Arthur Rhodes (1944) - Giallo Cromo n.1889

Arthur Rhodes “Giallo Cromo n.1889”

This extraordinary and imposing oil on canvas painting, measuring an impressive 95 x 76 cm with a depth of 2 cm and a structural weight of 3,200 kg, represents a refined, desecrating and educated parody of Vincent van Gogh's celebrated Self-Portrait of 1889 housed at the Musée d'Orsay.

The work bears the original signature of the artist Arthur Rhodes (illustrator and cartoonist for the New York Times) and the dating 1983 in the lower right, establishing itself as a unique piece of exceptional visual impact and conceptual intelligence.

The painter masterfully reinterprets the post-impressionist language of the Dutch master by inserting an element of disorienting and ironic everyday life, the domestic and intimate act of brushing one's teeth.

However, the irony becomes profound and tragic when one observes the object of cleaning; Van Gogh is not using ordinary toothpaste, but squeezing a tube of oil paint, on whose label is clearly written Jaune, that is, the yellow color.

This detail is not a simple visual gag, but a powerful and educated historiographical reference to the mental disorders that afflicted Van Gogh during his stay in Arles. Various testimonies of the era report that in moments of deepest crisis the maestro attempted to ingest his own colors, especially chrome yellow, a color he loved passionately and in which he identified light, sun and a form of vital and salvific warmth.

In Rhodes' work, the act of brushing teeth with yellow paint becomes a metaphor for painting that literally and physically penetrates the artist's body, nourishing him and at the same time wearing him down.

The yellow foam that oozes conspicuously from the mouth and stains the collar of the blue-green jacket symbolizes the chromatic obsession that transcends the boundaries of the canvas to become flesh.

From a technical point of view, the author reproduces with extraordinary stylistic precision the characteristic dynamic and tormented brushwork of Van Gogh.

The background is a hypnotic vortex of wavy brushstrokes in tones of white, light blue and azure that explicitly recall the turbulent atmospheres of Starry Night and the sky of the original self-portrait, creating a sense of perpetual motion and psychological tension.

The artist's face, captured with a piercing and hallucinatory gaze of intense green and orange shades, shows strong tactile tridimensionality, accentuated by a dense and vibrant hatching that models the facial muscles and the focused expression.

The left hand holds the tube with a firm and realistic grip, while the right hand maneuvers the green toothbrush with a gesture that combines the ordinariness of daily routine with the solemnity of an artistic ritual.

The work, framed by a sober and elegant dark wooden moulding that enhances its cool color palette, is in excellent condition, showing a rich, dense and vibrant painterly texture, ideal for demanding collectors of contemporary, avant-garde art or for lovers of the binomial between great art history and conceptual satire.

Arthur Rhodes “Yellow Cromo n.1889”

This extraordinary and commanding oil on canvas painting, measuring an impressive 95 by 76 cm with a depth of 2 cm and a total weight of 3.200 kg, represents a highly sophisticated, irreverent, and intellectually sharp parody of Vincent van Gogh's iconic 1889 Self-Portrait housed in the Musée d'Orsay.

The artwork is hand-signed and dated in the lower right corner by the artist Arthur Rhodes (worked For New York Times), 1983, making it a unique and compelling piece of contemporary art history. Rhodes masterfully replicates the post-impressionist visual vocabulary of the Dutch master while injecting a surreal element of mundane domesticity, the intimate act of brushing one's teeth.

The irony, however, runs far deeper than a superficial comic sketch, upon closer inspection, Van Gogh is not using toothpaste but is instead squeezing a tube of artist oil paint, explicitly labeled with the French word Jaune, meaning yellow.

This precise detail is a brilliant historiographical reference to the severe psychological crises that tormented Van Gogh during his time in Arles, historical records and letters note that during his most intense episodes of mental distress, Van Gogh attempted to ingest his own pigments, specifically the chrome yellow he so deeply worshiped, a color he associated with pure sunlight, warmth, and spiritual salvation.

In Rhodes' interpretation, the act of brushing his teeth with yellow paint becomes a poignant metaphor for a painter whose art literally consumes him from the inside out, the bright yellow pigment spilling from his mouth and dripping onto his teal jacket symbolises an artistic obsession so absolute that it transcends the canvas to contaminate the body. Technically, the painting demonstrates an exceptional command of the post-impressionist style, the background is rendered in an impasto Arthur Rhodes “Giallo Cromo n.1889” featuring a hypnotic vortex of swirling brushstrokes in shades of white, turquoise, and pale blue, directly evoking the turbulent sky of The Starry Night and the restless energy of the original self-portrait.

The facial features are defined by short, rhythmic strokes of contrasting green and orange tones, capturing the piercing, hallucinatory gaze that is so characteristic of Van Gogh's late psychological portraits.

The left hand firmly grasps the metal paint tube, showing realistic anatomical detail, while the right hand maneuvers a green toothbrush, transforming a trivial morning routine into a solemn and tragic artistic ritual.

Enclosed in a simple, dark wooden frame that perfectly complements the cool, vibrant palette of the canvas, this artwork is in excellent state of preservation, its thick, rich textual surface offers remarkable visual depth, making it a stellar acquisition for discerning collectors of modern art, post-impressionist homages, and conceptually driven visual satire.