To offer you even more information about the museum and Vincent van Gogh, and serve you better, we use cookies. By clicking ‘Accept’, you are giving us permission to use these cookies. Cookies help us to ensure that the website works properly. We also analyse how the website is used, so that we can make any necessary improvements. Advertisem*nts can also be displayed tailored to your interests. And finally, we use cookies to display forms, Google Maps and other embedded content.
Find out more about our cookies.
Two Painters, One Love
Two painters, one love: Nature. David Hockney (1937) may live more than a century later than Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), however their vision of landscape is often similar. But what exactly does this nature mean to them? And how did Van Gogh’s landscapes inspire Hockney?
When [nature] is at its height it looks as though champagne has been poured over the bushes and it is all foaming up and it looks marvelous.
David Hockney, 2018
Fascinated by the seasons
The British painter David Hockney is over 80 years old and still paints every day. Hockney is one of the most renowned artists of our time.
When Hockney lived in the countryside of Bridlington in northern England, he painted many landscapes. Hockney identifies with Van Gogh's work: both artists see the extraordinary in an unremarkable view. And both are fascinated by the seasons, which bring about continuous change in nature.
In the studio
David Hockney, with the assistance of Jonathan Wilkinson, 'In the Studio, December 2017,' collection of the artist
Hockney stands in the middle of his studio on this photo. The artist himself is almost like a work of art in this 'photographic drawing,' as he calls it. He is surrounded by 3D-photographs of his paintings, which he mounted digitally in the photographed space.
Always Sunshine
For twenty-five years Hockney went without seasonal change, as he had experienced in England. All that time he lived in sunny Los Angeles.
Upon returning to his native Yorkshire (2004), it was as though he wanted to make up for that loss: time and again he ventured to a particular place to record the changing of the seasons.
Changes
With keen perception, Hockney captured the gradual changes in this particular spot in the woods in four large works of art, each consisting of six canvasses. You can almost see the landscape transform before your eyes.
David Hockney, 'Woldgate Woods, 6 & 9 November 2006', collection of the artist
David Hockney, 'Woldgate Woods, 26, 27 & 30 July 2006', collection of the artist.
Blossoms and falling leaves
Van Gogh was equally fascinated by the changing of the seasons. From Arles, at the awakening of spring in 1888, he wrote his brother:
‘… for Christ’s sake get the paint to me without delay. The season of orchards in blossom is so short, and you know these subjects are among the ones that cheer everyone up.’
Spring
David Hockney, 'May Blossom on the Roman Road', 2009, collection of the artist
With regard to spring Hockney says that it looks as though champagne has been poured over the bushes and everything seems foamy. He is just as elated as Van Gogh once was about the burgeoning of the flowering trees.
Autumn
Vincent van Gogh, The Garden of Saint Paul's Hospital ('Leaf-Fall'), 1889
As joyful as Van Gogh’s blossom paintings are, so melancholy is this autumnal scene of fluttering leaves. He painted it in the asylum he had voluntarily admitted himself into in search of peace and quiet.
Lots of people just scan the ground in front of them so they can walk, but they don't really look at things. Van Gogh really looked.
David Hockney, 2018
Seeing is more than looking
In order to paint nature well, you must take the time to truly observe everything closely. ‘You have to really look,’ as Hockney says. And, Van Gogh did just that according to him. He could see what many people fail to notice and enchants us with it to this day.
Patches of light
Vincent van Gogh, Undergrowth, 1887
Van Gogh had an eye for the luminous filtering of light through the trees. And for the variegation of an otherwise unremarkable stretch of woods.
Boring? Never!
David Hockney, 'Under the Trees, Bigger', 2010–2011, collection of th artist.
David Hockney can become entranced by trees with fresh green shoots, spring flowers, the clear light. If you pay attention, nothing in nature stays the same for a single moment: ‘You can’t be bored of nature, can you?’
Well, sometimes I’ll steal something from Van Gogh. I mean I do. Good artists don’t borrow, they steal.
David Hockney, 2018
Colour and movement
A landscape full of colour contrasts and wheat stalks swaying in all directions, as though moving in the wind. Hockney closely studied these aspects of Van Gogh’s work. What did he do with his observations?
Movement
Vincent van Gogh, The Harvest, 1888
If you take a close look you can see that Van Gogh repeatedly changed the direction of his brushstrokes to indicate the differences in grass, wheat, and bushes. ‘His pictures are full of movement,’ Hockney says of Van Gogh’s work.
Colour contrasts
David Hockney, 'Woldgate Vista, 27 July 2005', collection of the artist
Hockney lets every single blade of grass dance. This movement is inspired by a painting such as Van Gogh’s The Harvest. The pattern of colour contrasts between all of the individual fields, hedges, and kinds of vegetation in that work recurs in Woldgate Vista, 27 July 2005.
Rhythm, strokes, dots
Every painter has his own handwriting, as it were. Hockney and Van Gogh, for instance, both use characteristic strokes and dots. And, in painting a forest they choose a vantage point whereby the long lines of the bare trunks dominate.
Rhythm
Vincent van Gogh, 'Undergrowth with Two Figures,' 1890, Cincinnati Art Museum, bequest of Mary E. Johnston, 1967
Van Gogh was clearly fascinated by the rhythm of the bald tree trunks when he painted this forest scene with long lines. In it Hockney also recognises the way in which Van Gogh continued to be surprised by what he encountered in nature.
Strokes and dots
David Hockney, 'The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven)', Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle
Vibrant colours, strokes, and dots: they are all part of Van Gogh’s familiar facture, which Hockney adopted in an entirely individualistic way in his landscapes.
Two painters, one love
Love of nature, finding yourself, enjoying beauty. For the one this was automatic, for the other something perhaps discovered later. While a profound love of nature came early on for Van Gogh, Hockney needed more time to develop his appreciation of the landscape.
Village boy
Vincent van Gogh, 'The Painter on the Road to Tarascon', 1888 (lost in the Second World War)
Van Gogh grew up in a village in in the province of Noord-Brabant, where fields and nature were always nearby. He ventured out of doors his entire life. No matter where he lived, he continued to seek out nature in order to paint and find some peace of mind.
City dweller
David Hockney painting 'Woldgate Woods', 26, 27 & 30 July 2006
Born and raised in the northern English city of Bradford, David Hockney was decidedly not a nature lover by birth. In a 1976 interview he even said: ‘I do prefer culture to nature. I get more excited.’ However, the reverse has held true since the late 1990s. Now, he sees how the landscape continues to enthral from hour to hour.
It is almost as though energy is compressed in Van Gogh’s landscapes. Regardless of which season Van Gogh turned his hand to, it is the raw power emanating from it that continues to inspire Hockney and many others.
Sometimes I long so much to do landscape, just as one would go for a long walk to refresh oneself, and in all of nature, in trees for instance, I see expression and a soul, as it were.
Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, from Den Haag, 10 December 1882
As an expert in art history and the works of Vincent van Gogh and David Hockney, I can provide you with detailed information about the concepts and themes discussed in the article you provided.
Van Gogh and Hockney's Love for Nature Both Vincent van Gogh and David Hockney share a deep love and appreciation for nature. Despite living in different time periods, their artistic visions of the landscape often align. Van Gogh's landscapes inspired Hockney, and both artists find beauty in the ordinary and unremarkable.
Fascination with Seasons Both artists are fascinated by the changing seasons and the continuous transformations in nature. Hockney, living in sunny Los Angeles for many years, felt a longing for the seasonal changes he experienced in his native Yorkshire. Upon returning, he captured the changing seasons in his paintings. Van Gogh also expressed his enchantment with the seasons, particularly the blossoming of orchards in spring.
Observation and Perception To paint nature well, both Hockney and Van Gogh emphasize the importance of truly observing and perceiving the details of the natural world. Hockney believes that one must take the time to "really look," just as Van Gogh did. Van Gogh had a keen eye for the play of light and the variegation of landscapes, while Hockney pays close attention to the movement and colors in nature.
Brushwork and Style Each artist has their own distinctive brushwork and style. Van Gogh's paintings are characterized by bold and expressive brushstrokes, while Hockney incorporates vibrant colors, strokes, and dots into his landscapes. Both artists also use long lines and bare trunks to create a sense of rhythm and movement in their forest scenes.
Personal Backgrounds Van Gogh grew up in the Dutch countryside, surrounded by fields and nature, which greatly influenced his love for the landscape. Hockney, on the other hand, was raised in the city of Bradford, England, and initially preferred culture over nature. However, in the late 1990s, Hockney's appreciation for the landscape grew, and he began to find inspiration in the ever-changing natural world.
The Power of Van Gogh's Landscapes The raw power and energy emanating from Van Gogh's landscapes continue to inspire Hockney and many others. Regardless of the season, Van Gogh's landscapes often convey a sense of expression and soul.
By exploring these concepts, we gain a deeper understanding of the connections between Van Gogh and Hockney, their shared love for nature, and the ways in which they each capture the beauty of the natural world in their art.
