Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), Self-Portrait, 1887
The Art Institute of Chicago, Joseph Winterbotham Collection.
Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago.
How is a portrait more than just a likeness? Can a portrait reveal elements of character, identity, and personality? And what is the effect when that portrait is rendered according to certain rules of color and methods of brushwork? These are topics addressed in the Indianapolis Museum of Art's new exhibition, Face to Face: The Neo-Impressionist Portrait, 1886-1904.
Featuring some 30 oil paintings and 20 drawings, this groundbreaking exhibition brings together some of the most intriguing portraits from late 19th-century European art. This was a fascinating period in art history when advances in the study of optics and color perception led artists to adopt a distinctive, new style comprised of short, dotted brushstrokes made up of contrasting colors. Artists Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, and Paul Signac led the Neo-Impressionist movement, which saw a transition from realistic to more symbolic portrayals of the human figure and produced some of the world's most recognizable images. Van Gogh's 1887 Self-Portrait (pictured above), on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago, is the embodiment of the Neo-Impressionist portrait. More than mere likeness, the portrait's striking color contrasts and energetic brushstrokes endow the subject with a new psychological intensity.
The exhibition continues through September 7th. To learn more, visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art website.
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