“Irises” by Vincent Van Gogh

Lan Yao
Lan Yao
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Vincent van Gogh is considered to be one of the greatest Dutch

Post-Impression painters in the world. He created many art works

during his life time, and he is famous for his bold, dramatic colors,

and abstract brush strokes. Van Gogh painted the Irises near the end

of his short life in 1889. Irises was one of the earliest paintings

that van Gogh created after he moved to a mental asylum in France.

Irises now is currently on view at Getty Center Museum in Los Angeles.

This rich masterfully crafted piece has become known as one of his

finest works.

In this painting, Van Gogh is actually trying to show us not

only the power and beauty of nature, but also in the hopes of leading

us to a kind of spiritual experience.

Like many of his works, this oil on canvas displays clear outlines and

flat colors. When first look at this painting, the viewer get this

overall impression of intensity; the intensity of the light, the

intensity of the colors, and even the space somehow is more intense

than in the real world. In fact, he is literally compressed space so

that those flowers are pressed up against the front of the picture. If

you look at Irises and think about the different textures, everything

has its own distinctive feel.

Since Irises was created during the early time of his life in

the mental asylum which could be considered the period of his

stableness, this painting interprets the spirit of his hope of life.

Thus, the painting was captured with full of vitally as well as

expressing his satisfaction and relaxation. Van Gogh created the

flowers vividly with twisted, waved and curled lines. He also painted

a pure white iris in the painting which really stands out with a

little unexpected. The white iris is a large flower with a long stem

which is the highlight of the painting. Some people believe that he

uses this white iris to represent himself which delivers a message of

his noble and loneliness.

Van Gogh is one of the most influential artists in the world.

His oil painting Irises is also considered to be one of the most

expensive paintings of his artworks. By using the dynamic colors and

lines, van Gogh not only transformed the nature through this artwork,

but also expressed his inner feelings to the world.

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