**Biographical Details**:
– Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, as the oldest surviving child of Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus.
– His mother came from a prosperous family in The Hague, while his father was the youngest son of a minister.
– Vincent had a brother named Theo, born on May 1, and three sisters: Elisabeth, Anna, and Willemina.
– He was taught at home before attending school, with his interest in art starting early due to his mother’s encouragement.
– Van Gogh’s childhood was austere, and he faced unhappiness during his early education.
**Artistic Journey**:
– Van Gogh created around 2100 artworks in just over a decade, characterized by bold colors and dramatic brushwork.
– His early works consisted of still lifes and peasant laborer depictions, evolving as he moved to Paris in 1886 and later to Arles, focusing on the natural world.
– Van Gogh’s art inspired avant-garde groups, influencing modern art with his use of color and expressive line.
– Posthumously, his works gained critical and commercial success, with some of his paintings among the world’s most expensive.
– His legacy is celebrated by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
**Artistic Development**:
– Van Gogh’s artistic growth included periods in Nuenen, Antwerp, and Paris, where he experimented with different mediums and styles.
– He explored bold brushwork, oil painting techniques, and color theory, leading to a brighter palette and bolder style influenced by artists like Monticelli.
– Van Gogh’s time in Arles marked a significant breakthrough, where he completed over 200 paintings and 100 drawings, featuring rich colors like yellow, ultramarine, and mauve.
– His exposure to Pointillism and Neo-impressionism, as well as collaborations with artists like Paul Gauguin, further shaped his artistic vision and techniques.
– Van Gogh’s ambitions to decorate the Yellow House with his paintings showcased his artistic aspirations and desire to create a gallery for his art.
**Personal Struggles and Relationships**:
– Van Gogh faced challenges in his early career, including failures in studying theology and conflicts with church authorities during his missionary work.
– His personal life was marked by rejection in romantic relationships, leading to emotional turmoil reflected in his art.
– Relationships with figures like Sien Hoornik and Anton Mauve influenced his artistic development but also brought turbulent periods.
– Van Gogh’s struggles in Antwerp, where he lived in poverty and faced clashes over his unconventional style, added to his challenges.
– The incident involving the mutilation of his ear during his deteriorating relationship with Paul Gauguin highlighted his personal struggles.
**Artistic Exploration and Networks**:
– Van Gogh’s artistic pursuits involved periods in various locations, including Nuenen, Antwerp, Paris, and Arles, where he experimented with different styles and techniques.
– His interactions with artists like Fernand Cormons, Paul Gauguin, and others at exhibitions expanded his artistic perspective.
– Van Gogh’s exposure to new developments like Pointillism and Neo-impressionism broadened his artistic horizons and influenced his style.
– Collaborations with artists like Gauguin led to joint works and exchanges of ideas, contributing to his artistic growth.
– Participation in exhibitions alongside artists like Émile Bernard and Louis Anquetin furthered his engagement with the artistic community.
Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch: [ˈvɪnsɛnt ˈʋɪləɱ‿vɑŋ‿ˈɣɔx] ⓘ; 30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. His oeuvre includes landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, most of which are characterized by bold colors and dramatic brushwork that contributed to the rise of expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh's work was beginning to gain critical attention before he died at age 37, by what was suspected at the time to be a suicide. During his lifetime, only one of Van Gogh's paintings, The Red Vineyard, was sold.
Vincent van Gogh | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Self-Portrait, c.1887, Art Institute of Chicago | |
| Born | Vincent Willem van Gogh 30 March 1853 Zundert, Netherlands |
| Died | 29 July 1890 (aged 37) Auvers-sur-Oise, France |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
| Education | |
| Years active | 1881–1890 |
| Notable work |
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| Movement | Post-Impressionism |
| Family | Theodorus van Gogh (brother) Willemina van Gogh (sister) |
| Signature | |
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Born into an upper-middle-class family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet and thoughtful, but showed signs of mental instability. As a young man, he worked as an art dealer, often travelling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a missionary in southern Belgium. Later he drifted into ill-health and solitude. He was keenly aware of modernist trends in art and, while back with his parents, took up painting in 1881. His younger brother, Theo, supported him financially, and the two of them maintained a long correspondence.
Van Gogh's early works consist of mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant laborers. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the artistic avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were seeking new paths beyond Impressionism. Frustrated in Paris and inspired by a growing spirit of artistic change and collaboration, in February 1888, Van Gogh moved to Arles in southern France to establish an artistic retreat and commune. Once there, Van Gogh's art changed. His paintings grew brighter and he turned his attention to the natural world, depicting local olive groves, wheat fields and sunflowers. Van Gogh invited Gauguin to join him in Arles and eagerly anticipated Gauguin's arrival in the fall of 1888.
Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions. Though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor when, in a rage, he severed his left ear. Van Gogh spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he came under the care of the homeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. His depression persisted, and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh is believed to have shot himself in the chest with a revolver, dying from his injuries two days later.
Van Gogh's work began to attract critical artistic attention in the last year of his life. After his death, Van Gogh's art and life story captured public imagination as an emblem of misunderstood genius, due in large part to the efforts of his widowed sister-in-law Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. His bold use of color, expressive line and thick application of paint inspired avant-garde artistic groups like the Fauves and German Expressionists in the early 20th century. Van Gogh's work gained widespread critical and commercial success in the following decades, and he has become a lasting icon of the romantic ideal of the tortured artist. Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings ever sold. His legacy is honored and celebrated by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.