Art Masterpiece: Sunflowers (1888) by Vincent Van Gogh Keywords: Texture, Applied vs. Implied Size: 36” x 28” Medium: oil on canvas Activity: Texture / Still-Life Meet the Artist

Art Masterpiece: Sunflowers (1888)

by Vincent Van Gogh

Keywords: Texture, Applied vs. Implied



Size: 36” x 28”

Medium: oil on canvas

Activity: Texture / Still-Life

Meet the Artist:

• 
  Born in 1853 in The Netherlands.
  
• 
  Attempted to be a preacher, a school teacher, and an art dealer before embarking on his art career.
  
• 
  He spent first 2 years honing his drawing skills before he allowed himself to use color or paint. He was almost entirely self-taught.
  
• 
  His closest friend and relative was his brother Theo, an art dealer, who also supported him financially. Vincent spent his life in poverty, choosing to spend money on paints rather than food to eat.
  
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  His early paintings portrayed the lives of poor farmers and coal miners. The colors he used were dull and dark.
  
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  Later, he was strongly influenced by the impressionists of the day. With time he became much bolder in his paintings. He began to use slashing brush strokes and clear, bright colors.
  
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  He was a pioneer for expressionism. Expressionists profoundly show their emotions through their paintings.
  
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  He would paint continuously, even when the sun would go down he would continue to paint by sticking candles in the brim of his hat.
  
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  Van Gogh never felt that his art was appreciated, which pained him very much. It wasn’t entirely true; many of his fellow painters saw him as a genius. He was a prolific painter and near the end of his life, painted 70 paintings in 70 days. His career lasted only ten years, he created approx. 875 paintings and 1100 drawings.
  
• 
  However, he only sold 1 painting in his lifetime, for $80.
  
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  His paintings today are some of the most expensive in the world, some have sold for up to 50 and 60 million dollars.
  
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  After Van Gogh’s death (1890), it was it was his brother Theo’s wife that made ensured that Vincent Van Gogh got the attention he deserved. The letters Vincent had written to Theo gave much insight into the his mind and his art.
  
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  “Give me a museum and I’ll fill it.” There is now a Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
  

Looking at the Print:
The artist actually painted two series of sunflowers . The first executed in Paris in 1887 depicted the flowers lying on the ground. The second set executed a year later in Arles show bouquets of sunflowers in a vase. One piece went to decorate his friend Paul Gauguin’s bedroom. They would later quarrel over this work.
Can you see why art dealers 100 years ago did not like this painting? People expected a painting of a vase of flowers to be soft , light and peaceful. This painting does not portray in this way. Van Gogh’s sunflowers look almost as if they are on fire. Their stems and petals twist and curl, and the flowers look like they’ve been stuffed into the vase rather than artistically arranged. Today, it is the naturalness of the painting that makes it so appealing.
Van Gogh’s quick brush strokes capture the simple beauty of the sunflowers. We wouldn’t feel the same way about these flowers if Van Gogh had chosen the most perfectly-formed blossoms and then arranged them carefully in an elegant vase. That would have emphasized the artist’s skill; instead Van Gogh chose to show joy through the carefree, realness of the flowers.
Definitions:

Texture: an element of art which is used to describe either the way a three-dimensional work actually feels when touched (real texture), or the visual "feel" of a two-dimensional work (implied texture.) Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers has both real and implied texture. Take rocks, for example. A real, 3-D rock might feel rough or smooth, and definitely feels hard when touched or picked up. A painter, depicting a rock, would create the illusions of these qualities through use of color, line, shape, etc.

Discussion:
What do we see? (Vase of sunflowers sitting on a table)

How many are there?

Do they all look the same?

If you could reach in and feel the flowers and the vase how would you describe what you feel? This is called TEXTURE.

How does the artist paint different textures? Study print for brush strokes.
Sometimes Vincent would apply the paint so thick that it would stick away from the canvas and create a bumpy applied texture. Other times the movement of the brush would create an implied texture.

Silk Flower and Vase Models:

Take time and have the students study these props describing the texture differences of the petals, centers, leaves and vase.
Activity: Sunflower Still-Life

Objectives:

• Students will show how to incorporate texture into their still life through brush strokes and texture media.

• Students will learn how color can be layered.
Supplies Needed:

Light brown construction paper 12’x 18”

Black oil pastels

Tempera paint in: Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, and Green

Brown colored sand

Modge-podge – Glossy Finish

Paint brushes

Paint cups or plates

Box tops ( to shake extra sand into)
Process:

Students should be encouraged to create TEXTURE like Vincent. They can do this by how they apply the paint to the paper for implied texture. Long strokes, dabbing, thick application etc. They will also be adding media-applied texture to their painting with the use of sand (flower centers) and with a special glossy media that when dry is super smooth and shiny (vase).

1. 
   Distribute one piece of paper and a black oil pastel to each student.
   
2. 
   Have everyone turn their paper portrait style. (vertical)
   

In a heavy black line with oil pastel:

3. 
   Begin by drawing a vase. You may illustrate several vase shape designs. Students are free create their own.
   
4. 
   Add the table line on each side of the vase.
   
5. 
   Each student needs to decide how many flowers will be in their vase.
   
6. 
   Students are to draw an oval shape for each of the flowers center.
   
7. 
   Next, have students paint the center of these flowers with yellow.
   
8. 
   Add a heavy application of brown sand for rough TEXTURE. Shake off excess in box top.
   
9. 
   Next, paint the VASE . Encourage to use blue paint. (for best sheen affect)
   

Time to Paint!!!:

10. 
    Painting petals. Illustrate how you can make petal shapes. Simple one stroke petals or arching lines to meet at a point.
    
11. 
    As the students begin to paint their flowers tell that that it is okay to paint over one flower to create another. This will add dimension.
    
12. 
    Paint the table cloth.
    
13. 
    VASE: Add a THICK coat of modge-podge to the vase. Instruct the kids that they are applying, once dry, a smooth, shiny TEXTURE to their still-life.
    

Double-Load Technique:

Demonstrate that if you carefully dip the brush into one color of paint and then another ( for instance red and yellow) you can achieve a spectacular layered affect.
Encourage the students to create flowers that are unique to them.

TEXTURE LESSON

Applied vs. Implied

SPECIAL MEDIA

Oil Pastel

Modge-Podge Gloss

Sand