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Portrait of the Peasant by Vincent van Gogh. Vincent van Gogh has always been an interesting artist who has captured the attention and admiration of many artists, critics and mere admirers. Like many artists during his life he suffered many disappointments, which in turn caused him to go through some transitions in style and subject matter regards to his work. It is quite interesting to actually see the changes that occurred in his life through his work, a gift that not many artists are blessed with in their lives. Appropriately enough, as I entered the Norton Simon Museum, I noticed two bright colored paintings by van Gogh. One of the paintings was entitled “ The Mulberry Tree” and the other “Portrait of a Peasant”. He painted both of these in Arles in 1988, a time of an obvious transition in his style and approach to color. However, it is the later of the two paintings that really caught my attention. While both paintings were colorful and endearing, what instantly attracted me to “Portrait of a Peasant” was the way in which van Gogh used the colors at their truest value to not only display an image, but also to display emotion. The intense eye-catching colors of this piece brightened up the entire room of the museum. The work is painted using oil on a canvas, illustrated a peasant named Patrience Escalier, an old gardener and shepard.
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