Vincent van Gogh

Background

An Aries from the Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert. The oldest of six children, Van Gogh was the son of Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, who named him after some of his father’s family members and ancestors. As a child, his mother encouraged him to draw, nudging him into taking his first step into the world of art.

At 16, his uncle got him a position as an art dealer for Goupil, where he trained and worked until 1873, before he transferred to the dealers’ London branch. But after his transfer to Paris, he began to have issues with the work and was fired. He then became very religious and aspired to be a pastor, but his attempts at becoming one were unsuccessful.

Around 1880, Van Gogh’s brother, Theo van Gogh, advised the young painter to begin pursuing art more seriously and draw the people and scenes that interest him. So Van Gogh enrolled at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. The following year, his second cousin Anton Mauve, a successful artist, took him in as a student and introduced him to watercolor and painting in oil, and lent him money for a studio. He then started painting in oils and was pleased with the results. From 1883 to 1885, Van Gogh began painting in earnest and produced about 200 oil paintings, along with watercolors and drawings. His brother Theo tried to sell his paintings, but he was unsuccessful because the paintings were dark-colored. However, Van Gogh did achieve the first public exhibition of his works in August 1885. The following year, he joined his brother in Paris, where he applied a brighter palette of colors and met many renowned painters. He left the French capital two years later, having completed over 200 paintings during his stay there.

In 1888, he moved to Arles, where the countryside and light inspired him to paint “Van Gogh’s Chair,” “Bedroom in Arles,” and “Sunflowers,” three of his most famous works. Van Gogh started living in the Yellow House, which he intended to portray in his project “Décoration for the Yellow House,” along with French artist Paul Gaugin, who he had met in Paris. However, their relationship deteriorated, and it was around this time that Van Gogh maimed his left ear. He was taken to a hospital, diagnosed with acute mania, and placed under medical care, though he continued to paint during this time. He then left Arles in 1889 and into the Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy, where he painted the interiors of the clinic and its garden.

It was during this time that he painted what is considered to be his masterpiece, “The Starry Night,” which depicts the view from his room’s window before sunrise. He also painted his own versions of other artists’ work, as well as reworked some of his earlier paintings, because he didn’t have much access to the outside world while in an asylum.

In 1890, Van Gogh participated in two exhibitions where he received praise for his work, including from renowned painter Claude Monet. In May of the same year, he moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, and became enchanted by its vast wheat fields. Sadly, it was in one of these wheat fields that Van Gogh either shot himself or was shot. The shooting didn’t kill him instantly. But without a surgeon available to remove the bullet, he died 30 hours later, with his brother Theo by his side.

Vincent van Gogh’s work has been showing us a different way of seeing the world for more than a century. His use of color and his expressive brushwork, along with his unique portrayal of the world, characterize his unparalleled style and technique, which has placed him firmly as one of the greatest artists that ever lived. He continues to inspire millions of artists around the world and is studied by renowned scholars.