The Tragic Life Of Vincent Van Gogh
A Woe Story Of Vivid Paints
The Starry Night –one of the most world-renowned oil paintings of Vincent Van Gogh glorifies the walls of the ‘Museum of Modern Art’ in New York, with its vibrant colors and impressive brush strokes. But the life of this underappreciated Dutch post-impressionist painter wasn’t as pleasant as his paintings. Throughout his life, Vincent struggled with rejection, poverty, and an unsuccessful career as an artist which eventually led him into severe depression until he succumbed to his mental injuries and died. For me as an admirer of art, it was unfathomable to imagine an artist of such a taste in a delusional state, worrying about his sanity and spending half his brief life in sanatoriums.
Van Gogh is perhaps a few painters who had a commercially failed career during his lifetime. It wasn’t before his suicide in 1890 that his art rose to immense popularity and was recognized as the most influential works in the history of Western Art. What might be the possible cause of Vincent Van Gogh being posthumously famous while an unsuccessful madman in his life? Let’s dive deeper into the dark side of the life of this great artist and unravel some gloomy stories behind those expressive brush strokes.
Why is Vincent Van Gogh So Popular?
Today Vincent Willem Van Gogh is considered among the most influential artists of all time. He was perhaps the greatest Dutch painter despite his failed career. Van Gogh did the majority of his paintings during his last two years. After his death in July 1890, Van Gogh’s artistic style was largely incorporated by Fauves and expressionists, eventually gaining widespread popularity for his expressive strokes, vivid colors, and swift application of impasto pigments. In just a decade he managed to create about 2100 artworks that included paintings, drawings, sketches, landscapes, cityscapes, and figures. Some of these works rank as the most expensive paintings ever to be sold. His painting self-portrait with bandaged ear currently stands as his most expensive masterpiece auctioned worth 178.2 million dollars, owned by ‘The Courtauld Gallary’ in Somerset House, London.
Because of his deteriorated mental health, Van Gogh was also known as “Mad Artist.”
The Troubled Journey From Childhood To Youth
Born on 30 March 1853 in a province in Netherland, Van Gogh belonged to a wealthy catholic family that was already endowed with art. As a child, Van Gogh was very serious and thoughtful. He was unhappy and felt abandoned at his school prompting him to secretly find his way out. In 1866 his parents once again sent him to a middle school in Tilburg which made him even more upset than before. There he developed an interest in paints and art, taking lessons from a successful artist from Paris — Cornelis Huijsmans although his sadness surpassed his learning abilities and made the lessons less impactful to the boy. Having lost in his mind, one fine day in March 1866, Van came back to his native home. It seems as if his childhood and later his youth didn’t change much, from austere and gloomy- something which he later describes in his writings.
One year later after returning from Tilburg, young Vincent started working as an art dealer in Hague at a firm named ‘Goupil and Cie,’ and a year later he was transferred to the London branch of the same company. He was twenty and pretty good at his work, earning more than his father. Things subsequently started to change a little for young Vincent as he started admiring his landlord’s daughter. According to the wife of Theodore Van Gogh his younger brother, this was perhaps Vincent’s happiest time of his life. But the life once again took a monochromatic turn after his proposal was rejected by the damsel he loved; turned out she was secretly engaged with someone else. After getting the report of his son’s self-isolation, his father arranged to transfer him to Paris where Vincent began to work in a firm whose primary focus was gaining finance from Art. Vincent highly condemned this ideology of the company and decided to resign from the job.
Vincent took many unpaid works like teaching and translating bible verses. Consequently in Christmas of 1876, he decided to become a pastor, having deeply influenced by his religion. According to one of his roommates at one time, Vincent got so engrossed in religion that he started becoming a strict devotee, eating less frequently and refusing meat. He undertook several examinations to get into theological institutions- failing in every single one. Finally, in 1879, he took up a missionary post in Borinage district of Belgium which didn’t last very long and was dismissed from attaining priesthood. The denial was because he gave up his luxury lodgings to a beggar while he slept on hay in a hut — prompting church authorities to dismiss him for defaming priests’ dignity.
Vincent Van Gogh’s journey from his childhood to youth was full of dark times, melancholy and purposeless. His parents became frustrated by his increasing obsession with religion and his directionless life at the age of 24.
The Turning Point
In August of 1880, Vincent Van Gogh returned to Cuesmes village in Borinage where he became interested in the scenes around him and often draw them in the letters to his young brother Theo. Theo encouraged him to keep drawing, convincing him that he could draw and serve god at the same time. Following his brother’s advice, Vincent moved to Brussels, where he started dedicating his time to art, often working with other artists.
Vincent’s parents never approved of his artistic career. But that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams. In 1881 he once again moved in with his parents who were now shifted to Etten. There he used his neighbors as his subjects for his drawings. His troubled life took an unexpected romantic turn by the arriver of his newly widowed cousin Cornelia Kee Vos-Stricker who was seven years older than him and had an eight-year-old son. To everyone’s surprise, Vincent proposed his love to Kee who rejected him by saying “no, nay, never.”
Following the love debacle, broken Vincent went to Hague attempting to sell his paintings and also to meet another of his cousin — Anton Mauve, a successful artist — Vincent always wanted to be. Mauve kept him as his student, teaching him watercolor techniques simultaneously trying to meet Kee. Her parents described his constant pursue as “disgusting,” until one day Vincent burned his hand over a lamp and refused to leave without seeing Kee. Vincent later penned this incident to Theo as an “attack” and that he didn’t recall his Uncle blowing out the flame to save his hand. Vincent’s inability to support himself financially was the major reason behind Kee’s refusal.
Mauve and Vincent kept working together till January 1882, learning new techniques and practicing with street models.
The same year Vincent met Clasina Maria Sien Hoornik, who later became his mistress. Sien was a former alcoholic prostitute who had previously borne two children. Unaware of her past Vincent went on to create several arts inspired by his newfound subject. Vincent’s painful affair with Sien prompted Mauve to go cold on him. Mauve eventually stopped replying to his letters. Only Theo kept him financially afloat although he too strongly disapproved of his brother’s relationship with Sien.
After ending his relation with Sien, Vincent traveled to Drenthe and developed a bonding with landscapes and moors. In his letters to Theo, he describes the place as full of inspiration but hard to endure loneliness. Three months of cold and isolation eventually drove Vincent away from Drenthe.
The Potato Eaters and Antwerp
Once again in 1883, Vincent moved in with his family in Nuenen where he painted farmers working in fields. This was perhaps the inspiration that led him to create the now legendary painting — The Potato Eaters. In January he proposed the idea of marketing his paintings in the Paris art market, to his brother Theo. But this idea didn’t turn out as expected. French was vibrant in color while Vincent’s paintings were mostly dull and plain in color — probably affected by his gloomy life.
After his father’s demise in March 1885, Vincent decided to learn Art in Antwerp and would leave the Netherlands forever.
Antwerp brought a lot of opportunities into Vincent’s life. But he found his art entirely different from the academy.
“I find all the drawings I see there hopelessly bad and fundamentally wrong. And I know that mine is totally different.”
- Vincent, in one of his letters to Theo.
Vincent didn’t stay there for long and insisted Theo come to Paris.
A Ray Of Hope
For a relatively long time, Vincent stayed in Paris’ meeting other artists, learning new techniques, and often working with them. Paris brought new colors in his life along with several inspirations for his still lifes. However, the fast-moving and rather uncontrolled city life made him feverish and longing for silent country life. This led him out towards the south of France in a small village of Arles where he became delighted to see vivid colors around him that made his paintings even more independent and expressive.
Arrival Of Paul Gauguin
Gauguin was perhaps the last artist Vincent worked with. They both created several masterpieces despite different perceptions on art — sometimes even leading to serious arguments.
Why did Vincent van Gogh cut his ear?
While Gauguin mostly painted from his imagination, Vincent preferred to paint what he sees around him. The difference of views on art led to a point of crisis. Vincent wanted Gauguin to treat him as his equal but the latter was rather dominant, which frustrated Vincent to such an extent that he threatened Gauguin with a razor. Shortly after Gauguin left; Vincent cut off his ear out of distraught and confusion. He wrapped his ear in a paper and gave it to a prostitute before being admitted to the hospital the next morning. His brother Theo was the only one who came to visit him in the hospital after hearing the incident.
In January 1889, after being discharged from the hospital, Vincent resumed his work. Gradually, his mental health started deteriorating after Gauguin left. Perhaps another broken dream of a joint studio with Gauguin was too much to endure. Fearing for the sake of his sanity and life he voluntarily got himself admitted to Saint Paul de Mausole in France where he stayed almost a year and painted about 150 paintings including ‘Almond Blossom.’ During this entire period, Vincent’s mental health kept on fluctuating, sometimes making him so delusional that he even consumed his oil paints, following which the hospital restricted him from painting. Despite all these, Vincent was more productive in the hospital than he was ever in his life.
Almond Blossom
The painting ‘Almond blossom’ is one of my most favorite paintings of Van Gogh, which was a present to his brother for the birth of their child. Theo and his wife Jo had named their baby after Vincent.
In 1890 few of Vincent’s works were displayed in Brussels exhibition after which an Art critic published an article in praise of his paintings. Finally, his arts were being appreciated and people began to acknowledge him. Theo has been submitting his works to ‘Salon des Indépendants’ in Paris, receiving positive reviews and few of them even got sold.
Final Months of Vincent Van Gogh
After leaving the Sanitorium in 1890, Vincent moved to Auvers Sur Oise where most of the artists like him were already residing. There he found solace and peace just like he wanted and somewhat started regaining his mental ability. In Auvers he worked on several paintings and even made friends with Paul Gachet, who was a doctor and kept Vincent under his watch. Paul strongly advised Vincent to devote himself completely to his art.
What Killed Van Gogh?
In July 1890 Vincent visited Theo for the last time and while he was there Theo stated that he wanted to give up his job as an art dealer and start a new business. He knew very well that it was a great financial risk.
Vincent returned to Auvers worried. Despite Theo’s assurance in the letters, the financial uncertainty was too much to bear for Vincent’s already fragile mind. He couldn’t help but fear that he might go back to where he came from.
On 27 July 1890, Vincent walked over to the wheat field where he did his paintings and succumbed to his distraught, shooting himself on his chest with a revolver. The bullet missed the vital organs but broke through the ribs before touching his spine. Somehow He was able to stagger back to his room at Auberge Ravoux where he was attended by few doctors who did their best to prise out the bullet but were unsuccessful and left him smoking in his room. His brother Theo rushed to him only to see him die before his eyes.
According to Theo, Vincent’s last words were — “the sadness will last forever.”
Theo died in January 1891, roughly a year after his brother’s death.
What could have been the possible cause of illness behind Vincent van Gogh? Several experts speculated on the grounds of his working conditions, financial pressure, denied recognitions, and refusals. Some debate that the artist could have been bipolar. Assumptions are still made to this day but whatever could have been the reason behind the tragic death of Vincent Van Gogh, he remains one of the best artists who paved a new path in the world of art — inspiring generations of artists with his impressive strokes draped inside his fear and pain.
