ThoughtGallery.org > Lecture | Judy Sund: The Look of Love in the Art of Van Gogh

Lecture | Judy Sund: The Look of Love in the Art of Van Gogh

Join art historian Judy Sund for an insightful lecture on Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh was a routinely rejected suitor and often disappointed lover whose images of courting couples constitute an unexpected leitmotif in his oeuvre. Born of wistful reverie rather than lived experience, his images of romantic love recall Medieval love gardens, Flemish party scenes, and Rococo fêtes galantes, though the lovers Van Gogh depicted are his own working-class contemporaries, and some of them so closely resemble the artist as to suggest a degree of self-projection. Shaped by contemporary literature and avant-garde Parisian painting, Van Gogh’s updated takes on the traditional Garden of Love – some set in public parks, others in moonlit dreamscapes – are routinely enhanced by evocative color schemes that the artist deployed to expressive effect. Opposing hues, he explained, “make each other shine” when paired, and “complete each other like man and wife.” The motif of lovers, which Van Gogh deemed especially “poetic,” inspired him to step outside his usual reliance on direct observation and produce some of his most fanciful paintings.











When: Fri., Apr. 18, 2025 at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where: Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave.
212-685-0008
Price: Free
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Join art historian Judy Sund for an insightful lecture on Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh was a routinely rejected suitor and often disappointed lover whose images of courting couples constitute an unexpected leitmotif in his oeuvre. Born of wistful reverie rather than lived experience, his images of romantic love recall Medieval love gardens, Flemish party scenes, and Rococo fêtes galantes, though the lovers Van Gogh depicted are his own working-class contemporaries, and some of them so closely resemble the artist as to suggest a degree of self-projection. Shaped by contemporary literature and avant-garde Parisian painting, Van Gogh’s updated takes on the traditional Garden of Love – some set in public parks, others in moonlit dreamscapes – are routinely enhanced by evocative color schemes that the artist deployed to expressive effect. Opposing hues, he explained, “make each other shine” when paired, and “complete each other like man and wife.” The motif of lovers, which Van Gogh deemed especially “poetic,” inspired him to step outside his usual reliance on direct observation and produce some of his most fanciful paintings.

Buy tickets/get more info now