"A Wind-Beaten Tree" by Vincent Van Gogh

                “A Wind-Beaten Tree” is an oil painting done by Vincent Van Gogh in 1883. Before reading about Van Gogh, I was going to do an image analysis of one of his popular art pieces “A Starry-Night”, which has tons of literature and has been appreciated a great deal. However, after reading about him I decided to go through his art collection to find which one, in my opinion, best represented him without being very obvious.

                As earlier stated, there are various paintings that Van Gogh did that depict his troubled mind and were obvious because he did them while in an asylum. This portrait nags at me because it was done years before he went into the asylum and I think Van Gogh was trying to warn of his problems and was seeking out help.

               

The painting shows a lone tree slanted from the wind blowing it, surrounded by dead vegetation and a yellowish sky. The Tree can be a representation of a village or a person or anyone going through a rough time and in this case a representation of him in solitude. The wind represents the turmoil going on in his mind and the yellowish skies provide no end in sight. The surrounding, which is mostly made up of dead grass also provides no hope for greener pastures.

Van Gogh uses soft strokes to create the painting but uses strong colors and images to strengthen it. The brown suggests the change that is about to happen. He is giving a not so subtle warning of the disaster that is about to befall him. He uses the irony of fall to depict his message as he is about to fall. The brown leaves on the trees which are almost all gone suggest the struggle of him trying to cope. It is almost like a cancer patient losing his hair. As the Tree, he stands tall above all the grass and yells out his dilemma but it seems to no avail. His voice is gone with the wind as the yellowish skies indicate. The slanted stature of the tree evokes the pain he is feeling and is fighting back to stay upright.

Van Gogh demonstrates his strength as a survivor in the painting by creating a sense of hope. Where there was no evidence of a blue sky, now you begin to see the bare hints of blue skies which imply that there is a glimpse of hope and the little shades of green grass show some sanity around him. The tree is being beaten by the wind yes, but none the less it cannot go on forever for there is always a calm after the storm and despite the slant and fallen leaves, the tree is still standing.

I believe that in this painting, Van Gogh was seeking help because he had started to feel the confusion from within and wanted to communicate his emotions. He did it through his talent and he definitely expressed it well. Although “A Wind-Beaten Tree” is not among his timeless and more popular pieces, it is my favorite.