Vincent van Gogh

Born

in Zundert, Netherlands

March 30, 1853

Died

July 29, 1890

Website

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/

Genre

Art, Memoir, Biography

Influences

Anton Mauve, Jean-François Millet, Jozef Israëls, Adolphe Joseph Thoma ...more

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Vincent Willem van Gogh, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland. The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness. He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are somber-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "Th Vincent Willem van Gogh, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland. The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness. He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are somber-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "The Potato Eaters" (1885). In that year van Gogh went to Antwerp where he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints.

In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists. His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health. He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art. Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. In a fit of epilepsy, van Gogh pursued his friend with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.

In May of 1890, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Two months later he was dead, having shot himself "for the good of all." During his brief career he had sold one painting. Van Gogh's finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brushstroke, in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line. Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature. ...more

Combine Editions
Vincent van Gogh's Books

Average rating: 3.98 · 44,209 ratings · 447 reviews · 215 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Letters of Vincent van Gogh by Vincent van Gogh, Ronald de Leeuw (Editor), Arnold J. Pomerans (Translator) 3.94 avg rating — 33,981 ratings — published 1963 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dear Theo by Vincent van Gogh, Irving Stone (Editor), Jean Stone (Editor) 4.08 avg rating — 8,368 ratings — published 1937 — 59 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Van Gogh: Avenel Art Library by Vincent van Gogh, Alberto Martini 4.23 avg rating — 175 ratings — published 1988	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Van Gogh Portfolio 4.34 avg rating — 157 ratings — published 1979 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Van Gogh's Letters: The Mind of the Artist in Paintings, Drawings, and Words, 1875-1890 by Vincent van Gogh, H. Anna Suh 4.58 avg rating — 101 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letters from Provence by Vincent van Gogh, Martin Bailey (Introduction) 4.26 avg rating — 109 ratings — published 1990 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Van Gogh in Arles 4.37 avg rating — 87 ratings — published 2010 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh 4.52 avg rating — 87 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Van Gogh on Art and Artists: Letters to Emile Bernard by Vincent van Gogh, Douglas Cooper, Douglas Lord (Editor) 4.26 avg rating — 70 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vincent Van Gogh: Between Earth and Heaven: The Landscapes by Vincent van Gogh (Illustrations), Walter Feilchenfeldt, Gottfried Boehm 4.46 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 2009 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Vincent van Gogh…

Quotes by Vincent van Gogh

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”
― Vincent van Gogh

tags: art, inspiration, love, strength

3841 likes

“Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.”
― Vincent van Gogh

3180 likes

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”
― Vincent van Gogh

tags: art, dreams, inspiration, painting

3111 likes

See all Vincent van Gogh's quotes »

Polls

What the heck book should we read in November?

The Empathy Exams: Essays by Leslie Jamison

4 votes 50.0%

The Letters of Vincent van Gogh by Vincent van Gogh

2 votes 25.0%

Just Kids by Patti Smith

1 vote 12.5%

An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World by William T. Vollmann

1 vote 12.5%

The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration & 9/11 by David Ray Griffin

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Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, And 3 RVs On Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure by David Rosenfelt

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

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8 total votes

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