In 1912, William Glackens, friend and noted American painter, returned to
Philadelphia from Paris with some of the first paintings (20) purchased for
Dr. Albert C. Barnes, including Vincent van Gogh's Postman.
Dr. Barnes collected seven paintings by van Gogh. They are located within five
different rooms of The Barnes Foundation Gallery.
Vincent van Gogh was born 1853 in Zundert, the son of a clergyman. Labeled as a
misfit, his plans of following in his father's footsteps were dismissed. He turned
to the profession of painting after heeding his brother Theo's advice.
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William Glackens 1870-1938
Portrait of the Artist
n.d., oil on canvas
24" x 18"
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A dark palette heavily influenced by the peasant life of Holland dominated his early
period paintings. Upon his arrival in Paris in 1886, he realized the need to
update the style and color of his work. He began to look at the work by
Impressionists, Post-impressionists, and prints of the Japanese masters.
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
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Postman, Room II
1889, oil on canvas
21" x 15" Acquired 1912
Audio Tour #37
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While living in Arles, located in the south of France, van Gogh befriended a mail
handler by the name of Joseph Etienne-Roulin depicted in this portrait. The picture
bears contrasts of color, line, and brushstroke. Dr. Barnes described the composition
as “unified chiefly by a rhythmic repetition in the facial features, (and) of the
decorative motifs in the background,” which offer an effect comparable to that seen
in Japanese prints. There is a symbiotic relationship of the circular rhythms, size,
shape and colors in Monsieur Roulin’s cheeks and the pink decorative patterns in the
background. The green-colored brush strokes of his mustache complement the pinks and
reds of his lips and cheeks and harmonize with the pattern in the background.
When visiting The Barnes Foundation gallery, look for decorative linear patterns,
in the wall ensemble. The placement of metal work above this painting and in the
Cezanne Potted Plants, Jar with Vines and Red Scarf, 1880-90, hanging to the
right of this van Gogh painting create a rhythmic visual harmony.
Place your mouse here to see Cezanne's painting.
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
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Flowerpiece and Fruit Room II
1888, oil on canvas
21-3/4" x 17-1/2" Acquired March 1, 1933
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In a letter to his brother Theo, van Gogh mentioned this work as a majolica jug
holding wildflowers. The round shapes of the jug, oranges, and cup engage each
other, together forming a circle. Although there are no cast shadows from the
objects, the light glows and the relationships of objects and similar shapes
provide a sense of perspective and gravity. Rich colors in the flowers and the
jug, and decorative, linear description provide a stark contrast to the soft muted
colors of the background. The lack of photographic realism allows the viewer to
become mesmerized with the mystical quality of this decorative painting.
When visiting The Foundation gallery look to your right and view the mystical
landscape of August Renoir, C.1884.
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In 1887, van Gogh rendered several paintings of Parisian suburbs. This particular
factory is located west of Paris in the town of Asnières. His use of line and
color for expressive as well as descriptive purpose is visible in this painting.
The richly colored red and blue strokes in the bottom center of the picture,
invite us into a mystical scene among factories.
Strong vertical lines in the lower right hand corner, representing a picket or
slat fence, guide our eyes into the picture. Soft blues accented with white wisps
caress the bundles of soft textile materials guiding our way back, deeper into
the picture plane. The bright crimson slice of red dashing down from the left
side directs us back to the central focus, a figure making its way into the heart
of the painting. The figure is perhaps moving toward the peach colored light on
a tall distant building beyond the factories. Mauve, purple and blue strokes with
soft yellows applied over a cool grey ground create a warm brownish color on the
factory building in the left middle ground. Van Gogh harmonizes color in a manner
he described as evoking the thread patterns of woven fabrics (cheviots), or the
Scottish multi-colored plaid woven of rich thread colors, combined with greys.
In a letter to his brother Theo, 30 April 1885 he says this use of color is
different because they (the colors) “swarm more” and the plain or complete colors
“become hard, cool and lifeless in comparison”.
When you visit the gallery look
for the color relationships between El Greco’s painting, The Annunciation
hanging to the right of this van Gogh. El Greco employs a similar use of light
and color to create line and direction in his painting.
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
Factories, Room VI
1887, oil on canvas
17-3/8" x 21-1/4" Acquired November 15, 1912
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
House and Figure, Room VIII
1890, oil on canvas
20" x 15" Acquired August 11, 1922
Audio Tour #136
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Van Gogh was in Auvers sur Oise in 1890 and wrote to his brother of the beautiful
landscapes. Particularly, the old thatched roofs attracted him. Rather than use
color to reproduce the appearance of objects, he viewed color as a vehicle with
symbolic and expressive value.
The contrasts between the figure and ground relationships created through shape
and color are reminiscent of the Japanese woodcut prints van Gogh studied.
Students enrolled in The Foundation classes have the opportunity to view these
relationships directly through the study of a collection of 19th century Japanese
U-ke-yo prints.
The application of heavily saturated, pure color, obvious use of brushstrokes in
paint application and the use of light throughout the canvas represent
Impressionist techniques applied by van Gogh and his peers.
The character of line throughout this painting has a curved and crooked quality
unlike the confident smooth line in Factories. The figure, houses and landscape
express a feeling of being pinched or squeezed. They are all composed of a soft
malleable substance very susceptible to external influences.
When visiting The Foundation, look for another landscape painting with a rosey-pink
sky.
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
Man Smoking, Room XIII
1888, oil on canvas
18-3/4" x 24-3/4" Acquired September 3, 1912
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While this individual may not be a of high social status, van Gogh renders him
with great respect, carefully recording various hues of his simple brown coat and
using a rich, brilliant blue for the hat. Following in the example of artists
such as Jules Breton and Jean-François Millet, van Gogh chose to depict the working
class in his paintings.
Van Gogh wrote of his desire to represent the peasant honestly, “in their roughness.
A peasant in his bombazine clothes in the field is more beautiful than when he goes
to church on Sunday in a dress coat of sorts.”
The painting has a roughly painted surface in the coat and blue background of the upper
left corner. The loosely contrasted vertical and horizontal brush strokes bear a
likeness to the warp and weft of a woven fabric. Van Gogh emphasizes the sitter’s
eyes by making the whites of the eye, a rich green color complementing the pinkish-red
of the cheeks.
When visiting The Foundation gallery, compare van Gogh’s aggressive use of brush
strokes to those in Cezanne’s Landscape with Well, c.1890, to the right of this painting.
Place your mouse here to see Cezanne's painting.
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
Nude Woman, Reclining, Room XIII
1887, oil on canvas
23 ½” x 28 ½”
Acquired July 19, 1924
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Painted in Paris, this is one of three paintings of female nudes by van Gogh.
The reclining nude pose and setting are traditional, but van Gogh’s execution of
the painting creates a compelling dissonance.
The oval shape of the canvas embraces the figure. The exaggerated contour line
of the hip, and shape of the stomach complement the overall form. Similarity of
feeling in soft luminous color and short, feather-like gestures of brush strokes,
describe pillows and linens. A sliver of scarlet supports the bottom of the
composition placing the floor of the scene in the viewer’s space. Complementary
vertical strokes of blue push the background away from the figure. Richly colored
short strokes of paint describe the figure’s shape while a contrasting quality of
pointed and curved shapes describe it with a hovering tension. A weightiness in the
downward curving contours of the bed creates dissonance while the line of the hip
pulls upward. The viewer is drawn into the picture and simultaneously pushed away.
When you visit The Foundation compare the lyrical line of Renoir’s Bathers in
Forest, c.1897, hanging to the left of the van Gogh Nude Woman, Reclining.
Place your mouse here to see Renoir's painting.
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Isolated spots of red dispersed throughout the composition complement the green
background. The character of the line is heavy and angular with a stilted presence,
removed from reality. Short, dabbed brush strokes in the lower right portion of the
picture plane create the floor/ground by juxtaposing pinks and blues over greys as
he did in the Factories painting.
The warm, yellow color representing a lamp glows over the figures in the left
corner. This creates the point of an arch shape embracing figures in the lower,
left corner. Remember the pink color of the skirt at the lower right of the arch.
When you visit the gallery, step back to your right, gaze to your left through
the doorway. While visually exploring the multiple arch shapes created on the
mezzanine gallery, make your way through the play of subtle light and shadows
on the ceiling and rest at the left lunette of the Matisse mural of Le Danse,
c.1932. Do you see that familiar pink color again? Although you can not experience these relationships at our website, place your mouse here to see Matisse's mural.
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Click on painting above for a larger image.
Lupanar; Tavern Scene, Room XIV
ND, oil on canvas
12-3/4" x 15-1/2"
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