Van Gogh and Post-Impressionism

Vincent Van Gogh followed on the heels of the Impressionists.  The focus of the Impressionist Art Movement was to capture the effect of sunlight on colors and to portray a moment in time.  Van Gogh took this one step further and painted in a way that created a feeling or mood in the viewer.  This new type of art was called Post-Impressionism.

Van Gogh's life was plagued by very intense highs and lows.  When he was able to overcome his melancholy, he painted at a fierce pace often completing several paintings in a single day.  It is said that he sometimes became so excited about getting the paint down on the canvas that he would use his hands to apply the paint rather than a brush.

Van Gogh's art was not popular during his lifetime; he only sold 1 painting!  Of course, today his artwork sells for millions of dollars each.

The 2nd grade students recreated The Starry Night as a multimedia project.  We used oil pastels for the cyprus tree in the foreground, crayons for the buildings in the middle ground, oil pastel for hills in the background, and acrylic paint for the sky.  The students did a great job.  I think Van Gogh would approve!