Vincent van Gogh lived more than 115 years ago, and yet his artwork is still altering the way mankind views beauty, persona, individuality, and style in art. His thousands of paintings and drawings have various characteristics that have been copied by thousands and duplicated by none. Van Gogh's unique life has inspired millions to become active in art. In fact, what many people today consider to be the archetypical "artist persona" is largely a result of his influence. Perhaps the most impressive aspect is that artists continue to mimic the style that Van Gogh created over one hundred years ago.
The impressionists and post impressionists of Vincent's time influenced him greatly after he moved to Paris in 1886. The bright new palette reigned heavily over Gogh's previous dark muted color scheme. Van Gogh's use of this new impressionist and post impressionist style altered not only his work, but also all of art history.
One particular artist is leading the contemporary impressionists in an effort to become "America's Vincent van Gogh"... Stefan Duncan
! Duncan's amazing work is a plethora of brilliant colors tossed about in a whimsical style he calls Squigglism. Having been greatly influenced by Vincent van Gogh, Stefan utilizes this updated technique to draw the quick strokes of the impressionists into long curvy lines. These tight eddies of color dance around his paintings lighting every feature with beauty! It is this very beauty that Stefan strives to capture in all of his work; revealing the divine in nature!
Visit Stefan Duncan's Website to view all of his Beautiful Work!
Above you can see the work of Artist Lee Tiller .
Tiller is a Contemporary Impressionist who continues the trend set many
years ago by the master impressionists. The new contemporary
impressionists strive to prove that impressionism is not a dead art form
and is still growing and changing with the times.
Tiller's grasp of light and color is amazing and captivates the
onlooker. His paintings are crisp and clean and contain all of the
characteristics that one looks for in great impressionism while still
adding his own aspects. His paintings are undeniably beautiful and prove
that Tiller is one of the greatest Contemporary Impressionist artists.
Tiller's work can be seen in galleries around the world as well as in
various exhibitions. Tiller (like many great contemporary
impressionists) was influenced by many great impressionists of the past
including Vincent van Gogh (see the chair picture at far right).
Visit Lee Tiller's Website to view all of his Great Artwork!
Tiller, however is not the only contemporary impressionist that was influenced by Vincent van Gogh. Below you can see 4 portraits painted by Vitali Komrov in the style of Vincent's own self portraits. Komrov actually painted an interpretation of one of Gogh's bandaged ear portraits (you can see it at the far right). Like Van Gogh's portraits these new contemporary impressionist portraits contain the same features while upgrading the color to brighter "candy" like schemes.
Vitali Komarov's artwork is an amazing example of contemporary
impressionism with a new modern twist. His paintings are vivid with
color and exaggeration. His use of impressionist techniques is amazing
and his work is unbelievable. His collection contains hundreds of
paintings that shine with Gogh like splendor! All of his paintings,
regardless of subject matter are wonderful. Below you can see more of
his paintings that have been influenced by Vincent van Gogh.
Both Lee Tiller and Vitali Komarov have taken what Vincent van Gogh
created and modified the style to meet their own ideas. Although their
paintings are clearly different it is still very apparent that they were
influenced by Van Gogh. The future of contemporary impressionism looks
bright with such talented artists paving the way.
Visit Vitali Komarov's Website to view all of his Great Artwork!
Vincent van Gogh's Self Portraits have also influenced the sculpture world. Below is a selection from the website Vincent Says.... According to the website:
A giant head of Vincent van Gogh, modeled after his
"Self-portrait with Straw Hat" in the collection of the Detroit
Institute Arts, stands seven feet tall on its pedestal. Naturally, his
right ear is missing, but his left ear has a large enough opening that
money can be dropped into the head. This causes him to respond with
Dutch accented observations about life and art.
The sculpture (seen at right) receives over $60 Dollars a day which is donated to charity.
It is created of pigmented epoxy fiberglass over a steel frame by artist Jim Pallas.
Jim Pallas specializes in creating money accepting sculptures and other
interactive artwork. His sculptures are generally quirky and fun while
maintaining the for a good cause aspect.
Visit Jim Pallas's Website to view all of his Great Sculptures!
However, Jim Pallas is not the only innovative, interactive
sculpture creator who was influenced by the self portraits of Vincent
van Gogh. Carlos Zapata
creates whimsical, outlandish, and visually appealing sculptures that
can move via intricate mechanics. These sculptures are bright and fun
and offer pleasing entertainment when in motion. Carlos created a
sculpture of Van Gogh's self portrait with an interesting internal
movement! The small Gogh figure with in the large sculpture's head
paints a picture as the large sculptures hand crank is turned.
There are other artists that have been influenced by Vincent van
Gogh on a much larger scale. As seen below, artist Cameron Cross created
the project entitled: The Big Easel. This is a series of sculptures
that reign over the landscape with their massive proportions. These
gigantic easels hold massive hand painted re-productions of Vincent van
Gogh's Sunflower Paintings. The Sculptures break records not only in
size and spectacle but also in unique beauty!
Visit Carlos Zapata's Website to view all of his Great Sculptures!
Not only are Vincent's Sunflowers extremely popular pieces popular pieces, but also trend setters. As described on Other Sunflower Artists Section of this website:
"Vincent van Gogh's sunflower paintings opened a door to a new
evolution in decor and art. Not only did Vincent van Gogh inspire others
to paint sunflowers, but he also created a trend that would span
various lifestyles and personas. Van Gogh's infamous sunflowers altered
many views on color schemes, exaggerated features, and stereotypically
beautiful flowers in minimalistic form."
Likewise, in discussing trends set by Vincent van Gogh it is
important to look at a more literal art product... Merchandise! Gogh has
inspired hundreds of companies to begin placing his artwork on many
different novelty items. This ultimately proves his influence not only
on the art world but also on society. His artwork remains at the top of
the selling list among all art prints. Reproductions of his paintings
created by hand are also in very high demand. Taking this into
consideration it is understandable how large of a scale his life and
works have influenced; a very impressive feat indeed!
We would like to continue adding to this section over time. As we find new and innovative artists who were influenced by Vincent van Gogh, we will add them. Please visit the Contact the Van Gogh Gallery to offer any information you have on Van Gogh's impact on art or artists that you know who have been influenced by Vincent van Gogh.