Van Gogh The Man and His Paintings

Paper Summary:

The paper provides a brief biography of the life of Vincent Van Gogh, famous Dutch painter. Thereafter, it reviews four of his most famous paintings, "Self Portrait, 1886", "The Potato Eaters", "Starry Night" and "Wheat Field with Crows".

From the Paper:

"This final painting is arguably one of van Gogh's most disturbing. He shows three roads moving into a wheat field. It isn't clear where any of them go. The roads may represent the different directions in which his mind was torn: sanity, insanity, and religion. The sky is active and stormy, and black crows swoop along close to the ground. Many would interpret the crows as symbols of death. There seems no sense of hope in the three opportunities the roads give, and no indication that traveling one would be more satisfying than another. This seems to be true of van Gogh's life: during his periods of sanity he was not successful at most things he attempted, including multiple attempts to develop a satisfying religious career. His religious beliefs seem to have brought him no lasting peace because of the bouts of insanity when his behavior became irrational and even bizarre."

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