Contributions of Van Gogh to Modern Movements

Vincent van Gogh, who had such dramatic and expressive paintings, was rather deeply influential in the course of modern art.  Paving the path for Expressionism, Fauvism, and Abstract Art, among many other movements, were the colorful, expressive use of color, bold brushstrokes, and emotive themes by Vincent van Gogh.

Perhaps one of the most important artistic movements affected by Van Gogh was Expressionism, which emerged in early 20th century. Edvard Munch and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, among other artists, felt attracted to the way in which Van Gogh was giving depth to his art by emotional experiences. His passionate inner life, always turbulent and churning, was subjectively commented upon in paintings like The Starry Night and Wheatfield with Crows, attracting artists who wanted to depict their inward psychological lives. As an art movement, Expressionism aimed to express subjective reality rather than represent reality; therefore, it primarily borrowed its example from the work of Van Gogh.

Fauvism and the Power of Colour
The innovative use of colours by Van Gogh left a permanent mark on the Fauvist movement, perfectly represented by artists like Henri Matisse and André Derain. Indeed, bold colours that never really became naturalistic-let alone realistic-after those lines first pioneered by Van Gogh. It was in works like Sunflowers and Irises that Van Gogh used color not only to represent the objects present but also to convey emotions and meaning. The Fauves took this concept to an even more extreme form with the use of color to communicate emotion and energy, rather than their depiction of the world at hand.

From Post-Impressionism to Abstract Art
While Van Gogh is often classified under the banner of the Post-Impressionist, his transition away from the realistic format, and his emerging techniques, also constitute a necessary lead to the creation of Abstract Art. It's only fair to say that such extraordinary, veering and contorted sky signatures as in The Starry Night stood at the edge of representation and on the threshold of abstraction. Later artists, such as Wassily Kandinsky, working within the Abstract movement, would take up and extend these ideas, producing works less concerned with the physical world than with its equivalent possibilities in form, color, or feeling.

Conclusion
The impact and influence of Vincent van Gogh's works on modern art movements are diverse in a wide category, with many applications in styles and approaches, continued through a fearlessness of color application and emotionally charged subject matter that resonated abundantly within his works. In his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh was an overlooked artist, but now, his work would be considered a foundation to understand the biggest movements in modern art-from Expressionism to Fauvism and all the others beyond. Modern theories of his work have surely lasted up to present artistic expressions.

Contributions of Van Gogh to Modern Movements