Similar to How do Van Gogh's and Manet's respective uses of color create a sense of mood, subtext, and meaning in The Starry Night and Luncheon on the Grass.docx
Similar to How do Van Gogh's and Manet's respective uses of color create a sense of mood, subtext, and meaning in The Starry Night and Luncheon on the Grass.docx (8)
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How do Van Gogh's and Manet's respective uses of color create a sense of mood, subtext, and meaning in The Starry Night and Luncheon on the Grass.docx
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Use of Color in âStarry Nightâ and âLuncheon on the Grassâ
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âThe Starry Nightâ by Vincent van Gogh was painted at a time when the artist was living
in the asylum in France following his breakdown and mutilation of his left ear. The artist
attempted to capture the view from outside through his window while in the asylum using a
painted oil canvas (Scott 1). As such, the paint reveals a lot of personal information about the
artist. One of the inspirations of âStarry Nightâ is that the artist wrote to his brother Theo that
âThis morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise with nothing
but the morning stars which look very big." This statement relates to âStarry Nightâ and the
artistâs feelings about his condition. As such, the images of iconic thick lines and intense colors
in the paint reveal much personal information about the artist than they are to viewers. Not only
is âStarry Nightâ one of the famous works by the artist, but it is also one of the great paintings in
the world. Manet was associated with the new style of painting, also called the impressionist.
Impressionist painting is a kind of painting that depicted the natural appearances of the object by
means of strokes or dabs of primary unmixed colors to simulate the actual object. The artist
bridged the art between the realist and the impressionist with a distinct approach and colors.
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âLuncheon on the Grassâ depicts an ordinary situation where two females and two males are
having a picnic despite depicting an ordinary situation or rather a realist perspective; the painting
shows one of the women in the nude. By depicting a nude woman, it can be argued that Manet,
through âLuncheon on the Grassâ, was breaking the classical rules of the subject by underscoring
the absurdity and sense of appropriateness by displaying nude pictures. This essay aims to
explore how Van Gogh's and Manet's respective uses of color create a sense of mood, subtext,
and meaning in "The Starry Night" and "Luncheon on the Grass?"
The whirling color paints and spacing in between in the âStarry Nightâ by Vincent van
Gogh ensure fluidity. Using colors to paint contours forms in the starry night, the artist expresses
the meaning of the art, thus enabling him to reveal the emotions intertwined with the painting.
The painting reveals a peaceful night with an ambiance in the painting that evokes strong
emotions. As such, it can be deduced that van Gogh's turbulent need to recover from his mental
illness is reflected by using a deem sky in the âStarry Nightâ. It is possible to relate the artist's
incident at the time of painting by using a dark color to paint the village while also using a bright
color to paint the window, revealing a sense of comfort to the artistâs condition despite the
turbulence around his life. Unlike the typical dramatic night sky, the village is peaceful, thus
creating an atmosphere of peace through the silence of the night. The vibrant colors also reveal
solitude which is captured through great detailing of the artistâs observation. He also attempts to
dominate the night with the blue color, which symbolizes unity in the village, thus giving an
impression of size and isolation. The art also has a curvy cypress tree which is often associated
with mourning. The connection between the earth and heaves through the long cypress trees in
the painting reveals the artistâs thoughts about death. Based on the illness and solitude that van
Gogh went through, the artist reveals that death is the end journey of life. Van Gogh's application
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of yellow and blue colors with light greens colors in the painting shows the artist's lack of
blending, thus creating a broken color effect. This appears to reiterate a sense of movement away
and turbulence. Also, the artistâs unique coloration in âStarry Nightâ reveals his unique
interpretation of the world.
The tree is colored with a fluid line to enhance the flow of âStarry Nightâ. The artâs color
creates a spiral effect, particularly by using a yellow and white color, thus drawing attention to
the sky at night. By using these rich colors, the night corresponds to the true meaning of âStarry
Nightâ, where color is typically used to suggest the emotion and state of the artist's mental
illness. As such, the painting reveals hope. Somehow, it seems that Gosh was suggesting through
his painting that even with the dark night, which essentially expresses the artistâs mental illness,
it is possible to see the light in the windows of the house. The artist found his heaven by being
cursed out of the illness. He portrays this message of hope through the bold colors in âStarry
Nightâ. The color in the âStarry Nightâ also reveals a calm atmosphere and the artistâs thought
about eternity following his turbulent life challenges. Blue is widely used in âStarry Nightâ to
depict the sky, thus creating uneasy atmospheres and, somehow, promoting a gloomy future the
artist was yet to face while at Saint-Remy asylum camp for his treatment. As such, a depressing
atmosphere is created by blue color, particularly about the artist's state. As part of the subtext,
âStarry Nightâ portrays a vast power of nature shown by cypress in the painting that represents
nature and man both pointing to heaven.
âLuncheon on the Grassâ uses color to create a mood of protest, idiotic and incoherent.
Through its color scheme, the composition of the painting can be provocative, particularly by
depicting women as prostitutes. At the time of painting, depicting nudity was illegal, and no
audience was daring to share such pictures. By having a provocative mood, âLuncheon on the
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Grassâ could also create a violent scandal since its technique of color emphasizes the observation
of reality over traditional ideals. âLuncheon on the Grassâ contextualizes medieval mythology
and redefines what constitutes fine art. A strong contrast of dark and light is used in the
âLuncheon on the Grassâ. The nude women have a relatively light intercity of light compared to
the men. Also, in the bottom right, there is still life and the discarded clothes. Both the clothes
and the women stand out in the painting because Manet uses a creatively warmer color compare
to the dark, cold color of the surrounding setting. Also, the artist uses a black suit to depict the
color of the men. By using this form of contrast in the coloring of the painting, Manet
demonstrates his notion of the impressionist. As such, this coloring of the picture reveals the
author's naturalist artistic work, by departing to the realist point of view in painting. This shows
how Manet represents nature in his way and also indicates Manetâs consciousness in the painting
(Richman-Abdou 1). Manet's use of color in regard to the treatment of landscape and space
reveals what is real. The setting of the âLuncheon on the Grassâ can be deduced to be modern
France which emphasizes the realist perspective. âLuncheon on the Grassâ does not subtly blend
dark and light colors on the canvas. This can be interpreted as one of the elements of
impressionist breakaway strategy, but the intentional lack of balance in color, particularly the
colors of the nude women and men, relates to the notion of the moral hypocrisy that society
adopted.
The use of color in the âLuncheon on the Grassâ reveals a primitive and calm atmosphere
that returns the viewerâs mind to the Garden of Eden. This atmosphere reveals the most basic
form of beauty, thus provoking a symbolic realm. The colors in the âLuncheon on the Grassâ
apply the dynamic of decreasing and increasing the color, and the color lump becomes so
obvious, thus portraying the picture's abstractness. The colors of the painting render the
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atmosphere of the setting as still, thus emphasizing the theme. âLuncheon on the Grassâ creates a
crude stroke, thus teasing the viewers to accepting what is considered vulgar. As such, the
picture, through its colors, makes self-consciousness about the author with its compelling colors.
By depicting women in bright colors, it can be argued that Manet was giving his
testimony and refusal to conform to the classical conventions and his migration to the new
modes of expression and freedom. Also, as a subtext, âLuncheon on the Grassâ could have been
painted to mock the law and older master about the sincerity and hypocrisy of the society. It can
be argued that Manet wanted to express the reality of social life through âLuncheon on the
Grassâ. He thus attempted to make a difference in the social life where boundaries and ideal
morals were binding to all members of the society. âLuncheon on the Grassâ major theme was to
break down the traditional social rules and realign itself to the rapidly changing society.
In conclusion, the vibrant colors in âStarry Nightâ reveal solitude which is captured
through great detailing of the artist observation. It is possible to relate the artistâs incident at the
time of painting by using a dark color to paint the village while also using a bright color to paint
the window which reveals a sense of comfort to the artistâs condition. Following the illness and
solitude that van Gogh went through, the artist reveals that death is the end journey of life. Long
cypress trees mark this. Van Goghâs application of yellow and blue colors with light greens
colors in the painting shows the artist's Lack of blending, thus creating a broken color effect.
This appears to reiterate a sense of movement and also symbolizes unity in the village, thus
giving an impression of size and isolation. âLuncheon on the Grassâ depicts women in bright
colors; thus, it can be argued that Manet was giving his testimony and refusal to conform to the
classical conventions and his migration to the new modes of expression and freedom. Also, the
use of color in the âLuncheon on the Grassâ reveals a primitive and calm atmosphere. The colors
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of the painting render the atmosphere of the setting as still, thus emphasizing the theme. As a
subtext, âLuncheon on the Grassâ could have been painted to mock the law and older master
about the sincerity and hypocrisy of the society.
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Works Cited
Richman-Abdou, Kelly. The Significance of the Manetâs Large Scale Masterpiece âThe
Luncheon on the Grass. Art History. (2018). P.1 retrieved from:
https://mymodernmet.com/edouard-manet-the-luncheon-on-the-grass/
Scott, Dan. A Closer Look at the Starry Night By Vincent Van Gogh. Draw Paint Academy.
(2019). P.1 retrieved from: https://drawpaintacademy.com/the-starry-
night/#:~:text=Van%20Gogh%20used%20rich%20blues,between%20all%20the%20disti
nct%20colors.