A new work about Vincent van Gogh on sale
The Shadows of the Colors
Mark Charles Shertheton
A journey into the work of Vincent van Gogh through four hundred miniatures of his paintings
Click on the image above as well as the thumbnail images below to look more closely at the work, the colors, the brush stroke, and the compositions (note: the image of the whole painting can be a bit slow when downloading).
The painting, done primarily in oil presents Vincent van Gogh, his nuclear family, and his work. The canvas, which is six and a half feet in width, six feet in height, and an inch and three fourth inches wide is divided into two parts.
On the left of the canvas are depictions of his father, mother, brothers, and three sisters. Each one is shown in an environment to which each was accustomed. Theo is placed in front of Goupil et Cie, the French company for which he worked. He carries folders about the company under his arm and in his hand. Anna is shown in an educational setting, as she taught school. Lies (Elisabeth), who is thinking deeply on what she is writing, is shown working on her poetry. Located in the lower left corner is Wil (Willemina). Since she spent almost 40 years in an asylum, she is seated very still looking out of a window. Outside the window is a tree. Leaves of the tree are a variety of colors. This reflects “the tree of colors” under which Vincent sits on the right side of the canvas. Since Wil and Vincent both dealt with severe mental illness, a correlation between them seemed correct to use. The mother and Cor (Cornelius) are shown in their respective environments.
Theodorus, Vincent’s father, is shown with a Bible in his hands, as he was a Protestant minister. He is the largest figure in the painting because he was the main figure in the family. He is almost the length of the canvas because he divides the family and their lives of social acceptability and conventional patterns from Vincent and his very unorthodox life of excitement and experimentation and color. To show that Biblical teachings were always a part of their lives, pages done in black ink from the Bible are scattered on the left side of the canvas.
Since the right side of the canvas has numerous miniatures, most of which are placed in a very compressed arrangement, a certain complexity is presented; therefore, I have shown the figures in a simpler presentation style. If I were to have painted them with more complexity, doing so would have overwhelmed the canvas a bit too much.
On the right side of the painting is Vincent putting finishing touches on one of his self-portraits. Above him is the main portion of the tree with three hundred and eight-four (384) miniatures of his paintings. Sixteen other miniatures are placed around him or are falling from the tree, as leaves fall from trees. In total, four hundred (400) miniatures of his paintings are presented. A few miniatures of his drawings are done in graphite. Two miniatures are mostly covered, and one is unfinished, so I have not included these in the group of four hundred.
A variety of his work was chosen from different periods of his paintings, from the earlier, darker ones that he painted in The Hague-Drenthe and Nuenen-Antwerp to many after those periods.
In the lower right of the canvas is a figure very similar to the one in Vincent’s painting “At Eternity’s Gate,” though I have titled the image “At the Gates of the Eternity of the Colors.” This has two meanings; the first is that Vincent’s work in colors, like the work of Matisse, Derain, and Turner, will always have an eternal quality; secondly, the figure, which, like in the original painting is in great despair, reaches out to Vincent as if he is saying, even in eternity you will never have peace, and you will always suffer like me. The four miniatures of figures above this image emphasize Vincent’s pain, anguish, and misery.
The title of the painting, The Shadows of the Colors, is symbolic: Vincent’s great gift of colors and technique in his work, which have made him and his work immortal, were also the shadow of despair, mental illness, and poverty under which he lived, for which he has become immortal also. The images below as well as using the magnifier on the image above will give the viewer an idea of the detailed work involved in creating the painting.
All of the miniatures are approximately one and a half inches by one and a half inches. I worked closely with a professional digital photographer to get the images as good as we could get them. As you probably know, digital photography and in particular art documentation are very difficult skills. Although color correction was done during and after the photo shoot, the colors and compositional lines in a few of them are not quite correct; however, the colors and compositions in all of the painted miniatures are a fine match to Van Gogh’s work, as can be observed easily in person. As I worked, much care was taken to match the compositions, colors, and details in all of the miniatures as closely as possible to the original works.
Notes from the painter
My focus on doing this project was my fascination for miniatures. It is an art that for the most part is not practiced anymore. I chose van Gogh’s work because of my admiration for his work, his colors, and his freedom of expression. The post-impressionist period is one of my favorite periods. To understand the brilliance of Vincent van Gogh is, I think, to understand art in a very particular way.
Offers are graciously accepted.
About the artist
Mark Charles Shertheton has been studying and working in art for over eight years. He has taken a variety of classes, though he is primarily self-taught, and he has learned from a wide variety of international teachers and artists. He has done work in oil, acrylic, charcoal, pastel, and graphite. He lives in Massachusetts.
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This painting and all images regarding it are copyrighted. This work is not in public domain.
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