brief biography of vincent van gogh

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Who was Vincent van Gogh?

Vincent van Gogh

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• The Met - Biography of Vincent van Gogh
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• Art Encyclopedia - Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
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• Art in Context - Vincent van Gogh - The Art and Life of Painter Vincent Willem van Gogh
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Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch painter, generally considered to be the greatest after  Rembrandt van Rijn , and one of the greatest of the  Post-Impressionists . He sold only one artwork during his life, but in the century after his death he became perhaps the most recognized painter of all time.

What did Vincent van Gogh accomplish?

During his 10-year artistic career, Vincent van Gogh created a vivid personal style, noted for its striking colour, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms. His achievement is all the more remarkable for the brevity of his career and considering the poverty and mental illness that dogged him.

What were Vincent van Gogh’s jobs?

Vincent van Gogh’s career as an artist was extremely short, lasting only the 10 years from 1880 to 1890. Before that he had various occupations, including art dealer , language teacher, lay preacher, bookseller, and missionary worker.

How was Vincent van Gogh influential?

The work of Vincent van Gogh exerted a powerful influence on the development of much modern painting, notably Expressionism , in particular on the works of the  Fauve  painters,  Chaim Soutine , and the German Expressionists. 

What is Vincent van Gogh remembered for?

Vincent van Gogh is remembered for both the striking colour, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his art and for the turmoil of his personal life. In part because of his extensive published letters, van Gogh has been mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist.

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Vincent van Gogh (born March 30, 1853, Zundert, Netherlands—died July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France) was a Dutch painter, generally considered the greatest after Rembrandt van Rijn , and one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists . The striking color, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his work powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh’s art became astoundingly popular after his death, especially in the late 20th century, when his work sold for record-breaking sums at auctions around the world and was featured in blockbuster touring exhibitions. In part because of his extensive published letters, van Gogh has also been mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist.

Van Gogh, the eldest of six children of a Protestant pastor, was born and reared in a small village in the Brabant region of the southern Netherlands. He was a quiet, self-contained youth , spending his free time wandering the countryside to observe nature. At 16 he was apprenticed to The Hague branch of the art dealers Goupil and Co., of which his uncle was a partner.

Van Gogh worked for Goupil in London from 1873 to May 1875 and in Paris from that date until April 1876. Daily contact with works of art aroused his artistic sensibility, and he soon formed a taste for Rembrandt , Frans Hals , and other Dutch masters, although his preference was for two contemporary French painters, Jean-François Millet and Camille Corot , whose influence was to last throughout his life. Van Gogh disliked art dealing. Moreover, his approach to life darkened when his love was rejected by a London girl in 1874. His burning desire for human affection thwarted, he became increasingly solitary. He worked as a language teacher and lay preacher in England and, in 1877, worked for a bookseller in Dordrecht , Netherlands . Impelled by a longing to serve humanity, he envisaged entering the ministry and took up theology; however, he abandoned this project in 1878 for short-term training as an evangelist in Brussels . A conflict with authority ensued when he disputed the orthodox doctrinal approach. Failing to get an appointment after three months, he left to do missionary work among the impoverished population of the Borinage , a coal-mining region in southwestern Belgium. There, in the winter of 1879–80, he experienced the first great spiritual crisis of his life. Living among the poor, he gave away all his worldly goods in an impassioned moment; he was thereupon dismissed by church authorities for a too-literal interpretation of Christian teaching.

Penniless and feeling that his faith was destroyed, he sank into despair and withdrew from everyone. “They think I’m a madman,” he told an acquaintance, “because I wanted to be a true Christian. They turned me out like a dog, saying that I was causing a scandal.” It was then that van Gogh began to draw seriously, thereby discovering in 1880 his true vocation as an artist. Van Gogh decided that his mission from then on would be to bring consolation to humanity through art. “I want to give the wretched a brotherly message,” he explained to his brother Theo. “When I sign [my paintings] ‘Vincent,’ it is as one of them.” This realization of his creative powers restored his self-confidence.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was one of the world’s greatest artists, with paintings such as ‘Starry Night’ and ‘Sunflowers,’ though he was unknown until after his death.

(1853-1890)

Who Was Vincent van Gogh?

Vincent van Gogh was a post-Impressionist painter whose work — notable for its beauty, emotion and color — highly influenced 20th-century art. He struggled with mental illness and remained poor and virtually unknown throughout his life.

Early Life and Family

Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands. Van Gogh’s father, Theodorus van Gogh, was an austere country minister, and his mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus, was a moody artist whose love of nature, drawing and watercolors was transferred to her son.

Van Gogh was born exactly one year after his parents' first son, also named Vincent, was stillborn. At a young age — with his name and birthdate already etched on his dead brother's headstone — van Gogh was melancholy.

Theo van Gogh

The eldest of six living children, van Gogh had two younger brothers (Theo, who worked as an art dealer and supported his older brother’s art, and Cor) and three younger sisters (Anna, Elizabeth and Willemien).

Theo van Gogh would later play an important role in his older brother's life as a confidant, supporter and art dealer.

Early Life and Education

At age 15, van Gogh's family was struggling financially, and he was forced to leave school and go to work. He got a job at his Uncle Cornelis' art dealership, Goupil & Cie., a firm of art dealers in The Hague. By this time, van Gogh was fluent in French, German and English, as well as his native Dutch.

He also fell in love with his landlady's daughter, Eugenie Loyer. When she rejected his marriage proposal, van Gogh suffered a breakdown. He threw away all his books except for the Bible, and devoted his life to God. He became angry with people at work, telling customers not to buy the "worthless art," and was eventually fired.

Life as a Preacher

Van Gogh then taught in a Methodist boys' school, and also preached to the congregation. Although raised in a religious family, it wasn't until this time that he seriously began to consider devoting his life to the church

Hoping to become a minister, he prepared to take the entrance exam to the School of Theology in Amsterdam. After a year of studying diligently, he refused to take the Latin exams, calling Latin a "dead language" of poor people, and was subsequently denied entrance.

The same thing happened at the Church of Belgium: In the winter of 1878, van Gogh volunteered to move to an impoverished coal mine in the south of Belgium, a place where preachers were usually sent as punishment. He preached and ministered to the sick, and also drew pictures of the miners and their families, who called him "Christ of the Coal Mines."

The evangelical committees were not as pleased. They disagreed with van Gogh's lifestyle, which had begun to take on a tone of martyrdom. They refused to renew van Gogh's contract, and he was forced to find another occupation.

Finding Solace in Art

In the fall of 1880, van Gogh decided to move to Brussels and become an artist. Though he had no formal art training, his brother Theo offered to support van Gogh financially.

He began taking lessons on his own, studying books like Travaux des champs by Jean-François Millet and Cours de dessin by Charles Bargue.

Van Gogh's art helped him stay emotionally balanced. In 1885, he began work on what is considered to be his first masterpiece, "Potato Eaters." Theo, who by this time living in Paris, believed the painting would not be well-received in the French capital, where Impressionism had become the trend.

Nevertheless, van Gogh decided to move to Paris, and showed up at Theo's house uninvited. In March 1886, Theo welcomed his brother into his small apartment.

In Paris, van Gogh first saw Impressionist art, and he was inspired by the color and light. He began studying with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec , Camille Pissarro and others.

To save money, he and his friends posed for each other instead of hiring models. Van Gogh was passionate, and he argued with other painters about their works, alienating those who became tired of his bickering.

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Van Gogh's love life was nothing short of disastrous: He was attracted to women in trouble, thinking he could help them. When he fell in love with his recently widowed cousin, Kate, she was repulsed and fled to her home in Amsterdam.

Van Gogh then moved to The Hague and fell in love with Clasina Maria Hoornik, an alcoholic prostitute. She became his companion, mistress and model.

When Hoornik went back to prostitution, van Gogh became utterly depressed. In 1882, his family threatened to cut off his money unless he left Hoornik and The Hague.

Van Gogh left in mid-September of that year to travel to Drenthe, a somewhat desolate district in the Netherlands. For the next six weeks, he lived a nomadic life, moving throughout the region while drawing and painting the landscape and its people.

Van Gogh became influenced by Japanese art and began studying Eastern philosophy to enhance his art and life. He dreamed of traveling there, but was told by Toulouse-Lautrec that the light in the village of Arles was just like the light in Japan.

In February 1888, van Gogh boarded a train to the south of France. He moved into a now-famous "yellow house" and spent his money on paint rather than food.

Vincent van Gogh completed more than 2,100 works, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolors, drawings and sketches.

Several of his paintings now rank among the most expensive in the world; "Irises" sold for a record $53.9 million, and his "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold for $82.5 million. A few of van Gogh’s most well-known artworks include:

'Starry Night'

Van Gogh painted "The Starry Night" in the asylum where he was staying in Saint-Rémy, France, in 1889, the year before his death. “This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big,” he wrote to his brother Theo.

A combination of imagination, memory, emotion and observation, the oil painting on canvas depicts an expressive swirling night sky and a sleeping village, with a large flame-like cypress, thought to represent the bridge between life and death, looming in the foreground. The painting is currently housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY.

'Sunflowers'

Van Gogh painted two series of sunflowers in Arles, France: four between August and September 1888 and one in January 1889; the versions and replicas are debated among art historians.

The oil paintings on canvas, which depict wilting yellow sunflowers in a vase, are now displayed at museums in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Munich and Philadelphia.

In 1889, after entering an asylum in Saint-Rémy, France, van Gogh began painting Irises, working from the plants and flowers he found in the asylum's garden. Critics believe the painting was influenced by Japanese woodblock prints.

French critic Octave Mirbeau, the painting's first owner and an early supporter of Van Gogh, remarked, "How well he has understood the exquisite nature of flowers!"

'Self-Portrait'

Over the course of 10 years, van Gogh created more than 43 self-portraits as both paintings and drawings. "I am looking for a deeper likeness than that obtained by a photographer," he wrote to his sister.

"People say, and I am willing to believe it, that it is hard to know yourself. But it is not easy to paint yourself, either. The portraits painted by Rembrandt are more than a view of nature, they are more like a revelation,” he later wrote to his brother.

Van Gogh's self-portraits are now displayed in museums around the world, including in Washington, D.C., Paris, New York and Amsterdam.

Van Gogh's Ear

In December 1888, van Gogh was living on coffee, bread and absinthe in Arles, France, and he found himself feeling sick and strange.

Before long, it became apparent that in addition to suffering from physical illness, his psychological health was declining. Around this time, he is known to have sipped on turpentine and eaten paint.

His brother Theo was worried, and he offered Paul Gauguin money to go watch over Vincent in Arles. Within a month, van Gogh and Gauguin were arguing constantly, and one night, Gauguin walked out. Van Gogh followed him, and when Gauguin turned around, he saw van Gogh holding a razor in his hand.

Hours later, van Gogh went to the local brothel and paid for a prostitute named Rachel. With blood pouring from his hand, he offered her his ear, asking her to "keep this object carefully."

The police found van Gogh in his room the next morning, and admitted him to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital. Theo arrived on Christmas Day to see van Gogh, who was weak from blood loss and having violent seizures.

The doctors assured Theo that his brother would live and would be taken good care of, and on January 7, 1889, van Gogh was released from the hospital.

He remained, however, alone and depressed. For hope, he turned to painting and nature, but could not find peace and was hospitalized again. He would paint at the yellow house during the day and return to the hospital at night.

Van Gogh decided to move to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence after the people of Arles signed a petition saying that he was dangerous.

On May 8, 1889, he began painting in the hospital gardens. In November 1889, he was invited to exhibit his paintings in Brussels. He sent six paintings, including "Irises" and "Starry Night."

On January 31, 1890, Theo and his wife, Johanna, gave birth to a boy and named him Vincent Willem van Gogh after Theo's brother. Around this time, Theo sold van Gogh's "The Red Vineyards" painting for 400 francs.

Also around this time, Dr. Paul Gachet, who lived in Auvers, about 20 miles north of Paris, agreed to take van Gogh as his patient. Van Gogh moved to Auvers and rented a room.

On July 27, 1890, Vincent van Gogh went out to paint in the morning carrying a loaded pistol and shot himself in the chest, but the bullet did not kill him. He was found bleeding in his room.

Van Gogh was distraught about his future because, in May of that year, his brother Theo had visited and spoke to him about needing to be stricter with his finances. Van Gogh took that to mean Theo was no longer interested in selling his art.

Van Gogh was taken to a nearby hospital and his doctors sent for Theo, who arrived to find his brother sitting up in bed and smoking a pipe. They spent the next couple of days talking together, and then van Gogh asked Theo to take him home.

On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh died in the arms of his brother Theo. He was only 37 years old.

Theo, who was suffering from syphilis and weakened by his brother's death, died six months after his brother in a Dutch asylum. He was buried in Utrecht, but in 1914 Theo's wife, Johanna, who was a dedicated supporter of van Gogh's works, had Theo's body reburied in the Auvers cemetery next to Vincent.

Theo's wife Johanna then collected as many of van Gogh's paintings as she could, but discovered that many had been destroyed or lost, as van Gogh's own mother had thrown away crates full of his art.

On March 17, 1901, 71 of van Gogh's paintings were displayed at a show in Paris, and his fame grew enormously. His mother lived long enough to see her son hailed as an artistic genius. Today, Vincent van Gogh is considered one of the greatest artists in human history.

Van Gogh Museum

In 1973, the Van Gogh Museum opened its doors in Amsterdam to make the works of Vincent van Gogh accessible to the public. The museum houses more than 200 van Gogh paintings, 500 drawings and 750 written documents including letters to Vincent’s brother Theo. It features self-portraits, “The Potato Eaters,” “The Bedroom” and “Sunflowers.”

In September 2013, the museum discovered and unveiled a van Gogh painting of a landscape entitled "Sunset at Montmajour.” Before coming under the possession of the Van Gogh Museum, a Norwegian industrialist owned the painting and stored it away in his attic, having thought that it wasn't authentic.

The painting is believed to have been created by van Gogh in 1888 — around the same time that his artwork "Sunflowers" was made — just two years before his death.

Watch "Vincent Van Gogh: A Stroke of Genius" on HISTORY Vault

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Vincent van Gogh
• Birth Year: 1853
• Birth date: March 30, 1853
• Birth City: Zundert
• Birth Country: Netherlands
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Vincent van Gogh was one of the world’s greatest artists, with paintings such as ‘Starry Night’ and ‘Sunflowers,’ though he was unknown until after his death.
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Brussels Academy
• Nacionalities
• Interesting Facts
• Some of van Gogh's most famous works include "Starry Night," "Irises," and "Sunflowers."
• In a moment of instability, Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear and offered it to a prostitute.
• Van Gogh died in France at age 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• Death Year: 1890
• Death date: July 29, 1890
• Death City: Auvers-sur-Oise
• Death Country: France

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Vincent van Gogh Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/artists/vincent-van-gogh
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: March 4, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• As for me, I am rather often uneasy in my mind, because I think that my life has not been calm enough; all those bitter disappointments, adversities, changes keep me from developing fully and naturally in my artistic career.
• I am a fanatic! I feel a power within me…a fire that I may not quench, but must keep ablaze.
• I get very cross when people tell me that it is dangerous to put out to sea. There is safety in the very heart of danger.
• I want to paint what I feel, and feel what I paint.
• As my work is, so am I.
• The love of art is the undoing of true love.
• When one has fire within oneself, one cannot keep bottling [it] up—better to burn than to burst. What is in will out.
• For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
• I do not say that my work is good, but it's the least bad that I can do. All the rest, relations with people, is very secondary, because I have no talent for that. I can't help it.
• What is wrought in sorrow lives for all time.
• What I draw, I see clearly. In these [drawings] I can talk with enthusiasm. I have found a voice.
• Enjoy yourself too much rather than too little, and don't take art or love too seriously.
• But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.

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Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist artist whose paintings are amongst the most popular and recognizable in history. His dramatic brushwork, exuberant palette, and mastery at capturing moments in time and light revolutionised art. Only recognised at the end of his life, his struggles and triumphs have coloured exactly what we imagine it is to be an artist.

Works like Sunflowers , Café Terrace at Night , and The Starry Night have transcended the world of painting to become iconic symbols, not only of a single artist but a whole time period and art movement. Van Gogh's unique way of looking at the world was ahead of its time with the consequence that, unable to earn a living from his work or reconcile his doubts as to the value of his achievements and overcome his mental crisis, he committed suicide, alone and penniless. Not only did van Gogh leave the world the great gift of his visionary paintings but his letters, written to his younger brother Theo (1857-1891) and others, give us a fascinating and, at times, heartbreaking insight into how Vincent battled rejection, indifference, and self-harm to achieve his goals in art and life.

Van Gogh painted around 870 oil paintings in his short career, as well as sketches and watercolours. In addition, we have a tremendous amount of detail on what Vincent got up to when he was not painting thanks to him being a prolific letter writer. The artist wrote over 650 letters to Theo, and 41 replies survive from Theo. His younger brother helped him financially and with materials throughout his career; he also gave advice regarding his art and kept Vincent up-to-date with developments in the art world. Another 100 or so letters survive written to other relatives and artists. Many letters contain sketches that can reveal the planning stage of paintings and their dates. Then there are the 43 self-portraits. Neither the letters nor the portraits are unbiased, naturally, but they mean we can pursue the career of the artist from multiple directions besides mere paint and canvas.

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, the Netherlands. His mother was Anna Cornelia Carbentus (1819-1907) and his father, Theodorus (1822-1885), was a pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church. Significantly, three of Vincent's uncles worked in the art trade . Vincent did well at school in Zevenbergen and Tilburg, and he took an interest in drawing. His drawing master at Tilburg, C. C. Huysmans, not only encouraged Vincent to copy old paintings, as was standard practice, but also, unusually, to copy nature. None of his surviving early drawings suggests the great talent within. In July 1869, Vincent joined the firm Goupil & Cie in the Hague branch. The company sold art prints and originals. Vincent did well, and in January 1873, he was transferred to the Brussels branch. In June, he moved to the London branch. Vincent continued to sketch, visited the capital's many galleries, and developed a taste for English poetry.

Between 1874 and 1875, Vincent transferred to the Paris branch of Goupil's, then returned to London, then was back in Paris. All was not well, and he was dismissed in the spring of 1876. Next followed a teaching post in Ramsgate, England , and then a teaching role under the auspices of a Reverend Jones, which saw him preach in various villages outside London. Unable, it seems, to settle anywhere for very long, Vincent next turned up selling books in Dordrecht as 1876 came to a close. By now intent on a career in the Church, Vincent moved to Amsterdam in May 1877 to prepare for the theological entrance exam. Meanwhile, he continued to sketch, this time focussing on landscapes.

Van Gogh seems to have been determined to bring some kind of religious consolation to the peasantry, and in July 1878, he tried to become an evangelical missionary. Spending three months training in Brussels, Vincent was a poor speaker and was not given a post, but he went anyway to a mining town in the Borinage region of Belgium in December 1878. Eventually gaining official support, Vincent then promptly lost it in July 1879 when it was discovered he had given away practically all of his belongings to the poor. Vincent continued on his one-man mission for another 12 months until his religious zeal was quenched. His art continued in sketch form, especially of miners, and he studied art theory books to improve his draughtsmanship. At some point in 1879, he made the definitive decision to become a full-time artist. By October 1880, he was back in Brussels and hoping to join the Academy of Art there, but he soon ran out of cash and was obliged to return to his parents' home in Etten in April 1881. By 1882, a trip to The Hague and his artist cousin Anton Mauve (a prominent member of The Hague School) had given Vincent the courage to begin to paint in watercolours, a move encouraged by Theo. It was in this period that Vincent's advances towards his cousin Kee Vos-Stricker were rebuffed. A brief visit home ended with a quarrel with his father, possibly over Vincent not wanting to attend church anymore. Back in The Hague and with the help of Mauve, Vincent set up his first studio.

Vincent van Gogh: A Gallery of 30 Paintings

A full-time artist.

With his attic studio at Shenkweg, The Hague, Vincent began to use as a model a seamstress and former prostitute, Clasina Maria Hoornik (called Sien). Vincent and Sien then lived together, the artist also supporting Sien's mother and his model's two children, an act of kindness which neither his parents nor fellow artists in The Hague approved of. Cousin Mauve withdrew his support, perhaps not impressed with Vincent's progress and after the two had argued on how to improve the technical side of his drawing. Vincent continued his own methodology, studying illustrations and experimenting in lithography. One typical sketch of this period is an old man with his head in his hands in despair; Vincent gave it the title At Eternity's Gate . A mark of his progress was a commission from his uncle Cornelis Marinus for a series of views of The Hague. Then, a visit from Theo in August 1882, who brought him the supplies, led to a move into oil painting. This was a risk since oil paints were expensive, but Vincent persevered, and his letters show that he revelled in the exploration of colours.

Theo was now essentially paying for Vincent's living costs, and to lessen the burden in September 1883, the artist moved to a cheaper location, Drenthe, leaving behind Sien. Not staying long, Vincent moved around the Netherlands, painting landscapes and labourers at work in the fields.

In December 1883, Vincent was back with his parents at Nuenen, although his studio was in the village. Theodorus van Gogh died in March 1885, and this put further strain on the artist's relationship with his family. He continued to paint, notably winter scenes and local weavers. A commission came for six sketches of peasant life, an all too rare case of Vincent contributing to his living costs, which were now being met by Theo with regular monthly payments. Another small source of cash was Vincent teaching a handful of local artists. Another episode of unrequited love hit Vincent when his marriage proposal to Margot Begemann, a neighbour, was refused, largely because of the disapproval of her family. Artistically, Vincent's work was maturing, and in April 1885, he produced his first great canvas, The Potato Eaters , a work he himself highly valued. He was also experimenting with brighter colours. In November 1885, Vincent was looking for new ideas, and he left for Antwerp, then in March 1886, after an unsuccessful stint studying at the Academy, he moved on to the very centre of the European art world in the late 19th century: Paris.

Vincent joined up with Theo in Paris, and the pair shared an apartment for the next two years. From his arrival in March, Vincent visited galleries, and he learnt first-hand from fellow artists of the new movement in art – impressionism – and its preoccupation with light and capturing a particular scene at a particular moment with quick brushstrokes and dramatic colours. Vincent studied under the painter Félix Cormon, copying plaster casts and exploring colours in still life works of flowers. He also encountered the Japanese prints that had become popular in Europe and which he greatly admired for their boldness of colour and composition. He painted panoramas of Paris, especially Montmartre, a whole series of windmills, and the first of his many self-portraits.

Vincent struggled to get any of his paintings exhibited, except by friends of the impressionists like "Père" Tanguy (1825-1894), who owned an art supplies shop in Montmartre, accepting paintings as payment for materials. Vincent painted Tanguy three times. Vincent organised his own exhibition of modern artists in the rooms of a restaurant in November-December 1887, showing many of his own paintings and by fellow artists like Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). A few of the other works were sold, but none of Vincent's. The artist did sell a still life to a dealer in this period, and he often paid for meals in cafés by giving the proprietor a painting. His now-famous Self-portrait with Grey Hat (1887-8) belongs to this period, and the bold brushstrokes and use of colours demonstrate what is yet to come.

Southern France

Tired of the rivalry between artists in Paris and seeking warmer weather to boost his frail health, Vincent moved to Arles in the south of France in February 1888, where he began by far the most productive period of his career, rattling off countless paintings. While not isolated from company, Vincent did struggle to make meaningful relations with southern artists. Instead, he befriended people like Joseph Roulin, the local postman who he painted several times.

Vincent was impressed with the sunlight of southern France, and his palette was now bright and bold. The subjects are much simpler in composition than previous works (although he curiously ignored the many Roman ruins of the region). In the spring, he captured blossom trees in works like Pink Peach Trees . As summer came on, the sun and yellow fields were brilliantly captured in such works as the Sower with Setting Sun . He painted seascapes and captured more local colour at Sainte-Maries-de-la-Mer. Arles, though, dominates with scenes depicted in fiercely contrasting and saturated colours like the yellow and blue of the Café Terrace at Night and the red and green of The Night Café . By August, he had begun his startling series of sunflowers, created as a mere decoration for his home, the Yellow House. September's Starry Night over the Rhône shows that the artist is undaunted by the practicalities of impressionistic plein air (open-air) painting. His colours are now intense, the form and space are often exaggerated. Vivid monochrome backgrounds, often textured to contrast with the smoother main subject, mix with swirling brushstrokes of liberally-applied paint. He has blended impressionism with symbolism, where a painting is created to provoke the imagination and prompt an emotional response from the viewer. The inimitable van Gogh style has arrived.

Mental Instability

Vincent hoped to form an artist's community in Arles, and he invited such young painters as Gauguin and Emile Bernard (1868-1941). The former did come to Arles in October 1888, and the pair lived and worked together, both funded by Theo. The two painters influenced each other – Vincent's bright colours on Gauguin's palette, and Gauguin's encouragement that the Dutchman experiment with different subjects. Cooped up indoors as the mistral wind blew, the two strong characters often clashed, especially over art; Vincent described their arguments as "electric," and Gauguin describes even threats of violence. The crisis came on 23 December. After yet another argument, Gauguin spent the night in a hotel, and when he returned to the Yellow House the next morning, he was surprised to see the police. During the night, Vincent had cut off a part of his ear and presented it to a local prostitute. He was sent to hospital, and Theo was summoned from Paris. Gauguin left Arles immediately after the incident. Vincent put the attack down to a fever and lack of nutrition; by January, he was back painting, but more attacks of his illness, whatever it was, would follow.

In May 1889, Vincent voluntarily admitted himself to the asylum of Saint- Paul -de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Still the artist suffered attacks, but in between, he was permitted to continue painting. Like his spirits, Vincent's palette is now noticeably muted. Perhaps this return to more sober works was an attempt to recapture his earlier ambition of becoming a painter of northern peasant life. It may also be significant that he now created a new version of The Potato Eaters . Doctors at the asylum diagnosed the artist's illness as epilepsy. Studies in the 20th and 21st century have come up with other theories for the artist's mental instability, notably schizophrenia or the effects of syphilis (he was treated for a venereal disease while in The Hague) or overconsumption of absinthe or a combination of all four maladies. In his own letters, Vincent mentions "the artist's madness" (LT 574), but he makes little connection between his illness and his work; he treats them as being quite independent.

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Making some improvement healthwise, Vincent was permitted to paint in the nearby fields and olive orchards, but another attack occurred during which he ate some of his oil paints. Intermittent attacks followed through to February 1890, and the recovery periods lengthened. In May 1890, following consultation with Theo and on the advice of Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), Vincent went to consult with Dr Paul Gachet (1828-1909) in Auvers-sur-Oise in northern France. Gachet was a physician, heart specialist, and advocate of homoeopathy, he was also a good friend of the impressionists. Vincent stayed in a local inn and regularly visited Gachet, painting his portrait and the many flowers in his garden. Perhaps sensitive to an end of things, the artist was more prolific than ever, painting a new canvas almost every day.

Death & Legacy

On 27 July, van Gogh, after painting in a field, suffered another attack. He shot himself in the chest with a pistol but managed to drag himself back to his inn. Theo was once again called. Vincent was still alive when his brother arrived, but he died from his wound in the morning of 29 July. An added tragedy was that the artist was just beginning to arouse the interest of art critics. A few months prior to his death, some of Vincent's works had been exhibited in Paris and Brussels (where he sold a painting). The fallen artist was buried in the cemetery of Auvers.

Vincent van Gogh's works were exhibited from as early as the 1890s in Amsterdam, Paris, and elsewhere as the symbolism movement took off. Van Gogh came to be seen by some as a bridge between impressionism, with its concern with transient light and colour, and expressionism, which saw artists attempt to convey their exaggerated inner emotional turmoil. He is generally classed as a post-impressionist painter, someone who uses the techniques of impressionism but is also interested in symbolism and permanent emotional expression in their work. Whatever group he is placed within in the history of art, the public and collectors were in no doubt as to the value of his contribution. Van Gogh's paintings have commanded a price tag of millions of dollars at auctions from the mid-20th century onwards.

Van Gogh is much more than just an artist, though. His choice to sign some of his paintings with a simple 'Vincent' has, along with his instantly recognisable style, his candid letters, and painful struggles with mental health, given the artist's life an intimacy that has helped personalise the relationship between artist and viewer like no other. The 'mad genius,' the 'tortured artist,' and the 'unrecognised talent' are all ideas that the van Gogh myth has contributed to world art and culture regardless of their validity. Few artists have captured our imaginations and intrigued us just as much by their lives as by their art like Vincent van Gogh has. This empathy is, perhaps, no accident, for it is precisely what Vincent strived to achieve: "I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart" (LT 218D).

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Bibliography

• Bouruet Aubortot, Veronique. Impressionism. Flammarion, 2017.
• Denvir, Bernard. Post-Impressionism . Thames & Hudson, 1992.
• Howard, Michael. Encyclopedia of Impressionism. Thunder Bay Pr, 1997.
• McQuillan, Melissa & Van Gogh, Vincent. Van Gogh . Thames & Hudson, 1989.
• Metzger, Rainer & Walther, Ingo F. Van Gogh. La obra completa - pintura . TASCHEN, 2015.
• Roe, Sue. The Private Lives of the Impressionists. Harper Perennial, 2007.
• Thomson, Belinda. Impressionism. Thames & Hudson, 2022.
• Van Gogh, Vincent (ed. Leeuw). The Letters of Vincent van Gogh . Penguin Classics, 1998.

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Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?

You must join the virtual exhibition queue when you arrive. If capacity has been reached for the day, the queue will close early.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Vincent van gogh (1853–1890).

Road in Etten

Vincent van Gogh

Nursery on Schenkweg

Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler)

The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat)

Street in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

The Flowering Orchard

Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace

Wheat Field with Cypresses

Corridor in the Asylum

L'Arlésienne: Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux (Marie Julien, 1848–1911)

La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustine-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851–1930)

Olive Trees

First Steps, after Millet

Department of European Paintings , The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2004 (originally published) March 2010 (last revised)

Vincent van Gogh, the eldest son of a Dutch Reformed minister and a bookseller’s daughter, pursued various vocations, including that of an art dealer and clergyman, before deciding to become an artist at the age of twenty-seven. Over the course of his decade-long career (1880–90), he produced nearly 900 paintings and more than 1,100 works on paper. Ironically, in 1890, he modestly assessed his artistic legacy as of “very secondary” importance.

Largely self-taught, Van Gogh gained his footing as an artist by zealously copying prints and studying nineteenth-century drawing manuals and lesson books, such as Charles Bargue’s Exercises au fusain and cours de dessin . He felt that it was necessary to master black and white before working with color, and first concentrated on learning the rudiments of figure drawing and rendering landscapes in correct perspective. In 1882, he moved from his parents’ home in Etten to the Hague, where he received some formal instruction from his cousin, Anton Mauve, a leading Hague School artist. That same year, he executed his first independent works in watercolor and ventured into oil painting; he also enjoyed his first earnings as an artist: his uncle, the art dealer Cornelis Marinus van Gogh, commissioned two sets of drawings of Hague townscapes for which Van Gogh chose to depict such everyday sites as views of the railway station, gasworks, and nursery gardens ( 1972.118.281 ).

Van Gogh’s admiration for the Barbizon artists, in particular Jean-François Millet, influenced his decision to paint rural life. In the winter of 1884–85, while living with his parents in Nuenen, he painted more than forty studies of peasant heads, which culminated in his first multifigured, large-scale composition ( The Potato Eaters , Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam); in this gritty portrayal of a peasant family at mealtime, Van Gogh wrote that he sought to express that they “have tilled the earth themselves with the same hands they are putting in the dish.” Its dark palette and coarse application of paint typify works from the artist’s Nuenen period ( 67.187.70b ;  1984.393 ).

Interested in honing his skills as a figure painter, Van Gogh left the Netherlands in late 1885 to study at the Antwerp Academy in Belgium. Three months later, he departed for Paris, where he lived with his brother Theo, an art dealer with the firm of Boussod, Valadon et Cie, and for a time attended classes at Fernand Cormon’s studio. Van Gogh’s style underwent a major transformation during his two-year stay in Paris (February 1886–February 1888). There he saw the work of the Impressionists first-hand and also witnessed the latest innovations by the Neo-Impressionists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. In response, Van Gogh lightened his palette and experimented with the broken brushstrokes of the Impressionists as well as the pointillist touch of the Neo-Impressionists, as evidenced in the handling of his Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat ( 67.187.70a ), which was painted in the summer of 1887 on the reverse of an earlier peasant study ( 67.187.70b ). In Paris, he executed more than twenty self-portraits that reflect his ongoing exploration of complementary color contrasts and a bolder style.

In February 1888, Van Gogh departed Paris for the south of France, hoping to establish a community of artists in Arles. Captivated by the clarity of light and the vibrant colors of the Provençal spring, Van Gogh produced fourteen paintings of orchards in less than a month, painting outdoors and varying his style and technique. The composition and calligraphic handling of The Flowering Orchard ( 56.13 ) suggest the influence of Japanese prints , which Van Gogh collected. The artist’s debt to ukiyo-e prints is also apparent in the reed pen drawings he made in Arles, distinguished by their great verve and linear invention ( 48.190.1 ). In August, he painted the still lifes Oleanders ( 62.24 ) and Shoes ( 1992.374 ); each work resonates with the artist’s personal symbolism. For Van Gogh, oleanders were joyous and life-affirming (much like the sunflower); he reinforced their significance with the compositional prominence accorded to Émile Zola’s 1884 novel La joie de vivre . The still life of unlaced shoes, which Van Gogh had apparently hung in Paul Gauguin ‘s “yellow room” at Arles, suggested, to Gauguin, the artist himself—he saw them as emblematic of Van Gogh’s itinerant existence.

Gauguin joined Van Gogh in Arles in October and abruptly departed in late December 1888, a move precipitated by Van Gogh’s breakdown, during which he cut off part of his left ear with a razor. Upon his return from the hospital in January, he resumed working on a portrait of the wife of the postmaster Joseph Roulin; although he painted all the members of the Roulin family, Van Gogh produced five versions of Madame Roulin as La Berceuse , shown holding the rope that rocks her newborn daughter’s cradle ( 1996.435 ). He envisioned her portrait as the central panel of a triptych, flanked by paintings of sunflowers. For Van Gogh, her image transcended portraiture, symbolically resonating as a modern Madonna; of its palette, which ranges from ocher to vermilion and malachite, Van Gogh expressed his desire that it “sing a lullaby with color,” underscoring the expressive role of color in his art.

Fearing another breakdown, Van Gogh voluntarily entered the asylum at nearby Saint-Rémy in May 1889, where, over the course of the next year, he painted some 150 canvases. His initial confinement to the grounds of the hospital is reflected in his imagery, from his depictions of its corridors ( 48.190.2 ) to the irises and lilacs of its walled garden, visible from the window of the spare room he was allotted to use as a studio. Venturing beyond the grounds of the hospital, he painted the surrounding countryside, devoting series to its olive groves ( 1998.325.1 ) and cypresses, which he saw as characteristic of Provence. In June, he produced two paintings of cypresses, rendered in thick, impastoed layers of paint ( 49.30 ; Cypresses , Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo), likening the form of a cypress to an Egyptian obelisk in a letter to his brother Theo. These evocative trees figure prominently in a landscape, produced the same month ( 1993.132 ). Van Gogh regarded this work, with its sun-drenched wheat field undulating in the wind, as one of his “best” summer canvases. At Saint-Rémy, he also painted copies of works by such artists as Delacroix, Rembrandt , and Millet, using black-and-white photographs and prints. In fall and winter 1889–90, he executed twenty-one copies after Millet ( 64.165.2 ); he described his copies as “interpretations” or “translations,” comparing his role as an artist to that of a musician playing music written by another composer. During his last week at the asylum, he extended his repertoire of still life by painting four bouquets of Irises ( 58.187 ) and Roses ( 1993.400.5 ) as a final series comparable to the sunflower decoration he made earlier in Arles.

After a year at Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh left, in May 1890, to settle in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he was near his brother Theo in Paris and under the care of Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic physician and amateur painter. In just over two months, Van Gogh averaged a painting a day; however, on July 27, 1890, he shot himself in the chest in a wheat field; he died two days later. His artistic legacy is preserved in the paintings and drawings he left behind, as well as in his voluminous correspondence, primarily with Theo, which lays bare his working methods and artistic intentions and serves as a reminder of his brother’s pivotal role as a mainstay of support throughout his career.

By the time of his death in 1890, Van Gogh’s work had begun to attract critical attention. His paintings were featured at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris between 1888 and 1890 and with Les XX in Brussels in 1890. As Gauguin wrote to him, his recent works, on view at the Indépendants in Paris, were regarded by many artists as “the most remarkable” in the show; and one of his paintings sold from the 1890 exhibition in Brussels. In January 1890, the critic Albert Aurier published the first full-length article on Van Gogh, aligning his art with the nascent Symbolist movement and highlighting the originality and intensity of his artistic vision. By the outbreak of World War I, with the discovery of his genius by the Fauves and German Expressionists, Vincent van Gogh had already come to be regarded as a vanguard figure in the history of modern art.

Department of European Paintings. “Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gogh/hd_gogh.htm (originally published October 2004, last revised March 2010)

Further Reading

Brooks, David. Vincent van Gogh: The Complete Works . CD-ROM. Sharon, Mass.: Barewalls Publications, 2002.

Dorn, Roland, et al. Van Gogh Face to Face: The Portraits . New York: Thames & Hudson, 2000.

Druick, Douglas W., et al. Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South . Exhibition catalogue. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001.

Ives, Colta, et al. Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings . Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See on MetPublications

Kendall, Richard. Van Gogh's Van Gogh's: Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam . Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1998.

The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh . 3 vols. Boston: Bullfinch Press, 2000.

Pickvance, Ronald. Van Gogh in Arles . New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984. See on MetPublications

Pickvance, Ronald. Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers . New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. See on MetPublications

Selected and edited by Ronald de Leeuw. The Letters of Vincent van Gogh . London: Penguin, 2006.

Stein, Susan Alyson, ed. Van Gogh: A Retrospective . New York: New Line Books, 2006.

Stolwijk, Chris, and Richard Thomson. Theo van Gogh . Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, 1999.

Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Online resource.

Additional Essays by Department of European Paintings

• Department of European Paintings. “ The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity .” (October 2002)
• Department of European Paintings. “ Architecture in Renaissance Italy .” (October 2002)
• Department of European Paintings. “ Titian (ca. 1485/90?–1576) .” (October 2003)
• Department of European Paintings. “ The Papacy and the Vatican Palace .” (October 2002)

Related Essays

• Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
• Post-Impressionism
• The Transformation of Landscape Painting in France
• Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890): The Drawings
• Art of the Pleasure Quarters and the Ukiyo-e Style
• Childe Hassam (1859–1935)
• Claude Monet (1840–1926)
• Édouard Manet (1832–1883)
• Frans Hals (1582/83–1666)
• Georges Seurat (1859–1891) and Neo-Impressionism
• Henri Matisse (1869–1954)
• Impressionism: Art and Modernity
• James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
• Landscape Painting in the Netherlands
• The Lure of Montmartre, 1880–1900
• Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844–1926)
• The Nabis and Decorative Painting
• Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)
• Rembrandt (1606–1669): Paintings
• Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669): Prints
• Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo-e Style

List of Rulers

• List of Rulers of Europe
• Central Europe and Low Countries, 1800–1900 A.D.
• France, 1800–1900 A.D.
• 19th Century A.D.
• 20th Century A.D.
• Agriculture
• Barbizon School
• Christianity
• Floral Motif
• French Literature / Poetry
• Impressionism
• Literature / Poetry
• Low Countries
• Modern and Contemporary Art
• Neo-Impressionism
• The Netherlands
• Oil on Canvas
• Plant Motif
• Pointillism
• Printmaking
• Religious Art
• Self-Portrait

Artist or Maker

• Delacroix, Eugène
• Gauguin, Paul
• Millet, Jean-François
• Seurat, Georges
• Signac, Paul
• Van Gogh, Vincent
• Van Rijn, Rembrandt

Online Features

• The Artist Project: “Sopheap Pich on Vincent van Gogh’s drawings”
• Connections: “Clouds” by Keith Christiansen
• Connections: “Dutch” by Merantine Hens

Biography of Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh received a fragmentary education: one year at the village school in Zundert, two years at a boarding school in Zevenbergen, and eighteen months at a high school in Tilburg. At sixteen he began working at the Hague gallery of the French art dealers Goupil et Cie., in which his uncle Vincent was a partner. His brother Theo, who was born 1 May 1857, later worked for the same firm. In 1873 Goupil's transferred Vincent to London, and two years later they moved him to Paris, where he lost all ambition to become an art dealer. Instead, he immersed himself in religion, threw out his modern, worldly book, and became "daffy with piety", in the words of his sister Elisabeth. He took little interest in his work, and was dismissed from his job at the beginning of 1876.

Van Gogh then took a post as an assistant teacher in England, but, disappointed by the lack of prospects, returned to Holland at the end of the year. He now decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a clergyman. Although disturbed by his fanaticism and odd behavior, his parents agreed to pay for the private lessons he would need to gain admission to the university. This proved to be another false start. Van Gogh abandoned the lessons, and after brief training as an evangelist went to the Borinage coal-mining region in the south of Belgium. His ministry among the miners led him to identify deeply with the workers and their families. In 1897, however, his appointment was not renewed, and his parents despaired, regarding him as a social misfit. In an unguarded moment, his father even spoke of committing him to a mental asylum.

Vincent, too, was at his wits' end, and after a long period of solitary soul-searching in the Borinage he decided to follow Theo's advice and become an artist. His earlier desire to help his fellowman was an evangelist gradually developed into an urge, as he later wrote, to leave mankind "some memento in the form of drawings of paintings - not made to please any particular movement, but to express a sincere human feeling."

His parents could not go along with this latest change of course, and financial responsibility for Vincent passed to his brother Theo, who was now working in the Paris gallery of Boussod, Valadon et Cie., the successor to Goupil's. It was because of Theo's loyal support that Van Gogh later came to regard his oeuvre as the fruits of his brother's efforts on his behalf. A lengthy correspondence between the two brothers (which began in August 1872) would continue until the last days of Vincent's life.

When Van Gogh decided to become an artist, no one, not even himself, suspected that he had extraordinary gifts. His evolution from an inept but impassioned novice into a truly original master was remarkably rapid. He eventually proved to have an exceptional feel for bold, harmonious color effects, and an infallible instinct for choosing simple but memorable compositions.

In order to prepare for his new career, Van Gogh went to Brussels to study at the academy, but left after only nine months. There he got to know Anthon van Rappard, who was to be his most important artist friend during his Dutch period.

In April 1881, Van Gogh went to live with his parents in Etten in North Brabant, where he set himself the task of learning how to draw. He experimented endlessly with all sorts of drawing materials, and concentrated on mastering technical aspects of his craft like perspective, anatomy, and physiognomy. Most of his subjects were taken from peasant life.

At the end of 1881 he moved to The Hague, and there, too, he concentrated mainly on drawing. At first he took lessons from Anton Mauve, his cousin by marriage, but the two soon fell out, partly because Mauve was scandalized by Vincent's relationship with Sien Hoornik, a pregnant prostitute who already had an illegitimate child. Van Gogh made a few paintings while in The Hague , but drawing was his main passion. In order to achieve his ambition of becoming a figure painter, he drew from the live model whenever he could.

In September 1883 he decided to break off the relationship with Sien and follow in the footsteps of artists like Van Rappard and Mauve by trying his luck in the picturesque eastern province of Drenthe, which was fairly inaccessible in those days. After three months, however, a lack of both drawing materials and models forced him to leave. He decided once again to move in with his parents, who were now living in the North Brabant village of Nuenen, near Eindhoven.

In Nuenen, Van Gogh first began painting regularly, modeling himself chiefly on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet (1814 - 1875), who was famous throughout Europe for his scenes of the harsh life of peasants. Van Gogh set to work with an iron will, depicting the life of the villagers and humble workers. he made numerous scenes of weavers. In May 1884, he moved into rooms he had rented from the sacristan of local Catholic church, one of which he used as his studio.

At the end of 1884 he began painting and drawing a major series of heads and work-roughened peasant hands in preparation for a large and complex figure piece that he was planning. In April 1885 this period of study came to fruition in the masterpiece of his Dutch period, The Potato Eaters

In the summer of that year, he made a large number of drawings of the peasants working in the fields. The supply of models dried up, however, when the local priest forbade his parishioners to pose for the vicar's son. He turned to painting landscape instead, inspired in part by a visit to recently opened Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

I feel - a failure. That's it as far as I'm concerned - I feel that this is the destiny that I accept, that will never change. ”

He nevertheless continued working hard during his two months in Auvers, producing dozens of paintings and drawings. On 27 July 1890, Vincent van Gogh was shot in the stomach, and passed away in the early morning of 29 July 1890 in his room at the Auberge Ravoux in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise. Although official history maintains that Van Gogh committed suicide, the latest research reveals that Van Gogh's death might be caused by an accident.

Theo, who had stored the bulk of Vincent's work in Paris, died six months later. His widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (1862 - 1925), returned to Holland with the collection, and dedicated herself to getting her brother-in-law the recognition he deserved. In 1914, with his fame assured, she published Vincent van Gogh's letters between the two brothers.

The Starry Night

Café terrace at night, vincent van gogh's letters, van gogh self portrait, the starry night over the rhone, wheatfield with crows, the night cafe, the potato eaters, the yellow house, almond blossom, the church at auvers, at eternity's gate by vincent van gogh, portrait of dr. gachet, portrait of the postman joseph roulin by vincent van gogh, self portrait with bandaged ear.

Biography Online

Vincent Van Gogh Biography

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)

Vincent Van Gogh was an artist of exceptional talent. Influenced by impressionist painters of the period, he developed his own instinctive, spontaneous style. Van Gogh became one of the most celebrated artists of the twentieth century and played a key role in the development of modern art.

“What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion.”

– Vincent Van Gogh (Letter to Theo, July 1882)

Short Biography Vincent Van Gogh

He was born in Groot-Zundert, a small town in Holland in March 1853. His father was a Protestant pastor and he had three uncles who were art dealers.

Despite disliking formal training, he studied art in both Brussels and Paris. His first attempts at art were not indicative of his later talent. In the beginning, he was a clumsy drawer and, when studying at one art academy, he was put back a year because of his perceived lack of ability to draw. His early pictures appear rather basic and do not show any sign of his later art. However, he worked hard and sought to improve his technique. Yet these early difficulties always stayed with Van Gogh and throughout his life, he was bothered with a sense of inadequacy. In a letter to his brother, he described his early efforts as mere ‘scribbles.’

He became absorbed in art and would prioritise it over more mundane matters. Van Gogh struggled to hold down a regular job. For example, he lost his position as an art dealer after quarrelling with a customer. He also had short-lived jobs as a supply teacher and priest. Not holding a regular job, he relied on financial help from his close brother Theo. Theo was generous to his brother throughout his life – often sending money and painting materials.

With his brothers financial backing, in 1888 Van Gogh travelled to Arles in the south of France, where he continued his painting – often outside – another feature of the impressionist movement. This was a prolific period for Van Gogh; he could paint up to five paintings per week and he enjoyed walking in the countryside and getting inspiration from nature – such as the corn harvest. He drew everything from nature, portraits of friends, everyday objects and the vast night sky.

Straw Harvest

Living in Paris (1886-88) he had been influenced by the new impressionist painters, such as Monet and Renoir, and their interest in light. However, he soon developed his own unique style of powerful, brush strokes – often using warm reds, oranges and yellows. Simple brush strokes which created strong and arresting images.

Van Gogh was driven by an inner urge to express the art he felt within. He wrote that he felt an artistic power within, which moved him to work very hard.

“Believe me, I work, I drudge, I grind all day long and I do so with pleasure, but I should get very much discouraged if I could not go on working as hard or even harder.. .I feel, Theo, that there is a power within me, and I do what I can to bring it out and free it.”

– Van Gogh, (Letter to Theo 1982)

Van Gogh lived from moment to moment and was never financially secure. He put his whole life into art and neglected other aspects of his life – such as his health, appearance and financial security. During his lifetime, he sold only one painting – ironic since now Van Gogh’s paintings are some of the most expensive in the world.

“What is true is that I have at times earned my own crust of bread, and at other times a friend has given it to me out of the goodness of his heart. I have lived whatever way I could, for better or for worse, taking things just as they came.”

– Van Gogh, Letter to Theo ( July 1880 )

Cafe Terrace at Night 1888 ( Kröller-Müller Museum)

“When I have a terrible need of — shall I say the word — religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

In Arles, he had a brief, if unsuccessful, period of time with the artist Gauguin. Van Gogh’s intensity and mental imbalance made him difficult to live with. At the end of the two weeks, Van Gogh approached Gauguin with a razor blade. Gauguin fled back to Paris, and Van Gogh later cut off the lower part of his ear with the blade.

This action was symptomatic of his increasing mental imbalance. He was later committed to a lunatic asylum where he would spend time on and off until his death in 1890. At the best of times, Van Gogh had an emotional intensity that flipped between madness and genius. He himself wrote:

“Sometimes moods of indescribable anguish, sometimes moments when the veil of time and fatality of circumstances seemed to be torn apart for an instant.”

Vase with 12 Sunflowers,  1888

It was during these last two years of his life that Van Gogh was at his most productive as a painter. He developed a style of painting that was quick and rapid – leaving no time for contemplation and thought. He painted with quick movements of the brush and drew increasingly avant-garde style shapes – foreshadowing modern art and its abstract style. He felt an overwhelming need and desire to paint.

“The work is an absolute necessity for me . I can’t put it off, I don’t care for anything but the work; that is to say, the pleasure in something else ceases at once and I become melancholy when I can’t go on with my work. Then I feel like a weaver who sees that his threads are tangled, and the pattern he had on the loom is gone to hell, and all his thought and exertion is lost.”

In 1890, a series of bad news affected his mental equilibrium and one day in July, whilst painting, he shot himself in the chest. He died two days later from his wound.

Yellow House

The religion of Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh was critical of formalised religion and was often scathing of clerics in the Christian church, but he denied he was an atheist, believing in God and love.

“That God of the clergymen, He is for me as dead as a doornail. But am I an atheist for all that? The clergymen consider me as such — be it so; but I love, and how could I feel love if I did not live, and if others did not live, and then, if we live, there is something mysterious in that.”

– Van Gogh

Van Gogh saw his painting as a spiritual pursuit. He wrote of great paintings, that the artist had hidden an aspect of God in the painting.

“Try to grasp the essence of what the great artists, the serious masters, say in their masterpieces, and you will again find God in them. One man has written or said it in a book, another in a painting.”

“I think that everything that is really good and beautiful, the inner, moral, spiritual and sublime beauty in men and their works, comes from God, and everything that is bad and evil in the works of men and in men is not from God, and God does not approve of it. But I cannot help thinking that the best way of knowing God is to love many things.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

Citation:  Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of Vincent Van Gogh”, Oxford,  www.biographyonline.net. Published 23 May 2014. Last Updated 3 February 2020.

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Vincent van Gogh

By ellen gutoskey | apr 10, 2020.

ARTISTS (1853–1890); ZUNDERT, NETHERLANDS

The prolific yet short-lived career of Vincent van Gogh has captivated the art world nearly as much as his actual paintings have. From his birth in the Netherlands to his death in France—not to mention the infamous ear incident of 1888—the Dutch post-impressionist painter was a creative force of nature who took a little longer than other artists of the era to find his calling. Now, his life has been immortalized in movies, songs, and countless art exhibits, but, as is the case with so many great artists, van Gogh wasn't celebrated much while he was alive. Find out more about the fascinating man behind The Starry Night and Sunflowers below.

1. Most of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings were done in a single decade.

Vincent Willem van Gogh grew up in the Netherlands and joined an art firm called Goupil & Cie in The Hague in 1869, when he was just 16 years old. Four years later, Goupil & Cie sent him to deal art in London, but it was never a good fit—van Gogh couldn’t muster enthusiasm for the business side of art, and he was fired in 1876. After trying his hand at teaching and even preaching, he turned to what he’d soon realize was his true vocation: painting. Largely self-taught, van Gogh painted nearly 900 works between November 1881 and July 1890, when he died at age 37.

2. Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night in an asylum.

Van Gogh entered the Saint-Paul-de Mausole Asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, after a mental breakdown in late 1888. He painted The Starry Night based on the view from his second-story bedroom window—with a few significant modifications. For one, he omitted the iron bars that were almost definitely fastened to the window, since he mentioned “the iron-barred window” in a letter to his brother Theo the previous month. And he added a lovely, moonlit town in the distance, which he wouldn’t have been able to see from his window. Some historians think he modeled the village on earlier sketches he had done of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, while others believe it was inspired by the Netherlands, where van Gogh was born.

3. Nine paintings from Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers series still exist.

Van Gogh painted two series of Sunflowers . He completed the first series—four paintings known as the Paris Sunflowers , which all depict the flowers lying on the ground—while living with Theo in Paris in the mid-1880s. Then, when he moved into a yellow house in Arles in 1888, he set to work on what’s now called the Arles Sunflowers , which display floral arrangements in vases. He planned to decorate the house with the sunflower paintings to please fellow painter Paul Gauguin, who would visit him there. Originally, van Gogh had painted seven Sunflowers in Arles, but one was destroyed in a fire during World War II, and another was lost after it was sold into a private collection.

4. Historians aren’t sure exactly why Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear.

Everybody agrees the infamous incident took place on December 23, 1888, while van Gogh was living in Arles, France, with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, but there are several theories as to why van Gogh took a knife or razor to his own ear that fateful night—as well as how much he cut off, and who was the recipient of history’s most revolting gift. The leading theory is that van Gogh was distraught after a quarrel with Gauguin, though others believe it was a reaction to learning his beloved brother Theo was getting married. Some even think it was Gauguin who did the slicing.

Also, while it’s possible that van Gogh only lopped off the lobe, his physician sketched an image that shows van Gogh’s entire ear is missing. Circumstances notwithstanding, van Gogh then brought his mutilated ear to a woman in a nearby brothel—long thought to be a prostitute, though recent evidence suggests she was likely a barmaid—and asked her to guard it carefully.

5. Vincent van Gogh died from a (likely) self-inflicted gunshot wound in France.

Van Gogh’s auricular accident of 1888 may be due to the fact that he was likely dealing with an undiagnosed health issue at the time. The particular mental and/or physical illness van Gogh suffered from isn’t known—though a doctor did once diagnose him with a form of epilepsy—but suggestions include dementia, hallucinatory psychosis, alcoholism, syphilis, turpentine poisoning, schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and more.

On July 27, 1890, while living in the French village Auvers-sur-Oise, van Gogh walked into a field and shot himself in the abdomen. He was able to make it back to the inn where he was staying, but he died from the wound two days later, with Theo by his side. He was just 37 years old. Some have theorized  van Gogh was shot by someone else, but it’s generally believed the artist was responsible for his own death.

6. Vincent van Gogh didn’t sell many paintings commercially while he was alive.

Van Gogh is a pretty classic example of someone who didn’t see commercial success during his lifetime. Apart from the 19 cityscapes of The Hague that his uncle commissioned him to make early in his career, van Gogh only sold a few paintings while he was alive—one to Parisian art dealer Julien Tanguy, one that Theo sold to a London gallery, and a third, The Red Vineyard , to the sister of van Gogh’s friend, Eugène Boch.

That said, van Gogh did often trade works to other artists in exchange for food or supplies, so his paintings definitely weren’t unknown or unappreciated. Much of van Gogh’s art went to Theo after his death, but Theo himself died just a year later. At that point, Theo’s widow, Johanna, began working to organize exhibitions and promote the art of her brother-in-law across Europe, which eventually led to more mainstream success for the already-deceased artist.

A Selection of Vincent van Gogh’s Paintings

• Still Life With Cabbage and Clogs (1881)
• Dunes (1882)
• Girl in the Woods (1882)
• Cottages (1883)
• Weaver Facing Left With Spinning Wheel (1884)
• Cart with Red and White Ox (1884)
• Vase With Honesty (1884-1885)
• Head of an Old Peasant Woman With White Cap (1884)
• The Potato Eaters (1885)
• Skull of a Skeleton With Burning Cigarette (1886)
• A Pair of Shoes (1886)
• Self-Portrait (1886)
• Japonaiserie: The Courtesan (1887)
• Sunflowers (1886-1888)
• The Sower (1888)
• Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (1888)
• The Night Café (1888)
• The Café Terrace at Night (1888)
• Starry Night Over the Rhône (1888)
• Portrait of the Artist’s Mother (1888)
• Bedroom in Arles (1888)
• Paul Gauguin (Man in a Red Beret) (1888)
• Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear (1889)
• Irises (1889)
• The Starry Night (1889)
• Cypresses (1889)
• Wheat Field With Reaper and Sun (1889)
• Olive Grove (1889)
• At Eternity’s Gate (1890)
• Houses in Auvers (1890)
• The Church at Auvers (1890)
• Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890)

Notable Quotes by Vincent van Gogh

• “Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures.”
• “It’s certainly true that it is better to be fervent in spirit, even if one accordingly makes more mistakes, than narrow-minded and overly cautious.”
• “[The] great isn’t something accidental; it must be willed.”
• “The sight of the stars always makes me dream.”
• “Even though I’m often in a mess, inside me there’s still a calm, pure harmony and music.”
• “The more I think about it the more I feel that there’s nothing more genuinely artistic than to love people.”
• “It is good to love as much as one can, for therein lies true strength, and he who loves much does much and is capable of much, and that which is done with love is well done.”
• “There is safety in the midst of danger. What would life be if we didn’t dare to take things in hand?”
• “I seek, I pursue, my heart is in it.”

Van Gogh Biography

Vincent Van Gogh was born near Brabant in Southern Holland on March 30, 1853, the oldest son of a Dutch minister, he grew to become one of the most well known and influential artists of the 19 th century.  Van Gogh tried his hand at several different vocations including working for Goupil & Co., an art dealer, at the age of 16 with his 4 years younger brother Theo, teaching as an assistant in Ramsgate, and acting as a layman preacher in a poor coal mining district in Belgium, before finally deciding to become an artist at the age of twenty-seven.  His early works are dark portraying downtrodden city dwellers as well as Dutch peasants at work. 

Van Gogh’s relationship with his younger brother, Theo, was well documented in the vast number of letters the brothers sent each other.  Van Gogh’s letters to his brother and to other artists provide insight into the life of the painter. 

In 1886, Van Gogh moved to Paris where he lived with his brother, now the manager of Goupil’s, who financially supported the artist.  In Paris Van Gogh became familiar with the work of the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists.  He befriended Pissarro , Monet , and Gauguin .  Van Gogh began to lighten his color palette and experimented with different shorter brushstrokes.  His works changed from peasant workers to images of Paris, portraits, self-portraits, and images of flowers. 

In 1888, at the age of 35, Van Gogh moved from Paris to Arles where he had dreams of starting a community of artists.  Theo continued to support him financially and tried to sell his artwork.  Fellow artist Paul Gauguin joined him for a short time however, the two frequently had disagreements and Gauguin soon left.  Van Gogh threatened Gauguin with a razor and ended up cutting off a portion of his own ear.  Struggling with fits of madness Van Gogh spent time in an asylum in Arles and then in Saint Remy.

Van Gogh spent much time in the asylum at Saint Remy though it was later believed that he suffered from epilepsy.  While there he painted some 150 paintings.  Upon his release in 1890 he went to Auvers-sur-Oise where he was under the care of physician and painter, Dr. Paul Gachet.  In two months Van Gogh was averaging a painting a day.  At the age of 37, Van Gogh attempted suicide, while in a wheat field he shot himself in the chest.  He died two days later with his brother at his side.  Six months later Theo died as well and was buried next to his brother in the small church at Auvers-sur-Oise.

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Vincent van Gogh

• Style and Technique
• Critical Reception
• Bedroom in Arles
• Café Terrace at Night
• Portrait d'Eugene Boch
• Self-portrait with Straw Hat

Starry Night

• Starry Night Over the Rhone
• The Flowering Orchard

The Potato Eaters

Vincent Van Gogh Biography

• Vincent Willem van Gogh
• Short Name:
• Date of Birth:
• 30 Mar 1853
• Date of Death:
• 29 Jul 1890
• Figure, Landscapes, Cityscapes, Scenery
• Art Movement:
• Post-Impressionism
• Zundert, Netherlands
• Vincent Van Gogh Biography Page's Content

Introduction

• Early Years
• Middle Years
• Advanced Years

A key figure in the world of Post-impressionism Vincent Van Gogh also helped lay the foundations of modern art. A troubled man, he experienced many uncertainties and rejections in his early life, particularly where female love interests were concerned. Religion played a huge role in van Gogh´s life and many of his paintings carry religious undertones. Van Gogh did not experience great success during his lifetime, selling just one painting but after his death his work was revealed to the world and he is now regarded as one of the greatest artists that ever lived.

Vincent van Gogh Early Years

Becoming increasingly frustrated, Vincent ended his relationship with Hoomik and feeling uninspired, he moved back in with his parents to continue practicing his art. It was then that he was introduced to the paintings of Jean-Franqois Millet and he imitated Millets style a lot in his early works. Van Gogh had the desire to paint figures and in 1885 he completed The Potato Eaters which proved a success at the time. Believing he needed focused training in art techniques, van Gogh enrolled at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and was impressed by the works of Rubens and various Japanese artists, and such influences would impact greatly on van Gogh's individual style. In 1886 Vincent van Gogh relocated to Paris and immersed himself in the world of Impressionism and Post-impressionism. He adopted brighter, more vibrant colors and began experimenting with his technique. He also spent time researching the styles found in the Japanese artwork he had discovered a year earlier. Paris exposed van Gogh to artists such as Gauguin, Pissarro, Monet, and Bernard. He befriended Paul Gauguin and moved to Arles in 1888 and Gauguin joined him later. Van Gogh started to paint sunflowers to decorate Gauguin's bedroom and this work of art would later become one of his most accomplished pieces, Sunflowers.

Vincent van Gogh Advanced Years

It was towards the end of 1888 that van Gogh's mental illness began to worsen and in one outburst he pursued Gauguin with a knife and threatened him. Later that day at home, Vincent cut off part of his own ear then offered it to a prostitute as a gift, and he was temporarily hospitalized. Upon returning home he found Gauguin leaving Arles, and thus his dream of setting up an art school was crushed. Van Gogh committed himself to an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence at the end of 1888 and his paintings from his time there were brimming with activity. It was in the asylum that he painted Starry Night which became his most popular work and is one of the most influential pieces in history. Van Gogh left Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in 1890 and continued painting, producing a number of works - nearly one painting per day. Despite his creative achievements, the artist thought of his life as terribly wasted, and a personal failure. On July 27, 1890 he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest and died two days later from the wound, aged 37. Van Goghs dear brother Theo was devastated by his loss and died six months later. Theos widow took Vincent van Goghs works to Holland and published them, and he was an instant success. His work went on to influence Modernist art and today, Vincent van Gogh is regarded as one of history's greatest painters.

Vincent's Life, 1853-1890

Vincent van Gogh decided to become an artist at the age of 27. That decision would change his life and art history forever. Read Vincent's biography.

Biography, 1853 -1873

Young Vincent

Biography, 1873 -1881

Looking for a Direction

Biography, 1881-1883

First Steps as an Artist

Biography, 1883 - 1885

Peasant Painter

Biography, 1886 - 1888

From Dark to Light

Biography, 1888 - 1889

South of France

Biography, 1889 - 1890

Hospitalization

Biography, 1890

Vincent's Final Months

Biography, 1890 - 1973

After Vincent's Death

Find out more about the man behind the artworks in these stories

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• The Complete Works

Vincent Van Gogh The Complete Works

Vincent Van Gogh Biography In Details

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (March 30, 1853 - July 29, 1890) is generally considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt, though he had little success during his lifetime. Van Gogh produced all of his work (some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings) during a period of only 10 years before he succumbed to mental illness (possibly bipolar disorder) and committed suicide. His fame grew rapidly after his death especially following a showing of 71 of van Gogh's paintings in Paris on March 17, 1901 (11 years after his death).

Van Gogh's influence on expressionism, fauvism and early abstraction was enormous, and can be seen in many other aspects of 20th-century art. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is dedicated to Van Gogh's work and that of his contemporaries.

Several paintings by Van Gogh rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. On March 30, 1987 Van Gogh's painting Irises was sold for a record $53.9 million at Southeby's, New York. On May 15, 1990 his Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold for $82.5 million at Christie's, thus establishing a new price record (see also List of most expensive paintings).

Life and Work

Vincent was born in Zundert, The Netherlands; his father was a protestant minister, a profession that Vincent found appealing and to which he would be drawn to a certain extent later in his life. His sister described him as a serious and introspective child.

At age 16 Vincent started to work for the art dealer Goupil & Co. in The Hague. His four years younger brother Theo, with whom Vincent cherished a life long friendship, would join the company later. This friendship is amply documented in a vast amount of letters they sent each other. These letters have been preserved and were published in 1914. They provide a lot of insight into the life of the painter, and show him to be a talented writer with a keen mind. Theo would support Vincent financially throughout his life.

In 1873, his firm transferred him to London, then to Paris. He became increasingly interested in religion; in 1876 Goupil dismissed him for lack of motivation. He became a teaching assistant in Ramsgate near London, then returned to Amsterdam to study theology in 1877.

After dropping out in 1878, he became a layman preacher in Belgium in a poor mining region known as the Borinage. He even preached down in the mines and was extremely concerned with the lot of the workers. He was dismissed after 6 months and continued without pay. During this period he started to produce charcoal sketches.

In 1880, Vincent van Gogh followed the suggestion of his brother Theo and took up painting in earnest. For a brief period Vincent took painting lessons from Anton Mauve at The Hague. Although Vicent and Anton soon split over divergence of artistic views, influences of the Hague School of painting would remain in Vincents work, notably in the way he played with light and in the looseness of his brush strokes. However his usage of colours, favouring dark tones, set him apart from his teacher.

In 1881 he declared his love to his widowed cousin Kee Vos, who rejected him. Later he would move in with the prostitute Sien Hoornik and her children and considered marrying her; his father was strictly against this relationship and even his brother Theo advised against it. They later separated.

Impressed and influenced by Jean-Francois Millet, van Gogh focussed on painting peasants and rural scenes. He moved to the Dutch province Drenthe, later to Nuenen, North Brabant, also in The Netherlands. Here he painted in 1885.

In the winter of 1885-1886 Van Gogh attended the art academy of Antwerp, Belgium. This proved a disappointment as he was dismissed after a few months by his Professor. Van Gogh did however get in touch with Japanese art during this period, which he started to collect eagerly. He admired its bright colors, use of canvas space and the role lines played in the picture. These impressions would influence him strongly. Van Gogh made some painting in Japanese style. Also some of the portraits he painted are set against a background which shows Japanese art.

In spring 1886 Vincent van Gogh went to Paris, where he moved in with his brother Theo; they shared a house on Montmartre. Here he met the painters met Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Bernard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin. He discovered impressionism and liked its use of light and color, more than its lack of social engagement (as he saw it). Especially the technique known as pointillism (where many small dots are applied to the canvas that blend into rich colors only in the eye of the beholder, seeing it from a distance) made its mark on Van Goghs own style. It should be noted that Van Gogh is regarded as a post-impressionist, rather than an impressionist.

In 1888, when city life and living with his brothers proved too much, Van Gogh left Paris and went to Arles, Bouches-du-Rh, France. He was impressed with the local landscape and hoped to found an art colony. He decorated a "yellow house" and created a celebrated series of yellow sunflower paintings for this purpose. Only Paul Gauguin, whose simplified colour schemes and forms (known as synthetism) attracted van Gogh, followed his invitation. The admiration was mutual, and Gauguin painted van Gogh painting sunflowers. However their encounter ended in a quarrel. Van Gogh suffered a mental breakdown and cut off part of his left ear, which he gave to a startled prostitute friend. Gauguin left in December 1888.

The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.

Vincent van Gogh now exchanged painting dots for small stripes. He suffered from depression, and in 1889 on his own request Van Gogh was admitted to the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole in Saint Remy de Provence, Bouches-du-Rh, France. During his stay here the clinic and its garden became his main subject. Pencil strokes changed again, now into spiral curves.

In May 1890 Vincent van Gogh left the clinic and went to the physician Paul Gachet, in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, where he was closer to his brother Theo, who had recently married. Gachet had been recommended to him by Pissarro; he had treated several artists before. Here van Gogh created his only etching: a portrait of the melancholic doctor Gachet. His depression aggravated. On July 27 of the same year, at the age of 37, after a fit of painting activity, van Gogh shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, with Theo at his side, who reported his last words as "La tristesse durera toujours" (French: "The sadness will last forever"). He was buried at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise; Theo unable to come to terms with his brother's death died 6 months later and was buried next to him. It would not take long before his fame grew higher and higher. Large exhibitions were organized soon: Paris 1901, Amsterdam 1905, Cologne 1912, New York 1913 and Berlin 1914.

Vincent van Gogh's mother threw away quite a number of his paintings during Vincent's life and even after his death. But she would live long enough to see her son become a world famous painter. [From: www.vincentvangoghart.net]

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Vincent van Gogh Timeline

A Chronology of Vincent van Gogh's Life

• Art History
• Architecture
• Ph.D., Art History, City University of New York Graduate Center
• M.A., Art History, State University of New York at Binghamton
• B.A., Art History, State University of New York at Binghamton

Vincent is born on March 30 in Groot-Zundert, North Brabant, The Netherlands . His parents are Anna Cornelia Carbentus (1819-1907) and Theodorus van Gogh (1822-1885), a Dutch Reformed Church minister.

Brother Theodorus ("Theo") van Gogh is born on May 1.

Vincent's parents send him to a local elementary school. From 1861 to 1863, he was homeschooled. 

Vincent attends boarding school in Zevenbergen.

Vincent attends Willem II College in Tilburg.

Vincent starts working as a clerk for the art dealer Goupil & Cie in The Hague through family connections.

Vincent transfers to the London office of Goupil; Theo joins Goupil in Brussels.

From October to December, Vincent works at the head office of Goupil in Paris, and then returns to London.

Vincent is again transferred to Goupil in Paris (against his wishes).

In March, Vincent is dismissed from Goupil. Theo transfers to the Goupil office in The Hague. Vincent acquires an etching of Millet's Angelus  and accepts a teaching post in Ramsgate, England. In December, he returns to Etten, where his family lives, in December.

From January to April, Vincent works as a book clerk in Dordrecht. In May, he arrives in Amsterdam, stays with uncle, Jan van Gogh, a naval yard commander. There, he prepares for university studies for the ministry.

In July, Vincent gives up his studies and returns to Etten. In August, he earns admission to a school of evangelism in Brussels, but he fails to obtain a post there. He leaves for the coal-mining area near Mons, known as Borinage, in Belgium, and teaches the Bible to the poor.

He begins work as a missionary for six months in Wasmes.

Vincent travels to Cuesmes, where he lives with a mining family, but then moves to Brussels to study perspective and anatomy . Theo supports him financially.

April leaves Brussels to live in Etten. Vincent attempts to have a romantic relationship with his widowed cousin Kee Vos-Stricker, who spurns him. He quarrels with his family and leaves for The Hague around Christmas.

Vincent studies with Anton Mauve, a cousin by marriage. He lives with Clasina Maria Hoornik ("Sien"). In August, his family moves to Nuen.

In September, he leaves The Hague and Clasina and works alone in Drenthe. In December, Vincent returns to Nuen.

Vincent begins using watercolors and studies of weavers. Vincent reads Delacroix on color. Theo joins Goupil in Paris.

Vincent paints about 50 heads of peasants as studies for Potato Eaters.  In November, he goes to Antwerp and acquires Japanese prints. His father dies in March.

In January-March, Vincent studies art at Antwerp Academy . He moves to Paris and studies at Cormon studio. Vincent paints flowers influenced by Delacroix and Monticelli. He meets Impressionists .

The  Impressionists' palette influences his work. He collects Japanese prints. Vincent exhibits in a working-class café.

In February, Vincent goes to Arles. He lives at 2 Place Lamartine in the Yellow House. He visits Saintes Maries de la Mer in the Carmargue in June. On October 23, he was joined by Gauguin. Both artists visit Alfred Bruyas, Courbet's patron, in Montpellier in December. Their relationship deteriorates. Vincent mutilates his ear on December 23. Gauguin leaves immediately.

Vincent lives in mental hospital and in the Yellow House at alternate intervals. He voluntarily enters the hospital in St. Rémy. Paul Signac comes to visit. Theo marries Johanna Bonger on April 17.

On January 31, a son Vincent Willem is born to Theo and Johanna. Albert Aurier writes an article about Vincent's work. Vincent leaves the hospital in May. He briefly visits Paris. He goes to Auvers-sur-Oise, less than 17 miles from Paris, to begin care under Dr. Paul Gachet, who was recommended by Camille Pissarro. Vincent shoots himself July 27 and dies two days later at age 37.

January 25, Theo dies in Utrecht of syphilis.

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Biography of Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot Zundert, North Brabant, Netherlands. From childhood, he showed signs of a moody and agitated temperament that would torment his projects throughout his entire life. Son of a Protestant pastor, he first chose to orient his life towards Protestantism, becoming a preacher in London, a student of theology and an evangelizer among the mining populations of Borinage. Becoming sympathetic to the miners’ struggle, Van Gogh practiced painting, leaving us the first traces of a somber style; one certainly marked by the misery of the miners, but one to which he also attached a sense of urgency and intensity.

In 1886, he moved to Paris and lived with his brother Theo, who ran a small gallery of paintings. He quickly became acquainted with the young painters of the era, who were at the forefront of the most innovative artistic movements. Influenced by the work of the impressionists, as well as Japanese artists, Van Gogh’s style began to evolve. His colours brightened and his brushstrokes refined according to the shapes of the objects he represented. Beginning in 1888, he adopted the frank and bright hues present in the paintings of his French contemporaries before leaving Paris for the South of France.

Under the sun of Provence, he painted landscapes and scenes of southern life. The artist, then based in Arles, began using curved and swirling brushstrokes, as well as pure colours, particularly yellow, green and blue. This technique, very specific to Van Gogh’s work, appears in his famous paintings Bedroom in Arles (1888) and The Starry Night (1889). Any visible creation by Van Gogh from this period, whether painted or drawn, is seemingly bestowed with a physical and spiritual vitality. In this spirit of enthusiasm, he persuaded Paul Gauguin, an artist whom he had met in Paris, to come stay with him.

After less than two months of working together, their relationship deteriorated rapidly, culminating in the famous dispute in which Van Gogh threatened Gaugin with a razor blade. That same night, Van Gogh completely severed his own ear. A few months later, he voluntarily entered the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he painted fiercely. A great number of his masterpieces were created during this period.

In May 1890, the artist left the south and returned to his brother Theo in Paris. He took up residence close by in Auvers-sur-Oise, near the house of Dr. Gachet, an admirer and patron of several impressionist painters, as well as the subject of one of his portraits. The artist worked arduously in Auvers before passing away on July 29, 1890, leaving behind an artistic legacy that is today recognized around the globe.

Imagine Van Gogh highlights the works of Vincent Van Gogh from his Arles period (1888-1889) to the end of his life in 1890. These were exceptional years for the master, showcasing his talent, as well as his torments, in iconic works such as Sunflowers, Irises, Wheatfield with Crows , The Starry Night , in addition to his Japanese influences with the magnificent Almond Blossoms or his later The Church at Auvers . It also incorporates the many portraits painted during this period, including his Self-Portraits, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, La Mousmé, Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin and L’Arlésienne: Madame Ginoux . Altogether, an incredible number of Van Gogh’s masterpieces will be revealed to visitors from a completely new perspective.

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Short Biography of Van Gogh

Short biography of Van Gogh

Vincent van gogh: a journey through life and art, comprehension.

Who are they?

Who is Vincent van Gogh?

You might know the name Van Gogh, but do you know who he really was?

Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers 1888 National Gallery, London

The man who painted Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh is one of the world’s most famous painters. When you start school, one of the first artworks that you will ever look at is probably Van Gogh’s Sunflowers . This painting is very famous. Look at its bright yellows and the way each of the fourteen sunflowers are painted differently. Van Gogh painted Sunflowers for the room in the yellow house he was renting in Arles, France. His friend, the painter Paul Gauguin, was coming to visit and Van Gogh wanted to redecorate.

Why is he so famous?

Vincent van Gogh Starry Night over the Rhone 1889 Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Today, most people know the name Vincent van Gogh. However, when he was alive, he was not very famous at all. Since his death, he has become one of the most successful painters in history. People across the world have admired his unique style. If you look closely at his paintings, the brushstrokes are broken up. It is as if you can see each time Van Gogh put his brush on the canvas. Do you like this style?

In total, Van Gogh made around 2,100 artworks. So, if you only know Sunflowers , there are many more paintings by him to discover.

What inspired him?

Vincent van Gogh The Bedroom 1889 Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands, but travelled across Europe. He went to France, Belgium and England. When he was in London, he was inspired by all the art he saw in galleries. Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, worked in an art gallery and introduced Van Gogh to many artworks. Van Gogh was interested in painters who were painting everyday life.

When he was 27, he decided to become an artist. Up until then, he had been a teacher, a shop assistant and had dreams of working for the Church. All of these experiences inspired his art.

Why did he die so young?

Vincent van Gogh Self Portrait, Autumn 1889 National Gallery of Art (Washington, USA)

It is a really sad story. Van Gogh struggled with mental health problems. This meant that he sometimes felt very angry or sad and was not able to control his emotions. Sometimes, he would harm himself and have blackouts. Van Gogh used painting as a way to express his emotions and way to help with his illness.

Van Gogh’s did not get the help he needed and there was not the same understanding of mental health as there is today. Van Gogh felt alone and was not able to handle the pressure of his emotions. He died by suicide. He was only 37. It is sad to think of all the wonderful artworks he could have painted had he gotten better.

What did he paint?

Vincent van Gogh Farms near Auvers (1890) Tate

Van Gogh liked to paint the places he visited. When you look at his paintings, you can almost imagine you are there with him. In Farms near Auvers , the bright greens make you feel like you are standing in the French countryside. This painting was made towards the end of Van Gogh’s career. Earlier, he had used darker colours. As he grew older, he liked using lighter colours.

Van Gogh also liked painting portraits. He said that portraits were

'the only thing in painting that moves me deeply’

Van Gogh painted portraits of many different people he met, but he really liked painting portraits of himself. He made over 30 self-portraits. You can also try and paint your own self-portrait. Try looking at yourself in the mirror or in a photograph to get you inspired.

Vincent van Gogh The Oise at Auvers (1890) Tate

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An exclusive visit to Van Gogh’s asylum garden to track down the scenes that he painted

As vincent wrote to his brother, “life happens … in the garden, it isn’t so sad”.

Van Gogh’s Hospital at Saint-Rémy (September-October 1889) and photograph (April 2024) Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; © Martin Bailey

Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, our long-standing correspondent and expert on the artist. Published every Friday, his stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist to scholarly pieces based on his own meticulous investigations and discoveries. © Martin Bailey

Daily life at the asylum where Van Gogh lived for a year in 1889-90 must have been extremely tough, surrounded as he was by fellow inmates who were often in an even worse condition than himself. There were two things that kept him going. Most important of all was being able to paint, but he could also escape into its large walled garden.

The garden of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole , just outside Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, had been laid out in the early 19th century by Louis Mercurin, who established the asylum. The doctor held the progressive view that walking among nature was therapeutic for troubled minds.

With the National Gallery’s exhibition Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers (14 September-19 January 2025) coming up, a small group of writers was recently invited into the garden by Jean-Marc Boulon. He is the medical director of what is now a modern hospital for patients with mental health issues. We were allowed in when no patients were outdoors and it was a very privileged occasion. All the paintings illustrated here will be included in the London exhibition. The photographs are intended to give an idea of what Van Gogh would have seen, but do not represent the exact spot where he put up his easel.

My first strong impression was how little the garden had changed since Van Gogh’s time. In his painting Hospital at Saint-Rémy (September-October 1889), the early-19th century wing at the back still stands (modernised inside), a view even today framed by trees. Vincent described his picture to his brother Theo as “the pines and the cedar bushes against the blue”. In the painting, the trees soar gracefully into the sky, pushing the building into the background.

Set on three gently rising levels, the garden had already become overgrown by Van Gogh’s time, much of it covered with ivy. A full hectare in area, it was enclosed by the L-shaped men’s blocks and two tall stone walls, providing a secluded haven for the inmates. Slightly wistfully, Vincent explained to Theo on his arrival that as “life happens above all in the garden, it isn’t so sad”.

He added in the same letter: “Since I’ve been here, the neglected garden planted with tall pines under which grow tall and badly tended grass intermingled with various weeds, has provided me with enough work.”

Van Gogh’s Undergrowth (July 1889) and photograph (April 2024) Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation); © Martin Bailey

Van Gogh had always loved ivy, which he felt created a striking, albeit sombre mood. In his time it grew up the trunks of the pines in the asylum garden, as it does today, although it is no longer allowed to spread as much. Writing about a similar painting to Undergrowth , Vincent described “thick tree-trunks covered with ivy, the ground also covered with ivy”.

Van Gogh’s Trees in the Garden of the Asylum (September-October 1889) and photograph (April 2024)

Private collection; © Martin Bailey

Van Gogh sometimes used the twisted tree trunks to frame his compositions, as in Trees in the Garden of the Asylum (September-October 1889). These trees, which almost seem to dance across his painting, would have offered most welcome shade during the hot Provençal summers.

Van Gogh’s Long Grass with Butterflies (April-May 1890) and photograph (April 2024) National Gallery London; © Martin Bailey

In Long Grass with Butterflies (April-May 1890) a trace of a path can just be made out in the upper left corner, but the emphasis is on the lush springtime vegetation. Vincent modestly described the scene as “a nook of greenery which seems to me to have some freshness”. This painting was done a year after his arrival, when he had got to know every corner of the garden—and in all the seasons. On our late April visit, the grass seemed dryer.

Van Gogh’s Tree Trunks in the Grass (April-May 1890) and photograph (April 2024) Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo; © Martin Bailey

Vincent wrote to Theo on 29 April 1890: ”Work is going well, I’ve done two canvases of the fresh grass in the park, one of which is extremely simple”. Tree Trunks in the Grass was the “simple” one. He described the tree trunks painting as “a field in the full sunshine with yellow dandelions”. He beautifully captured the dramatic patterns on the bark of the closest pair of pines.

While painting Tree Trunks in the Grass Vincent had written to Theo: “I’ll be out of doors there. I’m sure that the desire to work will devour me and make me insensible to everything else and in a good mood. And I’ll let myself go there, not without consideration but without dwelling on regrets for things that might have been.” Beside these words, he drew a small sketch of the picture he was working on in the garden.

A letter from Vincent to Theo from 4 May 1890, with sketch of Tree Trunks in the Grass and related comments Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

On 16 May 1890, two weeks after completing this garden painting, Van Gogh left Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, hoping that he was cured. He stayed with Theo for a few days in Paris and then headed to Auvers-sur-Oise , just north-west of the capital. Tragically, this would be the place where, ten weeks later, Vincent would take his own life .

NOTE TO READERS: Adventures with Van Gogh will be taking a summer break, returning on 6 September

Martin Bailey is the author of Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame (Frances Lincoln, 2021, available in the UK and US ). He is a leading Van Gogh specialist and investigative reporter for The Art Newspaper . Bailey has curated Van Gogh exhibitions at the Barbican Art Gallery and Compton Verney/National Gallery of Scotland. He was a co-curator of Tate Britain’s The EY Exhibition: Van Gogh and Britain (27 March-11 August 2019).

Martin Bailey’s recent Van Gogh books

Bailey has written a number of other bestselling books, including The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece (Frances Lincoln 2013, available in the UK and US ), Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence (Frances Lincoln 2016, available in the UK and US ), Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum (White Lion Publishing 2018, available in the UK and US ) and Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame  (Frances Lincoln 2021, available in the UK and US ). Bailey's Living with Vincent van Gogh: the Homes and Landscapes that Shaped the Artist (White Lion Publishing 2019, available in the UK and US ) provides an overview of the artist’s life. The Illustrated Provence Letters of Van Gogh has been reissued (Batsford 2021, available in the UK and US ).

To contact Martin Bailey, please email [email protected] . Please note that he does not undertake authentications.

Read more from Martin's Adventures with Van Gogh blog   here .