This Van Gogh Painting Revealed An Unsettling Reality

Go behind the painting with Art Deco at https://BehindThePainting.com Exclusive videos on the art you love 🎨 🖼️ New content every month! This piece is called Prisoners’ Round by Vincent van Gogh. It might not be like the radiant pieces we know and love, but it’s just as compelling. Because it’s not only a profound depiction of inmates, it’s also a portrayal of the artist's own experience as a prisoner. We’re transported to a prison yard where a group of inmates gather to exercise. 33 men walk in a circle formation with lowered heads and sluggish steps. Never ending claustrophobic brick walls confine them. A guard stands to the right of the painting. Beside him, two men appear to be in conversation with one another. The assumed sky above washes over the walls like a gentle mist that trickles down to a man in the center of the painting, his gaze fixed upon us. The man's stance is turned slightly away from the circular path, suggesting a subtle desire to break away from it. He’s the only prisoner not wearing a hat, revealing his gaunt face and strawberry blonde hair. Could this be Vincent himself? At the time he created this painting, Vincent was a patient at the Saint-Paul Asylum. During his time there, he access to the outdoors was limited, thus he got ideas from referencing other artists' works. Prisoners' Round is a copy of a piece by Gustave Doré. Why did Vincent create Prisoners’ Round? Maybe it was an attempt to connect with the less fortunate, maybe it signifies the feeling he had of captivity within a cycle of mental distress, maybe it expresses the confinement he felt living in the asylum or maybe it's actually nothing more than a copy. What do you think? Check out my coloring book! https://amzn.to/3R65V4I (ad) I handmade this book by digitally sketching my favorite Van Gogh pieces. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it! #art #arthistory #vincentvangogh #vangogh #classicart #fineart Credits: cloud effect from Vecteezy