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    ARTS 105 - Analysis Paper Assignment - Van Grouw, Amy

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    The document analyzes Vincent Van Gogh's painting Dr. Gachet from 1890. It discusses how Van Gogh painted the portrait of his friend Dr. Gachet, who cared for Van Gogh in the last months of his life. The analysis describes the techniques Van Gogh used to convey emotion, including gloomy colors and Dr. Gachet's melancholy expression. It examines how the painting reflected both men's mental struggles.

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    ARTS 105 - Analysis Paper Assignment - Van Grouw, Amy

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    ajoyvg8
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    The document analyzes Vincent Van Gogh's painting Dr. Gachet from 1890. It discusses how Van Gogh painted the portrait of his friend Dr. Gachet, who cared for Van Gogh in the last months of his life. The analysis describes the techniques Van Gogh used to convey emotion, including gloomy colors and Dr. Gachet's melancholy expression. It examines how the painting reflected both men's mental struggles.

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    Arts Analysis

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    ARTS 105- Analysis Paper Assignment- Van Grouw, Amy

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    The document analyzes Vincent Van Gogh's painting Dr. Gachet from 1890. It discusses how Van Gogh painted the portrait of his friend Dr. Gachet, who cared for Van Gogh in the last months of his life. The analysis describes the techniques Van Gogh used to convey emotion, including gloomy colors and Dr. Gachet's melancholy expression. It examines how the painting reflected both men's mental struggles.

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    7 views3 pages

    ARTS 105 - Analysis Paper Assignment - Van Grouw, Amy

    Uploaded by

    ajoyvg8
    The document analyzes Vincent Van Gogh's painting Dr. Gachet from 1890. It discusses how Van Gogh painted the portrait of his friend Dr. Gachet, who cared for Van Gogh in the last months of his life. The analysis describes the techniques Van Gogh used to convey emotion, including gloomy colors and Dr. Gachet's melancholy expression. It examines how the painting reflected both men's mental struggles.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Van Grouw 1

    Amy Van Grouw


    Professor Lynch
    Arts 105
    8 November 2021
    Art Analysis: Dr. Gachet

    “He has filed him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with

    knowledge and with all kinds of skills- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and

    bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts”

    (“Exodus 35:31-33”). God is a masterfully creative being and because humans are created in His

    image, they are also creative. In fact, God calls individuals to use their creative gifts to bring

    Him glory on earth. Vincent Van Gogh was certainly one such individual. Therefore, an analysis

    of Van Gogh’s Dr. Gachet is necessary to highlight the genius of his work.

    In June of 1890, Vincent Van Gogh crafted a piece known as Dr. Gachet (Beams) The

    work of art held a special place in Van Gogh’s heart along with the content of the portrait. After

    being released from an asylum, Van Gogh moved in with Dr. Gachet (Steensma and Kyle E57).

    The two formed a close connection after an unfavorable start to their friendship and therein Van

    Gogh found his inspiration (“Portrait of Dr. Gachet, 1890 by Van Gogh”). Van Gogh painted this

    work of art with oil on canvas and its dimensions were 23.4 inches by 22 inches (Steensma and

    Kyle E58). The major subject of the oil painting was Dr. Gachet who cared for and befriended

    Van Gogh in the last months of his life. It is important to note that this work of art was

    completed during the post-Impressionism art movement which Dr. Gachet himself found

    favorable and interesting (Getlein 11).


    Van Grouw 2

    The work of Vincent Van Gogh known as Dr. Gachet was comprised of Dr. Gachet with

    his head leaning on his right arm on a table with books and a vase of flowers in front of him. Van

    Gogh describes Dr. Gachet as having a “melancholy expression, which might well seem like a

    grimace to those who see it… sad but gentle, yet clear and intelligent” (Steensma and Kyle E58).

    Van Gogh made it evident the struggles both he and Gachet endured throughout their lives with

    the single expression he painted. Furthermore, the piece consists of Van Gogh’s usually paint

    lines which create movement within the painting. Dr. Gachet also includes a variety of darker

    colors in the background and in Gachet’s clothing which is fervently juxtaposed by the bright

    colors used for the table, books, and even Gachet’s hair.

    Van Gogh used various techniques in his painting, Dr. Gachet, that he often did. Firstly,

    he utilized gloomy colors along with Gachet’s forlorn expression to convey both his and

    Gachet’s deep troubles. This countered with the “defeated sort of position” Gachet’s hands are in

    solidifies his feelings (Beams). Furthermore, some would argue that the expression on Gachet’s

    face reflects Van Gogh’s own expression in his self-portrait. Therefore, “it is not as simple as a

    man with a sad expression. It is a painter that struggles to express his own grief, but who

    manages to do so with the help of someone else” (Beams). Dr. Gachet portrayed more one man’s

    troubles. It truly showed Van Gogh’s deepest sadness.

    The work of Vincent Van Gogh known as Dr. Gachet is an extremely emotional piece. It

    is clearly a work of Van Gogh due to the movement creating brush strokes and the use of dark

    and light colors. The almost depressed look on Dr. Gachet’s face captures the state of not only

    his mental health but also Van Gogh’s. Van Gogh’s ability to capture emotion in an oil painting

    despite a lack of any major details is astonishing. It is evident that Van Gogh utilized the gift

    God gave him to be creative.


    Van Grouw 3

    Works Cited

    Beams, Sophia. “The Real Meaning Behind Van Gogh's ‘Portrait of Dr. Gachet.’” Medium,

    Everything Art, 15 Apr. 2020, https://medium.com/everything-art/the-real-meaning-

    behind-van-goghs-portrait-of-dr-gachet-8ce54a3647b4.

    “Exodus 35:31-33.” Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?

    search=Matthew+2%3A1-12&version=NIV.

    Getlein, Mark. Living with Art. 12th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2020.

    “Portrait of Dr. Gachet, 1890 by Van Gogh.” Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent Van Gogh.org, 2009,

    https://www.vincentvangogh.org/portrait-of-dr-gachet.jsp.

    Steensma, David P., M.D., and Robert A. Kyle M.D. Van Gogh's portrait of Dr Gachet. Mayo

    Clinic Proceedings, vol. 92, no. 3, 2017, pp. E57-E58. ProQuest,

    http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-

    journals%2Fvan-goghs-portrait-dr-gachet%2Fdocview%2F1874378316%2Fse-

    2%3Faccountid%3D12085, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.10.024.

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