SACRED ART

Sacred Art – Jesus In Pietà By Vincent van Gogh – The Only One Known And Copied

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In the beginning there was the faith and the desire to serve the poor. Then came the disappointment and the search for the true love. And shortly before death, there was the only one known Jesus by Vincent van Gogh – the only one and copied. In his “Pietà” after Delacoix.

Interesting, that the litograph of Delacoix’ “Pietà” was black and white. No colors. On top of this, there was also the accidental fall of the lithograph onto the palette with paint… So, van Gogh’s painting resulted from an accident. Van Gogh wrote about it in one of his letters:

‘That lithograph of Delacroix, the Pietà, with other sheets had fallen into some oil and paint and got spoiled. I was sad about it – then in the meantime I occupied myself painting it…’ 

Pietà by Eugène Delacroix

It seems that van Gogh had admired the work of Eugene Delacroix and was impressed with the subtle vibrancy of his palette. Even though van Gogh was never really drawn to religious subjects in his paintings, he was so influenced by the romantic coloring of Delacroix’s painting which van Gogh saw live in Paris that suddenly he wanted to create his own “Pietà”. As a result van Gogh’s “Pietà” was based on an assimilation of his interpretation of colour and memories of Delacroix’s color palette. That’s why the painting officially is known as “Pietà (after Delacroix)”.

During his time in the mental hospital, depressed, he was still able to paint and draw a little. Here are some of van Gogh’s paintings from the same time as his “Pietà”.

Some art critics and art historians say that the Vincent van Gogh’s “Pietà” is not original but simply a copy and an interpretation. However, even if it’s an interpretation – it’s done by a great master on a deep biblical subject. And just perhaps this is the artwork which illustrates van Gogh’s motto for his art:

Art is to console those who are broken by life.

Vincent van Gogh

Pietà (after Delacroix) by Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

Created: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, September 1889

Painting: Oil on canvas, 73x 60,5cm (28.7″x23.8″)

Currently on view: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam


Dimitri Ross Artist

Dimitri Ross