techniques
Van Gogh Brushstroke Analysis
Long-tail intents
- brushstroke analysis Van Gogh
- Van Gogh brushwork
- Van Gogh painting technique
Common Questions
What is distinctive about Van Gogh's brushwork?
His brushwork often has a visible direction, so marks can describe form while also suggesting movement, light or pressure.
Did Van Gogh always paint with swirling brushstrokes?
No. His marks changed from early drawing lines to Paris experiments, Arles directionality, Saint-Remy swirls and later broken strokes.
How can brushstrokes help analyse a Van Gogh painting?
Following their direction can show how the eye is guided through a composition and how separate areas of a picture are given different energy.
Representative Artworks
Miners in the Snow at Dawn 1880 · F831 
Sower (after Millet) 1881 · F830 
Sorrow 1882 · F929 
Worn Out 1882 · F863 
The Old Tower at Nuenen 1884 · F88 
Weaver (interior with three windows) 1884 · F30 
Weaver Facing Left 1884 · F24 Weaver Facing Right 1884 · F37 
Weaver Near an Open Window 1884 · F26 
Head of a Peasant Woman with White Cap 1885 · F160 
Still Life with Bible 1885 · F117 
The Potato Eaters 1885 · F82 
The Potato Eaters (study) 1885 · F78 
Glass with Yellow Roses 1886 · F218 
Self-Portrait (Paris, dark) 1886 · F178v 
Skull with Burning Cigarette 1886 · F212 
Still life with fritillaries 1886 · F213 
Still Life with Meadow Flowers and Roses 1886 · F243 
Vase of Flowers 1886 · F286 
Asnières landscape series 1887 · F317-F318 
Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) 1887 · F372 
Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige) 1887 · F371 
Oiran (after Kesai Eisen) 1887 · F373 
Pere Tanguy 1887 · F363 Narrative Nodes
1880 Miners in the Snow at Dawn 1882 Worn Out 1882-05 The Hague and Sien 1884 The Weavers 1885-04 The Potato Eaters 1885-10 Still Life with Bible 1885-11 Antwerp Academy 1886-1887 The Paris Flower Studies 1887 Pere Tanguy 1887 Still Life with Quinces and Lemons 1887 View from Theo's Apartment 1887-06 Asnières landscape series