Compare and Contrast Essay on Monet's and Van Gogh's paintings

Historical Analysis of the Artworks

The path through the iris is an oil on canvas painting made by the French impressionist painter Claude Monet while the Irises is one of the many floral paintings of the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. These two paintings share several similarities as well as have their own differences as explored in this essay. To Begin with age, the two paintings differ in the date of their drawing as the Irises was painted in 1899(Claude Monet | The Path through the Irises | The Met). On the other hand, The Path through the Irises is believed to have been painted between the years 1914-1917 ("Irises (Getty Museum)"). Nonetheless, despite having differences in age the two are oil on canvas paintings and this further indicates that the two paintings are rather recent. In fact, according to DeWitt, Larmann, Shields, (222), oil paintings are relatively recent innovations compared to conventional paintings such as Fresco and the approach of using oil in paintings gained popularity from the 15th Century. Currently, the Irises is one of the most expensive paintings and it's owned by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles while Monet's path through the iris is currently displayed and owned by the Metropolitan Museum.

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Elements of Art

Despite being both impressionist painters, with similarities, Monet's and Van Gogh's paintings differ in the use of essential elements of art. To start with the use of light, both utilize natural light as both artists were fond and masters of En Plein air landscape painting, an approach that undermines the predetermined perception of in-studio paintings. Painting in natural light entailed doing it outside under the diffuse light of large white umbrellas. Besides that, both paintings utilize light to create implied lines, for instance in Monet's Path through the Irises differences in lighting is used to create an implied line that forms a path between the two flowers. On the other hand at a close look, light is instrumental in the creation of an implied line that acts as the neatly arranged rows.

On matters color, The Irises painting is characterized by the blend of bold and dull colors, yellow, purple, violet and deep crimson. The purple and violet colors are eye-catching and add vibrancy to the painting against the bright yellow backdrop and the deep crimson soil which add contrast and depth to the painting. Van Gogh's color resonates with people beliefs that colors hold deep symbolism, for instance, the purple color is associated with opulence, luxury, rarity and wealth. Nonetheless, the original bold purple color has faded to a dull pigment and the painting represents the blue variety (out of over 300) varieties of Iris flowers. On the other hand, the colors used in the Path through the iris are not as vibrant as those used in Van Gogh's Irises, Monet's painting appears to be a faint purple against a bright yellow background. Therefore one can conclude that Van Gogh's palette is rather brighter in his works compared to Monet's pastels.

In response to form, both Monet and Van Gogh relied on natural organic shapes that are free-form and unpredictable in their appearance. This resonates with nature's elements animals and plants, in this case, the Iris flowers. No geometric shapes are used in both paintings as they are not best suited for these types of painting. According to DeWitt, Larmann, Shields (69), geometric forms are three-dimensional objects that are regular and easily expressible in words and mathematical forms. Moreover, they are best suited for architectural constructions, technology, crystalline structures, and drawings rather than in the fine art paintings as they are characterized by straight articulating planes and crisp regularity.

Principals of Art

Van Gogh excels in the principles of art as he executed them with precision to create rhythm, emphasis, balance, patterns, scale, and proportionality. For instance, in the Irises, the utilization of vibrant colors (violet and blue) brings the petals to life creating an illusion of movement, depth and a smooth texture of the flowers. Moreover, there is a psychological focus created through the elements of art; the uneven and undistributed placing of the irises on the page makes the flower a focal point. This approach is also shared in Monet's painting whose psychological focus is the path created by the separate rows of flowers. In addition, the use of many colors such as the deep crimson soil draws the eye and shows the painters willingness of using multiple colors. Furthermore, the paintings illustrate the ability of the painters to draw inspiration from nature and surroundings to paint bold images with bright colors and deep contours, depth, and character.

Modes of Analysis

Both paintings utilize a blend of formal and stylistic analysis as well as the iconographic analysis. For instance, the use of purple in both paintings symbolizes wealth and opulence. Moreover, the use of flowers in the paintings depicts objects that people would recognize in the world around us; consequently, the subject matters are recognizable and objective. In addition, both paintings share similarities as both painters were among the most consistent and creative practitioners of the impressionism movement's philosophy of expressing one's artistic perceptions before nature. In fact, both utilized nature's elements in their paintings, for instance, the use of natural light in their En plein air paintings.

Works Cited

"Claude Monet | The Path Through the Irises | The Met." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I.e. The Met Museum, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438007?sortBy=Relevance&ft=monet&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=20.

"Irises (Getty Museum)." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/826/vincent-van-gogh-irises-dutch-1889/?sortBy=Relevance&ft=monet&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=20.

Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, Kathryn Shields. Gateways to Art Second Edition. Thames & Hudson Gateways, 2015.