Van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of all time. His paintings are instantly recognizable and his life story is just as well known. This Van Gogh biography will take you through his life, from his early years in the Netherlands to his final days in France. You’ll learn about his art, his relationships, and the events that shaped his life.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life
2. The Netherlands
3. France
4. Later Years
5. Death
6. Art
7. Relationships
8. Events That Shaped His Life
9. Top Van Gogh Quotes
Early Life:
Van Gogh was born in 1853 in the Netherlands. He was the oldest of six children. His father was a minister and his mother was a homemaker. As a child, Van Gogh was serious and quiet. He loved nature and often went on walks with his grandfather. He also loved to read and would often spend hours in the family’s large book collection.
The Netherlands:
In 1869, Van Gogh’s father died and his mother remarried. Van Gogh did not get along with his stepfather and soon left home to study art in The Hague. He did not do well in school and was often teased by his classmates. In 1876, he was fired from his job at an art dealership and decided to move to London to become an artist.
France:
Van Gogh moved to Paris in 1886. He was quickly drawn to the city’s vibrant art scene. He met many other artists, including Paul Gauguin. The two men became friends and often painted together. In 1888, Van Gogh decided to move to Arles in the south of France. He was hoping the change of scenery would help him to paint better.
Later Years:
In 1890, Van Gogh had a breakdown and cut off part of his own ear. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to a mental hospital. He continued to paint while in the hospital, and many of his most famous paintings were created during this time. He was released from the hospital in 1891 and spent the rest of his life moving between France and the Netherlands.
Death:
Van Gogh died in 1890 at the age of 37. He shot himself in the stomach and died two days later. At the time of his death, he was relatively unknown as an artist. It was only after his death that his work began to gain popularity.
Art:
Van Gogh was a post-impressionist artist. His work was characterized by bold colors and thick brushstrokes. He often painted scenes from everyday life, such as peasants working in the fields or people walking in the streets. He is best known for his paintings of sunflowers and his self-portrait.
Relationships:
Van Gogh had a tumultuous relationship with his family. He was often at odds with his father and stepfather. He also had a difficult relationship with his brother Theo. The two men argued often, but Theo was also Van Gogh’s biggest supporter. He regularly sent money to Van Gogh and helped to promote his work.
Events That Shaped His Life:
There were several events that had a significant impact on Van Gogh’s life. These include his move to Arles, his hospitalization, and his death. Each of these events had a profound effect on his art.
Top Van Gogh Quotes:
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
“How much there is in art that is beautiful, if only one can remember what one has seen, one is never empty or truly lonely, and never alone.”
“As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.”
“It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures.”
“Occasionally, in times of worry, I’ve longed to be stylish, but on second thought I say no—just let me be myself—and express rough, yet true things with rough workmanship.”
“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”
“Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.”
“The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others”
“Your profession is not what brings home your weekly paycheck, your profession is what you’re put here on earth to do, with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.”
“If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things.”
“And the memories of all we have loved stay and come back to us in the evening of our life. They are not dead but sleep, and it is well to gather a treasure of them.”
“I consciously choose the dog’s path through life. I shall be poor; I shall be a painter…”
“Close friends are truly life’s treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves. With gentle honesty, they are there to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears. Their presence reminds us that we are never really alone.”
“Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”
“If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning.”
“It must be good to die in the knowledge that one has done some truthful work…and to know that, as a result, one will live on in the memory of at least a few and leave a good example for those who come after.”
“It always strikes me, and it is very peculiar, that when we see the image of indescribable and unutterable desolation – of loneliness, of poverty and misery, the end of all things, or their extreme – then rises in our mind the thought of God.”
“I am working with the enthusiasm of a man from Marseilles eating bouillabaisse, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to you because I am busy painting huge sunflowers.”
“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”
“I would sooner paint people’s eyes than cathedrals, for there is something in the eyes that is lacking in a cathedral – however solemn and impressive it may be. To my mind a man’s soul, be it that of a poor beggar or of a streetwalker, is more interesting.”
“Love is eternal – the aspect may change, but not the essence. There is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. The lamp was there and was a good lamp, but now it is shed.”
“I keep hoping that I’ll come up with something. To express the love of two lovers by the marriage of two complementary colours, their blending and their contrast, the mysterious vibrations of related tones. To express that thought of a brow by the radiance of a light tone against a dark background. To express hope by some star. Someone’s passion by the radiance of the setting sun.”
“In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.”
“I see drawings and pictures in the poorest of huts and the dirtiest of corners.”
“Yellow is capable of charming God.”
“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.”
“One may have a blazing hearth in one’s soul and yet no one ever came to sit by it. Passers-by see only a wisp of smoke from the chimney and continue on their way.”
“One must work and dare if one really wants to live.”
“Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.”
“The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right.”
“By working hard, old man, I hope to make something good one day. I haven’t yet, but I am pursuing it and fighting for it…”
“When I have a terrible need of – shall I say the word – religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.”
“Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life itself seems almost enchanted after all.”
“It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning.”
“I wish they would only take me as I am.”
“I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream”
“Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it.”
“Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague.”
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.”
“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”
“At present this horror of life is already less pronounced, and the melancholy less acute. But I still have no will, and hardly any desires, or none at all that are to do with ordinary life.”
“Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again.”
“I often think that the night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day.”
“If boyhood and youth are but vanity, must it not be our ambition to become men?”
“Love always brings difficulties, that is true, but the good side of it is that it gives energy.”
“How can I be useful; of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?”
“Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me.”
“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths, it has its pearls too”
Source: Wikipedia Van Gogh Museum Britannica Van Gogh Gallery Vincent Van Gogh Moma Met Museum Khanacademy Wikiart NGA