Description: /"Vincent van Gogh, one of the best-known post-Impressionist artists, for whom color was the main symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland, on March 30, 1853.
The son of a pastor, raised in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was very emotional, lacked self-confidence and struggled with his identity and orientation. He believed his true calling was to preach the Gospel; however, it took him years to discover his calling as an artist. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had already experienced two unsuitable and unhappy romances and worked unsuccessfully as a bookstore clerk, art salesman and preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining region in Belgium) where he was dismissed for excessive zeal.
He stays in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are dark-toned, brightly lit genre paintings, the most famous of which is /"The Potato Eaters/" (1885). That year, van Gogh went to Antwerp where he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased numerous Japanese prints.
In 1886, he left for Paris to join his brother Théo, director of the Goupil gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably meeting Pissarro, Monet and Gauguin. Having met the new impressionist painters, he tried to imitate their techniques; he begins to lighten his very dark palette and paint with the short brushstrokes of the impressionist style. Unable to successfully copy the style, he developed his own style, more daring and unconventional.
In 1888, Van Gogh decided to move south to Arles, where he hoped his friends would join him and help him found an art school. At the Yellow House, van Gogh hoped that like-minded artists could create together. Gauguin joined him but with disastrous results. Van Gogh's nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and the nocturnal discussions combined with painting all day long took a toll on his health. Towards the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to leave Arles. Van Gogh chased him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting off part of his earlobe. Van Gogh then begins to alternate between bouts of madness and lucidity and is sent to the Saint-Rémy asylum for treatment.
In May 1890, after a few years in the asylum, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the supervision of Doctor Gachet. Two months later, he died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound /"for the good of all/". During his brief career he did not enjoy much success, selling only one painting and living in poverty. , undernourished and overworked. The money he had came from his brother Theo and was mainly used to buy art materials, coffee and cigarettes.
Van Gogh's most beautiful works were produced in less than three years using a technique increasingly passionate about brushwork, symbolic and intense colors, surface tension, as well as the movement and vibration of shapes and forms. lines. Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative and emotional, as the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his understanding of the spiritual essence of man and nature.
Despite his lack of success during his lifetime, van Gogh's legacy lives on through his lasting impact on the art world. Van Gogh is today considered one of the most influential artists who helped lay the foundations of modern art./"
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