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: 4.07 · 94,211 ratings · 1,185 reviews · 249 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Letters of Vincent van Gogh by Vincent van Gogh, Ronald de Leeuw (Editor), Arnold J. Pomerans (Translator) 4.05 avg rating — 76,080 ratings — published 1914 — 43 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) 4.13 avg rating — 13,942 ratings — published 1914 — 105 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's Colors by Vincent van Gogh (Words and Pictures), Metropolitan Museum of Art, William Lach (Editor) 4.17 avg rating — 371 ratings — published 2005 — 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
	Van Gogh's Letters: The Mind of the Artist in Paintings, Drawings, and Words, 1875-1890 by Vincent van Gogh (Editor), H. Anna Suh 4.58 avg rating — 262 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
	Van Gogh: Avenel Art Library by Vincent van Gogh, Alberto Martini 4.29 avg rating — 214 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 4.42 avg rating — 231 ratings — published 1979 — 20 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 (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 4.34 avg rating — 148 ratings — published 1990 — 7 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
	المخلص دوما، فنسنت: الجواهر من رسائل فان جوخ by Vincent van Gogh, Leo Jansen (Editor), Hans Luijten (Editor) 4.41 avg rating — 210 ratings — published 2014 — 3 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 (vol. iii of iii) 4.58 avg rating — 141 ratings — published 1958 — 7 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: 500 Masterpieces in Color (Illustrated) 4.49 avg rating — 99 ratings — published 2011	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

5145 likes

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

tags: art, dreams, inspiration, painting

4205 likes

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

3627 likes

See all Vincent van Gogh's quotes »

Polls

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1 vote 12.5%

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