From the Artist: I found the portrait of Dr. Gachet, by Vincent Van Gogh, very arresting for many reasons but mostly because of the expression on his very interesting face. To me he had the look of one perplexed and perhaps he was because of the mental anguish his patient was going through and in all probability, not able to help him.
I was also drawn to the bold brush strokes, the colors used in the painting particularly the red of his hair, the blues in his jacket, with little flecks of orange the same color of the tabletop. In addition I found the odd looking little hat to be very interesting as well. I couldn't resist painting it.
From the Painting Guide: In a letter written to his sister Wilhelmina on 5 June 1890, Vincent van Gogh talks about what he wished to achieve in his portraits: "I should like to paint portraits which would appear after a century to people living then as apparitions. By which I mean that I do not endeavor to achieve this by a photographic resemblance, but by means of our impassioned expressions - that is to say, using our knowledge of and our modern taste for color as a means of arriving at the expression and the intensification of the character." I think he definitely achieved this!
I was also drawn to the bold brush strokes, the colors used in the painting particularly the red of his hair, the blues in his jacket, with little flecks of orange the same color of the tabletop. In addition I found the odd looking little hat to be very interesting as well. I couldn't resist painting it.
From the Painting Guide: In a letter written to his sister Wilhelmina on 5 June 1890, Vincent van Gogh talks about what he wished to achieve in his portraits: "I should like to paint portraits which would appear after a century to people living then as apparitions. By which I mean that I do not endeavor to achieve this by a photographic resemblance, but by means of our impassioned expressions - that is to say, using our knowledge of and our modern taste for color as a means of arriving at the expression and the intensification of the character." I think he definitely achieved this!