What Were Vincent van Gogh’s Composition Techniques?

Approaching Vincent van Gogh’s artwork without preconceptions about who he was is difficult. He has been the subject of many books and films and it’s almost impossible to look at his works without exploring his biography. However, the artworks he created are so fascinating that they can stand alone. Through a composition analysis of his work, we can focus on the works without any distractions. We can appreciate and enjoy the technical skills of a great artist.

1. Vincent van Gogh’s Mountains at Saint-Rémy 

The swirl and the curve are a trademark of Van Gogh’s style. He had a unique approach to brushwork, and his lines often acted as his signature style. The cool colors here create a painting that is filled with calm. The warm colors are muted, but the blues are stronger. A strong composition requires a balance between warm and cold colors, but that doesn’t have to be an equal balance. The level of balance can be altered to give a painting a particular emotional feel, which is what Van Gogh does in this piece. It depicts a calm world with soft edges, and something is reassuring in the imagery he created.

The diagram above simplifies Van Gogh’s painting of the Mountains at Saint-Rémy. We can look at the composition’s basic structure when we remove all the details. The landscape is reduced to a black outline. The pink line simplifies those shapes even further. The structure can be reduced to the three shapes drawn in pink. On the left, a triangle points downward to a triangle pointing right. Then, on the right of the canvas, a curve reaches upward. This type of construction means that the viewer’s eyes are guided to circulate the canvas in a counterclockwise motion. When the viewer looks at the lower left, the triangular structure points them to the right. They’re also following the line of trees to the right side of the canvas. The structure is subtle, which makes the composition stronger.

2. Knotberken 

In Knotberken, Van Gogh used muted colors. Everything in the image works together to create a particular emotional impact. The figure has his back turned to the viewer. The trees have few leaves. It portrays winter, but it also speaks of a winter for emotions since the painting depicts a lack of warmth.

Turning the figure to face the viewer would completely change the feelings evoked by the image. Adding a touch of orange to those muted browns would also alter the emotional impact. In this painting, Van Gogh doesn’t do this because he depicts a specific emotion. The painting is crafted with emotional depth, and that involves technical skill. All the composition elements need to speak with the same voice. Change one, and the composition falls apart.

The diagram above reduces the composition to its basic structure. The man’s positioning is indicated by the orange rectangle. He is almost central on the canvas. The positioning of the tops of the trees creates a curve and this is highlighted by the blue line on the diagram. This curve gives the painting a simplistic structure. When it comes to composition, structural simplicity is something that should be valued. The introduction of basic shapes can enhance a composition, and it means that the artist can add more detail, and it will still be balanced.

Van Gogh’s brushwork had an extra level of detail. It’s thick and textured, so it requires a simple structure. Texture is another aspect of composition, and Van Gogh used it well. There is less texture between the trees, which makes them stand out more. It also gives the work a sense of distance since it’s more textured in the foreground and flatter in the distance.

3. L’homme Est en Mer 

Van Gogh was skilled at portraying emotion through his artwork. This work is all about warmth and tenderness and it depicts a mother and child resting next to a fire. The painting Knotberken could be seen as its opposite. Van Gogh was skilled at portraying emotional extremes and he understood color, line, and texture. The work’s focal point is the child cradled by the mother. Notice how the upper part of the image mainly uses vertical brushstrokes. The lower part of the image is all brushstrokes that curve under the child’s body. The texture has a U–shaped composition. The figures and details also have their own structure.

The diagram doesn’t show the U shape created from the textured brushstrokes since it reduces line and structure to its basic aspects. However, this is something that makes the work more interesting. The colors in the fire and the child’s hair and face unite those two places on the canvas. It makes it clear that the child is the focal point. The wave of the fire is parallel to the body of the woman. The pink line highlights another parallel wave. The woman is framed by two parallel waves which balance both sides of the canvas. The wave on the right is subtle, but placing it next to the child’s face makes it more prominent because it’s next to the main focal point.

4. Wheat Field with Cypresses

Wheat Field with Cypresses is a painting where the swirls and curves create a dance from one part of the canvas to another. The texture and line of the brushstrokes encourage the viewer to look at the detail. The subject matter is familiar, and that adds simplicity to the painting. Van Gogh used higher levels of swirls and abstraction when depicting the clouds, and it is a subject matter that allows for greater freedom. The bottom edge of the canvas isn’t the focus, but there are red dots in the viewer’s peripheral vision. Flowerheads in green’s complementary color. It makes the green appear more vibrant. It’s very subtle.

The diagram reduces the composition to its basic structure. The bushes are shown as the green shape. They contrast nicely with the tall shape of the cypresses. The blue shape represents the wheat field. It points beyond the right of the canvas. The viewer doesn’t look away from the canvas because the cypresses are the darkest shape on the canvas. That difference pulls your gaze back.

In the diagram, it’s a purple shape that points upward. You then get to one of the most important aspects of this composition. In the diagram, it is shown as an orange line. It’s a swirl of clouds that draws the viewer’s eyes away from the edge of the canvas, guiding them through the patterns of the clouds before finally returning their gaze to the bush in the lower left corner. It is the same counterclockwise composition technique we saw in the painting Mountains at Saint-Rémy.

5. The Starry Night

Great artists take something familiar and give you a new perspective. As a viewer, you’re experiencing the night sky through the eyes of Van Gogh and this can be a beautiful experience. You want to look at the painting, but it also makes you want to revisit the night sky. By looking at Van Gogh’s connection to the night, you become inspired to explore your own. Van Gogh’s brushwork is amazing, and it’s almost like you’re viewing the shape around every star. The dark trees in the foreground make the night more spectacular because the contrast between yellow and black is so large. The sky isn’t as black as night. Instead, it is a collection of blues, allowing us to see more swirls and brushwork.

The trees are on the right in the painting Wheat Field with Cypresses. This was part of an anti-clockwise composition structure. In this image, van Gogh has placed them on the left, and they are part of a clockwise composition structure. They point upwards, and the curve of the cloud moves the viewer’s gaze towards the top of a landscape, which curls back down towards the silhouette of the trees. It’s a circular motion. However, Van Gogh also anchored that movement with the static object of the moon. As a viewer, you have these two competing focal points that are different because one is static, and the other is in motion. The balance between them creates a fascinating composition that’s the foundation of a masterpiece.

6. Nature morte by Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh had an excellent understanding of color. He understood complementary colors, so red flowers were given a green background. In this work, the blue on the upper left is balanced by the orange in the center and the white flowers on the lower left. That small amount of blue on the top right helps unite the composition. If blue was only on the left, it would seem unbalanced. In this work, Van Gogh grouped complementary colors.

The diagram reduces the image to its basic structure. It shows that the red flowers are mainly positioned in the shape of a triangle. Some red flowers are also placed in a line down the right side of the canvas. The flowers share colors similar to those on the vase. This means the color is distributed from the top to the bottom of the canvas. Adding a triangular composition structure always makes a composition more interesting. Van Gogh layered triangles in the structure of the composition, but they were created using different elements.