Vincent Van Gogh was born in Holland (source the book/website you found this piece of information from)(North Europe) in 1853. He grow up in a big family of six children, son of Anna Cornelia Carbentus and Reverend Theodorus Van Gogh.
When he was little he didn’t show any interest in art. But at sixteen years old, he started working at the Hague Gallery, owned by Goupil et Cie. After having traveled to London and Paris, he completely lost the desire of becoming an art dealer, also due to the fact that three of his brothers have started this career.
Since he had a great curiosity in religion, Van Gogh followed the steps if his father by becoming a missionary of a small Belgium Province, where he was part of a group of miners.
During this period Van Gogh was influenced by the miners and their style of life. Also his brother Theo, made him realise his unconscious aspiration of becoming an artist. For this reason, his brother has always been a great influence throughout his all life.
He was in a relationship with Sien Hoomik, who was a pregnant prostitute that was also the model of his drawing works.
When he broke up with Hoomik he started to explore different art forms. In 1885, he produced “The Potato Eaters” where he has realised his desire of painting human figures.
Since he thought that he needed to train in art techniques, he went to The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Here he remain impressed by the works of Rubens and several Japanese artists, those has a big influence on his style.
When Van Gogh came back to Paris in 1886, he entered fully in Impressionism and Post-impressionism. He started using lighter and more animated colours. During this time, he discovered many artists such as Gauguin, Monet, Bernard and Pissarro . He started painting sunflowers as he was painting Gauguin’s bedroom and this work has become one of his most beautiful pieces.
Around 1888 the artist’s mental illness started becoming worst and when he went to an asylum he painted Starry Night, his most popular work.
In 1890, when he was only 37 years old he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.
Initially, he started copying prints as he believed that in order to be a good painter you should drawing first.
He has completed over 1,000 drawings and firstly he has focused on drawing in order to consequently grow artistically and study form and movement. Drawing was also a method to far fuori usicre his depression.
The artist was drawing on a variety of paper types and was using many materials. Drawing permitted Van Gogh to capture light and picture quicker than with painting.
This drawing named “Sorrow” portrays a woman, who is located in an outdoor environment. It could be autumn or winter as the nature seems dry and the trees are undress.
The woman is naked but the artist does not give so much emphasis to sensuality as the only private part represented in the drawing are tits.
The aim of the drawing is therefore on making the woman look fragile and submissive. In fact, the figure is seated and she has her arms wrapped around her knees with her head tucked in the middle.
Clearly, the observer does not see her face that generally is the element which conveys the theme of sadness through its eyes or mouth. In this case, the element used by Van Gogh to symbolize the theme is the position of the body, giving a significant value to the “woman’s retreat”. This efficient element indicates the fragility of the woman that doesn’t stand up for her rights. The artists portrays a tired woman who seems insecure of herself and for this reason she is hiding her head and she is also trying to turn in on itself.
In the bottom of the page, the artist have written some words but due to the fact that are not decipherable means they are personal.
The material used to make the drawing are: pencil, pen and ink on paper. The measure is 44.5 x 27.0 cm.
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
Van Gogh drew “Sorrow” in 1882 while he was living in The Hague.
he was exploring new art forms, since he did attend a lot of art lessons and he was highly encouraged in challenging his art by the artist Anton Mauve.
At the time he was nearly 30, but he was still living supported by his parents, they had the last word on his decisions and he moved across the Netherlands because they were not approving his relationship.
Therefore the prevailing emotion in his life, during this period, was the same of the one he did show in his painting: Sadness. Although he was living his life in the Netherlands where they had a stable situation he was going through a period full of insecurity, constantly moving from a place to another and from one heartbreak to the other.
The drawing portrays a 32 year old pregnant woman, Clarissa Maria Hoornik, also known as Sien. He fell in love with this woman who was an alcoholic and a prostitute. Van Gogh tried to “save” her from working on the streets as a prostitute to earn money for her family by providing his shelter.
He took care of her, and meantime she modelled for him.
This drawing was produced in the spring of 1882, they were seeing each other from January to July, when she gave birth to her son.
In the image she is pregnant and the flowers in the background represents the blooming of a baby.
Many versions were made of the same drawing; including painting, lithographs and other drawings; making it a series of works.
“Sorrow” was part of a series of paintings the artist made of Sien Hoornik, his muse. Her real name was Clasina Maria Hoornik and she lived with him much time in The Hague, from 1881 to 1883. In this period he made portraits of her, her daughter and her baby which reflected the domestic and hard working life of the poor class.
The relationship was not accepted by friends or supporters, although his brother Theo didn’t cease to stay by him.
In the Hague, he settled with his cousin-in-law, Anton Mauve, who did not approve his relationship with Sien as she had an extremely difficult life that would create problems also to him.
In the time in which they lived together, there was great emotional instability for both.
“Sorrow” can be considered, therefore a reflected image of his own state of mind at that time as well as Sien’s; the pain and sorrow that brought them together was the reason why they were so close.
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Madonna, 1894 by Edvard Munch
This painting, similarly to Van Gogh’s Sorrow, was painted in 1894 and is an example of expressionist art as well as being a religious painting.
It depicts Mary, the mother of Jesus in a very particular way; unlike the traditional portrayals of Mary in Art. She isn’t depicted as fully clothed, and a “pure” woman but instead, as a sexually mature woman.
Initially it was called Loving Woman, symbolising what Munch considered the essential acts of the female life cycle: sexual intercourse—> fertilisation—> procreation —> death.
It was suggested that the painting shows “a strong woman who reduces a man to subjections and gives the figure of woman monumental proportions”.
The figure is interpreted by some as a “femme fatal”: an archetype of literature and art; a mysterious and seductive woman who charms lovers and often leads them to compromising, dangerous and deadly situations.
It is arguable that the early death of his mother gave the artist distorted views of women as being unobtainable and seducing. His mother died when he was five years old, a reason why munch learnt early about “the mysteries and dangers of life”. This influenced his perceptions of women as givers of life as well as secureness.
This is really evident in the transitional floating state in which he depicts Madonna, suggesting the power women have in seducing men.
Some critics suggest that his religious imagery and ideology is strongly linked to his childhood and his father who suffered from a “difficult temper, with religious anxiety bordering on insanity”
With this painting, Munch is emphasising the sexism present in art history by portraying the protagonist in an erotic and objectifying manner. This is done through exaggerating the Madonna’s sexuality through her use of her semi naked body.
He painted five variations between 1894 and 1895, exploring different psychological angles of women in the painting; with his later paintings including an embryo.
Arm behind her back suggests captivity, as if it were bound. Her other arm is held behind her head, suggesting surrender.
Munch used these gestures to diminish the overpowering figure of the woman
Face of the figure resembles both the writer Dagny Przybyszewska and his sister Ragnhild Backstrom
This painting is from 1894 and is an example of expressionist art, displaying the contrast between religious and erotic art.
The blood-red halo around the woman’s head replaces the typical golden halo usually associated with the Mary.
It is also seen as a counterpart of her red lips and the nipples, points that allude to the process of having a child, giving birth and feeding off-spring. It’s a symbol of the duality between love and pain.
This red colour is suggestive to art Noveau
Her eyes are closed, expressing modesty. Also, this creates a barrier between the viewer and the subject
The background is said to be a “decorative border “ composed of semen; representing the idea of fertility and procreation