Vincent van Gogh - Still Life with Ginger Jar and Onions 1885
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Still Life with Ginger Jar and Onions 1885
39x49cm oil/canvas
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, The McMaster Art Gallery
<< Previous G a l l e r y Next >>
From The McMaster Art Gallery:
The rich captivating application of dark paint colours onto the canvas and the clear traces of
his brushstrokes take us on an enticing journey back to September 1885, to van Gogh painting this canvas in his room in his parents’ home in Neunen in the Netherlands.
Of the many paintings that van Gogh produced, I think this still life is one of his most fascinating—a quiet scene, depicting his vision of the beauty in simple things.
It was painted the year before he went to France, before he was exposed to the French Impressionists, before he met Paul Gauguin, and before he began the violent swirling
brushstrokes and vivid colours for which he is best known. But, for me, it is a bit of heaven, a (brush)stroke of genius!
“And my aim in my life is to make pictures and drawings, as many and as well as I can; then, at the end of my life, I hope to pass away, looking back with love and tender regret, and thinking, ‘Oh, the pictures I might have made!”
– Vincent van Gogh, Letter 338; 19 November 1883