Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890

Vincent van Gogh was born in 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Holland.  His parents were Anna Cornelia Carbentus and Reverend Theodorus van Gogh. Vincent had three sisters and two brothers and was brought up in a religious and creative household.   Van Gogh’s first love for art began to show at the age of 16 when he went to work for the Hague gallery which was run by French art dealers Goupil et Cie. Van Gogh remained with this company for about 5 years and was relocated several times. While working for the art dealers, some of his early admirations were for realistic art painters Jean-Francois Millet and Jules Breton.  Even though he had a love for art work, he soon lost interest in dealing art and decided to become a clergyman.  In 1876, after leaving Goupils, van Gogh made several attemts to become a preacher.  Eventually, he turned to artwork as a way to get his message across. He studied art in Belgium before moving to Paris to live with his brother, Théo who managed an art gallery.  After Paris, he moved to Arles where he hoped to start an art school with his closest friend, Gauguin.  His bourgeoning plans for a progressive school for art were cut short when he and Gauguin began to have heated disagreements.  Vincent began to show signs of psychosis.  During a particularly emotional fight, van Gogh attacked his friend but ended up cutting part of his own left ear off.  After the incident, van Gogh's dreams of teaching art vanished.  Van Gogh suffered from epilepsy and his mental state slowly disintegrated to periods of dissociative states coupled with lucidity.  The last months of his life were spent with Dr. Gachet who was working to help Vincent with his physical and psychological problems.  While he was alive, van Gogh only sold one painting.  The majority of his now infamous work was created in a three year period toward the end of his life.  Sadly, on July 27th 1890 van Gogh shot himself in the chest and returned home only to die two days later on July 29th with his brother Theo at his side. He was buried in Auvers on July 30th.  Saddened by his brother’s death, Theo soon became sick and died 6 months later. Theo’s wife and son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, inherited Van Gogh’s paintings and later donated his work to the Vincent van Gogh foundation.

(adapted from www.vangoghgallery.com)