A Bad Van Gogh Painting?

No doubt the publicist at the Ashmolean Museum will be horrified, but I think the painting The Restaurant de la Sirene, at Asnieres in the museum's collection is an example of a bad Van Gogh painting. The colors are insipid; the overall tone subdued and uninspiring. The composition is confused, with an empty foreground as if he'd got tired of working on the painting and so didn't put anything in here.

But if you put the painting in its context, it's a significant one. Van Gogh painted it no long after he'd arrived in Paris and was exposed to a range of modern art and artists. The painting sees him abandoning his earth colors to experiment with the broken color technique of the Impressionists and with overt brushmarks. Look at these details from the painting and you'll see how he's not blending colors on the canvas itself, but letting it happen in the viewer's eye.

It's a painting that shows his willingness to teach himself, to experiment and explore with technique. It's a huge step away from his previous paintings, but still some way from the vibrant, saturated color of his later paintings. When you're struggling with a painting, always remember that the great painters didn't learn to make their masterpieces overnight. It took years of study and perseverance. Take a closer look at the painting and the details, then why not try broken color for yourself?

See Also:
• Techniques of the Impressionists: Broken Color
• Palettes and Techniques of Vincent van Gogh
• Discussion: Is Van Gogh Over-Hyped?

^{Image: Detail from The Restaurant de la Sirene, at Asnieres by Vincent van Gogh, Ashmolean Museum. Photo ©2007 Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc}