Leo Martínez
Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. The Dutch painter's short but prolific career produced approximately 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. Van Gogh's work is known for its striking colour, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms, and has been described as a unique artistic style that failed to be accepted by the art-buying public in his own time. The artist has been mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist, in part due to his extensive published letters and his mental health struggles.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Painter | Vincent van Gogh |
| Birth | 30 March 1853 |
| Death | 29 July 1890 |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Painter, art dealer, language teacher, lay preacher, bookseller, missionary worker |
| Art Movement | Post-Impressionist |
| Art Style | Expressionism |
| Artworks | Landscapes, still lifes, portraits, self-portraits |
| Art Characteristics | Bold colours, dramatic brushwork, contoured forms |
| Letters | Eloquent, expressive, autobiographical |
| Mental Health | Signs of mental instability |
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What You'll Learn
Van Gogh's life and work
Vincent Willem van Gogh, born on 30 March 1853, was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter. He is considered one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. During his lifetime, Van Gogh created approximately 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. His oeuvre includes landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, most of which are characterised by bold colours and dramatic brushwork.
As a young man, Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, often travelling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a missionary in southern Belgium. In 1881, he took up painting while back with his parents. His younger brother, Theodorus (known as "Theo"), supported him financially, and the two maintained a long correspondence. Van Gogh's early works consist mostly of still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers.
In 1885, Van Gogh described Breton's famous work, The Song of the Lark, as "fine". The following year, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the artistic avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin. Frustrated in Paris, Van Gogh moved to Arles in southern France in 1888 to establish an artistic retreat and commune. He painted a number of impressive flower still lifes, such as Sunflowers and Irises, and his Sunflower series was intended to decorate Gauguin's room at the "Yellow House," his studio and apartment in Arles.
Van Gogh's work gained critical attention towards the end of his life. He died on 29 July 1890 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 37. After his death, his art and life story captivated the public imagination as an emblem of misunderstood genius. Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings ever sold, and his legacy is celebrated at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.
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His influences and contemporaries
Vincent van Gogh was heavily influenced by Japanese art, particularly the work of the Japanese artist Hiroshige. Van Gogh discovered Japanese prints while in Paris, and they taught him a new way of looking at the world. He was fascinated by the way Japanese artists used bold outlines, large areas of colour, and attention to detail from nature. He also adopted the Japanese technique of excluding the horizon and cropping elements at the edge of the picture. Van Gogh painted several copies of Japanese prints in his own style, including two of Hiroshige's woodblock prints.
Van Gogh was also influenced by the artists Millet, Monet, and Gauguin. He and his brother Theo collected more than 75 paintings and 80 drawings, including works by Gauguin, Monet Pissarro, Toulouse-Lautrec, Hans Heyerdahl, and Theophile de Bock. Van Gogh's friend Andries Bonger collected artworks by Odilon Redon, Émile Bernard, and other artists. Émile Bernard, in turn, was influenced by Japanese prints, which he discovered with Van Gogh at the shop of Parisian Asian art dealer Siegfried Bing.
Van Gogh worked in "painting campaigns", a term he used to describe his intense periods of work on a particular theme. During one such campaign in Arles, he wrote to his brother that he felt his work was improving as he focused on seeing more colour in landscapes. He also wrote to his sister about his efforts to move away from his "Dutch palette" and embrace a wider range of colours.
Van Gogh's contemporaries included Angrand, Seurat, and Signac, who participated in the third Exposition des Artistes Indépendents in 1887. Van Gogh was inspired by Seurat's painting "La Grande Jatte" to paint locations along the Seine. He also produced the "Clichy Triptych", which depicted everyday life in Asnières and Courbevoie, where he lived with his parents.
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His letters to his brother, Theo
Vincent van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo offer a fascinating insight into the artist's life and work. Of the 844 surviving letters written by van Gogh, 663 were addressed to Theo, providing a detailed chronicle of his thoughts, experiences, and artistic development.
In his letters, van Gogh often described his painting techniques, use of colour, and the theories that informed his work. He included sketches of common people, such as miners and farmers, reflecting his belief that "the poor would inherit the earth". For example, in a letter dated August 18, 1888, van Gogh gave Theo a preview of his "Portrait of a Peasant," describing his approach to the painting and alluding to artistic and literary influences such as Millet, Delacroix, and Émile Zola.
The letters also reveal van Gogh's spiritual and theological convictions, as well as his struggles with mental illness. During his time in an asylum in the south of France, van Gogh wrote about his self-doubt and the impact of his mental health on his art. He was also an avid reader, and his letters reflect his literary pursuits, including his appreciation for the works of Balzac, Zola, Voltaire, Flaubert, George Eliot, Charlotte Brontë, and Charles Dickens.
The correspondence between the brothers played a crucial role in shaping the public's perception of van Gogh as a "tortured genius". Theo, a successful art dealer, financially supported Vincent for ten years, showcasing his work and providing emotional support during his mental health struggles. The letters also showcase the close bond between the brothers, with Vincent confiding in Theo about his worries, his experiences with love, and his artistic pursuits.
The publication of these letters has provided invaluable insight into the life and mind of Vincent van Gogh, allowing readers to trace his artistic journey and gain a deeper understanding of his work.
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His early life and apprenticeship
Vincent van Gogh was born on 30 March 1853 in the village of Zundert in the southern Netherlands. He was the oldest surviving child of Theodorus van Gogh, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, an artist with a love for nature, drawing and watercolours. Vincent was named after his brother, who was stillborn on the same date a year earlier. He had five younger siblings: two brothers, Theo and Cor, and three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and Willemien. The family often went on walks in the countryside, fostering in Vincent a love of nature.
At the age of 11, Vincent transferred from the village school in Zundert to a boarding school in Zevenbergen. He later took a job as a trainee at the international art dealer Goupil & Cie, working at the branch in The Hague that had been set up by his uncle. Vincent's first surviving letter dates from these years, marking the beginning of a lifelong correspondence with his younger brother, Theo. Vincent was transferred to the London branch of Goupil & Cie in 1872, the same year that Theo started work for the company in Brussels. Vincent's time at Goupil & Cie exposed him to contemporary art, but he would soon move on to other occupations, including religious work and a stint as a bookseller.
In 1880, Vincent van Gogh began his career as an artist. He had dabbled in drawing as a child and his mother's artistic influence may have played a role in this. In March 1881, he engaged in a brief period of study with Anton Mauve, a master in The Hague School of Art. Mauve introduced van Gogh to watercolours and oils, and the artist completed his first paintings, including Still Life With Cabbage and Clogs and View of the Sea at Scheveningen. The latter work, completed in August 1882, is an early example of van Gogh's focus on landscapes.
In 1882 and 1883, van Gogh continued to hone his technique while living in The Hague. He received his first commissions for several drawings of cityscapes from an uncle who was an art dealer. During this time, van Gogh also experienced a failed love affair and the death of his father. In 1885, he completed his first major work, The Potato Eaters, and a series of "peasant character studies".
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His posthumous popularity
Vincent van Gogh's fame began to spread in France and Belgium during the last year of his life, and in the years after his death in the Netherlands and Germany. In the century after his death, he became one of the most recognised painters of all time.
Van Gogh's posthumous popularity is largely owed to his brother, Theo van Gogh, and Theo's widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (known as "Jo"). In the final two years of his life, Vincent had gained recognition among the avant-garde, and his work had been displayed in exhibitions in Paris and Brussels. After Vincent's death, Theo wanted to raise the profile of his brother's work, but he died just six months later. It was then left to Johanna to promote Vincent's artwork. She organised several exhibitions, sold artworks, and loaned others out. She also published his letters to Theo, providing valuable insight into Vincent's artistic process and allowing the world to appreciate his talent and artistic vision.
In 1914, Johanna published the letters exchanged between Vincent and Theo from 1872 onwards in three volumes. The publication of the letters helped spread the mystique of Vincent van Gogh throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The letters were described as having a "diary-like intimacy" and read in parts like an autobiography. They also provided a fresh dimension to the understanding of Van Gogh's artistic achievement.
In 1924, Roger Fry published an essay titled "Vincent van Gogh", in which he described the artist as "a saint" of art, canonising him as "the victim of the terrible intensity of his convictions". Fry's essay set the agenda for many subsequent Van Gogh studies, which are predominantly biographical to this day.
In the late 20th century, Van Gogh's work sold for record-breaking sums at auctions around the world and was featured in blockbuster touring exhibitions. Van Gogh's fame and recognition reached unprecedented heights, and he became an iconic figure whose impact on the art world continues to reverberate today.
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Frequently asked questions
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is considered one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art.
Vincent van Gogh was born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, North Brabant, in the Netherlands.
Vincent van Gogh entered an apprenticeship at his uncle's branch of Goupil & Cie, a Paris-based art dealership, at 16. He also studied with Anton Mauve, a master in The Hague School of Art, who introduced him to watercolours and oils.
Vincent van Gogh's most famous paintings include Sunflowers, Irises, The Starry Night, and The Red Vineyard.
Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, also known as The Red Vineyards near Arles.
