Why do people say that Van Gogh wasn't meant for his time?

Answer 1

Van Gogh came during the time of the Impressionists, and while he contributed many works to that style his art became a blueprint of sorts for Expressionism, which would come decades later. While Van Gogh emulates many Impressionistic themes in his work such as thin brushstrokes, the use of color and movement, and capturing the brief, fleeting scenes of daily life, his Expressionistic use of shapes, color, proportion, and personal interpretation of daily life he was painting made him lean more on the Expressionism side. A great example of this is his famous painting "The Starry Night", which shows a semi-realistic scene of a small village and night sky. What makes this work Expressionistic rather than purely Impressionistic is the swirling clouds, the shape and coloring of the moon, as well as the shapes and linework around the stars. He was painting what he saw, but with a creative twist through his use of color and personal interpretation of what he was looking at.