A Wheatfield with Crows.

Lesson Plan

Death had wrapped its fingers around his soul long before he was yanked into this world. The weight of grief was still heavy in the air as his parents greeted their first born. His brother, his namesake, had not made it to full term and thus his entrance was something of a bittersweet blessing.

Understandably, he was a quiet child. Unassuming. His boyhood was spent in the wheat fields communing with nature and the crows. There, he would talk to the clouds of his dreams and aspirations, and they in turn would shape shift into his manifestations; giving him the answers he longed to yield. There was church on Sunday, of course, where he would listen to his father sermonise which, more often than not, gave him more questions than answers. The clouds weren’t much use with those. And so he contemplated faith and religion in his prayers before bed and occasionally as he wandered alongside the serpentine path of the river. He liked water. Though mostly he focused on the sky.

As he grew into manhood, the question of vocations and life plans were barely addressed. There was no discussion, nor very much thought. His uncle knew a gentleman looking for an art broker and so it would be that he fell, quite unwittingly though not particularly reluctantly, into the world of dealing in the wares of artists.

However, with little tolerance for the airs of the Parisian hoi polloi and the bible increasingly capturing his interest, he quickly removed himself from the scene . Opting for a less extravagant existence, he returned to Belgium to work as a missionary spreading the word of God to the people. It’s funny really how genius finds itself.

First there was nothing. No burning fervor of the creative, no grand desire to embolden a canvas, but there in a small mining town, he began to see people. Not how you or I might see them – visually. Their eyes, their mouth – an outward symbol of a human. No. He saw faces as they really are. Souls waiting to be seen. And so he began to sketch in earnest. His portraits holding up a mirror to their recipients.

Art quickly became life. His heart feeding his hands the stuff of dreams and nightmare; he gave vision to the peasants he had seen as a boy and the underprivileged he had later walked past in the city slums. Head bowed. When he had mastered the art of the visage, he branched out to include rural scenes. He worked late into the night, his pencil detailing the quintessential charm of, The Cottage he had wandered past earlier that week. It was then, by the light of the oil lamp that he knew he had found his home and his calling.

He moved to Paris not long after. His heart filled with revelation and hope. His brother, Theo welcomed his older sibling gladly. The pair lived together in a harmonious commune for the most part. Enlivened by his own new found passion, Vincent began to search out more challenging projects. His mind awash with possibility. He fell into the steady monotony of the city, breaking the drab fog of morning with works of the impressionist greats, Monet and Picasso quickly became his muses. Their vivid strokes and flashes of ostentation, broke through his solemnity. Still, even there amongst the genius of his time, he longed for more.

Seeking warmth and light, he moved to Arles. France gave him inspiration and the freedom to craft – the rolling hills and summer flora, a living tapestry and he a character walking amongst the silken dewy threads. And there were dreams. Looking out of the window of his little yellow house, he saw amongst the trees the artists’ colony he would create. A utopia. Even introverts seek comfort in like minds – connection. And he would, he decided in a flash of misguided inspiration, start right there and then. He immediately invited his friend, Paul Gauguin to join him. An artistic, collaborative experiment of sorts, ‘The studio of the South’.

Despite the most innocent of intentions, the arguments ensued quickly, neither creative was willing to compromise. each intent on their own vision. Vincent retreated to pastoral inspiration and Gauguin remained stoically determined to bring his imagination to the fore. Sinking deeper into himself and finding that rather than being invigorated by the presence of another artistic visionary, he was constricted. All that he had dreamed the collaboration would be; a charcoaled smudge of the color’s he had envisioned.

Vincent sank deeper and this time the clouds could not console him, their movements, as arbitrary and useless as his perceived failure. Gaugin for his part became more overbearing – willing his friend to think outside of himself, believing his vision to be the better of the two.

“You are not listening to me!” He would scream from the top of the stairs.

“No no it is true I am not listening to you! Who are you to tell me who it is I should be?”

Before he realized what he had done, the blood poured from the side of his head- streaming down his embittered face, his ear hanging by sinew.

The hospital, recognizing his anguish, relocated him to the psychiatric wing, Under the care of doctors and with the help of medication, he slowly began to see the sky again. The stars replacing the clouds that had once placated him. And so there behind the barred windows of his ward, he would muster all that he had to try again, The sterile, suffocating walls of the hospital became the canvas of his redemption. His way home. The deft brushstrokes of the swirling night skies, the lush, pulsating fields, and the tranquil beauty of sunflowers gave him hope of peace.

With creativity awakened once more, Vincent left the hospital with a renewed vision. He would start over.

But, the tigers come at night. The darkness of depression and the visions that had haunted him for much of his adult life refused to subside. As his anguish grew, so too did his frenetic pace of creation. His heart sensing that his soul could not endure this world forever, he painted with unrelenting focus. Each canvas, a knife wound of captured beauty. Released like a caged nightingale. Free.

—————————————————————————————

The morning air rustled through the wheat field, his feet crushing the dried stalks as he walked. He looked upwards to the skies. The clouds were unmoving. The sun beat down upon his back.

“The sadness will last forever.” He muttered, not a cry of despair but a gentle acknowledgement of truth. There would be no escape. Not in this life.

As he pulled the trigger, the crows ascended into the sky,

His legacy would become one, not of tragedy but of a dark and powerful beauty. A soul not of this earth. Tainted by madness, perhaps, or a divergent mind, unable to reconcile with the inequity of this world.

---

Answer!

1. How did the character’s birth affect his parents’ feelings towards him?
2. Describe the character’s relationship with nature and how it influenced his childhood.
3. What role did religion and faith play in the character’s early life?
4. How did the character find his way into the world of art brokerage and why did he leave it?
5. Explain the significance of the character’s move to a small mining town and how it changed his perspective on people.
6. What was the turning point that led the character to fully embrace art as his life’s calling?
7. Discuss the character’s relationship with his brother Theo and how it influenced his journey in Paris.
8. Analyze the outcome of the artistic collaboration between Vincent and Paul Gauguin in Arles.
9. How did the character’s mental health struggles impact his art and perspective on life?
10. What message does the character’s final act and words convey about his view on life and legacy?

Match!

Match the Vocabulary Words with their Definitions:

Research!

• Research the Impressionist Art Movement: Investigate the origins, key characteristics, major artists, and historical context of the Impressionist movement. Explore how it differed from previous art forms and why it was revolutionary for its time.

Create!

• Write a diary entry or letter from the perspective of Vincent van Gogh, discussing his thoughts and feelings about moving to Arles, his vision for the artists’ colony, or his relationship with Paul Gauguin.
• Chose an artist you are inspired by and write a creative short story of their life (It can be someone from any creative sphere)

Discuss!

Discuss the concepts of beauty, madness, and the role of the artist in society. Use quotes from the text as prompts for reflection and debate.

You may wish to consider:

1. Beauty:
   • What is beauty? Is beauty universal, or is it entirely subjective?
   • How do societal standards influence our perception of what is beautiful in art and in life?
   • Can something be considered beautiful if it only appeals to a minority? Does popularity diminish or enhance beauty?
   • How did Impressionist artists challenge the conventional notions of beauty in their time? What can we learn from their perspective today?
2. Madness:
   • How is madness defined, and who gets to define it? Is there a clear boundary between genius and madness?
   • In what ways can mental health challenges influence an artist’s work? Can such challenges be seen as a source of creativity or a barrier to it?
   • How has society’s understanding and acceptance of mental health issues among artists changed from Vincent van Gogh’s time to today?
   • Should the struggles of artists, like van Gogh, be romanticized? What are the potential dangers or benefits of doing so?
3. The Role of the Artist in Society:
   • What role do artists play in society? Are they merely entertainers, or do they serve a deeper purpose?
   • How can art influence societal change or reflect societal values?
   • In what ways are artists responsible for the messages they convey through their art? Should they be held accountable for the impact of their work on viewers?
   • Considering the sacrifices some artists make for their art, like Vincent van Gogh, is there a point where the cost is too high? How does society benefit from such sacrifices?
4. Integration of Concepts:
   • How do the concepts of beauty and madness intersect in the world of art? Can art be a medium through which the complexities of beauty and madness are explored and understood?
   • What can the life and work of Vincent van Gogh teach us about the balance between adhering to societal norms and breaking them for the sake of art?
   • How do modern artists continue to explore the themes of beauty, madness, and their societal roles? Are there contemporary examples that parallel the experiences of Vincent van Gogh?