Comparative Study

Joshua Homesombath

Introduction: My comparative study is structured to analyze technical aspects of two

artists and three of their works. These artists are from different time periods, art
movements and modems. The two artists that will be presented in this Comparative study are;
Vincent Van Gogh and Salvador Dali. I have chosen to use these artists, because of their
skills and their use of the environment. I also will be critiquing six artworks of Vincent
Van Gogh and Salvador Dali, using the elements and principles of design. Finding in-depth
creative techniques, reason, and inspiration between the artist’s and their works.
Evaluation of the cultural significance of vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh has to be the greatest Dutch painter. He was
virtually unknown and not wealthy at all. Van Gogh was a
post-impressionist painter whose work highly influenced the 20th
century, for its beauty, emotion, and color. Paris was where Van
Gogh saw impressionist art and was inspired by the light and
color. Vincent Van Gogh studied alongside Henri de

Notes on Impressionism
Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro and others.

Vincent was a very passionate and loved to argue about others

artwork. Vincent really enjoyed the Japanese culture. It’s what
inspired some of the works that he has created. He studied this
philosophy to enhance his art and basically his life.

Vincent Van Gogh was so dedicated to his work that he spent

money on paint rather than food and that was during the time he
moved to the village Aries where he lived in a yellow household.
Van Gogh’s life lies in the fact that art was for him was a
personal destiny. His career as an artist is a high religious-moral,
his work has a profound personal meaning and it engages him
completely, and could be created in his own home.
“I want to paint what I
NA.“Van Gogh, Vincent.” “biography.com,” feel, and feel what I
NA,NA,A&E Television paint.” — Vincent van
Networks,https://www.biography.com/people/vincent-va Gogh
n-gogh-9515695
 “Starry Night”
Van Gogh, Vincent. “Starry Night.” “moma,”Lillie P.Bliss
Date of Creation:1889
Height (cm):73.70
Length (cm):92.10
Bequest, Medium: Oil
NA,NA,https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79802#top Support:Canvas
Subject:Landscapes
Characteristics:
The background of the work is being emphasized through the color
Post-impressionism
and value. The sky takes up most of the canvas. What is being Framed:Yes
emphasized in the painting is the bright yellow moon. One thing I Art Movement:
notice right away is the space/perspective of the painting, the 2D Post-Impressionism
illusion, simple overlapping, and using darker images in the front Created by:
and then fading into the light in the back. Van gogh used space Vincent van Gogh
effectively in the painting.

The work conveys contrast through texture, the sky looks to have a "This morning I saw the country There's movement presented through line that is horizontal and the
movement is emphasized with the fine lines. The swirls in the sky
rough surface and the bottom part of the work seems to have a from my window a long time before
smooth surface. The small yellow lights in the buildings are all carries to the moon and then leads me back the dark bush on the left
sunrise, with nothing but the corner of the painting.
square or rectangle in shape, in contrast to the stars above.
morning star, which looked very
In addition to the painting line and value is heavily used. Above, the big," van Gogh wrote to his brother The work takes advantage of repetition through the use of the color
vertical bush leads my eyes up to the diagonal and curving lines of blue and the brushstroke. It is seen in repeating of shapes and
Theo, from France. colors. The yellow moon helps to balance the large dark bush that's
the blue sky and then towards the moon. It can be argued that value
is not used enough in the painting. But, the hills in Starry Night uses in the opposite corner.
Gogh, Vincent van. “Vincent van Gogh. The
value correctly fading from blue to dark navy. The moon and dark
Starry Night. Saint Rémy, June 1889 | MoMA.” Also the color used in the painting. The painting is made of mostly
bush is a variation in value.
The Museum of Modern Art, dark and light colors, with some yellow added to have the contrast
www.moma.org/collection/works/79802.Thomson, of the work. It provokes a spiritual feeling, and disording many
Belinda.Van Gogh. New York: Abrams, 2001. viewers perspective on nature.
Print.
A contrast of discrete paleness with the gold of gas lights. Van Gogh wanted
the challenge of capturing the colors of the night sky in contrast to the
artificial lights that are in the background of the painting.
“Starry Night over the
Lines that create texture and have thin lines across the piece. Strictly reflects
the way Van Gogh views nature and also have a personal meaning to him.
Rhone”
Places that were familiar to Van Gogh were basically painted and created in Emphasis through value of the work. Using light and
his vision darkness. This allowed Van Gogh to capture the
reflections of the lighting come from the town. Using
dark blue and yellow to visually show the landscape.

Movement of the painting can be seen is used by the

Repetition (stroke) emphasize the importance Van Gogh placed in brushstroke that was used by Van Gogh.
capturing the sparkling colors of the night sky and the artificial
lighting. This Starry Night painting Depicting color was of great Artist: Vincent van Gogh
importance to Van Gogh. Dimensions: 2′ 5″ x 3′ 0″
Location: Musée d'Orsay
Created: September 1888
Medium: Oil on canvas
Periods: Modern art, Post-Impressionism

Van Gogh, Vincent. “Starry Night Over

the Rhone.” “en.wikipedia.org.”
NA,NA,NA,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starry_Nig
ht_Over_the_Rh%C3%B4ne
“Cafe terrace The dark background helps to gather
everything making it a beautiful
composition. Also Helps depict the actual

at
distances and capturing our eyes. Cafe terrace
“I have a terrible need of–dare I
say–religion…then I go outside at has the strongest communications through art
night and paint the stars.” - of human conditions and emotions.
Vincent Van Gogh

night”
The intention of this painting was to show the
lowest part of humanity with much sincerity
and impact. The balance feels in relations to
asymmetrical being the attention to the left
side of the work.
Value is used with color. The bright
yellow-orangish along with the green The message that is being presented seems to
is the artist's creation. This impact of be going towards peace with full lights and
impressionism in Van Gogh's art can beautiful techniques. This painting is sought
be apparent as well as the use of bright to show the 1888 society.
colors. This draws the viewer into the
painting and beyond.
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Dimensions: 2′ 8″ x 2′ 2″
The bright yellow brings out a warm Location: Kröller-Müller Museum
feeling. This painting invites people to Created: September 1888–September
take a deeper look. The night at a cafe 16, 1888
has been emphasized by this depiction. Period: Post-Impressionism
An actual place that brought along so Medium: Oil paint
many visitors to view the cafe and to
see where Van Gogh placed his easel.

Van Gogh, Vincent. “Cafe Terrace

At Night.” “en.wikipedia.org.”
NA,NA,NA,https://en.wikipedia.or
g/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_Terrace_at_Nigh
t
Function and purpose
of Vincent Van Cafe Terrace At Night: This
would have to be Van Gogh’s
Starry Night Over the Rhône: The

Gogh's paintings
most popular piece. It’s a
lovely piece with full of lights, painting can be interpreted as “two color
a night scene that with a figures of lovers.” The painting can
collection of colors clashing bring a cheerfulness to individuals who
together. This painting shows are either in love or married. This
the exterior of a Cafe which is painting shows Van Gogh's own
an actual place in Arles, a interpretation of light and darkness. Even
flurry painting that brings if Van Gogh's intentions were to have a
peace, full lighting and is a romantic meaning to the piece. I believe
beautiful piece. Warm there’s a deeper meaning to the piece, it
The Starry Night: Focuses on the movement
complementary colors draw a could be possible that when Van Gogh
aspect. The Starry night is characteristic of
viewer right into the painting created the piece added a sense of
Van Gogh as a representation of a
and further on. The painting depression. I also think that he created
transfigured night sky. Its rare visionary
invites the viewer's eyes to this piece to make to make it very
pictures inspired by religious mood. Bringing
look at the tiny details such as subjective.
along personal meaning and as well a
familiar place to him. The piece Starry Night the cobblestones and the small
was created from the view of Van Gogh’s cafe.
window when he was sent to an asylum. The
piece conveys what I believe a reflection of
Van Gogh's mental illness.
Evaluation of the cultural significance of Salvador
Dali Salvador Dalí was a Surrealist artist. In 1904 Dali was encouraged to
practice his art and would eventually go on to study at Madrid. In the
late 19th century. During this time, he was influenced by several
different artistic styles, including Metaphysics and Cubism, which
earned him attention from his fellow students.

Notes on surrealism
Dalí painted a number of works that displayed Picasso's influence.
Poet Paul Éluard and painter René Magritte introduced Dalí to
Surrealism. By this time, Dalí was working with styles of
Impressionism, Futurism, and Cubism. Dalí's paintings became
associated with three general themes: Man's universe and sensations,
sexual symbolism and ideographic imagery.

Salvador Dalí was notorious for his colorful personality and his
figure of the surrealist movement. He created his own reality
through his paintings adding his dreams and subconscious thoughts.
“Salvador Dalí.” Biography.com, A&E Mentally shaping his own reality and that became a way of life for
Networks Television, 27 June 2017, dalí.
www.biography.com/people/salvador-dal-40389
.
The Burning Giraffe Value and color is emphasized throughout the
painting. The women in the middle ground of the
painting has a mixture of dark blue and green,
layered on top of that color is a smoke like
The meaning of the painting is of Dali's personal texture on the womens clothing. The background
struggle within his country. The burning Giraffe of the painting uses cool colors to show a
commemorates the surrealist style of Salvador dali. dreamlike effect.

The burning giraffe has basically become a totem for With that in mind the women in the painting
dali to use within his paintings. It is due to the fact the shows the heavily used value, with the transition
the animal is a premonition of war. Also the fire between light and dark allowing the women to
which is a sign of death and danger, which was very look 3D instead of being a 2D image.. Value is
prominent in greece during that time. also used along the floor where the two women
are standing. Space/perception of the work can be
The females within the painting focused on the female seen from the painting, the woman in the
sexuality and also fetishism. These were common background throws my perception of, because of
themes dali used. The tailbone women their skins the way she is position or placed in the painting.
seem be peeling off, basically exposing them. What's Space was used well within the painting, the
interesting is that dali had placed these two women in distance of the giraffe and the two women, the
a dream landscape evidence gathered from the land in the background had been all spaced
exceptional color usage. neatly.

In addition the work conveys contrast through texture,

Artist: Salvador Dali
because the painting looks to have a rough surface,
Location: Kunstmuseum Basel
but in spite of that it is very much a smooth textured
Created: 1937
painting.
Period: Surrealism
“The Burning Giraffe.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. Medium: Oil paint
2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burning_Giraffe.
Dimensions: 35 cm × 27 cm (13.8 in × 10.6 in)
Dali emphasis the swans in the middle
of the work. Creating a double image
with in the painting. Dali brought forth
The paint illuminates the idea of a 3D effect that be implied with the
use of lightness and dark.
The challenging part of interpreting this painting is that understanding
Swan Reflecting
Elephants
a method he said to be “spontaneous the law and surreal part of the work. But the importance is that it is
method of irrational understanding…” merely swans that reflect elephants there isn’t much to the painting.
The painting is also reflected from
Metamorphosis of Narcissus. Dali Knowing that a reflection cannot be independent, just due to the fact
wanted to create the illusion effect that it must have a cause. This painting has a very challenging
within his work interpretation of its own. But must be respected for being a unique
surreal painting.
In the background of the painting is a
Catalonian landscape depicted in fiery
fall colors, the brushwork is creatingArtist: Salvador
swirls in the cliffs that surround theDali
Dimensions: 1′ 8″ x
lake to contrast with the stillness of the
water. 2′ 6″
Location: private
The painted was created with three collection
properties: hue, value and intensity. Created: 1937
Salvador uses more of a warm color in Period: Surrealism
this painting. The artwork balances Medium: Oil paint
itself between light and dark.

“Swans Reflecting Elephants, 1937 by Salvador Dali.”

Dalipaintings,
www.dalipaintings.com/swans-reflecting-elephants.jsp.
The Persistence of memory
The emphasis of the artwork is through The environment looks to be a
the clocks. This weird and unexpected place that can be recognized only
juxtaposition poses a lot of questions. by Dali himself. But to us can be
The concept of the work comes from interpreted differently causing us
dreams that dali had. This places a to think that the ants and clock
huge role in the painting. Basically the were placed in unfamiliar area.
clocks represent passage of time
experienced in our dreams. But overall
the theme of the piece focuses on time.
There is a value of color with a
The texture of the work would seem to strong light and darkness in the
have a smooth surface. The painting work. The thick value highlight
focuses on senses such as sight and details. The values can be implied
touch. To smooth surfaces to rough to create the illusion of bark on The work gives an illusion of a 3D effect that can be implied with the
objects. The work creates a visual the tree. The creature in the center use of light. Along with the 3D effect Dali was able to cause a trick of
experience of touch. of the work can be drawn as dali’s eye fooling to viewers.
imaginative thoughts.
Artist: Salvador Dali
Dimensions: 0′ 9″ x 1′ 1″
Location: Museum of Modern Art (since
1934)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dalí, Salvador. “Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 | MoMA.”
Created: 1931
The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/79018.
Periods: Surrealism, Avant-garde
Analysis of Formal qualities of Dali’s Artwork
The Persistence of Memory: Swans Reflecting Elephants: A
Emphasis time with the use well created painting that The Burning Giraffe: This painting
of melting clocks. The demonstrates Dali’s ability to has a very psychological meaning
creature in the center of create a double image. Having to it. Affecting not just the
the work is an imaginative smooth brushstrokes allowing viewer but anyone that personally
part of Dali’s dream. the landscape to look more is dealing with a mental illness.
Including what he calls photographed. The brushwork is The exceptional color use brings
“paralyzing tricks of creating swirls in the cliffs the viewer to look basically
eye-fooling,” a close up that surround the lake. A 3D anywhere. When looking at the
of Dali’s face. This effect can be implied with the painting my attention immediately
painting is discredit from use of light.There is a value goes towards the giraffe. Not
the reality of our world. of color with a strong light because that the title presents
The desert landscapes is and darkness in the work. A it, but out of everything to catch
an inspiration of Dali’s reflection (Swans) cannot be on fire only a giraffe is
home. independent, just due to the affected. The two women skeleton
fact that it must have a is well painted, Dali was able to
cause. expose the female sexualtiy. The
drawers goes way back to Freud and
the secret drawers in the human
psyche. Dali’s interpretation was
to show suppression and
subconscious life.
 Compare and contrast
Bot do

-Rough texture Bot r e la b en

Oil P in co d am r Val o g n ar
-Human figures
-Message of the work focuses on norm
A 3D ef t -Messages focuses
issues -Smooth texture
t a c towards spiritual
meaning
im d i h Night time Figment of the
t e of imagination Morning time
li t. 1888
Intricate details, 1931
The dark background helps to gather simple figures
In u n g
everything making it all beautiful Manipulation of time
or p e composition. Values is very
c a g. drawn out and The melting watches
Painting of an actual place. detailed. are a unconscious
Con n Abstract Art
symbol of the relativity
of space of time
me g i Displays a sense of pride for tradition.
t e Showing the appreciation of modern
pa n .
culture. Bot v un e Lin , fo n h e
 Compare and contrast
Do b -im ef , Wel t i l s a , Em as h uh e f wo , Usi l t da n , Or a c m ak l pa
Repetition with the stroke and line is conveyed in The painting illuminates the ideas of a 3D effect that can be implied
the artwork. The brushstroke creates the texture with the use of value and color.
of the painting.
The texture of the work would seem to have a smooth surface
Cool tone of colors which help illuminate the
cool night sky. The artwork is made up of three properties: hue, value, and intensity.

Strictly reflects the way Van Gogh views nature Day Time

Night Time Warm tone

Cool tone 1937

Communicates the importance of unity within a Attracting spectators to see the swan and the reflection of elephants.
community

Out s Nat il n e b g u d
-fo r u , ba g d a m l o n , ho n i , Col. l na l to h , so w /co c mi .
-Dis y y ol h pe n ul as le,
 Compare and Contrast
The secret drawers in the human Bot ni g
Co l e, Oil P in , Mal is , psyche. Dali’s interpretation was to in p me l
show suppression and subconscious
il s . Go n -de h
Man at The emphasis in The Starry Night is the bright yellow life.
wi h p c e.
moon. Along with the blue and white colors that draws
of d a d attention to the sky. 1937
va o c . Mes fo s
1889
This painting show this personal to d pi al
Bot r Landscape painting. struggle with the war in this home
me g.
em s e country.
Line design
mo n. Expression of the work utilizes The ti s
Repetition through the use of the color blue and the women. re s bo r t
Ab ra brushstroke.
ow p i c .
fe g. Vans Gogh depressing time in the mental hospital.
Portrays society’s issues.

Emphasis of the standard beauty of a Fig ap

Bol l l e Emphasizes unity and harmony of the world with
women. an ed, us
em s e nature.
ba k r i
se f Artist has a strong feeling within the
co r n o
s bo . painting.
em s e t i .
 Comparing Artist
Vincent Van Gogh Comparing artist Salvador Dali

- Praised art and was a destiny. - Study Art - Colorful personality

- Created work of landscape and - Created work that represented the - Influenced by different artist such
paintings that were experience that happened. as Picasso
- Inspired by japanese culture. - Created an alternative reality - Work with three themes
- Portrays mental illness and heartfelt through their paintings. - Takes advantage of society’s issues
pieces - Manipulation of shadows and value - Surrealist artist
- Spent is money on his art materials of color. - 19th century
rather caring for his well being. - Focused on society's issues. - Spanish artist
- Post- impressionist artist - Focused showing different - Born May 11, 1904
- Praised light and color perspectives on landscape, issues,
- Dutch artist or experiences
- Born March 30, 1853 - Created work that had
impressionism
 Connection to own art- Vincent Van Gogh
My inspiration and connection to my triptych is Vincent Van Gogh’s The
Starry Night. The reason why I used Van Gogh was because I attempted
to focus on post-impressionist movement and the experience that Van
Gogh had, creating the painting. The focus of the piece revolved around
me, the community I live in and what I contributed to community. The
first panel of my triptych to the far left, is an attempt to create the
experience that Van Gogh had in the letter he wrote to his brother Theo;
"This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before
sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big." This
is my interpretation of that experience. The second panel is the city that I
live in and the vehicles represent the car community and street racing
within my city. The city emulates the quiet village that is in The Starry
Night revitalized in a modern way. The work communicates the
importance of unity within a community. Socially and culturally.

Endless Journey
By: Josh Homesombath
Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 2017
30.48cm x 60.96cm

Gogh, Vincent van. “Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. Saint Rémy, June 1889 | MoMA.” The Museum of
Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/79802.Thomson, Belinda.Van Gogh. New York: Abrams, 2001.
Print.
Connection to own art-Vincent Van gogh
I utilized Van Gogh’s yellow moon and the exploding stars above the sky.
In addition, Value is something that I utilized in my painting. Especially
within the first panel to the far left, I used a dark color to bring out a low
value on the man’s sweater. The third to the far right, uses a mixtures of
dark and light colors to bring out a mixture of high and low values.
Evidence of the values is seen on the tires of the vehicle. Some may argue
that Van Gogh’s The Starry Night doesn’t show any value, but seen on the
hill of the painting that value is prominent and the use of light blue and
dark navy is clearly seen by the brushstroke of the painting. Also, I used
brushstrokes that detailed and provided movement within the sky, while
using different colors and value.

This was a piece created to define me as a growing artist and how this
community or city that I belong to affects me. I was able to express what
the car community has done and as well as my city; going on night runs
with friends and family. Being able to see the city that never sleeps with
the quiet night sky above. Emulating the constant repetition of stroke from
the work of Van Gogh; The Starry night was a piece that allowed me to
see nature from a different perspective. By not only looking, but rather
connect and feel the senses around me. The work mentally distorted my
way of seeing the world. Taking a moment to view things from another
perspective perhaps that was the intentions of Van Gogh’s, Starry Night.
Connection to own art- Salvador Dali
I decided to base this acrylic painting on the art movement Surrealism and Salvador Dali’s;
The Persistence of Memory. It was to show the meaning of time and materialistic things, I
analyzed the meaning of the work and I thought of time not lasting to long. I specifically chose
the art movement, Surrealism because it uses two unconscious imagery being: Improvised art
and Hallucinatory scenes. It just always interest me to look closely at all the fine lines and
color variations. As well as the realistic technique to create Hallucinatory scenes also using
Improvised art. Surrealism is mixed with life like art style that allowed me to portray this
industrial style painting.

My intentions from the beginning was to mix the Japanese architecture with the Surrealist, I
found it very interesting that Japanese households are very structured and well designed. Built
to finest details. Mixing the two was somewhat of a change. Because of the well structured
design, mixing Surrealism is basically disturbing the well structured design of the Japanese
culture.

Surrealist Household I utilized three colors that stand out and is noticeable, the blue water, the red cushion and the
By: Josh Homesombath yellow on the clock. I attempted to make sure to measure everything, because to keep the
Acrylic, Canvas, 2017 structure. One thing I felt that I didn’t succeed with is the realistic part of the painting, Unlike
60.96cm x 60.92cm this painting, The Persistence of Memory utilized value to demonstrate the dark and warm
color. As well as the shadow, curve and fine line. I was unfortunately not able to emulate the
fine details of The Persistence of Memory.
Connection to own art- Salvador Dali
Things that I’ve emulated from the painting is the clock and the environmental aspects. Upon looking at the painting from
Salvador Dali, the urban landscape is utilized in The Persistence of Memory. I tried to add that the urban landscape within
my painting, adding the trees, as well as the water stream. I emulated the melting clock to indicate the meaning that time is
irrelevant. In my own painting I utilized that meaning within a living room. My time is constantly spent in a room,
studying, thinking, sleeping and working. I wouldn’t say that those moments were a waste of time, but in that moment time
was constantly passing by. The difficult part of this painting was making sure everything was very clean. Creating a
landscape I am able to paint freely, but creating an interior design painting there's a lot of measurements and line work to
do. Which I was capable of doing.

Surrealist art is revolved around dreams and the ability to tell stories. The art is focused on the literature aspect of art.
Surrealist art can be justified in any context. I have inferred that Surrealist art can be manipulated into anything.
Reflection of connection of own art-Vincent van gogh and
salvador dali
Overall throughout my art life, I plan to utilize the skills that I have developed for as long as I possible. I felt that these two amazing
artist inspired my viewpoints of urban landscape and viewing nature from another perspective. I was able to flourish as a young artist
from using these two artist. Things that I have learned from observing Vincent Van Gogh and Salvador Dali.

- Value can be heavily used to express ones creative mind and feeling.
- Nature can be viewed from any perspective.
- Paintings can mentally disorders one's thoughts, going in-depth with human-psyche.
- Manipulation of color and figure allows to create a smooth and rough appearance, portraying the experience of the artist, cool
and warmth allows the viewer to observe and take in the delicate work.
- Being able to recreate thoughts, memories, dreams, environments. That allows the artist to perfect their skills as well as
presenting their ideology, their experience and their thoughts.

For four years, I was able to learn and use the Ib methods to help me evaluate critical components of my artwork. I felt that it helped me
structure my work and without any of those methods I would have struggled to accomplish my work. For the past 2 years I have taken
high level visual art, the methods of Ib art has prepared me extremely in the long run. I feel that once in college I am able to use the
methods I have gathered to accomplish any assignments or task at hand.