocre career as a priest. He was largely self-taught, with inspirations such as François Millet, whose peasant subjects he appreciated, and Eugene Delacroix, whose use of colors and brushwork he enjoyed. Gogh introduced the Impressionist approach of plein air drawing, which is based on empirical observation, to this combination (Van Gogh and Duquesne). However, unlike the Impressionists, Van Gogh did not attempt to paint exactly what he observed with his eyes. Instead, he tried to put his feelings into words.
“The Night Café” was created shortly after Gauguin’s breakup. In its dark and unempathetic attitude, it portrays Van Gogh’s tortured spirit. The hour is late, according to the clock on the wall, yet the tables are littered with empty beer bottles and containers, indicating a more joyful environment earlier in the night. The eerie brightness of the gas lamps was heightened by the enormous shadow created by the billiard table. The bar’s forlorn patrons hunch over their drinks, focused on their sadness — prostitutes and drunks, gauging by their behavior (Gerson). The café owner, meantime, leans nonchalantly against a tabletop, his white suit stained with a sickly green hue. Exaggerated perspectives, bright hues, and frantic brushwork all contribute to a disconcerting impression of isolation and sorrow.
Unlike other Impressionist paintings, the painter does not portray a neutral attitude about the universe or a positive attitude toward the beauty of nature or the present moment. The picture is an example of Van Gogh’s use of what he termed provocative color or, as he would later describe it, gratuitous color, in which the artist filled his paintings with his feelings, a characteristic of what would later be known as Expressionism.
Paul Gauguin started his career as a wealthy stockbroker and a devoted husband, but in the 1880s, he left his job and family to pursue his dream of being an artist. He left Paris to live in Brittany, a small town in Northern France that claimed to have escaped industrialization, criticizing the materialism of the public sphere. Gauguin, like Van Gogh, desired to escape civilization by going to the countryside and living a more natural lifestyle.
Many of Impressionism’s principles were rejected by Gauguin. He preferred to work from memory and imagination rather than empirical evidence, and he picked to finish his paintings in the home rather than outdoors. He used artificial colors and flat un-modeled figures defined by a broad boundary to avoid the reality of photography (Pollack). This concentration on flat shape and structure resulted in paintings that were more conceptual than realistic, evoking the medieval symbols and etched glass panels that he adored so much. Gauguin was effectively rejecting the entire history of European painting by discarding Renaissance standards of modeling and viewpoint in order to restore to a more basic or pre-modern mode of communication that he felt to be more accurate.
After attending preaching about Jacob fighting the angel, “Vision After the Sermon” artwork depicts a couple of Breton peasant women who get a mystical vision. Contrasting with Impressionism’s plain slice of life, the painting depicts a made-up scene based on the artist’s ideas rather than what he saw firsthand (Zhang and Wang). The priest is visible on the right border of the image, and the women are all wearing blindfolds, underlining the idea that what we see is a creation of our thoughts rather than actuality. Gauguin’s departure from naturalism and metamorphosis to a new Synthetic style, which entailed working from memory and imagination to reduce the essence, was announced by the Vision after the Sermon. Surrealism, which advocated a spiritual approach, impacted the artwork.
These works of art show how two outstanding authors broke the standards and created as they pleased. These authors can be compared even though they talked about the production of their works in different ways. Van Gogh no longer relied on the sensitivity of colors so that behind each color and figure, there was a feeling and meaning. At the same time, Gauguin rejected many early accepted standards and tried to change reality as much as possible on his canvas.
These paintings can be compared because the color palette is similar to them, but the overall mood is entirely different. Van Gogh’s painting looks more realistic and attractive as he used his technique of bright colors that immediately catches the eye. While Gauguin moved away from reality a little in his work, he was also able to convey a more serious mood with a similar color scheme.
When choosing between these paintings, many people would prefer Van Gogh’s work as it is more attractive in terms of colors. However, Gauguin’s artwork has a more hidden meaning and is generally religious, which always carries a profound connotation and message to the viewer. A Van Gogh painting also has meaning and a story behind it; however, it is not taken as seriously as “Vision After the Sermon.” Each person will find something of their own in some of these works, but for the most part, people will be divided into two groups: those who are for Van Gogh and others who are for Gauguin.
To summarize, instead of drawing influence from historical flat styles, Paul Gauguin produced a “primitive” picture based on simple flat shapes confined by wide margins that contradicted Renaissance perspective and drawing norms. Vincent Van Gogh used rich colors and rich, vibrant painterly to communicate deep emotion. Van Gogh’s use of exciting color, or, as he later described it, excessive shade, in which the artist infused his canvases with his sentiments, is a feature of what would later be known as Expressionism. Gauguin disregarded many of Impressionism’s ideas. He liked to paint from imagination instead of from observation, and he preferred to finish his paintings indoors rather than outside. Some of these works will appeal to different people, but for the most general, individuals will be categorized into two parts: those who support Van Gogh and those who support Gauguin.
Works Cited
Gerson, Alan. “The Night Café Redux: A Study of Sordidness, From Arles to the US Courts.” Case W. Res. J. Int’l L. 49, 2017: 197.
Pollack, Maika. “Odilon Redon, Paul Gauguin, and Primitivist Color.” The Art Bulletin 102.3, 2020: 77-103.
Van Gogh, Elisabeth Duquesne. Personal recollections of Vincent van Gogh. Courier Dover Publications, 2017.
Zhang, Xiaonan, and Bingying Wang. “An Analysis of the Mysticism Behind Gauguin’s Paintings.” 4th International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2020). Atlantis Press, 2020.