What if Vincent Van Gogh Designed or Inspired a Website?

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was a painter who lived during the Impressionist period, but was actually an Expressionist.  He is considered one of the world’s foremost painters.  Read on to find out what a website inspired by him would look like and see the example at the bottom of the post.

“A What if Wednesday” Post

Vincent Van Gogh, was a painter during the impressionist period, who was born to a pastor and a family of art dealers in the Netherlands.  Early in his life, he tried being an art dealer, but later went into the ministry (Nicholson 2022).  After a few years in the ministry (1878-1880) (Brower 2000), Van Gogh, began painting (1880-1890) (Brower 2000), and lived in England, the Netherlands, and in France.

Van Gogh, had little formal training in art and was self-taught (Meyers Generally, throughout his life, Vincent struggled with mental issues, perhaps as a result of temporal lobe epilepsy (Taghipour, et al 2019), being bipolar (Ciszewska and Ciszewski 2013) or Schizoaffective disorder (Cooper and Agius 2018). His last two years of life were perhaps his most creative in art (Meyers 2015).

In 1890, at the age of 37, he shot himself, or was he murdered (Arenberg 2023), in a wheat field where he was painting, dying a few days later of an infection.  During his life, Vincent Van Gogh produced over 2,000 paintings (O’Grady 2019), a lot of which are faked on the open market because of their value. In some ways, Van Gogh can be compared to as the Mozart of art (Brower 2000).

Even though Van Gogh painted during the Impressionist period, Van Gogh is sometimes referred to as an Expressionist (Stone 2019).  Unlike the Impressionists, who concentrated on impression and naturalism, Van Gogh was more into expression and experience (Stone 2019).  However, Van Gogh still used the broad brushstrokes more typically associated with the Impressionist painters of the time, such as Claude Monet and Childe Hassam.

Today, Van Gogh is considered the World’s most beloved painter (Munson 1998). Imagine, if Van Gogh were alive today, what would a website designed or inspired by his style look like and what features would it have?  Read on to find out what it might possibly look like.

The Basics of a Vincent Van Gogh Website

A website using the style of Vincent Van Gogh would have bold colors and the broad brushstrokes that were common for impressionist painters.

• Website Visuals:
  • Color Palette: The dominant colors of the website would be vibrant yellows, blues, and greens, reflecting Van Gogh’s love for bold hues.  His paintings of sunflowers and the painting, “Starry Night” would be good examples using these colors.
  • Brushstroke Textures: Textures for the website would mimic the swirling brushstrokes that Van Gogh used in his paintings.
  • Starry Night Skies: The background could be of a night sky with swirling stars (see example at bottom of post).
  • Floral Motifs: Sunflower patterns could be incorporated in various places around the website.
• Website Features: 
  • Interactive Gallery: The website could feature an interactive gallery of the website subject, where users could zoom in on the details and see the textures up close.  Information about each image should be easily accessible.
  • Educational Resources: Navigation would not be through traditional menus, but instead through intuitive clicks or hovering, creating a more fluid and seamless exploration.
  • Include User-Generated Art: For creative inspiration similar to Van Gogh’s, users could be allowed to upload their own photos and apply Van Gogh insipired filters.  They could then transform the images into starry night scenes and/or sunflower fields.
  • Provide a Virtual Reality Experience: For those users with virtual reality capability, an immersive VR experience could transport users into one of his paintings, allowing them to be surrounded by his art.

Color Palette in a Vincent Van Gogh Inspired Website

The color palette of a Van Gogh inspired website would capture the essence of his art and create an immersive, stunning user experience.  When choosing your color palette, be sure to use complimentary color schemes, creating a high-contrast and visually stimulating effect, which Van Gogh used in his paintings.  Colors used should be of high-saturation bringing on the intensity and boldness of Van Gogh.  Even though Van Gogh was generally considered to be an Expressionist, rather than an Impressionist, broad brush textures could still be used (read more in the next section).

• Primary Colors:
  • Sun Yellow: The yellow of sunflower petals would be the dominant color of the website, depending on the subject, and reflect the vibrancy and warmth found in Vincent Van Gogh’s depictions of sunflowers and wheat fields.
  • Cobalt Blue: Cobalt blue reminds one of the swirling night skies and depth of landscapes in Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings.
  • Grass Green: Van Gogh painted many landscapes with grassy rolling hills and meadows.  The use of this color would evoke these landscapes, bringing life to the website.
• Accent Colors:
  • Crimson Red: Crimson red accents mimic the vibrant color of the poppies and red flowers in Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings.  Having some red, here and there, would add some pops of energy to the website.
  • Lemon Yellow: A lemon yellow color would add some contrast and balance out the sun yellow used in the rest of the site.
  • Teal: Some teal colored accents can add tranquility and sophistication, reflecting the cooler blues and greens found in Vincent Van Gogh’s landscapes and starry nights paintings.

Types of Brushstroke Textures Used in a Vincent Van Gogh Inspired Website

The use of broad and visible brushstrokes was a characteristic of Impressionist painters and was also used by Van Gogh.  However, Van Gogh also painted impasto (a thick application of paint), which was also used by Rembrandt (Brower 2000). These brushstrokes helped paintings go beyond just being a flat image.  In fact, Vincent Van Gogh would incoporate bread crumbs into his drawings to get a different tone and texture (Brower 2000).  Below are the types of brushstrokes that would be used on a Van Gogh website.

• Subtle Background Textures: A gentle overlay of a brushstroke texture could be applied to the website background.  For example, this could be a light, all-over pattern of swirling strokes in shades of the chosen color palette.  When using the texture, make sure that it does not overwhelm the content, but is stong enough to add some artistic flair.
• Accented Brushstrokes: Individual brushstrokes could be used design elements.  An example would be a bold, textured yellow stroke that highlights a call to action button or a swirling blue stroke that is used as a border around an image.
• Interactive Brushstrokes: Interactive elements that respond to user actions with brushstroke animations could be used.   For example, hovering over a menu item could trigger a subtle brushstroke animation that reveals the submenu.  These effects give some user engagement and a touch of dynamism.

How to Create the Brushstroke Textures

You may be wondering how to create the brushstroke textures.  Below are some ways to accomplish them, depending on your skill level, using both software and using developer techniques.

• Software Techniques:
  • Digital Tools: Design software such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP offers a variety of brush settings that can mimic painting techniques similar to those of the Impressionists, or in Vincent Van Gogh’s case, the Expresssionists.
  • The Use of Real Brushes: To give a more authentic feel, you could scan actual brushstrokes on paper or canvas and use them as textures on your website design.
  • Online Resources: Some websites offer pre-made brushstroke textures that can be downloaded and used on the design.
• Developer Techniques:
  • CSS Gradients: Multiple CSS gradients layered on top of each other can be used to create a subtle textured effect that is similar to that in a Vincent Van Gogh painting.
    • For example, a background with a vertical gradient transitioning from a warm yellow at the top to a cooler yellow at the bottom, overlaid with a horizontal gradient of a slightly darker, cooler yellow, can create a sense of uneven surface texture.
    • Using CSS can avoid the use the large images.
  • Noise Textures: Subtle noise textures can be used to background images.  Noise textures are grainy images or colors that simulate the roughness of canvas and raised paint. The use of noise textures would replicate the reed pen that Van Gogh used to make hay textures (Wilkin 2005).
  • SVG Patterns: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) allow for the creating of custom repeating patterns.  Subtle repeating patterns can be created with small diagonal brushstroke shapes.

Using Brushstroke Textures Effectively

• Having Balance is Key: Brushstroke patterns should be used strategically to avoid overwhelming the user.  Having too much texture can create a cluttered and visually confusing experience.
• Vary the Scale: A mix of brushstroke sizes should be used to create a sense of depth and interest.  For instance, large brushstrokes can be used for emphasis, while smaller ones can be used for accents.

Creating a Starry Night Sky

Perhaps one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings is “Starry Night.”  In this painting, Van Gogh was able to discern the turbulence in the air, corresponding with Kolmogorov’s tubrulent flow (Naselli-Flores and Padisak 2024). This painting can be simulated in the background of a website inspired by Van Gogh.  A background, such as this, could be used for website dealing with astronomy subjects or a website selling telescopes.  Below are some ways to do this.

• Visual Elements:
  • Starry Patterns: The background of the website could be of a night sky with hand painted stars scattered about.  A gentle swirling pattern could be incorporated to mimic the swirling brushstrokes.
  • Luminous Stars: Using the above background, some stars could be larger than others and have a glowing effect using thick layers of paint (impasto technique).  This would create a sense of depth and dynamism in the night sky.
  • Silhouetted Elements: Silhouettes of landscapes, such as rolling hills and trees, could be placed on the horizon line, giving even more depth than the above effects.
• Adding some Animation:
  • Twinkling Stars: In this paintings, Vincent Van Gogh, was unable to add animation, as he did not have a computer or the internet.  However, today, in your website, you can, by having twinkling stars, adding some realism.
  • Swirling Clouds: Slow-moving clouds could be animated across the night sky, giving a sense of movement and evoking the swirling patterns found in Van Gogh’s paintings.
  • Moonlight Glow: A subtle glow, simulating moonlight, could come from the top or side of the screen, creating a sense of serenity.

Adding Functionality to the Website

If you are designing a website that is space related, such as selling telescopes, astronomy or a travel website spotlighting the dark skies, the starry background could be made interactive.  For instance, clicking on a star could reveal information on its constellation and/or name.  This would add an educational element and increase user engagement with the site.  Be sure to adjust the background to the overall website color scheme.  For example, if green is the prominent accent color, the stars could have a greenish tint.

Using Floral Motifs in a Vincent Van Gogh Website

A lot of Van Gogh’s other paintings depicted landscapes that were full of sunflowers, poppies, and wheat. These backgrounds could be used in a garden or travel website giving more uses of a Vincent Van Gogh inspired website. Below are some examples of floral motifs that could be used.

• Sunflowers: The sunflower is one of the main flowers used in Van Gogh’s paintings. Different ways they can be used include:
  • Realistic depictions of the flowers with thick, textured brushstrokes, like his paintings.
  • Simplified, stylized versions that capture the general sunflower shape.
  • Repeating patterns on sunflowers as a background element.
• Other Flowers to Use: Other flowers that Van Gogh painted include irises, poppies, or lavender. When using these flowers:
  • Use a limited color palette to maintain a cohesive look.
  • Consider using the “other flowers” as scattered accents or within floral patterns.
• Abstract Floral Elements: Abstract shapes reminiscent of flowers can add some whimsy and avoid the pitfalls of being exact. Some examples include swirls, spirals, and teardrop shapes, evoking leaves and petals.

Thoughts on Where to Place Floral Motifs and Elements

• Use them in Subtle Background Patterns: Floral patterns can be used as a background on specific pages.
• Accents and Borders: Floral motifs can be used as borders around text boxes, images, or buttons.
• Interactive Elements: Hovering over a menu item or button could reveal a subtle floral animation.
• A Full Illustration: A full illustration of a sunflower field could be used in a hero image that is a reinterpretation of a Van Gogh sunflower painting.
• Floral Overlays: Subtle floral overlays could be used on images to give artistic flair.

Be Sure to Maintain the Overall Website Style

When doing the floral motifs be sure to maintain the impressionistic broad brushstrokes and overall color palette of the website. Do not become overzealous in adding floral elements so as not to overwhlem the site and lose balance.

Example of a Website Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh

Conclusion

Vincent Van Gogh essentially evolved impressionism into experessionism and influenced the later German art forms. Deisgning a website inspired by him will have some impressionist elements, but will also include more details at the same time.

References

• Arenberg, Irv. 2023. Love and Murder: The Last Days of Vincent Van Gogh. Kirkus Reviews 91 (21).
• Brower, Richard. 2000. To Reach a Star: the creativity of Vincent Van Gogh. High Ability Studies 11 (2) 179-205.
• Ciszewska, Joanna and Andrzej Ciszewski. 2013. Vincent Van Gogh and digitalis. Medycyna Pratyczna 123 (9): 500-501.
• Cooper, Yasmeen and Mark Agius. 2018. Does Schizoaffective Disorder Explain the Mental Illnesses of Robert Schumann and Vincent Van Gogh. Psychiatria Danubina 30 (7): 559-562.
• Meyers, Jeffrey. 2015. Van Gogh: Art and Suicide. London Magazine Oct/Nov 2015: 113-118.
• Munson, Steven C. 1998. Why we Love Van Gogh. Commentary 106 (6).
• Naselli-Florea, Luigi and Judit Padisak. 2024. Analysis of morphological traits as tool to identify the realized niche of phytoplankton populations: what do the shape of planktic microalgae, Anna Karenina and Vincent van Gogh have in common? Hydrobiologica 851 (4): 733-749.
• Nicholson, Paul J. 2022. Vincent Van Gogh, Factories at Clichy, 1887. Occupational Medicine 72 (3): 157-159.
• O’Grady, Desmond. 2019. The Quest for Authenticity of Van Gogh’s Head. Quadrant Magazine 63 (3): 101-104.
• Stone, Will. 2019. Van Gogh and his influence on German Expressionism. London Magazine 95-102.
• Tachipour, Mousa, Nima Derakhshan, and Arash Saffarian. 2019. At Eternity’s Gate: Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and the Genuis of Vincent Van Gogh. Psychiatria Danubina 31 (3): 374-376.
• Wilkin, Karen. 2005. A Fresh Look at Van Gogh. The New Criterion 24 (4): 28-32.