Ty, George & DD!

...in Amsterdam in 1974.

The colors are so vivid that the paint looks like it hasn't dried yet, and some of the paint is so thick that you can see the marks of the individual hairs of the brushes.

Truly spectacular.

I could feel his emotional state coming out of that painting. Art has rarely moved me to tears, but that one did.

Younger me feared he was trapped in that world. Older me knows he was showing his soul and that WAS his world.

I would be brought to tears, too.

Right before Covid struck, I went to see a traveling exhibit of Michaelangelo’s drawings and sketches at the Cleveland Museum of Art. On display was the charcoal study he drew of the two hands barely touching in his iconic painting of The Creation of Adam which of course he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
That found it powerfully moving. I could just imagine the great artist working on that study. It wasn’t very big but oh so powerful. I can’t remember how long I stood there mesmerized by it. He made his own charcoal pencils and many of his sketches were in a reddish brown charcoal.

George and Diamond Dog. Van Gogh’s irises are spectacular — so incredibly striking like yours!

The Getty has done a lot with this painting over the years. A simple search:
https://www.getty.edu/search/?query=van+gogh

During covid they took the time to do an in-depth exam of it and now believe the blue has faded over time and was originally much more violet.

If you're still reading this, a couple of videos people might like:

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/new-technology-creates-unique-view-of-famous-van-gogh-painting/

How cool is it that ". . . by examining the surface and noticing where Van Gogh
used different materials and textures we can begin to formulate a better sense of
his overall painting technique and how he manipulated his paints to achieve
particular results . . ."

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/new-technology-creates-unique-view-of-famous-van-gogh-painting/

I too visited the Van Gogh Museum. It was amazing to stand in front of the paintings that I only read about and seen in art books. I also visited Arles (separate trip) and saw where he lived and worked. Good memories.