Binary Thinking in the Art of Vincent van Gogh

Both taking a semiotic approach, as well as drawing on art historical resources in an attempt to explore the conjuncture between these two disciplinary spaces in a novel way, this essay argues for a view of Vincent van Gogh as an artist deeply and innovatively engaged with binary thinking. Concentrating on questions of meaning in his work, this essay interprets him as concerned to deal visually with issues of binary opposition. In particular, it examines his interest in the life/death binary, but other binary polarities (which often overlap or resonate with this central concern of his art) are also discussed. Conceptual oppositions are often expressed spatially in his work, for example in motifs which feature field boundaries or crop edges, and are also conveyed by the use of complementary colors. An engagement with semiotic theory—specifically the work of Charles Sanders Peirce—is shown to enable insights into the work of this widely-regarded artist that are not otherwise available. Peirce’s threefold understanding of the sign provides a way to conceptualize Van Gogh’s art and to clarify his deep involvement with binary thinking

Binary opposition · Semiotics · Borges, Kipling, and Jewish Identity · Jungian Analytical Psychology · Porphyrin Metabolism and Disorders