Early Life
"If you hear a voice within you saying, “You are not a painter, then by all means paint, boy, and that voice will be silenced, but only by working." -Vincent van Gogh, Letter to brother, 28 October 1883
Young Vincent Van Gogh
Source: Idle Speculations |
Vincent van Gogh, or Vincent Willem van Gogh, was born on March 30, 1853 to a minister and an artist. He was born a year after his stillborn brother, also named Vincent van Gogh. At 15, he left school to work at his uncle's art gallery, Goupil & Cie. He was fluent in multiple languages by this time alongside his native Dutch. He was transferred to the London branch of the gallery and while working there, grew to admire English culture.
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While he was in England, he fell in love with Eugenie Loyar, but with her rejection, he suffered a breakdown. He devoted his life to God after this and was fired from his job at the art gallery. He started to preach to a Methodist Boy's School and preached to the congregation. He decided to take the entrance exam at the School of Theology in Amsterdam but ultimately dropped out after refusing to take the Latin portion of the test.
In 1878, Vincent moved to a coal mine in Belgium, where people were usually sent as punishment. He was well-liked by the community because he draw pictures of the residents and ministered to the sick. This displeased the evangelical committees, they were not happy with his martyr-like lifestyle, and his contract was not renewed.
In 1878, Vincent moved to a coal mine in Belgium, where people were usually sent as punishment. He was well-liked by the community because he draw pictures of the residents and ministered to the sick. This displeased the evangelical committees, they were not happy with his martyr-like lifestyle, and his contract was not renewed.
Picture of Van Gogh
Source: Wikimedia |
After this, he decided to move to Brussels and take up art. His brother, Theo, offered to support him financially, so he began to take lessons and study books by famous artists of his time. Vincent had a terrible love life and fell in love in with his cousin Kate, but she was repulsed by him. He then found Clasina Maria Hoornik, a prostitute. She soon became his mistress, but when she left, he became severely depressed. After this, he traveled as a nomad in the Netherlands.
In 1885, he painted his first great work, "Potato Eaters", and van Gogh traveled to Paris. He showed up to his brother's home unannounced, but Theo accepted him. In Paris, he was inspired by Impressionism and studied under Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, and others. He often alienated himself with his temper and his bickering. He also discovered Japanese art and began studying eastern philosophies. He moved to Arles, France, lived in his "little yellow house", and began to favor painting over his health. He lived on bread, coffee, and absinthe and was known to sip on turpentine and paint. These habits declined his psychological and physical health. |
Source: Wikimedia
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His brother worried, so he hired Paul Gauguin, a fellow artist, to watch over Gogh. The two argued constantly and soon after, van Gogh cut off part of his ear. His brother came to see him in the hospital the next day. Van Gogh was released from the hospital after he recovered, but he was depressed and lonely and, when he could not find peace in his paintings, he was admitted to the hospital again.
The people of the town signed a petition against van Gogh, and he moved to an asylum in another part of France. He would paint in the hospital garden and he was invited to show his paintings in Brussels. Around the time that his brother had a child, named after van Gogh, Vincent rented a room under a doctor. |