Vincent van Gogh ( * 1853 † 1890 )

Vincent van Gogh (Self-portrait, 1887)

Biography of Vincent van Gogh

Genius and madness

Son of a pastor, Vincent van Gogh was born on March, 30th 1853 in Groot-Zundert near Breda (Netherlands). From 1869, he worked on the art market of Hague, London and Paris. Furthermore, Van Gogh wished to follow lectures in Brussels to become a preacher. Although he didn't complete his learning, he became a preacher and a teacher in a coalmining area of Belgium. In 1879, he decided to start painting under the goodwill of his cousin. In the city of Mauve, during 1883 to 1885, he painted and drew with ashen and dark colors. This will change when he arrives in Paris in 1885 where his brother Théo financed him and introduced him as an impressionist painter. The range of colors he used then was more colorful, bright and joyful.

In 1888, van Gogh moved from Paris to Arles. His psychological condition declined rapidly. He was institutionalized in a hospital in Arles and then in Saint-Rémy. The same year, because of his psychological disorders, he became aggressive with his friend Gauguin who came to visit him. After this quarrel with his friend he mutilate himself and cut his ear. He decided, in 1890, to move to Dr Gachet's, at Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris. Dr Gachet was an amateur painter and an impressionist connoisseur. On July 27th, 1890, van Gogh shot himself with a gun and died 2 days later.

In Provence, Van Gogh developed a specific artistic style with hot and bright colors, and differentiated himself from the pure impressionist style. He became, with Gauguin, Cézanne and Munch a pioneer of fauvism and expressionism. Although he lived with little means and depended financially on his brother, his art work is now one the most famous and most expensive in the world.

 

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Art prints and oil reproductions by Vincent van Gogh

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