Thursday, January 19, 2006

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh

Self-portrait (1886).

Born: March 30, 1853
Zundert, Netherlands
Died: July 29, 1890
Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Occupation: Painter

There is pain in beauty and beauty in pain. Vincent van Gogh personified this. He left behind a egacy of beautiful paintings though his life was wrought with conflicts and sadness.

His notable works include among others

Sunflowers (1888)












Bedroom in Arles (1888)













Cafe Terrace at Night (1888)

















Starry Night (1889)






The Starry Night is one of the best known paintings by
Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh, and is
in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in
New York City. This oil-on-canvas painting measures 73 x 92 cm.

Created by Van Gogh while he was in the asylum at Saint Rémy
de Provence in June 1889, the painting portrays a swirling
skyscape filled with yellow glowing stars above a small town
and rolling hills. The large dark formation in the foreground
left of center has been described as the tip of a tree,
although art historians have presented various other
interpretations. Its purpose seems to be to direct the eye
towards the sky. In addition, it adds depth to the painting.
A church steeple in the town also points towards the sky.

The painting was the inspiration for Don McLean's song,
Vincent, which is also known as Starry, Starry Night.



The Red Vineyard (1888) was the only painting the Dutch
painter sold during his lifetime. It was sold for only 400 Francs
(USD 68 today). It is now in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.















Van Gogh began suffering mental problems later part of
his life and was admitted to a psychiatric centre.

Late Sunday evening December 23, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh,
then 35 years old, cut off the lower half of his left ear
and took it to a brothel, where he asked for a prostitute
named Rachel and handed the ear to her, asking her to
"keep this object carefully."

Why Did Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear? More than a dozen different
explanations of his actions have been proposed.

His depression deepened, and on July 27, at the age of 37,
Van Gogh shot himself in the chest. Without realising that
he was fatally wounded, he returned to the Ravoux Inn,
where he died two days later, with Theo (his brother)
at his side, who reported his last words as
"La tristesse durera toujours" (French for "the sadness
will last forever").

Van Gogh's fame grew shortly after his death. Large
exhibitions were organized in Paris (1901), Amsterdam (1905),
Cologne (1912), New York City (1913) and Berlin (1914).

Van Gogh's life forms the basis for Irving Stone's biographical
novel Lust for Life (later turned into a film).

In 1972, singer Don McLean wrote the ballad "Vincent", also
known as "Starry Starry Night" in honour of Van Gogh, later
sang by Josh Groban in 2002. The punk band NOFX has also
covered this song on a rarities and b-sides double album.
In 1986-87, the composer Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote an opera,
Vincent, based on several events in Van Gogh's life, and also
later used some of the same themes in his 6th symphony,
"Vincentiana."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh#Life_and_work

Here I present the lyrics to "Vincent", one of the most
beautiful songs of all time.

Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)
- Josh Groban version

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colours on the snowy linen land

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds and violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colours changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artists' loving hand

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you

Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen
They're not listening still
Perhaps they never will...


Notes: Original Lyrics and Music by Don McLean.
Produced and Arranged by: David Foster

15 comments:

  1. Nice posting!
    I visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam when I was there and bought a number of his paintings (prints lah!)and some of 'em are still in the tubes awaiting framing!

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  2. like the way VG see colors and reality...

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  3. I have often heard it said that all good artists and musicians are destined to go stark raving mad in the end...if they aren't already.

    (Actually, in my college days I had a German professor say to me, "You need to give up all this music nonsense before you wind up slashing your wrists!")

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  4. FH2o, must have been an amazing experience, being at the museum I mean.

    Fullmoon, yes, colors and reality. It is sad that he didn't live long enough to leave more for posterity. It's all in the stars?

    MM, I believe all geniuses, whether in the sciences or the arts, have some level of eccentricity in them. Perhaps eccentricity makes geniuses?

    Your professor must have seen a genius in you, though I'm not implying that you're eccentric. Whatever, don't change - I like the way you are, as if that matters. :)

    Thank you for sharing that information about yourself.

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  5. What a coincidence! Yesterday I heard Josh Groban sing starry night on the radio and searched my pc and mp3 collection for a replay. All I have is his concert on dvd. So first thing this morning I downloaded. Beautiful. Did you happen to listen to light and easy last night?

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  6. Hi Agus, yeah, what a coincidence! No, I didn't catch that last night though I've always loved this song from the very first time I heard it. It puts me in a dreamy and romantic mood albeit with a little sadness. Listen to the lyrics, here....

    "For they could not love you
    But still your love was true
    And when no hope was left inside
    On that starry, starry night
    You took your life as lovers often do
    But I could have told you Vincent
    This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you"


    Ooooooohhhhhhhh.....so beautiful......

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  7. happy > actually i wish his life was crushed by 'stars' and not something like tripped over and died.

    perhaps its all in the brain, somehow wired differently, so talented yet unstable. Some 'intellectually disable' or savants are actually astounding creative or extremly gd at maths.

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  8. Maybe we have another promising PAINTER in the process...

    I sometime thought Josh Groban is like male-version of Celine Dion...it melts! :)

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  9. There is an exhibit with 80 paintings by 22 European impressionist painters, including van Gogh's 'flower vase with thistles', going on in Tokyo right now. 'Hope to get to see it in February.

    I like that song also. Did not realize it was written in 1972. I must be getting nearer to a black hole - time is zooming by.

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  10. Fullmoon, yeah, so sad. People who could contribute much chose not to? Perhaps they were in such pain that they couldn't take it anymore. We will never know.

    Low, thank you for sharing that. Wow! Josh Groban and now Il Divo.

    Pandabonium, it's wonderful that you'd be able to catch that. Enjoy.

    Time does zoom by and we're just time-travellers.

    Thank you, All, for sharing your thoughts.

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  11. Actually hor, are all great artist siow siow one?

    Perhaps because of their weird perception, art must be a form of therapy for them.

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  12. Hey Robin.
    Perhaps geniuses pay that price? Or perhaps, we the lesser mortals, are not able to appreciate their nature thus we look at them as siow-siow. You know, they could be thinking that We are the siow-siow ones. haha! You could be right - art could be a form of therapy for them.

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  13. The song brings back good memories of teen years... was about 15 then, and too energetic...

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  14. Hello Lrong, thank you for visiting and good to have you back. You must be thinking "would be nice to be still in Malaysia - for the sunshine at least". haha!

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  15. Robin, perhaps it is they who have the correct perception and others who need therapy.

    As a friend of mine often says: "If ignorance is bliss, why are so many Americans on Prozac?" (As one who carries a US Passport, I can say that...um at least for the time being).

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