Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh was born in Holland. The son of a pastor, he
brought up in a religious environment. His earliest years were spent
as a quiet child with little or no attention spent on art or artistic
qualities.
Between 1860 and 1880, he had worked as a
clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a
preacher.
In 1881, he went to Belgium to study art, determined to provide
happiness to others by creating beauty. Many of his earliest pieces
were of peasant life, which could be credited to his work with the
miners while he was a preacher.
Vincent soon became passionate about becoming a famous drawer
of figures, and continued to practice his newly developed skills.
In 1885, he enrolled in an academy in Belgium where he discovered
the art of Peter Paul Rubens and various Japanese artists. Both of
these factors would greatly affect Vincent’s style in art.
By early 1886, he had moved to Paris, France to live with his brother
Theo. Here Vincent was exposed to modern art from the
impressionists. The impressionist painters were famous for their use
of light and color without a lot of detail. Vincent quickly dropped the
dark colors he had previously used and began using brighter colors
and also began experimenting with these new techniques.
While in Paris, Vincent met other artists. He became friends with
artist Paul Gauguin and hoped that his new friends would join him to
create a school of art, which Gauguin later did.
Vincent began painting sunflowers to decorate Gauguin's bedroom.
These sunflowers would later become one of Vincent's most famous
pieces.
In 1888, Vincent started suffering from mental illness. In one
episode, he physically threatened his friend Gauguin. Later that day,
Vincent returned to their house and cut off his ear. Vincent was
temporarily hospitalized and released to find Gauguin leaving town,
ending Vincent’s dream of an artistic community.
Later that year, he returned to the hospital. He painted The Starry
Night at that time, which remains his most popular work and one of
the most influential pieces in history. The swirling lines of the sky
may represent his confused mind at that time. This same style is
visible in all of his work during his time in the hospital.
Vincent left the hospital in 1890. He continued working and created
a number of pieces; nearly one painting a day. In spite of his great
creativity, Vincent was very disappointed with his life. His mental
illness did not allow him to really enjoy his artistic talent. He died
later that year.
Between 1881 and 1890, Vincent painted almost 900 paintings. Since
his death, he has become one of the most famous painters in the
world. Vincent’s paintings have captured the minds and hearts of
millions of art lovers.
During his lifetime Vincent was never famous as a painter and
struggled to make a living as an artist. Vincent only sold one painting
during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard. This painting sold in Belgium
only a few months before his death.
In contrast, his paintings currently bring a very high price. Four of
the ten most expensive paintings in the world were painted by
Vincent. This painting entitled Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold in 1990 for
$82.5 million which is the equivalent of $136 million today.
Although Vincent van Gogh only lived to the age of 37, he was able to
greatly influence the art world. His paintings, to this day, continue to
inspire people around the world.