Revenge by Color

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Vase with Poppies, Cornflowers, Peonies
and Chrysanthemums 1886 Vincent van Gogh

“The uglier, older, meaner, iller, poorer I get, the more I wish to take my revenge by doing brilliant color, well arranged, resplendent . . .
And arranging colors in a painting to make them shimmer and stand out through their contrasts, that’s something like arranging jewels or—designing costumes. You’ll see now that by regularly looking at Japanese prints you’ll enjoy making bouquets even more. working among flowers.”

- Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, September 1888

Such an abrupt adjustment to our new isolated lives, leaves us searching for solace. Mother Nature has been accommodating by rolling out an exuberant, fragrant spring with a saturation of colors that were almost unimaginable last winter. The reawakening of flowers is one of the most inspirational of moments for many artists, including Van Gogh. Throughout all his sorrows and an…