Japanese calligraphy. I am not sure if there is a direct correlation between the two. I did however find out that the "after Eisen" in the title refers to the Japanese artist Kesai Eisen. Eisen had a print in publication of this same character. Van Gogh copied and enlarged the Japanese figure by tracing on a grid, he also altered the colors and added animals such as the frog and the crane which were terms for prostitutes in France. The piece is vibrant bold and powerful.Sunflowers2 is the title of the next piece I will talk about. It is another oil painting. It was done in Arles in 1889. I do love sunflowers immensely, but the subject matter is not the only reason I like this work. The color scheme works extrremely well in this piece. Unlike the last piece, it is limited to basically two colors, yellow and green. The variation he achieves with shades and tints give the painting incredible depth with such a limited pallet. I also find in this piece as well as in his others is that his brush strokes alone are intriguing to look at. One other thing in this piece I find interesting is the shapes Van Gogh depicts. The vase is almost a flat shape. Little to no modeling goes on in it. Not only flat but it is also skewed or contorted. The flowers I think are less flat but still somewhat simplified. I find these things to be interesting because despite them or maybe because of them, this is an amazing painting to view. The warmth of colors, the brush stokes, and interesting depiction of a beautiful subject matter, all make this one of my favorite pieces I saw at the museum.The Van Gogh museum was one of the highlights of my trip to Amsterdam. No really it was. The City itself is beautiful, with its waterways and unique architecture, it offered much more than I anticipated. The Van Gogh Museum held inside it a collection of work done by a great artist. It was a wonderful experience to be able to view all the unique works done by this man as wel...
