Quebra-cabeça Cineraria by Vincent Van Gogh

Cineraria by Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas 1886, is a still life painting of purple Cineraria flowers in a flower pot dramatically lit against a dark background. Painted in the year that Van Gogh moved to Paris, Cineraria is built in the somber earth pigment palette of Van Gogh’s early Dutch paintings, punctuated by the brilliant violet flickers of the blossoming flowers, boldly modeled in strokes of thick, impasto oil paint. The broad, brilliant green leaves burst outwards to the edges of the composition, foreshadowing the energy and swirling brush work of the artist’s later paintings. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) was a Dutch painter of the Post-Impressionist movement known for bold, expressive drawing, swirling brushstrokes and bold, heightened colors. In early adulthood Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, teacher and pastor before taking up the full time study of drawing and painting in his late twenties. Influenced by Rembrandt, the 19th century Realists and Barbizon school, Van Gogh’s early paintings featured studies of workers and peasants in somber earth tones. Moving to France in 1886, Van Gogh met with the startling innovations of the Impressionist painters and began to apply their approach to color and subject matter, which continued into the mature style for which the artist is most renowned. Van Gogh produced many hundreds of drawings and paintings including portraits, landscapes, still life and flower paintings, and numerous self-portraits that became a dominating influence on the modern art of the 20th century and made him one of the most popular artists of all time.