SIMON SCHAMA'S POWER OF ART: VAN GOGH (TV)
Summary
The first in this eight-part documentary series, hosted by historian Simon Schama and profiling several of the world's most influential visual artists. This installment focuses on Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who, according to Schama, "began modern art" with his 1890 work "Wheatfield with Crows." Van Gogh, considered the archetypical "tortured artist," considered himself more of a "prophet" on an eternal search for salvation, as revealed in his many letters to his younger brother Theo. He traveled to London and to the coal pits of Belgium, preaching the word of Jesus to the lower classes, but was eventually removed from his position for "excessive zeal." Van Gogh then turned to painting, determined – despite a lack of formal training – to bring meaning and comfort to the masses through his works. A downtrodden prostitute, Clasina "Sien" Hoornik, became his first "unlikely muse," much to his pastor father's disdain. Theo, an art dealer, supported his brother financially, though proclaimed his early works "unsellable." His 1885 work "The Potato Eaters," which used "manure brown" to illustrate the trials of manual labor, was his first real masterpiece, though Theo still had serious doubts about his brother's talents.
Van Gogh traveled to Paris and became "addicted to color" as he attempted to emulate the famous Impressionists of the day, but he soon reverted to his own "earthier" style of realism and developed a friendship with painter Paul Gauguin. Gauguin then departed for Brittany, and by spring 1888, van Gogh was making use of the vivid colors of Provence, including in his work "The Sower," an homage to Jean-François Millet. Van Gogh desired a "fusion" of sorts with Gauguin, though did much of his best work while awaiting his return, including "The Night Café" and his dignified portraits of the Roulin family. Gauguin returned to Arles in autumn 1888, but the friendship soon fractured as Gauguin, envious of van Gogh's "manic" rate of painting and innovative use of color and alarmed by his mood swings, began to depict his associate as "deranged" in his own works. Gauguin departed after the infamous and oft-exaggerated ear incident in December 1888, and van Gogh soon voluntarily admitted himself to a mental hospital.
With his burgeoning mental illness serving as both "destroyer and midwife" of his creativity, van Gogh experienced severe ups and downs as he created some of his most iconic works, including "The Starry Night" and his final self-portrait in 1889. A worried Theo sent his brother to the small town of Auvers-sur-Oise to be watched by Dr. Paul Gachet, an expert in "melancholy," and the plan seemed to work: van Gogh created "Wheatfield with Crows" in July 1890, demonstrating a deft command of his talents and a deliberate disregard for the "rules" of landscape painting in its use of bold colors and a disorienting perspective. However, when Theo arrived from Paris later that month, he found that Vincent had shot himself in the chest with a revolver, and despite showing signs of improvement, he died on July 30th. Theo followed in January 1891, and the brothers are buried side-by-side in Auvers-sur-Oise. Vincent, who died childless and "a nobody," in his view, considered his paintings to be his progeny, and Schama agrees that his incomparable effect on expressionism has touched the emotions of millions of viewers. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:53:38
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 118567
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Arts documentaries; Biography; Painters; Painting, Dutch
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 2007
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Basil Comely … Executive Producer
- David Belton … Producer, Director
- Clare Beavan … Series Producer
- Simon Schama … Writer, Host
- David Julyan … Music by
- Andy Serkis … Cast, Vincent van Gogh
- Paul Gauguin
- Clasina Hoornik (see also: Sien Hoornik)
- Jean-François Millet
- Theo van Gogh