Following the steps below will help you look at this painting, The Postman by Vincent van Gogh.

Step One: Look

• What is happening in this artwork?
• What is the mood of this painting?
• Share your ideas with another student. Do you agree?

Step Two: Analyze

Color

• What colors do you see in the mailman's face?
• What colors are in his beard?

Line

• Where do you see lines in the painting? Are they curvy or straight, neat or jagged?
• Compare the lines in the background to the mailman's beard.
• Look for marks made by van Gogh's brush.
• Where do see thick lines? Where do you see thin lines?

Light

• Where do you see shadows? What color are they?

Space

• Where is the mailman? Is he indoors or outdoors? Does he seem close up or far away?
• What do you notice about the background in the painting? Why do you think van Gogh surrounded his friends, like the mailman, with flowers in his paintings?

Step Three: Compare

To begin comparing this painting with others, please launch the slideshow found in the right sidebar.

Download the relevant worksheet here.

• What is the same between these two paintings? What is different?

Step Four: Explore

On the map below, locate where the artist Vincent van Gogh came from. Research it.

Download the relevant worksheets here and here.