The intensity of emotion Van Gogh put into every brushstroke is what has made his work so captivating to viewers and inspired countless artists and people over the decades.
Dr. Gachet was the homeopathic doctor who treated Van Gogh after his release from Saint-Rémy. The artist found a personal connection in the doctor and wrote to his sister: "I have found a true friend in Dr. Gachet, something like another brother, we are so similar physically and mentally." Van Gogh shows Gachet sitting at a red table with two yellow books and a thimble in a vase near his elbow. The doctor looks over the viewer, his eyes conveying a sense of inner sadness that reflects not only the doctor's condition, but Van Gogh's as well. Van Gogh focused the viewer's attention on depicting the doctor's expression by surrounding his face with the subtly varying shades of blue of his jacket and the hills of the background. Van Gogh wrote to Gauguin that he wanted to create a truly modern portrait, one that would capture "the heartbreaking expression of our time." By portraying Gachet's expression through a mix of melancholy and gentleness, Van Gogh created a portrait that has impacted viewers since its creation. A recent owner, Ryoei Saito, even claimed that he planned to have the painting burned with him after his death because he was so moved by the image. The intensity of emotion Van Gogh put into every brushstroke is what has made his work so captivating to viewers and inspired countless artists and people over the decades.