Vincent Van Gogh’s Chair

Picture painted 1888

Vincent van Gogh was born in 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Holland and died in 1890 aged 37. He was brought up in a religious atmosphere as he was the son of a pastor. Vincent was highly emotional   and lacked self confidence.

He went to Belgium to study art in 1885. He studied the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints to study their style.  
In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Theo, where he met impressionists such as Pissarro, Monet and Gauguin, and changed his technique to paint in lighter colours and used the short brushstrokes of the impressionists. Unfortunately, he did not make friends easily and he was more interested in painting working people than the other artists who were more refined.  
In his career he only sold one painting, to his brother. Van Gogh's finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brush strokes. He is famous for his bright colours and swirling patterns which give a feeling of movement in his paintings.

Van Gogh's chair is instantly recognisable as Vincent Van Gogh work. It is one of the best known oil paintings of a chair that made this drawing so popular as it is a very homely chair unlike some artists in his time who would have painted very fancy chairs such as his friend Gauguin.  I have included a picture of one of Gauguin’s chairs’ for comparison.

Created in 1888 in oils, this picture of a chair is different as it is a simple chair that is found in a farm or country cottage. The chair is simple and unique. The colours are vibrant oranges, yellows, reds and hues of blue. The colours are complementary opposites bringing the picture alive.
I think that Van Gogh was fascinated with the angular and geometric patterns of the picture. There are different shades of yellow and orange creating a feeling of light. He created shadows under the chair by using greens, blues and crimson. The chair is unusually outlined in blue; however this is very effective as it stands out. Van Gogh creates a good use of texture- one can see the stone floor and unvarnished wood on the chair. This contrasts with Gauguin’s highly polished dining chair on a beautiful carpet.
I thought that the chairs would be suitable as in class we are doing a chair project.