Painting Focus: Vase with Gladioli and China Asters, 1886

Today, a painting by Vincent Van Gogh is worth millions of dollars. But when Van Gogh lived, he could barely afford to eat and rarely could afford to hire models. Although he wrote often to his brother Theo about his wish to paint people, he rarely was able to. So Van Gogh was forced to improvise by painting whatever objects were available, including a simple vase filled with gladioli flowers.

Van Gogh painted many varieties of flowers. His best known flower works are his bright series of sunflower paintings. Van Gogh's "Vase with Gladiloi" (1886) is an often overlooked masterpiece in interpreting still life to canvas. Van Gogh did several pieces including gladioli flowers in the summer of 1886, but this is arguably the best in the series. It now hangs in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The painting is also called "Vase with Gladioli and Chinese Asters", F248a and several others that I'm sure I forgot to mention here.

Van Gogh's Style

Van Gogh is an artist that's either loved or hated. Van Gogh did receive some art instruction, but mostly was a self-taught artist. Critics point out his blocky, borderline cartoonish figures, including those of flowers. Van Gogh used a swirling quality with his colors, laying them sometimes directly next to each other instead of blending them in. "Vase with Gladioli" shows how thickly he laid the expensive oil paints onto his canvass.
Because Van Gogh used paint in such thick layers, we are able to see how long his brushstrokes were and sometimes the actual tiny lines of the brush itself. This is especially noticeable in the vase itself and sprig of gladioli laying nest to the vase. When viewed at a slight distance of a few feet, the colors and brushstrokes do blend to make a solid picture. But seeing the actual brushstrokes gives a personal touch, as if Van Gogh is not afraid for us to see how he works. This makes his work approachable because of this human touch.

Van Gogh's Palette

Most of Van Gogh's flower paintings are done with one predominating color or colors that closely resemble each other. His sunflower series are in mostly bright earth tones, for example. "Vase with Gladioli" is different in that there are a variety of colors used. The background and most of the vase is dark, while the flowers themselves are bright green, yellow, red and white. The red is quite dark, which helps to balance the dark and light colors.

The vase itself is quite interesting, although it is dominated by the gladioli. It may have been an old tin can that perhaps at one time held Van Gogh's brushes. It is smeared with odd splotches of colors, suggesting that Van Gogh may have used it as a substitute palette at one point.