Van Gogh and Monticelli
- from: 16.09.2008
- to: 11.01.2009
- In: Centre de la Vieille Charité
Van Gogh and Monticelli: an original and daring exhbition
agenda
12th September 2008 to 11th January 2009Monticelli or art against the trend:
Declared "born of unknown parents" at his birth, Adolphe Monticelli (1826 -1886) was placed in the care of a nurse in a remote village at the centre of alpine Provence. He always retained a close relationship with nature from this period in his life. Brutally confronted with city life in 1835 when his parents finally recognised him, he discovered that he was particularly fond of drawing. He learnt naturalism from the master Félix Ziem and enrolled in lessons. In 1846, he left Marseille for the capital where he was inspired by the modern works of Rousseau, Delacroix and Decamps among others.
His life would be marked by journeys back and forth between Paris and Marseille, Paris for its orientalism, Marseille for the natural beauty of its landscapes. A painter appreciated by the local Marseille bourgeoise, throughout his life he had special relationships with his friends Paul Guigou, Diaz, Cézanne, Ziem and even Camille Corot. The rich outdoor parties of the Fetes Galantes (1860 - 1870) marked both his artistic peak and his international renown but also the end of his triumphant art. Judged excentric, decadent and sometimes extreme, Monticelli retired in the middle of 1871 and continued his work for himself, beyond the critics, keeping several loyal fans. Monticelli's work is a subtle connection between romanticism and symbolism, where the style and boldness of the painter cast him against the trend of the reformer painters of the end of the 19th century.
Van Gogh, the multi-facetted painter:
From a family of 5 children, Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) was plunged into the world of art dealers from a very young age. Excessive and passionate by nature, his career was often full of pitfalls, both on a private and professional level. It was in 1886 that he settled in Paris and met the impressionists and neo impressionists of the time, such as Seurat or Gaugin, who would inexorably mark his style and painting.
This very same year, he discovered the work and life of Monticelli, who very quickly became his role model to the point that one day he declared "I am sure that I am continuing his work, here, as if I was his son or his brother […] taking up the same cause, continuing the same work, living the same life, dying the same death". Unfortunately, Monticelli died before Van Gogh had the time to meet him. In 1888, he left for the South of France where the depth of his talent was realised, in this country that he called "the country of blue shades and gay colours".
Thus the famous Sunflowers were born, but also landscapes, orchards and his famous self-portraits. Finally, his volatile and depressive temperament pushed him into madness, then to suicide in 1890.
His work remains an unclassifiable mixture, on the border of Fauvism, impressionism and realism.
- Updated: 08.10.2008
