Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Van Gogh Biography

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

        Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Holland. He was the son of a pastor, brought up in a religious household. Vincent was very 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, where he was fired for too much enthusiasm. 
He stayed in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are easy-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, met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark colors and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists. His nervous temperament made him a difficult friend, and all-night discussions combined with painting all day lowered 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. Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to leave Arles. Van Gogh chased after  him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and having a peace of mind, and was sent to the mental asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.
            Van Gogh died in 1890, in the Netherlands.

Posted by: Stinkyfoot

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