The Old Man With His Head In His Hands

This week's rhetorical piece is the Old Man with His Head in His Hands by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).  Vincent van Gogh was a 20th century impressionist painter whose use of bright colors and emotional honesty has left a huge impression on 20th century art culture. The context of this piece is not only the emotional pain and agony that van Gogh endured as he constantly battled mental illness, but van Gogh's spirituality. Though he had rejected religious institution, he still held firmly on the belief that there was a life waiting for him after death. The position of the man crying in his hands while secluded would have easily represented complete sorrow and depression if it weren't for the annotation at the bottom of the page. The annotation at the bottom of the piece shows that van Gogh still clung to his spirituality even at the peak of his mental agony; van Gogh's annotation of the piece is "at eternity's gate." Van Gogh's purpose in many of his late works as his mental illness worsened was to portray his emotional agony and his longing for control and clarity. Van Gogh was a secluded man who painted to cling to reality, which leads me to believe he had no intended audience, but those who see his piece are those who follow 20th century art and those who study the style of impressionism.  His most effective strategy is personification of his emotions. He personifies his pain and depression into a pained and frail old man and it is easy to see what point in his life van Gogh was in when he painted this painting. I think that the annotation and personification achieved his purpose well because the parallel of the two elements show how profound spirituality was to van Gogh.