When I first saw the "Sprig of Flowering Almond Blossom...," the scale and execution took my breath away...I have been fortunate enought to visit some the most "important" works by Van Gogh, the portraits, the room environments the sunflowers...but his copies of Japanese prints and his paintings influenced by his Asian collection, were so impressive...They were an amazing combination of formal simplicity and rich, thick canvases...The painting itself is only about 5 x 7 inches, but the surface is quintessentially Van Gogh - directional, energetic marks, amazing colors, luxurious and meaty paint...However, this is not what occurs in the most accepted Van Gogh's works...those pieces are all over Van Gogh, as if he cannot stop the obsessive exploration of self...the image is completely digested and bled in the picture plane...he can't help standing in his own way...
The is "Sprig of Flowering Almond Blossom..." is compositionally subtle, lyrical and simple in its context...I think that is why I am so attracted, the strong contrast in the context of formal harmony...there is also something special about the personal discovery of a completely new body of master's works. One that doesn't fit and may be labeled, "secondary" to the major works...to me, this piece is perfection...
No comments:
Post a Comment