Vincent van Gogh – Biography, work and life of the Dutch master

When one looks at the numerous self-portraits of the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), one sees a face marked by life: The eyes are tired, the gaze seems to wander melancholically into the distance, and the cheeks appear sunken.

Given such self-portraits, it is quite astonishing that van Gogh died at the young age of 37. Nevertheless, van Gogh was a man of many facets: whether in Paris, London, or The Hague – his life was always turbulent, and he seemingly never found peace.

Before becoming an artist at the age of 27, he worked as an art dealer, teaching assistant, and preacher. What all these stages of his life have in common is the search for meaning, identity, and a place in life.

Vincent van Gogh undoubtedly ranks among the most renowned artists in modern history, and his life serves as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for many. The eccentric and tormented mind is one of the most famous painters in Dutch art history . The artist is known worldwide. Not only are his artworks world-famous, but the artist's turbulent life also remains in the spotlight.

This article provides an overview of van Gogh's turbulent life, his artistic works, and his biography. Let's delve together into the world of one of the most important artists of all time.

Profile and short biography

Profile – Key Facts

The most important facts about the artist who is celebrated worldwide today:

Brief biography

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Holland.

He grew up in his hometown near the Belgian border and attended school there until 1869. Through his uncle, a renowned art dealer in The Hague, Vincent van Gogh gained his first insights into the painting of contemporary artists and began his professional career.

However, his career as an art dealer ended abruptly when his successor unexpectedly dismissed him before he could return home. Despite this, van Gogh remained in London and worked as a teaching assistant, living in a poor neighborhood and suffering under the harsh conditions of street life. This nearly brought him to the brink of collapse.

Finally, in December 1876, he returned to his parents and decided to study theology . However, after a year, he realized that his religious convictions and his conception of God were incompatible and abandoned his studies. Instead, he moved to Borinage in Belgium to work as an itinerant preacher . But his overzealousness and his noble desire to help others led to his self-destruction.

His devotion to his fellow human beings drove him to give away not only his clothes but also his food to the needy. In 1878, he returned to his parents' home to devote himself entirely to painting. It was during this time that van Gogh created his first significant works. After a falling out with his parents, he left home penniless in 1881 and was supported by his brother Theo in The Hague.

After reconciling with his family, he began to achieve modest success with portraits of peasants However, his father died unexpectedly in 1885, and Vincent van Gogh, inspired by the French art scene, decided to move to Paris and work there.

During his further studies, he met prominent figures in the art world, such as Paul Gauguin . Despite his outstanding works, he encountered difficulties selling them. Vincent van Gogh became enraged and sought solace in alcohol. In 1888, he left Paris and moved to the south of France, settling in Arles .

His stated goal was to establish artists' colony

After only a short time, the two had such violent arguments that van Gogh, armed with a knife, attacked his friend. He then cut off his own right ear and broke off contact with him. Fearing he was losing his mind, he voluntarily admitted himself to a mental asylum in St. Rémy , where he suffered from hallucinations.

During his year-long stay, the Dutchman created approximately 160 oil paintings and drawings. In 1890, van Gogh accepted an invitation from his friend Camille Pissarro to come to Auvers-sur-Oise, northwest of Paris. Although he also sought treatment there, his mental state hardly improved.

During a long walk near Auvers, van Gogh critically injured himself with a pistol. Although he managed to return home under his own power, he died two days later, on July 29, 1890, from blood poisoning . Despite this, his brief time in Auvers is considered one of his most creative periods.

driving forces behind modernism during his lifetime , yet he received little recognition as a painter. Following his artistic convictions, he preferred a life of poverty and isolation. From 1880 onwards, as he increasingly succumbed to madness, he created his most significant works.

Initially contemporary in style, his sudden self-awareness laid the foundation for Expressionism . His extensive correspondence not only sheds light on his painting but is also of literary merit.

Vincent Willem van Gogh died at the age of only 37, having created over 750 paintings and 1600 drawings .

Vincent van Gogh – Life and Work in Detail

1853-1863: Childhood

Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in the Brabant town of Groot-Zundert, the son of Theodorus van Gogh and his wife Anna Cornelia Carbentus. His father was the pastor of the Reformed church in the village. The Van Gogh children grew up in a sheltered environment near the church.

Family man Theodorus was not a strict Christian; he adhered to the Groningen school – a fairly moderate movement within the Reformed Church.

Although Vincent spent his entire life as the "eldest child," a child was born before him. Exactly one year before his birth, his mother Anna gave birth to her first child. The baby, a boy, was stillborn. The name Vincent van Gogh is inscribed on his gravestone in the small cemetery of Zundert. Some psychologists believe that the fact that Vincent was born on the day his older brother died was a crucial factor in his development.

It is impossible to determine to what extent the event cast a shadow on family life. It is also unclear whether Vincent felt the event as a burden. When his brother Theo became a father and also named his child Vincent, he wrote to his mother in a letter:

…the pleasure of seeing Theo again and meeting Jo […] and my new namesake.” (Letter 639)

He may have been referring to his older, deceased brother, but this has not been proven.

Vincent van Gogh had three sisters (Anna, Willemien and Elisabeth) and two brothers (Theo and Cor).

1864-1869: School and early talent for drawing

Vincent van Gogh was sent to a boarding school in Zevenbergen in October 1864, where he remained until 1866. He then attended the Higher Civic School in Tilburg until March 1868, returning home with a commendable report card after completing his first year. However, the reason for his departure midway through the second year remains unknown. Vincent van Gogh subsequently returned to his parents' home until July 1869.

In his younger years, he didn't have much interest in art , although he had discovered his passion for drawing . His father, however, disagreed and advised him to concentrate on his schooling, as he considered his son's talent a waste of time.

Years later, however, his birthplace, Groot-Zundert, found a place in his works. Vincent van Gogh initially attended a boarding school where he not only learned languages ​​such as French, English, and German, but also further developed his drawing skills.

1869-1876 Training as an art dealer

At the age of 16, Van Gogh went to The Hague to work Goupil & Cie.

Although van Gogh had left school, he was employed as an apprentice by his uncle. During his six years working in The Hague (1869–1873) and London (1873–1875), the young van Gogh proved to be reserved in his dealings with clients, but he revealed a deep passion and expertise for art.

In 1872, Vincent's younger brother, Theo van Gogh, joined the firm of Goupil & Cie in Brussels. During this time, Vincent began writing letters to his brother Theo, a practice he would continue for the rest of his life. The brothers vowed never to part ways. The oldest surviving letter from Vincent to Theo is dated September 29, 1872. A total of 820 letters have survived, of which 658 were addressed to Theo by van Gogh.

Vincent also worked for a time in the art dealership's branches in Paris and London. In the London branch, he found employment in the print department, which, however, had no customer contact. There, he felt lonely and unhappy. It is suspected that during his stay he fell in love with his landlady's daughter, even though she was already engaged.

During his summer stay with his parents in 1874, it was noticeable that he had lost a significant amount of weight and appeared depressed. His dissatisfaction during this time is reflected in many of the drawings the artist produced while in England. It was in England that he fell in love with his landlady's daughter, a love that was unrequited and led to Vincent experiencing a period of depression.

Thanks to his work in the art trade, Van Gogh developed a great deal of knowledge about the visual arts, something that would later serve him well. During his time in Paris, Vincent saw the peasant scenes of the artist Jean-François Millet and realistic landscapes by Jules Breton . This work made a deep impression on Van Gogh, who later drew and painted many peasant scenes himself.

His work The Potato Eaters is the best-known example of this.

1876-1879: Activities as an assistant teacher and preacher

In the second half of 1875, he finally turned to religion , reading exclusively the Bible and devotional books, and lost interest in his work. After going home without permission for Christmas 1875, he was advised to resign effective the following April.

an unpaid assistant teacher in Ramsgate, Kent, and Iselworth through a newspaper advertisement

Vincent van Gogh returned to Brabant shortly afterwards and harbored the desire to become a cleric. However, his family was against it, and his father was able to convince him to work in a bookshop in Dordrecht instead (January-May 1877).

He then attended preparatory classes for theological studies in Amsterdam (May 1877–1878) and used his free time to visit the city's museums However, he struggled with Latin and Ancient Greek. In August 1878, he participated in a seminary for lay preachers in Brussels. After three months, however, he was deemed unsuitable, presumably because he had not demonstrated sufficient discipline in class.

Between February and July 1879, Vincent van Gogh worked for six months as a preacher in the Borinage. He read from the Bible and held religious lessons, lived in a simple hut, bartered his clothes for cheaper ones, and cared for the sick and injured in the coal mines. However, he had difficulty communicating with the locals, as he barely understood their dialect and they could not follow his French prayers.

In July 1879, the board of the Flemish School for Preachers decided to end his probationary period and not hire van Gogh. His family was very disappointed by this latest setback.

1880-1881: Turning to art – First attempts as a draftsman

In the autumn of 1880, Vincent van Gogh decided to become an artist. At that time, he was already 27 years old. To overcome his initial difficulties, he used books such as Armand-Théophile Cassagne's "Guide de l'alphabet du dessin" (1880) and Charles Bargue's "Exercices au fusain," as well as drawings by Millet, which he traced or copied.

Unfortunately, only a few of his early drawings have survived, as van Gogh himself destroyed them. However, the remaining material reveals his painstaking attempts to capture objects and people through outlines.

In October 1880, Vincent van Gogh moved to Brussels, where he lived until April 1881. Between 1881 and 1885, he created his early work in the Netherlands, which was characterized by his love for the simple lives of farmers and laborers. Although enrolled at the Academy, he rarely attended. Anthon van Rappard (1858–1892) became his most important mentor in artistic matters.

In April 1881, van Gogh returned to his parents' home in Etten (North Brabant) and stayed until December 1881. There he followed in Millet's footsteps, sketching working farmers. During the summer, he fell in love with his widowed cousin Kee Vos, seven years his senior, who was visiting. Although she rejected him, van Gogh persistently pursued her, leading to conflict with his parents and relatives.

Since the relationship between Vincent and his family was already strained, the dispute ended shortly after Christmas 1881 with his departure. Vincent van Gogh had refused to attend Christmas Mass, which made his break with the faith public.

1881-1883: The Hague: Anton Mauve and Sien

Before his move, Vincent van Gogh had already spent four weeks with his brother-in-law, the Hague School painter Anton Mauve (1838-1888), in The Hague (November/December 1881). There he was introduced to watercolor and oil painting and began drawing miners and urban scenes.

He collected newspaper clippings depicting coal miners and found huts in the surrounding area that reminded him of paintings by Jules Dupré (1811-1889) and the Barbizon painters. It was also here that he first painted landscapes in oil.

Unfortunately, his unconventional relationship with Clasina Hoornik, known as Sien (1850-1904), a part-time prostitute and single mother who worked as a model, led to a break with Anton Mauve. Sien posed for Mauve's work "Sorrow" (around April 10, 1882). Vincent van Gogh separated from Sien in the autumn of 1883.

1883-1884: Vincent van Gogh in Drenthe and Nuenen

In September 1883, he moved to the province of Drenthe in the north of the Netherlands, where he inspiring subjects in the picturesque heath and moorland landscape . At the same time, he hoped that Theo would turn away from the art market and follow him. When this expectation was not fulfilled, he returned to his parents in Nuenen in December 1883, where he received only a lukewarm welcome.

In Nuenen he created more than 180 paintings, including “The Potato Eaters” (see above). However, he soon became fascinated by the weavers and their “monstrous” looms.

“Loom with Weaver” (1884, oil on canvas, 68.3 x 84.2 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo) is a typical work from this period. It depicts the cramped interior and the enormous machine, which seems almost to swallow the weaver.

1885: Antwerp

In November 1885, Vincent van Gogh decided to stay in Antwerp for three months. The reason was simple: at the Antwerp Academy, he found free models and heated rooms. However, he constantly struggled with financial problems, which led him to reduce his diet to a minimum – resulting in physical ailments.

Nevertheless, van Gogh discovered a new passion in Antwerp: Japanese color woodblock prints . These had a significant influence on his later work.

1886-1887: Back to France, Paris

In March 1886, Vincent van Gogh went to Paris , living there with his brother Theo. During this time, he first immersed himself in French Impressionism and subsequently turned to Pointillism . For two years, until February 1888, the simple farmhouses and cottages disappeared from his canvases, and he began to focus on the modern metropolis, its inhabitants, and still lifes.

During his time in Paris, Vincent van Gogh attended classes for several months in the studio of Fernand Cormon (1845–1926), where he Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec , Paul Signac , Louis Anquetin , Paul Gauguin , and Emile Bernard . In 1887, Vincent van Gogh organized two group exhibitions in restaurants and a presentation of paintings in the shop window of the paint merchant and art lover Père Tanguy .

He dedicated another exhibition to Ukiyo-e , the Japanese color woodblock prints, at the Café Le Tambourin. Vincent van Gogh was briefly romantically involved with the owner, Agostina Segatori.

In November 1887, he met Paul Gauguin, who had just returned from Martinique. Vincent van Gogh appreciated Gauguin's art and admired his adventurous life. Thanks to the support of his brother Theo, who arranged important sales for Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh was also able to attract Gauguin's interest.

1888-1889: Southern France, Arles

On February 20, 1888, Vincent van Gogh embarked on a journey to Arles, in the radiant landscape of southern France. There he was deeply moved by the new colors and light he encountered in nature. In the French city of Arles, Van Gogh not only created many paintings, but also wrote many heartfelt letters, especially to his brother Theo, who played an important role in his life.

Theo believed in his brother and often sent Vincent money. The trip to Arles was also paid for by Theo. Vincent van Gogh's letters form a kind of ongoing diary and offer insight into the artist's thoughts and his ideas about art.

During his 16-month stay, he created 187 paintings. In May 1888, he rented four rooms in a house on the Place Lamartine, which he intended to set up as his “Studio of the South ”.

He repeatedly invited his friends Paul Gauguin and Emil Bernard to work together. From October 23 to December 23, 1888, the “Studio of the South” became a reality. However, Vincent van Gogh did not understand that Gauguin pursued a completely different artistic philosophy than his own.

Since he saw Gauguin as his teacher and yet was not prepared to give up his form of plein air painting , the “Studio of the South” ended in Vincent’s nervous breakdown and Paul Gauguin’s wordless departure.

On December 23, 1888, a heated argument broke out between the confused Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, after which Vincent almost completely cut off his left ear. He then went to a brothel and gave it to a girl named Rachel, saying: “You will remember me, I tell you .

The police found Vincent unconscious and weakened from severe blood loss the following morning. He was then taken to the local hospital.
Paul Gauguin quietly left on December 25, 1888, informing Vincent's brother Theo by telegram.

When Theo arrived in Arles on Christmas morning, he learned that Vincent had been showing signs of mental confusion for several days. After two weeks, Vincent was discharged from the hospital, but with his head bandaged. In February 1889, he suffered another seizure and had to spend several days in the hospital.

As a result, the painter was forcibly interned until April 1889 following a petition from the citizens of Arles.

1889-1890: Sanatorium of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and first sale of a work

In 1889, Vincent van Gogh voluntarily decided to be admitted to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole mental asylum in Saint-Rémy, where doctors diagnosed him with epilepsy. In the following months, specifically May and June, he created some of his most impressive landscape paintings, including "Irises" (May 10-15, 1889), "The Starry Night" (June 17-18, 1889), and "Cypresses" (June 25, 1889).

In the summer of that same year, van Gogh suffered a severe seizure in which he swallowed toxic paints, which may be interpreted as a possible suicide attempt.

From September 1889 to April 1890, he remained in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and was supported by Theo van Gogh, who presented three of his works at avant-garde art exhibitions , thus enabling Vincent's first public appearance as a painter. The painting "The Red Vineyards of Arles" was sold and is considered the only documented sale during the artist's lifetime.

1890: van Gogh's last days in Auvers-sur-Oise

On May 17, 1890, Vincent van Gogh traveled to Paris, where he stayed for three days with his brother and his family. The family situation was tense, as Theo was weakened by illness and his work was causing conflict with his employer.

On May 20th, van Gogh moved on to Auvers-sur-Oise , which is about 30 km from Paris. There he was cared for by the art-loving physician and homeopath Paul Gachet, who advocated for van Gogh's mental state.

During the last ten weeks of his life, van Gogh concentrated on painting “pretty middle-class country houses ,” which he liked almost as much as the old Borinage cottages he romanticized. Van Gogh generally felt comfortable in the rural surroundings, and his doctor, Dr. Gachet, advised him to focus on painting rather than his illness during this time.

Within 70 days, he created 75 paintings and 60 drawings in Auvers-sur-Oise, some of which are among the most important works in his oeuvre. The artist himself wrote about these works:

I am almost certain that in these canvases I have expressed what I cannot express in words, namely how healthy and heart-strengthening I find the country.”

On July 27, 1890, van Gogh shot himself in a field, either in the chest or abdomen, and returned to the inn still seriously wounded. The doctors who were called to the scene decided against removing the bullet. Vincent van Gogh succumbed to his injuries on July 29, 1890.

His last words were reportedly:

The sadness will last forever

Two days later, van Gogh succumbed to sepsis. His brother Theo died of syphilis later that same year. The two brothers were buried side by side in the cemetery at Auvers.

In total, the artist left behind approximately 900 paintings and 900 drawings.

Sickness and tormented mind

Van Gogh experienced a very successful artistic period in France, but things didn't go so well for the artist himself. He went through bouts of depression and had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a year. The artist himself wrote the following about his condition:

I cannot describe exactly what I have; sometimes it is terrible fears without a clear cause, or it is a feeling of emptiness and weariness in my head. […] Every day I take the medicine that the unforgettable Dickens prescribes against suicide. It consists of a glass of wine, a piece of bread and cheese, and a tobacco pipe.” [Letter 764 in the scientific edition]

Over the past 120 years, many psychiatrists have examined the painter's mental state posthumously. Whether there is a connection between Van Gogh's art and madness, however, remains a difficult question to answer. In a letter to Van Gogh's sister Willemien, his brother Theo once wrote:

"It is as if there were two people inside him, one wonderfully gifted, subtle and gentle; the other self-loving and hard."

The unique painting style of Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh was a master of color and brushstroke , whose artwork was often influenced by his emotions and inner thoughts. He also experimented with various techniques such as pointillism and the use of unusual colors.

But van Gogh was not only a painter; he also created drawings and sketches that document his artistic development and his inner world. His work is an important contribution to art history and has had a lasting influence on the art world.

While Vincent was mentally ill, he began to paint faster and faster. In his own words, to "the rapid passing of things in modern life ." The renowned art historian Ernst H. Gombrich once wrote about Van Gogh's painting style:

He experimented with bright, pure colors, which he didn't mix on his palette, but applied directly to the canvas in small strokes or dots, trusting the viewer's eye to see them as a whole. […] Van Gogh championed the technique of dot and stripe painting, which, however, turned out to be something quite different in his hands than the Impressionists had intended. For Van Gogh used the individual brushstrokes not only to break up the color, but also to convey his own intense feelings. In one of his letters from Arles, he describes his states of rapture, when “the emotions are often so strong that I work without knowing it… and the strokes then follow one another with a coherence like the words in a speech or a letter.”

The artist was not concerned with depicting things exactly as they appeared to him. Van Gogh enlarged his images and chose his own colors.

Gombrich added:

He used colors and shapes to express what he felt about the things he painted and what he wanted to convey to others. He didn't care much about what he called "stereoscopic reality," that is, the photographically accurate "portrait" of nature. He exaggerated the appearance of things when it served his purpose and even altered them

A look at the most important works of Vincent van Gogh

The Dutch artist and draftsman created nearly 900 artworks and over 1,000 drawings , laying the foundations of modern painting. However, Vincent van Gogh achieved little financial success with his paintings during his lifetime. He was only able to sell a few works, including the painting "The Red Vineyard" .

Only after his death did Vincent van Gogh's masterpieces reach record prices at auctions, and they remain highly sought-after collector's items to this day. His last self-portrait, which he completed in 1889, for example, was auctioned for an impressive 71 million dollars.

The following 10 paintings are among the most famous and sought-after works by Vincent van Gogh:

“Starry Night” (1889)

Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night is considered one of the most famous paintings in Western art and is a dazzling work in oil on canvas, currently hanging in the MoMA.

Painted in 1889, it depicts the Post-Impressionist painter's view from his sanatorium room (with an imaginary village below) in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. While Van Gogh created several paintings of this particular view, The Starry Night is the only one depicted at night. It is considered the artist's magnum opus—his masterpiece.

“Sunflowers” ​​(1888)

“ Twelve Sunflowers in a Vase” is undoubtedly one of Vincent van Gogh’s most iconic works and impressively embodies the different phases of his artistic development. Van Gogh created this remarkable painting in conjunction with several other depictions of sunflowers, which he considered part of his vision to establish a painters’ colony – a community of artists who would settle in picturesque Provence.

He specifically had this idea in mind to inspire his fellow painters Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin and win them over to his artistic ambitions immediately after he had completed his masterpiece.

In a moving letter to his brother Theo, who always played a pivotal role in van Gogh's life, the artist expressed his ambitious plans:

“Hoping that I will be living with Gauguin in our own studio, I want to make a series of paintings for it. Nothing more than lots of large sunflowers.”

These words not only testify to his tireless dedication to art, but also reveal his deep longing for community and creative expression. He was prepared to work from sunrise to sunset without significant breaks, always with one clear goal in mind: to highlight the transience of flowers. Because they wilt quickly and demand immediate attention, his work ethic reflects the urgency with which he sought to capture this fleeting moment.

Particularly noteworthy is van Gogh's choice of a soft blue background, which serves as a kind of stage for the bright yellow sunflowers. This background further emphasizes the vibrant colors and lends the work an additional dimension of emotional expression. At the same time, the gradual transformation of the once vibrant yellow blossoms into a brownish hue underscores the transience and inevitable course of nature – a central theme in van Gogh's work.

“The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles” (1888)

Café Terrace is an oil painting from 1888 by the famous Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh . It is often called The Cafe Terrace at the Place du Forum.

When it was originally exhibited in 1891, it was titled Coffeehouse at Night.

“The Night Café at Place Lamartine in Arles” (1888)

Vincent van Gogh painted his masterpiece "The Night Café" in Arles in September 1888. This important painting depicts the interior of a café, characterized by bold, contrasting colors – the ceiling is green, the walls red, and the floor a vibrant yellow. Five patrons are seated at tables, while a waiter in a light-colored coat faces the viewer.

In a humorous letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh mentioned that he was avenging Madame Ginoux for her financial demands by painting her café. The work is executed on a primed canvas and, due to its perspective, offers a slightly elevated viewpoint on the scene.

“Irises” (1889)

Another famous oil painting by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh , painted in May 1889. This is one of several works in a series that were also created at the Saint Paul-de-Mausole institution in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

This beautiful work was created just one year before van Gogh's death in 1890. The irises he painted were located in the hospital garden, and it has been suggested that the style of this series was influenced by Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, as can be seen in many of Van Gogh's.

The painting is loved for its softness and lightness and is “full of air and life”, as van Gogh’s brother Theo described it.

Today the work can be seen at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.

“Starry Night Over the Rhone” (1888)

Starry Night Over the Rhône (September 1888) was one of three paintings created in the same month that incorporated the night sky and stars as fundamental symbolic elements. He also painted Cafe Terrace at Night and a portrait of his friend Eugene Boch, which was perhaps the most symbolic of the three.

Starry Night over the Rhône was painted at a spot on the riverbank just a minute or two's walk from the Yellow House on Place Lamartine, which Van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and its nocturnal light effects provided the subject for some of his more famous paintings, including The Starry Night, Van Gogh's most famous painting of the night sky.

The challenge of painting at night fascinated Van Gogh. The vantage point he chose for "Starry Night Over the Rhône" allowed him to capture the reflections of the gaslights in Arles on the shimmering blue waters of the Rhône. In the foreground, two lovers stroll along the riverbank.

Here, its stars shine with a radiance that emanates from the dark, blue, and velvety night sky. Scattered along the banks of the Rhône, houses also emit a light that is reflected in the water, contributing to the painting's mysterious atmosphere.

“Wheat Field with Cypresses” (1889)

Ah, the clouds! These impressive accumulations of countless water droplets, masterfully captured by the Dutch painter. Anyone who has admired these formations or witnessed the spectacle of mammatus clouds during thunderstorms will recognize van Gogh as an artist with a pronounced sense for atmospheric interplay.

In contrast to the dramatic storm clouds, his depictions radiate a summery freshness. The wind, blowing dynamically through the landscape and trees, lends the image grace and depth, while the eye wanders over rolling rocks and delicate blossoms.

Van Gogh's meticulous detail invites the viewer to imagine themselves in a sunny southern setting. In a letter to his brother Theo, he described the painting as "cypresses with ears of wheat and a blue sky ." The composition captivated him so much that he created three versions. This yearning for nature and the exploration of its secrets makes his work unforgettable—and provides an opportunity to reflect on the eventful life of the artist himself.

“Almond Blossoms” (1890)

This famous Japanese-style painting was created as part of a series of paintings during a creative phase of Van Gogh's career in which the artist was increasingly searching for meaning ( 1888 to 1890 in Arles and Saint-Rémy).

During this time, Van Gogh wrote numerous letters to his sister, describing his fascination with the blossoming trees. He gave expression to this fascination in many of his paintings. A style began to emerge that profoundly influenced Van Gogh. His work during this period had a profound impact on the rest of his life.

“Fishing boats on the beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer” (1888)

This maritime artwork by Vincent van Gogh unfolds a serene scene in which fishing boats rest gently on the shore of the picturesque village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue. The vibrant colors that characterize van Gogh's distinctive, expressive style are particularly striking in this harmonious composition.

The radiant blue of the sky and sea blends elegantly with the warm earth tones of the sand and boats, creating an inviting atmosphere.

This post-Impressionist masterpiece embodies the simplicity and grace of the fishermen's daily lives. "Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries" serves as a powerful testament to Van Gogh's exceptional artistic talent and his deep connection to nature and the picturesque Mediterranean landscapes that once inspired him.

“The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise” (1890)

Vincent van Gogh's time at L'Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise was an exceptionally productive period. In just seventy days, he created approximately eighty works, including some of his most famous paintings featuring impressive cypress trees. The location, only thirty kilometers from Paris, was important to van Gogh because he visited Paul-Ferdinand Gachet

Gachet had close ties to contemporary artists in Paris and was considered a suitable confidant for his brother Theo to address van Gogh's psychological struggles. Tragically, even he could not prevent the 37-year-old from dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 29, 1890. Van Gogh's final works are characterized by intense colors and profound emotional expressiveness, paving the way for movements such as the Fauves and Expressionism .

This early Gothic church with its Romanesque chapels is among the last subjects Vincent van Gogh painted. It rises majestically against the empty, deep blue sky, not depicted in correct perspective, but as an independent work of art. Strategically placed at a crossroads, the church embodies the artist's inner turmoil and invites the viewer to delve into its story.

Van Gogh's Life: A Journey Through His Daily Life and His World of Thoughts

Van Gogh was a man constantly searching for himself and his purpose. His journey through life was marked by highs and lows, by successes and failures.

He was an artist who expressed his emotions and thoughts in his works, thereby creating a new kind of art. His life was a constant challenge, but he never let it completely defeat him and believed in his art until the very end. Today he is

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous artists in the world, and his works are unforgettable.

Van Gogh's ear

Research conducted by TNS NIPO in 2010 revealed that the artist is primarily known to the Dutch public today for his severed ear. When asked, "What do you think of when you think of the painter Vincent van Gogh?" "Painter" and "sunflowers" also received high scores.

For a long time, it was thought that the artist didn't cut off his entire ear, but only the earlobe. Recently, however, a note by Dr. Felix Rey, the doctor who treated Van Gogh's ear, surfaced in the archives of author Irving Stone. In 1930, at the request of an author working on a book about the artist, he made two sketches and wrote:

The ear was cut along the dotted line with a razor.”

This shows that Vincent van Gogh did indeed cut off his entire ear. It has also been argued that Van Gogh did not cut off his own ear, but that the French painter Paul Gauguin did so during an argument.

Gauguin, who lived with Van Gogh in Arles for a time, wrote in his biography that his entire ear was cut off. However, others, including the painter Signac and the widow of his brother Theo, reported that only the braid was removed, leaving some uncertainty.

Posthumous success story

The artist is said to have once given this apt assessment:

It's not my fault that my paintings don't sell. But the time will come when people realize they're worth more than the money spent on the paint

Johanna van Gogh-Bonger , Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law and widow of his brother Theo van Gogh, was a driving force in promoting and popularizing the Dutch artist's work. From 1901 onwards, she regularly loaned paintings for solo exhibitions in Berlin organized by Paul Cassirer (see ArtInWords – Vincent van Gogh: Biography ).

The first major retrospective of his work took place in Amsterdam in 1905 and was soon followed by a significant exhibition at the Galerie Arnold in Dresden.

For the young artists of Die Brücke, this exhibition became the catalyst, Heinrich Nauen, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , and Emil Nolde to learn from Van Gogh and adopt his dynamic brushstrokes. Over the next seven years, the works of this controversial artist were discussed and admired by artists and collectors alike in 68 exhibitions.

Van Gogh was often misunderstood by his contemporaries during his lifetime, and his artworks were mostly rejected. Today, however, art lovers and connoisseurs recognize the important role his work played in the development of modern art. Therefore, they are willing to pay high prices for his works.

One hundred years after his death, one of the seven sunflower paintings was auctioned for 37 million EUR.

Another prominent example is the auction of “Verger avec cyprès” as part of the Paul G. Allen auction at Christie’s on November 9, 2022. The painting found a new owner for a staggering 117,180,000 US dollars, thus breaking the 100 million dollar mark (see FAZ: Paul G. Allen Collection brings in 1.5 billion ).

In 1910, Ferdinand Avenarius expressed in the magazine “Der Kunstwart” the continuing fascination that Vincent van Gogh’s painting exerted on young artists in Germany:

“Van Gogh is dead, but the van Gogh people live on. And how they live! Van Gogh's everywhere.”.

In 1928, the first catalogue raisonné of Vincent van Gogh's paintings was published by the Dutch lawyer and art dealer Jacob-Baart de la Faille , which still serves as an important reference for researchers and art lovers today:

-> Vincent Van Gogh: The Complete Works on Paper*