Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist artist. He was an excellent painter who got fame after his death. He was perceived by many as the ‘mad’ artist, the man who painted in a frenzy, or simply the tormented soul who cuts off his ear. He was able to sell two of his artwork in his lifetime. He spent his life in poverty and he had to face depression due to his financial situation at that time. He went to an asylum and spent his life there. He used to have two rooms there. He used one as his bedroom and one as his studio to paint. His brother Theo supported him financially during the last stage of his life. Van Gogh used to send his brother some of his paintings, and Theo knows the value of his brother’s paintings. His paintings show emotions and his condition. The subject matter of most of his painting was his surroundings. He observed and painted. His famous paintings include The Starry Night, The Night Café. Café Terrace at Night, Potato Eaters, Starry Night over Rhone, Fourteen sunflowers in a Vase, and many more. He also did a lot of self-portraits. His self-portraits are very famous and are all over the world. The Self Portrait with Bandage was the one when he cut off his ear when he was mentally ill. Most of his paintings are oil on canvas. Between November of 1881 and July of 1890, Vincent van Gogh painted almost 900 paintings. Since his death, he has become one of the most famous painters in the world. He got inspiration from Dutch paintings as well as Japanese woodblock prints. His art was all over the world after his death. Apart from paintings he also used to write letters, and make postcards. He used to write regular letters to his brother Theo. He used very bright colors in his paintings which was a discussion point for critics. People argued that maybe he was color blind because of the color choice he makes in his work. His painting show sadness in the perfectly regular scene. He paints daily life views but according to his feelings and emotions. He shows the connection between people and the world in his paintings. He dies at the age of 37 but a gunshot in his stomach. The intensity of his vision, his wonderful sense of color, and the extraordinary boldness of his technique created masterpieces that exercised a profound influence on the art of the twentieth century. His last 10 years of his life are considered the most productive of his life. Most of his famous workpieces are from that decade. He is an inspiration and his work tells us his struggle with his mental health.
Bibliography
Grant, Patrick. Reading Vincent Van Gogh: A Thematic Guide to the Letters, Athabasca University Press, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/lib/ohiostate-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4732998.
“Vincent Van Gogh Paintings.” Vincent Van Gogh Paintings and Complete Catalog of Works, www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/.
“10 Things You Might Not Know About Vincent Van Gogh – Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/story/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-vincent-van-gogh/agLStrYjblBRKA.
