Introduction

It is not uncommon for art lovers to compare two artists in finer detail, particularly if they are famous and have created numerous works of art. In fact, comparing two artists is a means by which art lovers are able to understand the various nuances imbued in the paintings of their favorite artists. However, such comparison between artists also leads to severe and often unjustified ego clashes between the art appreciators. This paper will compare the works of Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), a Netherlands born artist who became world famous for his rather catchy and deliberate art, and Claude Monet (1840-1926) a Paris born artist who is considered to be the one of the first well known impressionist artist of that era.

Analysis

Although both belonged to the same school of thought, both had distinctive styles and preferences. They differed in their choice of subjects, their use of colors, and also the underlying philosophies in their work

Subject of paintings

Perhaps the reason why the two artists were compared is because of the fact that they were very famous as artists and also because they belonged to one of the most influential class of art called as "impressionists". These artists believed in the creation of compelling images that used very conspicuous colors and deliberate brush strokes. Both Van Gogh and Monet were well known impressionists who were very forceful and deliberate in their use of colors and ideas. Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were intensely expressive and portrayed the pain and anguish that trailed him all through his life. It is a well known fact that he spent his entire life in unhappy and often eccentric ways, which reflected in his works of art. He had a knack of including negative or conflicting expressions and feelings into his portraits that often expressed the grim and serious aspects of life. Although Monet was also known as an impressionist, his paintings were much more subdued, much more inclined towards depicting the elements in nature, and were relevant to the environments that surrounded him. Even though his pictures used excessive colors and hard brush strokes, they often depicted nature and his surroundings unlike Van Gogh who had an inclination towards the abstract [Paris Digest, 2004]

Many experts also believe that Van Gogh was more inclined to draw human subjects or abstract elements that were closely related to the human mind or psyche. Hence, most of his paintings often reflected eccentric elements of human emotions. On the other hand, Monet was more inclined to depict elements of nature that surrounded his home and environment.

Emotions and Temperament

It must be said that the emotional and temperamental attitude of both the painters have been reflected in their paintings. Monet was peaceful and calm while Van Gogh was known for his emotional outbursts and rather restless attitude towards life. This very much reflects in their work. For example, The church of Auvers sur Oise by Van Gogh has many features that betray the emotional make up of the man. Even though he has painted a Church which usually has an air of peace and serenity about it, the portrait conjures up a feeling of restlessness and disarray, or expresses a pall of gloom at first glance. The colors are bright and the whole picture is drawn with a predominant shade of blue, which makes the picture gloomy. It may be seen that the major parts of the picture is painted in contrasting colors of blue, which depicts the contrasting colors of human emotions, dominated by one particular emotion: gloominess. In a philosophic sense, it may be said that blue represents depth and spirituality. Even in that sense it may be seen that the outlook of the painter is constricted and narrowed to depicting just one emotion.

Monet in contrast was well known for his landscapes. His painting The Nymphéas, also uses blue as the predominant color, but the dominance of blue is very much offset by other natural colors in the picture. The water lilies, the greenery of the trees, and the conspicuous human built structure all exist harmoniously in the picture and complement one another. It is a well known fact that Monet was a peace loving and clam painter who was typically known for his paintings that reflected the elements of nature around his home town. The harmony between natural elements and the elements built by man is a very strong theme that is seen in his paintings.

Use of colors and personal styles

Van Gogh was a proponent of using complimentary colors in paintings. For example, he believed that complementary colors like green and red would make the painting more outstanding and easily identifiable. This color sense is seen in many of his paintings where the extra use of complimentary colors makes the pictures intense. He believed in the energy of colors and always believed that intense colors were a synonym for intensity, passion, vigor and energy Clarity of the works of art was another important aspect that attracted his attention. Perhaps it is this importance that he paid to clarity and patience while creating an art form that drew him to Japanese art [Author not known, 2004]

“I envy the Japanese artists for the incredible neat clarity which all their works have. It is never boring and you never get the impression that they work in a hurry. It is as simple as breathing; they draw a figure with a couple of strokes with such an unfailing easiness as if it were as easy as buttoning one's waist-coat” [Author not known, 2004]

The Japanese influence was very evident in his paintings particularly during his last years. Of course he added to the exactness of Japanese painting with his own unique color combinations and the use of perspectives that was a common attribute of European paintings. His paintings are very important for the importance that he gives to people and their raw personality that he emphatically magnified with the use of hard colors. He also tried to magnify the significance of solid objects that made them relevant in his paintings.

In the case of Monet, it would not be wrong to say that his village and its surroundings were his greatest inspirations and many of his paintings faithfully reflect his countryside in all their glory. It must be said that for Monet, the beauty of life rested in the beauty that he saw outside him. Perhaps his artistic endeavors were a reflection of the beauty that he saw around him. For example, By the river at Vernon is a superb piece of art that captures the settings around the river in all its purity. The intensity of colors that is given to the evening setting and the great care that he paid to exemplify details that he found in nature, are very strong evidences of the observer and appreciator of beauty that Monet was [Givernet, 2003]. He was so obsessed with water lilies that he drew 53 paintings that dealt with water lilies in different artistic perspectives.

Underlying philosophies in the paintings

Van Gogh was a restless person always in the search of something abstract, which is said to have led to his suicide. He was an experimenting artist who sought fulfillment in his works and ideas. The philosophic undertones in his works were therefore interpreted in many abstract terms and ideas. For example it is believed that in the later part of his years he wanted to live like a Japanese monk. The Asian philosophy and attitudes to life was something that influenced him in the later part of his years. A very distinct theme of his portraits in the importance given to the self, the struggle of the self for self discovery, and the pangs of the self to get liberated from the mundane: all strong themes that could come only to a mind with a philosophic bent of mind. He was also not conservative and sought to free himself from the influences of dogma and restrictive traditions. Perhaps it is this tension that he experienced all his life that shows as intense emotions and hard brush strokes in his work [Shinn, 2003]

Monet was an appreciator of art that existed in nature. His paintings were more mundane and reflected the calm reality that he saw around him. He experimented with colors but there was a certain sense of harmony in the scheme of colors that he used. They blended with each other and did not create s sense of expressive unrest.