Standing over the shoulder of a giant...

"Standing over the shoulder of a giant, so we can see far." This is a common expression saying that we often succeed because we imitate or emulate the work of great mentors. Imitation or emulation to succeed happens in science, in films, and believe it or not, even in art.

I have learned about this last Friday (May 1, 2009) from an art seminar presented by Professor Su Jen-Ming of Taipei Educational University. He was talking about the life and the work of Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875). One of his work, entitled Le Semeur (The Sower) is shown at the top of the attached photos.

It turns out Millet's work was a great inspiration to another famous artist from Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). I would like to ask my readers to examine closely and compare van Gogh's work against Millet's work. Wasn't van Gogh standing over the shoulder of a giant, or Jean Francois Millet in his many work of 'the sowers' ? The lower photos are van Gogh's work: (1) Sower: Outskirts of Arles in the background, 1888 by van Gogh; (2) Sower with Setting Sun by van Gogh.