Van Gogh - A Complete Biography

In one of the many letters that Van Gogh sent to his brother, Theo, at the start of his career, he said "I want to do drawings that will touch some lives". I want to make a difference. It was very important to Van Gogh that his paintings were appreciated on a very deep and personal level. He signed his art, simply, Vincent. By doing so he hoped that he would be able to reach out through his art to his audience, and connect to them on a very intimate basis. Vincent put everything into his paintings; his soul, his very being and he would toil for many hours for the perfection of his craft.

He wanted people to be able to feel the emotions that he put into his work. His joy, pain and his frustrations through the language of his Art, but he realised sadly that this probably was not to be. Instead they would appreciate them visually. "the truth is, we can only make our pictures speak." he wrote to his brother Theo, whom he shared a lifelong bond with; and he communicated with him, at all times throughout his life, through the medium of letter. Van Gogh's deep passion and fevered artistry came alive in his paintings. I think his brush strokes tell a thousand stories and there is a striking and fervent life to them.

His wild and swirling brush strokes on his Sunflowers speak quite clearly; as do his stark and uncompromising self-portraits.

Vincent Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland. A nervous and highly strung young man who lacked in confidence. His moods swung between fits of madness and moments of lucidity. He was Diagnosed an epileptic, but it was possible that he was also suffering from some form of manic depression. He suffered hallucinations, delirium and psychosis. It must of been very hard for Van Gogh to be able to concentrate on his work for long periods of time, as his illness was never very far away from him.

His early years saw Vincent flit from profession to profession. At the age of sixteen, wanting to become an Art dealer, Van Gogh took a job at the Haig Art Gallery in the year 1870. After a short spell here Van Gogh decided that this was not for him, but instead he decided to follow his father into devoting his life to the evangelizing of the poor and needy, and began to work closely with the miners and their families. It is here that Van Gogh got his fascination with peasants and their tough, weathered skin. He was to paint many pheasants toiling in the field, and was struck and embroiled with skin and the lines that form upon it from worry, the harsh outdoor weather and age. It was working with the miners, and studying their lifestyles, that Van Gogh would find invaluable and he used this to draw upon for inspiration when creating his peasant images.

His main love in painting was figures and it was this that he liked to specialise in. His early work was using drab and dark colouring and his painting 'The Potato eaters' bears all signs of this. It was when he went to Paris and began to mingle with the impressionists, and post impressionists that he found his love of vibrant colour and the work of the Japanese artists. He also emulated the likes of Goguin and his contempories by using the short brush strokes of the impressionist. It was now that his work was beginning to take form, and his unmistakeable style was beginning to develop.

The swirling brush strokes and vivid colours of the sunflowers which he painted bears all the signs that Van Gogh had found his artistic home and his work flourished from here on in.

Van Gogh lacked direction and he thought back to his days working at the Art Gallery and longed to be surrounded by great art once again but in a more involved way. He also had a huge inbuilt desire that he should leave something behind for future generations to remember him by. So with his brother Theo's insistence and funding, Vincent became an Artist.

Vincent was not a natural artist, neither was he artistic, but by self tuition, many hours of practice, and a spell at Art school he slowly but surely learnt his craft. His early work encapsulates on canvas an artist truly discovering his passion.

Van Gogh practiced plein air painting, which is painting outside. He wanted to experience the light and shade and changing sky patterns, and capture this in his work. He also had a real passion for studying the working poor whilst living in the Netherlands.

It was around this time that Van Gogh began a relationship with a pregnant prostitute called Sien Hoomik who he used as a model for his practice. Vincent was unstable and volatile, with his mental health worsening all the time, there was much concern to those around him. He was very erratic, had hallucinations and outbursts of violence. Through periods of calm he feverishly painted many paintings. Through his lows, these were black and unproductive times where he questioned his worth and his sanity.

Vincents attention had been caught by the paintings of a French artist called Jean-Franqois Millet whose works included paintings of peasant life. He was a realist painter and Van Gogh was taken with his work and admired his style and began to emulate the way in which he constructed the shapes of his figures. His fascination with the poor of the land escalated and particularly with their weathered skin and he worked hard to make every fine detail stand out and appear real. It was at this time in 1885 that Van Gogh's, 'The Potato Eaters' was created. Vincent hoped to impress the exclusive Art world with this painting, but alas it was not to be; Not at that point in time. His drab feel and colouring to his painting failed to excite, but this was all soon to change.

"Realism is an approach to art in which subjects are depicted in as straightforward a manner as possible, without idealizing them and without following rules of formal artistic theory.

The earliest Realist work began to appear in the 18th century, in a reaction to the excesses of Romanticism and Neoclassicism. This is evident in John Singleton Copley's paintings, and some of the works of Goya. But the great Realist era was the middle of the 19th century, as artists became disillusioned with the artifice of the Salons and the influence of the Academies.

Realism came closest to being an organized movement in France, inspiring artists such as Camille Corot, Jean-Francois Millet and the Barbizon School of landscape painters. Besides Copley, American Realists included the painters Thomas Eakins, and Henry Ossawa Tanner, both of whom studied in France.

French Realism was a guiding influence on the philosophy of the Impressionists. The Ashcan School artists, the American Scene painters, and, much later, on the Contemporary Realists are all following the American Realist tradition".

As time went by Vincent hit his pinnacle, and produced works which are his signature today. He painted four extraorinary Sunflowers paintings which he had done for friend and fellow Artist, Paul Gauguin to hang in his bedroom. Gauguin had moved to Arles to share a house with Van Gogh.

Vincent had a grand vision at this time, of opening an Art school in his 'yellow house' in Arles, and after Gauguin joined him, he thought the rest of the Impressionists would follow to establish an Art community. But sadly this was not to be. Vincent's time at the yellow house was very productive and he painted many of his great paintings which we instantly associate with Van Gogh.

Vincent's mental health was fast on the decline. He was poverty stricken and starving, and began to eat the very thing that was his life; his paint. Being lead based this further drove him into a delirium and psycosis. After a huge row with Paul Goguin, Vincent was left in a desolate state. Morose and maudlin, in a fit of self mutilation, as one theory has it, he severed his left ear and handed it to a prostitute as a gift. He then proceeded to capture himself in this state, in a self portrait.

At this point in his life,Vincent Van Gogh was leaving the realms of sanity and descending into madness. The absinthe certanly did not help, and he consumed large amounts of this. The paint was poisoning his system and his nerves were extremely fragile. He was now friendless also, as Gaugin had fled after the incident with the ear. Van Gogh was at an all time low.

With his dreams of an Art community shattered, and feeling that there was no further purpose for him in life, Vincent committed himself to an asylum. It was here, between bouts of psychosis, that Vincent painted his renowned piece,'Starry Nights'. His furore of frenzied painting from inside the asylum was startling. In fact most of his artwork was actually achieved when he was staying at one of the many hospitals he retreated to. During his manic highs work was abundant, and during the lows, his epilepsy and depression further reinforced in his own mind, that he was not for this world.

All he ever wanted to do with his Art, was to reach out and touch people with the emotion in his paintings. His wild abandoned brush strokes displayed quite clearly, the turmoil within the man, and one day whilst out working on a new picture in the wheat fields, Vincent shot himself in the chest. He died from his injuries two days later, with his brother at his side.

On his coffin were laid dahliah and sunflowers; his favourite flowers and his favourite colour. Upon the walls where his grave lay were all his most recent canvases. -

Van Gogh never achieved what he was after in his own lifetime, but he left behind him a great legacy. He was a unique artist of his time, and I would say that his insanity lends itself to his art. Without this depth of passion, troubled soul and desperate need to put his whole self into his paintings, would Van Gogh have produced such masterpieces?

'Van Gogh produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life'. Vincent Van Gogh was also a pioneer of Expressionism. "He had an enormous influence on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists".

- Vincent Van Gogh 30 March 1853 - 29 July 1890 -

His final days

2009 Art Calendars:
Vincent Van Gogh 2009 Calendar
2009 Art Calendar
30 x 30 cm

Sunflowers
Van Gogh 28" Fine Art Print on Canvas

Vincent Van Gogh:
A Self-portrait in Art and Letters

Reeves
Oil Painting By Numbers Van Goghs Starry Night