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Vincent van GOGH
(1853-1890)
Over a hundred years after his death, the life of Vincent van Gogh continues to intrigue and perplex us. His story is one which is seldom what it seems to be, taunting scholarship with popular mythology and then revealing that what we know to be fact is not really fact at all. Most of us have heard the stories about his miserable existence: how he lived in poverty; how his genius was never appreciated during his lifetime; and how he eventually went out into a field and shot himself.
Although there are scholars who have supported and who continue to support these stories, there are also those who have taken issue with them. According to the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas Hoving (Art for Dummies), van Gogh did in fact sell work during his lifetime; he owned a distinguished collection of paintings; he had a number of students; he was well enough known to have had his work forged during his lifetime; and he didn't commit suicide, but fell against a shotgun which accidently discharged. One of his students, Dr. Gachet, mishandled the treatment of his wounds, and Vincent died two days later. During the last six months of his life when he was sinking into his final dispair, he was beginning to achieve critical success.
Van Gogh was the son of a minister and trained to be a minister himself. Failing to get a position through the church, he became an independent missionary, serving the miners in the Borinage area of Belgium. This vocation lasted for only a few years when he realized that his true calling was to paint. His brother Theo, who was an art dealer, introduced him to a number of the artists of his day including Paul Gauguin. Later when Van Gogh called on his colleagues to help him establish an artist colony, only Gauguin stepped forward.
Before long, the two were at each other's throats. In one particularly heated exchange just before Christmas in 1889, van Gogh threw his glasses in Gauguin's face and stormed out of the room. Later when Gauguin was walking down the street, he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, Gauguin saw his comrade, razor in hand, coming up behind him. Gauguin stared him down and van Gogh ran home and cut off part of his ear; he then wrapped it up in a cloth and gave it as a gift to a local prostitute.
The Vincent van Gogh Gallery
Van Gogh from Artchives
Van Gogh from the Artcyclopedia
A FEW WELL-KNOWN WORKS BY VAN GOGH &
SOME STORIES ABOUT THEM
• • • Most of the images whose links appear below can be enlarged by clicking on the image.
Before and after the impressionists
Prior to his move to Paris in 1886, van Gogh's work tended to be dark and somber pieces (such as The Potato Eaters, first study, oil study, a detailed study of the evolution of the painting) which reflected the lives of the peasants he so greatly admired. Once in Paris, he came under the influence of Impressionism, Japanese prints and photography. That he ate, drank and argued with the likes of Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Seurat certainly affected his philosophy about the use of color. In a very shot time his work went from dark and almost monochromatic to bright and vibrant. An association with Edgar Degas may have reinforced his appreciation of the classical methodology which Degas employed. Although van Gogh was not a strict adherent of this "croquis, esquisse, bauche," he was a master draftsman, and made many preparatory sketches.
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Will the real Vincent please step forward?
On August 4, 1997, Jeanne Louise Calment, who was believed to be the world's oldest person, died at age 122 in Arles, France. When Calment was 13, she met van Gogh when he came to her uncle's shop to buy paints. She later recounted that that he was "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable." Another time she was much less charitable, saying that "he was ugly as sin" and "mean as hell."
Whether Calment's assessment of him reflected one of his episodes of mental instability, or was simply the impression of a young girl who may have been in the way, we will probably never know. To be fair to Van Gogh, it should be noted that when he died, artist Emile Bernard wrote, "Many people arrived [at Vincent's funeral], mainly artists, among whom I recognized Lucien Pissarro and Lauzet. I did not know the others, also some local people who had known him a little, seen him once or twice and who liked him because he was so good-hearted, so human..."
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Self-portraits
Few artists have painted more self-portraits than Vincent van Gogh. This could probably be attributed to several things, the least of which was vanity. Early on van Gogh wanted to become a portrait painter. Knowing that his technique was lacking and that his financial situation was dire, he practiced on the only model available who would pose for free: himself.
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He lost his health, he lost his ear, but he probably never lost his mind
Over the years, there has been much speculation about Vincent's mental and physical condition. It is generally recognized that the 19th Century Dutch painter was addicted to absinthe, a popular drink served in cafes in Paris during the late 1800's. Other physical problems which he may have had include syphillis (he seems to have frequently patronized brothels) and lead poisoning (white lead was the prevalent white pigment in use at the time). He was neurotic, and given to wide mood swings throughout his life. He suffered from recurring hallucinations and depression, and until recently he was thought to have had epilepsy. This latter theory has been called into question by a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggesting that what van Gogh suffered from was Meniere's disease, an affliction believed to affect about 7 million Americans today.
Other factors may be related to malnutrition and genetic predisposition. Because of his poverty, the artist seldom ate well. Today we know that malnutrition can cause and multiply the effects of many different conditions. His family's medical history may also have been against him. He had a sister who was in an asylum for the better part of her life, and both of his brothers died young (Theo had a stroke and slipped into a coma just six months after Vincent died.).
In and out of asylums during much of his adult life, his most famous episode of "insanity" occurred on Dec. 23, 1889 and resulted in him cutting off a part of his ear. His first two self-portraits after this incident have his head turned showing the bandaged ear. (January, 1889 | January, 1889 with pipe) The last four self-portraits have him turned so that his mutilated ear is hidden from view. (August | September | September | September )
He was certainly unstable, but probably never mad. The letters that he wrote to his brother (Dear Theo:ĘThe Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh) reflect someone who was struggling in this world, not someone who was in an altogether different world. His rationality also asserts itself in his paintings which are generally calculated and balanced, the result of careful studies and much experimentation, processes one would hardly expect from a madman.
Information about Van Goghs' time
HISTORICAL EVENTS:
1815 - Napoleon defeated at Waterloo
1834-1917 Van Gogh
1844 - U.S. treaty with China opens ports
1848 - Communist Manifesto published
1859 - Darwin publishes orgin of the species
1861 - 1865 U.S. Civil War
1914 - 1918 First World War
The Art Historian's Guide to the Movies
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY- The Artist's View of World History and Western Civilization
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND INDUSTRY : The Age of Industry
• (comprehensive links pages for all of the arts and history)
A SAMPLING OF
PAINTERS WHO INFLUENCED VAN GOGH:
- Edgar Degas
- Claude Monet
- Camille Pissarro
- Pierre-August Renoir
- Georges Seurat
- Paul Signac
- Alfred Sisley
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