Vincent Van Gogh
By Emily Klein

The Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh is considered to be one of the greatest Postimpressionists of all time. His reputation is based largely on the last three years of the brief ten years for which he painted, and this work went on to have a significant influence on expressionism in modern art. In these ten years Van Gogh created over 800 paintings and 700 drawings but sold only one during his lifetime. His striking colors, coarse brushwork and contoured forms display the anguish of the mental illness that drove him to suicide. In 1853, Van Gogh was born into a family in which he was to be the eldest son of a Protestant clergyman. At sixteen, he started his career as an art dealer in The Hague and went on to change professions a number of times over the next few decades of his life. His work in art dealing took him all over Europe but failed to bring him pleasure or satisfaction. He soon became interested in clergyhood and studied to become a minister but failed the entrance exam, AS a result he spent a few years working as a lay preacher. His depression which came from leading what he felt to be a solitary and unsuccessful life brought him to a period of introspection during which he first began to draw. He soon decided to go to Paris where he could study art among contemporaries and teach younger artists. In Paris impressionists like Gaugin shaped Van Gogh's personal style of painting., causing it to become more colorful and contrasting with lighter tonalities and distinct brushwork. Weary of city life, Van Gogh moved to the country soon after he had perfected his style under the tutelage of others. There, he sank into a deep depression and asked to be sent to an asylum, which proved to bring him his highest points of inspiration. He reveled in the beauty of nature and simple life. He used muted colors but bold lines to bring to life such subjects as peasants, countrysides and flowers on canvas. In the pain of his manic-depression, his work brushwork became broader and more expressive. Yet, all this progress in his work ended in 1890, when Van Gogh ended his own life, never to know how revered his work would become.

Bibliography

Leymarie, Jean, Who Was Van Gogh? Ohio: The World Publishing Company, 1968.
Van Gogh, Vincent. Vincent Van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings. Los Angeles: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1970.