Vincent Van Gogh, who gave the world his Sunflowers and Starry Night, was one of the greatest creators of all time. A small grave in the countryside of France has become a resting place for him. He fell asleep forever among the landscapes that he left in his famous paintings. Van Gogh is an artist who will never be forgotten. For the sake of art, he sacrificed everything ...
Unique talent gifted by nature
"There is something in color from a delightful symphony." Behind these words stood a creative genius. Moreover, he was smart and sensitive. The entire depth and lifestyle of this person is often misinterpreted. Van Gogh, whose biography has been carefully studied by many generations, is the most incomprehensible creator in the history of art.
First of all, the reader must understand that Vincent is not only the one who went crazy and shot himself. Many people know that Van Gogh cut off his ear, and someone - that he painted a whole series of paintings about sunflowers. But there are very few who really understand what talent Vincent had, what unique gift he was awarded by nature.
The sad birth of a great creator
On March 30, 1853, the cry of a newborn child cut through the silence. The long-awaited baby was born in the family of Anna Cornelia and pastor Theodore Van Gogh. This happened a year after the tragic death of their first child, who died in a matter of hours after birth. When registering this baby, identical information was indicated, and the long-awaited son was given the name of the lost child - Vincent William.
So in the rural wilderness in the south of the Netherlands began the saga of one of the most famous artists of the world. His birth was associated with sad events. It was a child conceived after a bitter loss, born to people who still mourned their deceased firstborn.
Vincent's childhood
Every Sunday, this red-haired freckled boy went to church, where he listened to the sermons of his parent. His father was a minister of the Dutch Protestant church, and Vincent Van Gogh grew up in accordance with the standards of upbringing adopted in religious families.
At the time of Vincent there was an unwritten rule. The eldest son must follow in the footsteps of his father. So it was supposed to happen. This placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of young Van Gogh. While the boy was sitting on a church bench listening to his father’s sermons, he fully understood what was expected of him. And, of course, then Vincent Van Gogh, whose biography was still not connected with art, did not know that in the future he would decorate his father’s Bible with illustrations.
Between art and religious drives
The church occupied an important place in the life of Vincent and had a great influence on him. Being a sensitive and impressionable person, he was torn between his religious zeal and craving for art throughout his hectic life.
In 1857, his brother Theo was born. None of the boys then suspected that Theo would play a big role in Vincent’s life. They spent many happy days. They walked for a long time among the surrounding fields and knew all the paths around.
The giftedness of young Vincent
Nature in the rural outback, where Vincent Van Gogh was born and raised, will later become a red thread that runs through all his art. The hard work of the peasants left a deep impression in his soul. He developed a romantic perception of rural life, respected the inhabitants of this area and was proud of their proximity. After all, they earned their living by honest and hard work.
Vincent Van Gogh was a man who adored everything connected with nature. He saw beauty in everything. The boy often painted and did this with such a feeling and attention to details, which are often characteristic of a more mature age. He demonstrated the skills and mastery of an experienced artist. Vincent was truly gifted.
Communication with her mother and her love of art
Vincent's mother, Anna Cornelia, was a good artist and strongly supported her son's love of nature. He often took walks alone, enjoying the peace and quiet of endless fields and canals. When twilight thickened and fog fell, Van Gogh returned to a cozy house, where the fire crackled pleasantly and his mother knocked to the beat of him.
She loved art and had extensive correspondence. Vincent took over her habit. He wrote letters until the end of his days. Thanks to this, Van Gogh, whose biography began to be studied by specialists after his death, could not only reveal his feelings, but also recreate many events related to his life.
Mother and son spent long hours together. They painted with pencil and paints, had lengthy discussions about their love of art and nature, uniting them. Father, meanwhile, was in his office, preparing for Sunday's sermon in the church.
Rural life away from politics
The impressive Sündert administration building was directly opposite their home. Once Vincent painted the capital of this building, looking out the window of his bedroom, located on the top floor. Later, he repeatedly depicted scenes seen from this window. Looking at his talented drawings of that period, one can hardly believe that he was only nine years old.
Contrary to the expectations of his father, a passion for drawing and nature was rooted in the boy. He collected an impressive collection of insects and knew what they are all called in Latin. Very soon his friends became ivy and moss in a moist dense forest. At heart, he was a true rural boy, explored the Sündert canals, caught a net of tadpoles.
Van Gogh's life passed away from politics, wars and all other events taking place in the world. His world was formed around beautiful flowers, interesting, inspiring books and pacifying landscapes.
Communication with peers or home education?
Unfortunately, his special attitude to nature made him an outcast among other village children. He was not popular. The remaining boys were mainly the sons of peasants, they loved the commotion of rural life. Sensitive and sensitive Vincent, who was interested in books and nature, did not fit into their society.
The life of young Van Gogh was not easy. Parents worried that other boys would badly influence his behavior. Then, unfortunately, Pastor Theodore found out that Vincent’s teacher was too much into drinking, and then the parents decided that the child should be freed from such influence. Until the age of eleven, the boy studied at home, and then his father decided that he needed to get a more serious education.
Further education: boarding school
Young Van Gogh, whose biography, interesting facts and personal life of which today interest a huge number of people, goes in 1864 to a boarding school in Sevenbergen. This is a small village located about twenty-five kilometers from his home. But for Vincent, she was like the other end of the world. The boy was sitting in the wagon next to his parents, and the more the walls of the boarding school approached, the harder it became in his heart. Soon he will part with his family.
Vincent will be homesick for his whole life. Isolation from his family left a deep imprint in his life. Van Gogh was an intelligent child and was drawn to knowledge. While studying at a boarding school, he showed tremendous ability in languages, and this later came in handy in his life. Vincent was fluent and wrote in French, English, Dutch and German. So Van Gogh spent his childhood. A brief biography of the young years could not convey all those character traits that were laid down already from childhood and subsequently influenced the fate of the artist.
Studying in Tilburg, or an incomprehensible story that happened to a boy
In 1866, the boy was thirteen years old, and primary education came to an end. Vincent became a very serious young man, whose look read boundless longing. He is sent even further from home to Tilburg. He begins his studies at a public boarding school. Here Vincent first met with city life.
Four hours a week were allocated for the study of art, which was rare at the time. Mr. Haysmans taught this subject. He was a successful artist and ahead of his time. As models for the work of his students, he used figurines of people and stuffed animals. The teacher also encouraged children to paint landscapes and even took children to nature.
Everything was going well, and Vincent easily passed the exams for the first year. But over the next year, something went wrong. Van Gogh's attitude to study and work has changed dramatically. Therefore, in March 1868, he leaves school right in the middle of the school period and arrives home. What did Vincent Van Gogh survive at Tilburg School? A short biography of this period, unfortunately, does not provide any information about this. Nevertheless, these events left a deep mark in the soul of the young man.
Choosing a Life Path
There was a long pause in Vincent's life. At home, he spent fifteen long months, not daring to choose one or another life path. When he was sixteen, he wanted to find his calling to devote his whole life to him. The days passed uselessly, he needed to find a goal. Parents understood that something needs to be done and turned for help to their father’s brother, who lives in The Hague. He headed an art trading company and could have employed Vincent. This idea was brilliant.
If a young man shows diligence, he will become the heir to his rich uncle, who did not have his own children. Vincent, tired of the leisurely life of his native places, happily leaves for The Hague, the administrative center of Holland. In the summer of 1869, Van Gogh, whose biography will now be directly related to art, begins his career.
Vincent became an employee at Gupil. His mentor lived in France and collected works by artists of the Barbizon school. At that time in this country were fond of landscapes. Uncle Van Gogh dreamed of the appearance of such masters in Holland. He becomes the inspiration for the Hague School. Vincent had the opportunity to meet many artists.
Art is the main thing in life
Acquainted with the affairs of the company, Van Gogh had to learn how to negotiate with customers. And while Vincent was a junior employee, he grabbed the clothes of people coming to the gallery, served as a porter. The young man was inspired by the world of art surrounding him. One of the artists of the Barbizon school was Jean Francois Millet. His painting "Ears of Ears" found a response in the soul of Vincent. It became a kind of icon for the artist until the very end of life. Millet portrayed the peasants at work in a special manner that was close to Van Gogh.
In 1870, Vincent met Anton Mauve, who eventually became his close friend. Van Gogh was a laconic, restrained person, predisposed to depression. He sincerely sympathized with people who were less fortunate in life than he. Vincent took his father’s sermons very seriously. After a working day, he went to private theology classes.
Van Gogh's other passion was books. He is fond of French history and poetry, and also becomes a fan of English writers. In March 1871, Vincent turned eighteen years old. By this time, he had already realized that art was a very important component of his life. His younger brother Theo at that time turned fifteen, and he came for a vacation to Vincent. This trip left a deep impression on both.
They even made a promise that they would take care of each other for the rest of their lives, no matter what happened. From this period, active correspondence begins, conducted by Theo and Van Gogh. The artist’s biography will subsequently replenish with important facts precisely thanks to these letters. 670 messages of Vincent have reached today.
Trip to London. Important stage of life
Vincent spent four years in The Hague. It is time to move on. Saying goodbye to friends and colleagues, he prepared to leave for London. This stage of life will become very important for him. Soon Vincent settled in the English capital. The Gupil branch was located in the very center of the business district. Chestnuts with sprawling branches grew on the streets. Van Gogh loved these trees and often mentioned this in his letters to his family.
A month later, his knowledge of English expanded. The masters of art intrigued him, he liked Gainsborough and Turner, but he remained faithful to the art that he loved in The Hague. To save money, Vincent moves out of the apartment rented for him by Gupil in the market area and rents a room in a new Victorian house.
He liked living with Mrs. Ursula. The mistress of the house was a widow. She and her nineteen-year-old daughter, Eugene, rented rooms and carried out teaching activities in order to somehow make ends meet. Over time, Vincent began to have very deep feelings for Eugene, but did not betray them. He could write about this only to his relatives.
Severe psychological shock
Dickens was one of Vincent's idols. He was deeply affected by the death of the writer, and he expressed all his pain in the symbolic drawing made shortly after such a sad event. It was an image of an empty chair. Van Gogh, whose paintings became very famous, painted a large number of such chairs. For him, it has become a symbol of the departure of man.
Vincent describes the first year in London as one of the happiest. He was in love with absolutely everything and still dreamed of Eugenia. She conquered his heart. Van Gogh tried his best to please her, offering his help in various matters. After a while, Vincent nevertheless confessed to the girl his feelings and announced that they should get married. But Eugene refused him, as she was already secretly engaged. Van Gogh was devastated. His dream of love was shattered.
He locked himself in, spoke little at work and at home. He began to eat a little. The realities of life dealt Vincent a severe psychological blow. He begins to draw again, and this partly helps him find peace and distracts from the heavy thoughts and shock that Van Gogh experienced. Pictures gradually heal the soul of the artist. The mind was absorbed in creativity. He went into another dimension, which is characteristic of many creative people.
A change of scenery. Paris and homecoming
Vincent became lonely again. He began to pay more attention to street beggars and squatters inhabiting the slums of London, and this only intensified his depression. He wanted to change something. At work, he showed apathy, which began to seriously disturb his leadership.
It was decided to send him to the Paris branch of the company in order to change the situation and, possibly, dispel depression. But even there, Van Gogh could not be cured of loneliness and already in 1877 returned home to work as a priest in the church, leaving his ambitions to become an artist.
A year later, Van Gogh received the position of a parish priest in a mining village. It was a thankless job. The life of the miners greatly impressed the artist. He decided to share their fate and even began to dress like them. Church representatives were concerned about his behavior and two years later he was removed from office. But the time spent in the village had a beneficial effect. Life among miners awakened a special talent in Vincent, and he began to paint again. He created a huge number of sketches of men and women carrying bags of coal. Van Gogh finally decided for himself to become an artist. It is from this moment in his life that a new period begins.
Regular bouts of depression and homecoming
The artist Van Gogh, whose biography repeatedly mentions that his parents refused to supply him with money due to instability in his career, was a pauper. He began to help his younger brother Theo, who was engaged in the sale of paintings in Paris. Over the next five years, Vincent perfected his technique. Equipped with his brother's money, he goes on a trip to the Netherlands. He makes sketches, paints in oil and watercolor.
Wanting to find his own pictorial style, in 1881, Van Gogh ends up in The Hague. Here he rents an apartment near the sea. This was the beginning of a long-term relationship of the artist with his environment. In times of despair and depression, nature was part of Vincent's life. She was for him the personification of the struggle for existence. He had no money, he often went hungry. Parents who did not approve of the artist’s lifestyle turned away completely from him.
Theo arrives in The Hague and convinces his brother to return home. At the age of thirty, a beggar and desperate Van Gogh arrives at his parents' home. There he arranges a small workshop for himself and begins to make sketches of local residents and buildings. During this period, his palette becomes muffled. Canvas Van Gogh come out all in taupe. In winter, people have more time, and the artist uses them as his models.
It was at this time in Vincent's work that sketches of the hands of farmers and people picking potatoes appeared. "Potato Eaters" is Van Gogh's first significant canvas, which he wrote in 1885, at the age of thirty-two. The most important part of the work is the hands of people. Strong, used to work in the field, harvesting. The artist’s talent has finally burst out.
Impressionism and Van Gogh. Self portrait photo
In 1886, Vincent came to Paris. Financially, he also continues to depend on his brother. Here, in the capital of world art, Van Gogh is struck by a new trend - the Impressionists. A new artist is born. He creates a huge number of self-portraits, landscapes and sketches of everyday life. His palette is also changing, but the main changes have affected the writing technique. Now he draws in sketchy lines, short strokes and dots.
The cold and gloomy winter of 1887 affected the state of the artist, and he again fell into depression. The time spent in Paris had a huge impact on Vincent, but he felt that it was time to get ready for the journey again. He went to the south of France, to the province. Here Vincent begins to write, like an obsessed. His palette is full of bright colors. Sky blue, bright yellow and orange. As a result, there were paintings rich in color, thanks to which the artist became famous.
Van Gogh suffered from bouts of severe hallucinations. He felt like he was losing his mind. The disease increasingly influenced his work. In 1888, Theo convinced Gauguin, with whom Van Gogh had a very friendly relationship, to go visit his brother. Paul lived with Vincent for two exhausting months. They often quarreled, and once Van Gogh even attacked Paul with a blade in his hand. Soon, Vincent injured himself by cutting off his own ear. He was sent to the hospital. It was one of the most powerful attacks of insanity.
Soon, July 29, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh died, committing suicide. He lived a life of poverty, obscurity and isolation, and remained an unrecognized artist. But now he is revered all over the world. Vincent turned into a legend, and his work influenced subsequent generations of artists.