Artist Profile: Vincent van Gogh

 

          Vincent van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands on March 30, 1853 to Theodorus van Gogh, a strict county minister, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, an artist who painted with extreme emotion.  Vincent had two brothers and three sisters (Theo, Cor, Elisabeth, Anna, and Willemina) if one did not count the baby boy, also named Vincent, that was stillborn one year before Vincent was born.  

Vincent left school at the age of 15 to earn money for his family, and found work at his Uncle Cornelis’ art dealership, Goupil & Cle.  When van Gogh was 20, he was transferred to London for his job, which is where he began to fall in love with the English culture.  It is also where van Gogh began his streak of love unrequited.  Vincent proposed to Eugenie Loyer, his landlady’s daughter, but she refused.  This forced Vincent into a meltdown, and he devoted his life to God.  He began teaching and preaching at a Methodist boys’ school in hopes of becoming a minister.  After one year of preparing for the exams to get in to the School of Theology in Amsterdam, van Gogh was denied acceptance.  He thought that Latin was a “dead language” for poor people, and refused to take the Latin exams.  Besides his failed marriage proposal, Vincent had a few other failed attempts at love.  He fell in love with his cousin, Kate, who became disgusted with van Gogh, and fled from Vincent to Amsterdam.  Vincent then fell in love with a prostitute who became his model for his paintings, his mistress, and his companion.  When she eventually went back to prostitution, she broke van Gogh’s heart.  

            Van Gogh had mental problems in his lifetime, such as temporal lobe epilepsy, depression, and schizophrenia.  He cut off part of his ear with a razor during an epileptic episode and argument with his friend, Paul Gauguin.  Van Gogh later met with a prostitute, Rachel, telling her to “keep this object (his ear) carefully.”  He also had financial difficulties, only ever selling the painting, The Red Vineyard.  It was believed that van Gogh had been so poor, or so consumed in his work, that he had only been buying paint.  He had no food to eat, so Vincent would eat and drink the paint, causing him to fall ill. 

His brother, Theo, was there to support him during his life, and was van Gogh’s closest friend.  Theo supported van Gogh financially, and even attempted to sell his art.  Being a Post-Impressionist (full of bold, intense, and expressive colors, and paintings with passion and intellect) Van Gogh was not deemed a good artist during his lifetime, which added onto his depression.  Painting over 2,100 works, 860 of which were oil paintings, and 1,300 of which were either sketches/drawings or watercolors, only around 900 of van Gogh’s works remain today.  Unfortunately, van Gogh never got to see his paintings become some of the most famous in the world, such as Starry Night, Irises, and Sunflowers.  One day, Van Gogh went to go out to paint, and shot himself in the chest with a pistol.  His brother, Theo, found him smoking a pipe; for, the bullet wound did not kill Vincent until two days later.  Vincent van Gogh died on July 29, 1890 in Theo’s arms at the age of 37.

One of my favorite pieces by Vincent van Gogh is Starry Night.  In Starry Night, van Gogh puts an emphasis on the night sky.  He does this by putting swirls of color that one may not directly associate with the sky at night, such as creams, oranges, and yellows.  These colors also form halos around the stars and crescent moon dotting the sky.  I also love the piece, Couple Waling in the Trees.  This painting is extremely peaceful.  A couple is walking hand-in-hand amidst towering trees and a field of tall grass.  The couple almost looks like they are a part of the forest scene wearing their different green hues.  Starry Night is looking at the usually black night sky in more color, and Couple Walking in the Trees is a peaceful and quiet scene captured by van Gogh.