Van Gogh [antikvár]

It may seem surprising that a painter of 'musical' compositions in which an emotional response is provoked by the contrast or harmony of pure, intense colours, should be so interested in the human face. After all, a face reflects thoughts, feelings, a soul. How can such things be portrayed by mere coloured dots and lines ? What opportunity do they give the artist to create the poetry of colour which we find in Sunflowers or the Yellow Wheat-fields ? But Van Gogh shows us that it can be done. The Arlésienne, green on a yellow background, is like an incantation. The pale face of Doctor Gachet on a background as blue as the night sums up all the heart-rending implications of a useless love. It is true that for a long time, and at a time when his style was more obviously suited to psychological studies, Van Gogh was not interested in his own face. In Holland he had eyes only for the movements and gestures of the miners of Cuesmes or the peasants of Nuenen. Except for the Potato Eaters or the Old Peasant Won/an, their faces are practically unknown to us. It is the silhouette, and the odd touch of