Evocation and Strokes, Essay Example

Kollwitz has a unique style of painting which incorporates the wet, heavy strokes of the unimportant with the small, dry strokes which accentuate the exhaustion of her face. The firmer pressure of the drag strokes hardened the lines of her arm, which was extended into the air as if still grasping the brush. These strokes use the whole width of the paintbrush’s bristles to create a smooth and casual line and may even have been created by holding the brush horizontal. If one looks closely at the lines of her hair, then Kollwitz’ curved and point-only strokes frame her face. She does not use the short, linear marks which are so typical of the famous works of Van Gogh. This gives her paintings a faded appearance which is reminiscent of the Civil War portraiture which seemed (even at first) to be a faded memory. It may also be said that the dark lines and shape of the silhouette are used to the best of the artist’s ability, and the viewer could almost picture her without the careful, close-knit lines around her face. Kollwitz chooses the empty spaces to emphasize portions of the self-portrait.

Van Gogh, on the other hand, uses fewer types of strokes but maintains continuity by using different widths in these strokes. Some appear to be vigorous or tired, some appear to be dark or light. The posture of the sower and the energy of the close-set strokes provide a sense of ebullience and energy. To break up the monotony, Van Gogh uses just the tip of the brush in areas which are considered unimportant. The pointed strokes of the foreground are dark and wetter, drawing the eye away from the minor background element of the sun and its rays. There is amazing contrast between the simplistic nature of the background and what the painter really wanted the viewer to see. His use of lines is two-fold: the lines get closer together near the sower and also seem to encircle and frame his image.

Altogether, there is a wearied, macabre tone of Kollwitz’ painting which reflects a tone of hopelessness and being overwhelmed, but Van Gogh’s sower, who has many reasons to despair, is accentuated with lively lines and appears to be almost skipping home. While the types of strokes are revelatory, the strength, direction, and wetness of the strokes give each work a tone which evokes more than the image itself.