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One of the techniques for which Vincent van Gogh is celebrated is his evocative and striking use of colour contrast. In many of his most famous works – including Café Terrace at Night (1888), The Starry Night (1889) and Irises (1889) – his palette is soothing and inviting, yielding scenes destined to hang, for generations to come, on the walls of dorm rooms and doctors’ offices. However, this video essay from Evan Puschak (also known as the Nerdwriter) finds genius in the drab hues of Van Gogh’s somewhat lesser-known work The Night Café (1888) – a painting that was, by the artist’s own admission, ‘one of the ugliest I’ve done’. Probing Van Gogh’s personal letters and acute understanding of colour theory, Puschak examines how the painter deployed clashing, desolate greens and reds in the work ‘to express the terrible passions of humanity’.
Video by The Nerdwriter
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Personality
A ‘dumpster archeologist’ reconstructs strangers’ stories via what they’ve discarded
14 minutes
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Art
In his poem ‘London’, William Blake crafted a bleak vision of the city he loved
9 minutes
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Ageing and death
We’re not the only animals that appear to grieve. What are the implications?
6 minutes
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Love and friendship
For two brothers who rely on one another, love is a daily act of devotion
11 minutes
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Art
A prisoner in Guantánamo finds some escape in building intricate model ships
6 minutes
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Meaning and the good life
A Japanese religious community makes an unlikely home in the mountains of Colorado
9 minutes
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Sex and sexuality
From secret crushes to self-acceptance – a joyful chronicle of ‘old lesbian’ stories
29 minutes
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Making
Forging a cello from pieces of wood demands its own form of virtuosity
27 minutes
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Education
Scenes from a school year paint a refreshingly nuanced portrait of rural America
25 minutes