Elements of Art

 

Vincent Van Gogh, The Olive Trees
Saint Rémy, 1889
Oil on canvas

For this week's blog, I would like to analyze the elements of art depicted in Van Gogh's The Olive Trees. I remember this painting hanging up in my art class throughout high school. We never spent any time talking about it; instead, it was there for inspiration. It is a very interesting piece and deserves to be talked about! 

Unfortunately for us artists, Vincent Van Gogh died quite some time ago under some depressing circumstances. Nonetheless, he left behind some fantastic art for the whole world to admire which, in a way, keeps him alive to this day. You know those question games where they ask, "If you could talk to any famous person dead or alive, who would it be?" Well, I would most definitely choose to talk to Van Gogh. Not only do we both use art as an escape from the world and our minds, but we also use impressionistic techniques in our art. It would be so cool to learn a thing or two from him. 

Colors and Emotion 

Van Gogh uses the same style throughout all his pieces and that's what distinguishes him from anyone else. His curved and broken lines are a signature touch of his work and while he does use a combination of warm and cool colors, he seems to incorporate more cool colors (blue, green, purple). In my opinion, cool colors represent more depressing emotions rather than happiness. The best example is to think of the sun and its colors: yellow, red, and orange. These are warm colors and the sun is warm; therefore you can think of summer and happiness. During the winter, it is cold and we see a lot of blue and purple which again, are cool colors. I personally get sadder during the winter due to the lack of sunlight, therefore I connect cool colors with depressing emotions. Now that you understand my interpretation of colors, you can also understand why Van Gogh seems to create emotions of sadness with feelings of comfort. Why comfort? Well, even though his colors create a colder emotion, his patterns and textures feel familiar which makes us comfortable. A lot of times something that is unfamiliar makes us uneasy. But not this piece. I think I'd definitely hang a copy of this in my house. 

Shape, Form, and Lines 

I relate form to shape because both can be geometric or organic. In The Olive Trees, it is obvious that Van Gogh uses organic shapes with a two-dimensional (2D) form. None of these elements of course could be created without lines. Van Gogh's lines are curved and broken, which helps create these organic shapes and 2D form. 

Broken lines + Organic Shapes = two-dimensional form

Texture

Van Gogh uses his opposing lines and contrasting colors to illustrate optical texture. These textures can almost be felt as soft and smooth when looking at them. You can tell he's spent a lot of time on the painting as there is so much contrast and detail. Though the contrast of colors creates optical texture throughout the entire piece, it is most felt in the grass. It just feels smooth and free, as if it's moving in all directions with the air. 

Optical texture: soft, smooth, and free

Pattern

I suppose the pattern could be related to the texture because it seems as though optical texture is the pattern. Optical texture is hard to put into a definition, but it is basically how lines "move" to create a sense of structure or texture. Does that make sense? Van Gogh's broken and curved lines are repeated throughout the entire piece and create every element, including patterns. 

Patterns throughout 

Work Cited:

“Vincent Van Gogh. The Olive Trees .” Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), www.moma.org/collection/works/80013.

“The Elements of Art .” National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/education/teachers/lessons-activities/elements-of-art.html.