studying van Gogh's conscious way of life considering Heidegger's views

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master in Painting, Department of Painting, Faculty of Visual Arts, Art University of Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Painting, Faculty of Visual Arts, Art University of Iran.

Abstract

Truth is a demure occurrence within the work of art. Martin Heidegger relates art and truth extraordinarily by proposing this matter. In this regard, he portrays art as a salvation for modern man who has forgotten his existence and has been summoned to reckon his being through art. Van Gogh, who discussed the search for truth in his letters, appears to be attempting to move closer to conscious life. The purpose of writing this article is to look into Van Gogh’s conscious life contemplation and its impact on his work considering Heidegger’s philosophy and manner of truth emergence in his paintings. Accordingly, some questions have been proposed to shed light on Heidegger’s conception of the conscious awareness method of the artist in creating his paintings. So, it has been tried to solve the questions by employing a direct interpretation and by analyzing some of Van Gogh’s paintings in the structure of Heidegger’s concepts. In the final step, it seems Van Gogh’s notion has a direct connection with Heidegger’s philosophy and his perception of art, and both were seeking to unfold the existence and invite man to ponder about it. Van Gogh's problems and inquiries from his early years served as the impetus for his exploration of the cosmos and attempt to comprehend it. Similarly, according to Heidegger, man's inquiry should begin with problems, not with philosophy. Our motivation also stems from the challenge of thinking about going back to the actual items. Van Gogh appears to have begun his thoughtful life by listening to the call of things to return to themselves. Where he is, what he looks like, and how he acts.
For this reason, he is an artist who, considering this conscious notion, is distinguished from others in Heidegger’s point of view and claims a special place. Van Gogh lets the phenomena speak for themselves and manifest themselves through him. One of the themes that is made clear and appears in his works is the truth.
It seems that something behind a painted canvas of different subjects, a still life, working people or nature is seen in his works. Van Gogh has shown special importance to the relationship between man and his existence. He studies human beings in their way of life and tries to understand them. In this direction, he penetrates the deepest inner layers of man and searches for the truth. A truth that, according to this artist, can only be found in painting, paint, and canvas. The truth, which according to Heidegger is the appearance and the revelation of existence, is a painting concern for this artist, and he goes in search of it. In this search, what is important is the human being, a person who is centered in the subject of his work.
This article is extracted from the master’s thesis entitled “Studying van Gogh's conscious way of life considering Heidegger's views” under the supervision of the second author in the art university of Iran.

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References

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Journal of Fine Arts: Visual Arts
Volume 30, Issue 1
April 2025
Pages 7-18

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