The Chaos of Creativity- Emily Dickinson and Vincent Van Gogh

The Chaos of Creativity

"Wheatfield with Crows," by Vincent Van Gogh

It seems to be a trend that artists of all sorts experience psychological turmoil that accompanies their creativity. Two cases of this are Emily Dickinson and Vincent Van Gogh, who belong to two different realms of art. Emily Dickinson was an American poet born in Massachusetts in 1830, and Vincent Van Gogh a post-impressionist painter born in 1853 in Netherlands. Both are well known for being the “forefathers” of their areas, or the greatest at what they do. There are similarities in the way that Dickinson and Van Gogh express themselves. Both artists make sharp statements, portray elements of nature, and reflect their mental state in their work.

Dickinson and Van Gogh make similar stylistic choices in their work. Emily Dickinson is well known for her copious use of dashes. She regularly places them at the ends of her line to make a statement. Van Gogh’s post-impressionist painting style consists of many sharp, short brush strokes and vibrant colors. Dickinson’s use of punctuation and Van Gogh’s brush strokes and colors both give an abrupt feel to their work, yet they still manage to make it flow. Each individual mark is quick, yet they all blend together, similar to a school of fish. An example of this is in poem 318: “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose – /A Ribbon at a time – / The steeples swam in Amethyst/ The news, like Squirrels, ran –” Her use of  dashes makes the reader pause and think. One of Van Gogh’s paintings that has a similar effect is “Wheatfield with Crows.” Each brushstroke is a short dash, which adds movement and emotion. This brings more depth to the painting and causes the observer to stop and look closer at what would otherwise be a simple landscape.

Natural aspects are evident in the work of both Dickinson and Van Gogh. One of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings “Starry Night” is a view of the village below from his asylum window. Van Gogh magnificently captures nature in the swirl of the stars in the sky and the trees below that are reaching up to touch them. Dickinson also uses nature to express her thoughts. In one of her well known poems, number 314,  she states, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers- / That perches in the soul- /And sings the tune without the words- / And never stops - at all-” Here the reader associates hope, the idea that she is describing, as a bird. Exploring nature in their work allowed both artists to more easily express their thoughts.

Both Dickinson and Van Gogh suffered from mental illness throughout their lives. Van Gogh dealt with depression, anxiety, and possibly bipolar disorder. Some of his most influential paintings were produced from the effects these disorders had on him, including his self portrait with his bandaged ear, which he supposedly cut off himself. One can see the anguish in his eyes due to his poor mental health. Dickinson also suffered from a wide array of psychological disorders, including bipolarism, and possibly anorexia. She spent most of her life in her room writing poetry, becoming somewhat of a recluse. The chaos in her head is reflected in her poetry, as demonstrated in poem 937, “I felt a cleaving in my Mind- / As if my Brain had split- / I tried to match i - / Seam by Seam- / But could not make them fit.” One can detect the turmoil in both of their heads through their work.

Although Emily Dickinson and Vincent Van Gogh do not share the same medium, they can produce the same effect through their stylistic choices and techniques. It is interesting that  poetry can have so much in common with visual art, and how style choices like punctuation can correspond to brush strokes, and evoke the same feeling in the observer. Coincidentally, both artists became well-known only after their death. Vincent Van Gogh struggled throughout his life, always poor and feeling like his work was unworthy. Emily Dickinson, on the other hand, asked that her work not be published, but after she died her wishes were betrayed.