Use of materials/technology
Van Gogh uses oil paint in this painting. One of reasons he may have done this is because it could be layered thickly to create impasto. This paint also takes a long time to dry, which meant that he could come back to his painting later and change parts.
Use of scale
Van Gogh uses realistic proportion for his subject matter, this can be seen in the size of the objects compared to each other, which is the same as if you were seeing it in front of you. This makes the painting look more lifelike.
The painting is 49.5 cm by 64.4 cm which means the objects are painted at life-size scale, this creates an atmospheric effect and makes it feel lived in and familiar to the viewer as the objects are common items.
Use of techniques
Van Gogh uses impasto, this can be seen in the way he applies paint thickly, which creates actual texture on the surface of the painting and this adds to the rustic worn appearance of the subject matter.
Van Gogh also uses unblended brushstrokes. This can be seen mainly in the onions. This adds to the style of the painting because the brushstrokes are sharp and create visual impact, this can relate to his rough living conditions which cause him to eat onions on their own. And gives a realistic appearance to the onions, the layered paint for the layers of onion.
Van Gogh uses paint brushes to apply the paint. This can be seen in the visual linear brush strokes on the onions and the table. This creates visual texture and makes the objects look more realistic.
Working methods
Van Gogh thickly applies the paint, this effect is called impasto. This method gives us the impression of onions skin on the onions, both visual and actual texture on the painting.
