Double-square painting
A double-square painting is a painting made on uncommonly large canvases, which have one dimension that is twice the size of the other. Vincent van Gogh used 50 cm × 100 cm (20 in × 39 in) double-squares almost exclusively during the final weeks of his life in Auvers, in June and July 1890.[1] Other artists who have painted double-square canvases include Charles-François Daubigny, Puvis de Chavannes,[2] and Ivon Hitchens.
Description
In a double-square painting, one dimension of the canvas is twice the size of the other, so that the canvas is the shape of two adjoining squares. The overall effect of this is stability, and the compositional challenge is to avoid monotony.[further explanation needed]
Use
Prior to Van Gogh, artists such as Charles-François Daubigny and Puvis de Chavannes[2] had used canvases of similar proportions, and Van Gogh was aware of this.
Van Gogh's Double-square canvases
Vincent van Gogh used double-squares almost exclusively during the final weeks of his life in Auvers, in June and July 1890.[1] To arrive at this size, Van Gogh combined the legs of two standard sizes: the 50 cm leg from a size 12 and the 100 cm leg of a size 40 stretcher. The result was a double-square of 50 cm × 100 cm (20 in × 39 in), and from this size, easily the square could be derived by using two 50 cm legs. His choice of this size points into another direction from previous artists; his double-squares can easily be combined with size 30 canvases to more elaborated décorations,[further explanation needed] and his squares extend these possibilities.
- Tree Roots, July, 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (F816, JH2113)
- Wheat Fields near Auvers, June–July 1890, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
- Sheaves of Wheat, 1890, Dallas Museum of Art (F771)
- Field with Stacks of Grain, July 1890, Beyeler Foundation, Riehen, Switzerland (F809)
- Undergrowth with Two Figures, June 1890, Cincinnati Museum of Art
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- Wheatfieldd Under Thunderclouds, July 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Landscape with Castle Auvers at Sunset, June 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (F770)
- Landscape at Auvers in the Rain, July 1890, National Museum Cardiff, Wales
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Subsequent uses of the dimensions
Ivon Hitchens worked primarily in double-squares at certain periods in his career.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b These terms were coined by Ronald Pickvance, one of the leading experts in Van Gogh-research.[need quotation to verify]
- ^ a b Hammacher, A. M. The Ten Creative Years of Vincent van Gogh, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1968. page 175
References
- Pickvance, Ronald:
- Zemel, Carol:
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works
- Early works (1881–82)
- Portraits (1881–1890)
- Peasant Character Studies (1881–1885)
- Van Gogh's family in his art (1881–1888)
- Sien (1882–83)
- Cottages (1883–1885)
- Water Mill at Gennep (1884)
- Still life paintings, Netherlands (1884–85)
- Old Church Tower at Nuenen (1884–85)
- Amsterdam (1885)
- Wheat Fields (1885–1890)
- Le Moulin de la Galette (1886)
- Still life paintings, Paris (1886–87)
- Montmartre (1886–87)
- Self portraits (1886–1889)
- Outskirts of Paris (1887)
- Asnières (1887)
- Seine (1887)
- Japonaiserie (1887)
- Sunflowers (1887–1889)
- Trees and Undergrowth (1887–1890)
- Copies by Vincent van Gogh (1887–1890)
- Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888)
- Saintes-Maries (1888)
- Boats du Rhône (1888)
- Décoration for the Yellow House (1888)
- The Roulin Family (1888–89)
- Hospital in Arles (1888–89)
- Flowering Orchards (1888–89)
- Almond Blossoms (1888–1890)
- Paintings of Children (1888–1890)
- The Wheat Field (1889)
- Reaper (1889)
- Olive Trees (1889)
- Wheat Fields (1889)
- Butterflies (1889–90)
- Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy (1889–90)
- Auvers size 30 canvases (1890)
- Auvers Double-squares and Squares (1890)
- Lost works by Vincent van Gogh
- Display at Les XX, 1890
- Boy Cutting Grass with a Sickle (1881)
- Meadows near Rijswijk and the Schenkweg (1882)
- The 'Laakmolen' near The Hague (1882)
- Church Pew with Worshippers (1882)
- Woman on Her Deathbed (1883)
- Landscape with Trees (1883)
- Peatery in Drenthe (1883)
- Landscape with Wheelbarrow (1883)
- Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam (1883)
- Breton Women (1888)
- Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman (1890)
- 87 Hackford Road (1873 or 1874)
- Marsh with Water Lilies (1881)
- Sorrow (1882)
- Portrait of a Man in a Top Hat (1882)
- Torso of Venus and a Landscape (1887)
- Head of a Girl (1888)
- Van Gogh Museum
- Van Gogh House (Drenthe)
- Maison Van Gogh
- Kröller-Müller Museum
- Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole
- Vincent van Gogh (1886 painting)
- Portrait of Vincent van Gogh (1887)
- The Painter of Sunflowers (1888 painting)
- Lust for Life (1934 novel)
- Van Gogh (1948 film)
- Lust for Life (1956 film)
- Van Gogh (1956 opera)
- Vincent and Theo van Gogh (1963 statue)
- "Vincent" (1971 song)
- Vincent (1987 film)
- Vincent & Theo (1990 film)
- Vincent and Me (1990 film)
- Dreams (1990 film)
- Vincent (1990 opera)
- Van Gogh (1991 film)
- Vincent in Brixton (2003 play)
- The Yellow House (2007 film)
- "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010 TV episode)
- Loving Vincent (2017 film)
- At Eternity's Gate (2018 film)
- Theo van Gogh
- Wil van Gogh
- Johanna van Gogh-Bonger
- Andries Bonger
- Theo van Gogh (film director)
- Anton Mauve
- Johannes Stricker
- Jacob Baart de la Faille (1928 and 1970; "F")
- Jan Hulsker (1978, revised 1989; "JH")