Three Painters and their paintings - Essay Example

Three Painters Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 5 References 6 Introduction This paper discusses the life and works of Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and Leonardo da Vinci, three unarguable geniuses in the world of art. What makes them stand out, this paper asserts, is the originality of their lives and their visions, which spilled over into their work. The rest of the paper explores each of their lives and works in turn (Van Gogh Gallery, 2013; leonardoda-vinci.org, 2013; Jackson-Pollock.org, 2013).

Discussion It is noteworthy that Jackson Pollock, for one, came from a background that gave non intimations of his later genius, already fully formed and excellent by the time of his death at a relatively young age of 44. Having emerged out of Cody Wyoming in the year 1912, he would emerge by the late 40’s as a major force in abstract expressionist art and in American art in general, The testament to his genius is evident in the critical acclaim given to his work, including more recent retrospectives in the hallowed halls of the Museum of Modern Art or MoMA in New York, as well as the Tate in London, the latter two being held in the late 1990’s.

Formatively, he was a product of a struggle between the need to create and an alcoholism that saw him being exposed to Jungian psychotherapists and Jungian ideals and concepts, among other things. The slow but unmistakable development of his originality and genius, however, extended beyond those influences. In the history of American art it is Pollock who is credited with a serious attempt to challenge the sole use of the traditional implements of the trade, the brush and the easel, and used first his hands and then his whole body in the crafting of his abstract paintings.

Another innovation, coming not out of a conscious decision but out of an organic development in the method of his craft, was the use of hard floor as the backboard of his canvas, and using the whole body to drip paint all over the canvas. The method itself was unlike anything developed before and since, with the use of the whole body to intuit and to create. That the works themselves are recognized as original and groundbreaking must partly owe too to the genius of the process itself (Jackson-Pollock.org, 2013).

If Pollock is a modern painter and more recent, Vincent Van Gogh was the product of the late 1800’s, having been born in 1850 and having died in 1890, but that does not detract from the ever-fresh quality of the works, which transcend time. It must be the nature of the genius of Van Gogh and similar masters like him that their works are able to remain relevant and beautiful even with the march of the centuries. The genius of Van Gogh, goes beyond the critical acclaim and fame that have been heaped on him and his work, and is evident in the masterpieces themselves.

It is noteworthy that the life ended in suicide, but the best works of the master were said to have composed in a span of time that totaled to less than three years in all, in a period that was marked by a steadily increasing intensity of passion imbued into the brushstrokes, the intensity and vibrancy of the colors, and the way the forms and the lines moved and vibrated in the unique way that Van Gogh was able to incorporate into the works. The mark of the genius, on the other hand, is that up to the present time, his works are hailed as masterpieces that go beyond time, and are still being evaluated and studied for deeper meanings and conveyances of beauty (Van Gogh Gallery, 2013).

Moving back in time, the last master in the trio considered for this paper is Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian who lived from 1452 to 1519, and who, having had a successful career in a number of engineering and artistic disciplines, is also hailed as a master and genius of painting. The whole of the western world is in awe of his iconic works the ‘Mona Lisa’ as well as ‘The Last Supper’, These two paintings, together with the likewise famous ‘Vitruvian Man’, is said to be among just fifteen paintings that have survived to modern times, no doubt the result of the way the master continuously experimented with new forms and techniques, leading to some of the works not surviving the vicissitudes of time.

As with Pollock and Van Gogh, the proofs of the genius are the beauty and technical mastery reflected in the works themselves, and the utter originality of vision that they represented (leonardoda-vinci.org, 2013). Conclusion Pollock, da Vinci, and Van Gogh are three painters that can be truly considered as geniuses from the perspectives of the beauty of their works, and the originality and freshness of their artistic visions, which have transcended time, and which have remained fresh and relevant up to the present time (Van Gogh Gallery, 2013; leonardoda-vinci.

org, 2013; Jackson-Pollock.org, 2013). References Jackson-Pollock.org (2013). Biography of Jackson Pollock. Jackson-Pollock.org. Retrieved from http://www.jackson-pollock.org/biography.jsp leonardoda-vinci.org (2013). Leonardo da Vinci The Complete Works. Leonardoda-Vinci.org. Retrieved from http://www.leonardoda-vinci.org/ Van Gogh Gallery (2013). Vincent van Gogh Biography. Van Gogh Gallery. Retrieved from http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/biography.html