Vincent van Gogh

 

Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, a small village in the Netherlands, the son of a Protestant pastor. He grew up in a deeply religious and conservative family, which strongly influenced his life and thinking. Even at a young age, Van Gogh showed a deep sensitivity and a tendency towards loneliness. He often felt misunderstood and vacillated between various career goals before turning to art.

 

He initially worked as an art dealer in The Hague, London and Paris, where he came into contact with the art world. However, Van Gogh did not find fulfillment in this profession and felt increasingly drawn to religious work. He tried his hand as a lay preacher in Belgium, but his excessive devotion and unorthodox methods led to the failure of this vocation. It was not until his mid-20s that Van Gogh decided to become an artist, motivated by a deep need to express his inner struggles and his view of the world through art.

 

 

 

 

Van Gogh began his artistic career relatively late, but he devoted himself to his new vocation with intense passion. In the early years, he concentrated on drawings and landscapes that were strongly inspired by the Dutch masters of the 17th century. His work shows an earthy, muted color palette and often themes of simple country life, as in his early masterpiece The Potato Eaters (1885).

 

 

Arles and the search for light

In February 1888, Van Gogh leaves Paris and moves to Arles in the south of France. In the bright, sunny landscape of the south, the artist searched for a new expression for his art. He was fascinated by the colors of the south and created some of his most famous works during this time. In Arles, Van Gogh developed his characteristic swirling brushstrokes and began to work with contrasting colors to express his emotional and spiritual relationship with nature.

One of his most iconic works, The Sunflowers (1888), was created during this phase. The bright yellow flowers are an expression of Van Gogh's passion for color and his search for symbolic meaning in nature. At the same time, he painted landscapes and scenes of everyday life, including the famous Bedroom in Arles (1888), which reflects his longing for peace and security.

Van Gogh dreamed of founding an artists' colony in Arles and invited his friend Paul Gauguin to join him. However, the collaboration between the two artists is characterized by tensions. After violent arguments, Van Gogh cut off part of his left ear in a fit of psychological despair. This event marked the beginning of his severe psychological crisis, which would accompany him until his death.

 

Saint-Rémy and the time in the asylum

After his breakdown in Arles, Van Gogh was admitted to the mental asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he remained from May 1889 to May 1890. Despite his health problems and recurring seizures, this period was extremely productive. In the secluded environment of the asylum, Van Gogh painted some of his most important works, in which his inner turmoil and his spiritual search became visible.

During this phase, he created works such as The Starry Night (1889), one of his most famous paintings, which depicts the night sky over Saint-Rémy, interspersed with swirling stars and a dramatic moon. The painting is an impressive representation of Van Gogh's emotional state and his vision of nature as a living, pulsating force.

The natural world around the asylum also inspired him to create a series of paintings of cypresses, olive trees and wheat fields, reflecting his deep connection with the landscape of southern France. His works from this period show an intense, emotional imagery that testifies to both his love of nature and his inner turmoil.

 

Auvers-sur-Oise and the tragic death

In May 1890, Van Gogh leaves Saint-Rémy and moves to Auvers-sur-Oise, a small village near Paris, where he is under the care of Dr. Paul Gachet. In these last weeks of his life, Van Gogh is extremely productive and paints more than 70 paintings. His works from this period, such as Wheatfield with Ravens (1890), are characterized by intense colours and powerful brushstrokes that express his desperate emotional state.

On July 27, 1890, Van Gogh shoots himself in the chest, presumably in an act of despair. He died two days later, on July 29, 1890, at the age of just 37, with his brother Theo by his side.

 

After his death and legacy

Vincent van Gogh experienced little success during his lifetime. Only a few of his works were sold and he remained largely unknown. It was only after his death that Van Gogh was recognized as one of the most important artists of modern art. His unique style, characterized by bold colors, expressive brushstrokes and a deep emotional and spiritual connection to nature, inspired later artists and art movements such as Expressionism and Fauvism.

His letters, especially those to his brother Theo, are a valuable source for understanding his world of thought and his creative process. They show an artist who was deeply connected to his art and his search for the expression of the invisible in the visible world.

Today, his paintings are among the best known and most valuable in the world, and his works are exhibited in the world's greatest museums, including the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which houses one of the most extensive collections of his works. Vincent van Gogh remains one of the most fascinating and tragic figures in art history, whose tireless creative drive and visionary style have left a lasting mark on the art world.

 

Exhibitions

• 28.06.2024 – 26.10.2024 Kiefer / Van Gogh – Royal Academy of Art, London.
• 20.09.2024 – 26.01.2025 Matthew Wong – Vincent van Gogh – Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich.
• 07.03.2019 – 27.06.2019 Van Gogh: His Life in Art – Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
• 24.03.2017 – 20.06.2017 Van Gogh & Japan – Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo.

 

Films

• Loving Vincent, Animated Movie, 95 Min, UK/Poland, 2017. 
• Van Gogh: An der Schwelle zur Ewigkeit (At Eternity’s Gate), Feature Film, Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh, 111 Min, USA/France, 2018.
• Van Gogh: Painted with Words, TV-Film, Benedict Cumberbatch as Van Gogh, 80 Min, UK, 2010.

 

Literature

• Vincent van Gogh. Biographie, Matthias Arnold, Munich 1993.
• Van Gogh – Mythos und Wirklichkeit, Stefan Koldehoff, Cologne 2003.
• Vincent van Gogh – Werk und Wirkung, Matthias Arnold, Munich 1995
• Van Gogh – Gemälde – Die Meisterwerke, Belinda Thomson, Ostfildern 2007.
• Vincent van Gogh. Letze Zuflucht Malerei, Matthew Wong, Munich 2024.

 

Collections

Netherlands

• Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

 

France

• Paris - Musée d'Orsay

 

USA

• New York - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
• Washington, D.C. - National Gallery of Art
• Chicago - The Art Institute of Chicago

 

UK

• London - The Courtauld Gallery

 

Weblinks

• Official Website of the Van Gogh Museum