Vincent van Gogh

 Vincent van Gogh

    Dutch painter

                                                

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. He was not commercially successful, and his suicide at 37 came after years of mental illness, depression and poverty.

Born into an upper-middle-class family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet, and thoughtful. As a young man he worked as an art dealer, often travelling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881, having moved back home with his parents. His younger brother Theo supported him financially, and the two kept a long correspondence by letter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, contain few signs of the vivid colour that distinguished his later work. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and local landscapes. His paintings grew brighter in colour as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the south of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include series of olive trees, wheat fields and sunflowers.

Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor when, in a rage, he severed part of his own left ear. He spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he came under the care of the homoeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. His depression continued and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a Lefaucheux revolver. He died from his injuries two days later.

Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and he was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide and exists in the public imagination as a misunderstood genius, the artist "where discourses on madness and creativity converge". His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century as elements of his painting style came to be incorporated by the Fauves and German Expressionists. He attained widespread critical, commercial and popular success over the ensuing decades, and he is remembered as an important but tragic painter, whose troubled personality typifies the romantic ideal of the tortured artist. Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings to have ever sold, and his legacy is honoured by a museum in his name, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.

The Starry Night	Van Gogh self-portrait	The Potato Eaters
Café Terrace at Night	Irises	The Night Café
Starry Night Over the Rhône	Wheatfield with Crows	Almond Blossoms
At Eternity's Gate	Bedroom in Arles	Cypresses
The Church at Auvers	Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear	Portrait of Père Tanguy
Road with Cypress and Star	Vase with Twelve Sunflowers	La Mousmé

Source : From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here, "Van Gogh" takes a different meaning. Regarding additional applications, see Vincent van Gogh and Van Gogh (disambiguation) (disambiguation).

It's van Gogh, not Gogh, that follows this Dutch name.

Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent Willem van Gogh rose to prominence after his death as one of the most well-known and significant characters in Western art history. He produced around 2,100 pieces of art in a ten-year period, including about 860 oil paintings, the majority of which were produced in the final two years of his life. These works, which range from landscapes to still lifes to portraits and self-portraits, are distinguished by their use of vibrant colors and dramatic, spontaneous, and expressive brushstrokes, which helped lay the groundwork for modern art. He did not have much commercial success, and at the age of 37, while suffering from acute melancholy and destitution, he took his own life.

A family from the upper middle class gave birth to Van Gogh. He was serious, quiet, and contemplative when he was younger. Early on, he learned to sketch, and as a young man, he worked as an art dealer, frequently travelling. However, after being relocated to London, he started to feel unhappy. He became religious and served as a missionary for a while in southern Belgium. He lingered in poor health and seclusion until beginning to paint in 1881 after going back to live with his parents. He received financial help from his younger brother Theo, with whom he maintained a close letter-writing relationship.

His early works, which mostly consisted of still lifes and representations of rural labourers, lacked the vibrant color that would eventually come to define his style. He relocated to Paris in 1886, when he came into contact with avant-garde artists like Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin who were rejecting the Impressionist aesthetic. He gained a fresh perspective on still life and landscape as his work progressed. As he established a style that was completely realized while he was living in Arles in the South of France in 1888, his paintings become brighter. He expanded his subject matter at this time to include a number of olive trees, wheat fields, and sunflowers.

Although Van Gogh was concerned about his mental stability and had psychotic episodes and delusions, he frequently ignored his physical health, did not eat well, and drank excessively. After an altercation in which Van Gogh cut off a portion of his own left ear with a razor in a fit of passion, their friendship was cut short. He then spent time in mental health facilities, including a stay at Saint-Rémy. He travelled to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-Sur-Oise, close to Paris, and emptied himself before being treated by the homoeopath Paul Gachet. As his despair lingered, Van Gogh is said to have shot himself in the chest on July 27, 1890, with a handgun. He was believed to have died from his wounds two days later.

Van Gogh was primarily regarded as a failure and a maniac throughout his lifetime, and his paintings did not sell, despite certain collectors realizing the worth of his work. His notoriety didn't begin until after his passing when he transformed into a misunderstood genius in the public's mind. As the Fauves and German Expressionists adopted aspects of his style in the early 20th century, his fame soared. Over the succeeding decades, he earned broad acclaim and financial success. He is recognized as a significant but tragic painter whose disturbed psyche epitomizes the romantic ideal of the persecuted artist.

Van Gogh's paintings are currently among the most valuable paintings ever sold, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which houses the biggest collection of his paintings and sketches worldwide, honours his legacy.