Today's post is an essay that I wrote in college, but I got to thinking about it this week and it makes so much sense in life. We had to find a painting and write about what we thought the painter was trying to say through his artwork. I chose Vincent Van Gogh because he has so much beautiful work. I have so below is his painting, "Boulevard de Clichy". I get swept away in Van Gogh's talent and his way of taking so many colors and blending them together to create something so beautiful! This painting, in my opinion, is about people being to busy to observe life, and I got a perfect score on it, so I must have known a little bit about the assignment, and art! So here it is, I hope you enjoy, and maybe it will open your eyes to art in a whole new way!
Taken for Granted
Life. Nature. Beauty. All of these surround me everyday, but I never take the time to acknowledge them. Vincent Van Gogh painted The Boulevard de Clichy in 1887 with vivid colors and great contrast. Not only are the colors he uses bright, but also the painting is made of short strokes, which breaks up the picture and makes it look like a blur, as if time is flying by. The painting made me stop and think because of this short stroke method it used. It shows how the world can get wrapped up in life and takes each day for granted.
Van Gogh painted this picture to show us that we need to stop and look at the things around us. He shows that we do not take the time to look at the nature and beauty that is all around us. The inventions of automobiles and the advancement in technology have changed the way of seeing the world even more than it was in 1887, when this picture was painted. Although times have changed, the meaning of this painting stays the same. I do not take the time I should to look at the nature around me. Am I involved in too many activities? Should I stop and look around me when I am going somewhere? These are some questions that this painting has pushed me to ask myself.
By using lighter colors when painting the sky, and bright colors for the fronts of the buildings, it implies that the time is early in the morning, before the sun is completely up. Also, by looking at the people in the streets, I can see that there are only a few women in the streets, and a child or two with them. There aren’t any men out, which would show us that it is the women who have got up, housewives most likely, and they are getting a head start on their day. Seeing that the streets aren’t busy shows us that the town has not yet awakened for the day. Since there aren’t leaves on the trees, and the women are bundled up, and also the white specks on the ground, I am led to believe that The Boulevard de Clichy was painted in the middle of winter. Dawn is a very peaceful time of day, before the hustle and bustle starts, and I imagine birds singing. In the middle of the painting, above the buildings, there is a cluster of birds flying overhead, which goes along with my early morning theory.
There isn’t much detail as to what these women look like, so this means that who they are is not important to the painting. It is cold, yet they have errands to run, so they are walking in the streets as quickly as possible so that they can complete their errands for the day. I am calling these errands because most of the women are alone unless they have a small child by their side. If Van Gogh had been focusing on the village, but not the people, the purpose would have been to show that nature is acknowledged, but life passes by too quickly, but by blurring the whole painting, it shows that we need to stop and look around.
By using bright colors for the building fronts instead of normal brick colors, it helps to bring out the light from the sunrise. Rising on the left side of the painting, and casting a beautiful glow on the building fronts. But, the women do not see this change, and they do not see its beauty as it changes each morning. By not focusing any of the painting, it helps to bring out Van Gogh’s vision on life, and how nature is often taken for granted, whether through people being busy, or just because they don’t have the time to focus on their surroundings.
The human race is constantly in motion; it doesn’t look around to see the world, but is only focused on the goal directly ahead. The woman on the left in blue is crossing the street, but everything around her, including the street lamp, is blurred, this is important to the painting simply because Van Gogh is showing us that there isn’t any part of the surroundings in this town being recognized.
The trees are the only objects that tend to stand out in the painting, and they seem to be pointing at the sun rising over the buildings, as if they are trying to tell these women to take a look around them. Nature is trying to get the attention of these women, even though they are not willing to stop and take the time from their busy schedules. Van Gogh sees that the world around these women is changing, the sunrise is never the same, the leaves change colors and fall off the trees, but the people don’t see this, and need to take a look at the bigger picture.
It has become a daily task for these women to move around the town in the mornings and to prepare for the day, so their focus is on the daily tasks instead of the world around them. Their morning tasks have become natural because they do them every day and it has become their life. These women know that by taking the time to stop and look around, they will only lose precious time from the day, so they have trained themselves to focus on the tasks at hand and not to worry about what is going on around them. The women don’t gather in the street to gossip, because it would be a waste of time, just like it would be to stop and marvel at nature’s beauty. By going out alone, they do not have any interruptions in the day; they can do what is needed of them, and then continue on their way.
I know that I do not take the time to “see” what is around me, and like these women, I do what is required of me and I do not look any further. I push nature aside, and don’t pay much attention to it. I believe that I should stop and look around a little more often, and I challenge you to do the same. Don’t take life for granted; it was given to us to be lived, not to be made into a routine. Be spontaneous and take a look around when you get up in the morning. Instead of getting the paper off the porch, going back inside, getting a cup of coffee, and sitting down before you start the day, stay on the porch a little longer, and take a look around. Listen to the birds sing, and watch the sun rise. That is nature’s gift to us.
