Art Analysis of "Bougival" by Maurice Vlaminick
Art Elements and Analysis
Brief Background Information
The oil painting I have selected to examine was created by Maurice Vlaminick, a french painter who adhered to fauvism, in 1905. Fauvism, a very distinctive artistic style, gradually rose in popularity in twentieth-century France. It is characterized as an art style that often contains bold and vivid colors, depicts dazzling landscapes, and incorporates the use of prominent brush strokes. Many view Vlaminick to produce work very similar to that of Vincent Van Gogh, but what sets Vlaminick apart is his almost chaotic approach to painting. While he establishes enough organization to form a landscape, he doesn't shy away from brushing in whatever manner he pleases. If you want to learn more about Fauvism, click here!
Maurice Vlaminick painted Bougival in 1905. The exact place he painted this work is somewhere in the town of Chatou located in Paris, France where he lived for a time. A majority of his other paintings were also created in Chatou and along different points of the Seine River. Below you can see the specific Vlaminick painting I selected titled Bougival.
Bougival, painted by Maurice Vlaminick in 1905
Take a closer look and read more about this beautiful oil painting here!
Color
The color utilization in this piece is an art element that immediately stood out to me. Vlaminick integrates mostly primary colors in Bougival relying on colors like red, blue, and yellow, but also incorporates moments of green and orange to really tie the whole piece together. Each layer of the landscape is broadly defined by a color, starting with the color red at the bottom and making its way to blue at the top. The more you examine the painting, the more you can see color as form. Though seen as more untraditional, fauvism allows painters to use color as form by selecting bright colors with similar tones and then creating distinct brushstrokes resulting in a more abstract piece. While the form is a little more unpolished, fauvist painters still do a great job of creating an illusion of form in works of art.
Color within this painting also brings about a sense of joy and beauty! I feel joy when looking at this oil painting because it is simply bright and cheery. I have really enjoyed looking at different pieces from Vlaminick because each and every one offers such vibrant color schemes. You can't help, but delight in the light emanating from the canvas! The colors are all so vivid which makes the piece come alive.
Here is another one of Vlaminicks paintings that expresses joy through color! You can also view it here!
Sous-bois, painted by Maurice Vlaminick in 1905
Texture
Texture, especially in the physical form, can tell the viewer a lot about the inner emotions of the painter. In Bougival, there is texture as a result of Vlaminick's varied brush strokes. There is no pattern present in the way that he applied his strokes. Instead, he painted in a way that spoke to him and this highlights his unworried and go-with-the-flow nature. Whatever direction he wanted to paint, he simply did. Fauvism was his most utilized artistic style because of its abstract nature and lack of rules. All of his pieces hold a carefree element shown through texture. A work like this is so awe-inspiring because it may seem chaotic at first, but truly everything meshes so well together. The texture creates a distinct method of blending and with that Maurice Valminick is able to establish an organization in his own way.
Tone
In Bougival, the tone of the colors is utilized to create both depth and distance. Even though Vlaminick's color scheme often incorporates colors that are starkly different, the vibrancy of the colors harmonizes in just the right way. He is able to make the blue waters seem distanced and detached from the lush, green tree-colored hills which are separate from the orange foliage and so forth. The incorporation of the secondary colors orange and green adds the element of light and dark necessary for the tone to function. I am continually amazed at how he is able to utilize colors, with very little in common, and create a cohesive landscape.
Presentation and Placement
This is definitely a piece I would enjoy owning and having hung on a wall in my home. It would serve as a wonderful statement piece due to all of its vibrant colors. I feel as if I slightly relate to Maurice Vlaminick because we are both self-taught artists. He didn't even begin painting until late into his teens which is about the same time that I began my cookie decorating business. It is greatly evident that his hard work led him to create breathtaking works of art. Bouigval is not only stunning to look at, but it shows me that art comes in many varied forms!
Sources:
Cramer, Dr. Charles, and Dr. Kim Grant. “Fauve Landscapes and City Views.” Smarthistory, 16 Apr. 2020, https://smarthistory.org/fauve-landscape-city-views/.
“Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale.” Sotheby's, https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09497/lot.14.html?locale=en.
Spivey, Dr. Virginia B., and Dr. Virginia B. Spivey. “Fauvism, an Introduction.” Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-fauvism/.
Hi Libbey! Great artwork that you picked out to talk about. I agree with the listed comments you made about the artwork. I agree with the texture proportion and the reasoning you gave. Would you create your own artwork similar to Maurice Vlaminick artwork?
ReplyDeleteHello Libbey. This analysis is really detailed I love how you categorized each point about this art piece and explained in detail about how each topic that was presented in the painting. As well as gave some background about the painting. I might redo mine and see if I can make it more consistent and easier to follow. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHello Libbey, great choice of painting to examine, this piece has so much to analyze! You are right in that this painting is reminiscent of van Gogh’s work. Bougival seems like a more chaotic form of something you might see from van Gogh. Where I feel that van Gogh’s work tends to have a very calming, whimsical dream-like quality Vlaminick's work feels more like a fever dream. Bougival has a very impressionistic feel. Its bright colors, varied textures, and half-hazard shapes keep the viewer's eye interested while not being too overwhelming. I find it especially interesting how Vlaminick decided to use extremely evident brushstrokes in the sky rather than the landscape which is where one would expect to find such texture.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is incredibly beautiful and clever how Vlaminick basically painted an entire rainbow for this landscape but disguises it so well. Additionally, this gradient of warm colors to cool ones as the perspective gets farther away creates a feeling of change and the passage of time. This is because to me it looks like the forest on the edge of the town below is starting to transition into Fall which is echoed in the yellow greens that are starting to dominate the town. This was a great piece to study for this assignment and it was very interesting to read about! It’s truly amazing how similar techniques can be applied so uniquely by different artists.
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ReplyDeleteHello Libbey, I really appreciate the way you organized your analysis because not only is it aesthetically appealing but as a reader, I can easily find each point you made. I agree with the points you made about the piece and like you said, the color is what instantly stood out to me about the piece. I would love to have Vlaminick's piece hanging on a wall in my own home as well and I think it is very cool that you can relate to him since you are both self-taught artists.
ReplyDeleteWow, this was amazing! I really like how thorough you were in your analysis, and the separate paragraphs for each point made reading it super easy! I had never heard of fauvism before, and find it really nice to look at! I will definitely be looking for more of Vlaminick's work now!
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