Group 6

July 2, 2014

Period 3

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands. Vincent’s full

name is Vincent Willem Van Gogh. He had two brothers, Theo, and Vincent also named the

same, who passed away before Vincent was even born. He attended Brussels Academy and he

was forced to leave school at the age of 15 because his family was struggling financially. He got

a job at his uncle’s Cornelis’ art dealership.

June of 1873, Vincent was transferred to the Groupil Gallery in London. There he met

Eugenie Loyer who also, rejected his marriage proposal. Van Gogh had a breakdown and he

threw all his books away except for the Bible. He then devoted his life to God. After that the

taught in a Methodist boys' school. In the fall of 1880, van Gogh decided to move to Brussels

and become an artist. Though he had no formal art training, his younger brother Theo offered to

support van Gogh financially.

Van Gogh became utterly depressed. For six weeks, he lived a nomadic life, moving

throughout while drawing and painting the landscape and its people. Van Gogh’s art helped him

stay emotionally balanced. In 1885, he began to work on what is considered to be his first

masterpiece, “Potato Eaters.” Van Gogh then was inspired by color and light. He began to buy

paint rather than food. He became sick. He cut off portion of his ear and gave it to a woman

named Rachel. After that the people of Arles signed a petition saying that van Gogh was

dangerous, he decided to move to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-

Provence. On May 8, 1889, he began painting in the hospital gardens. In November 1889, he was

invited to exhibit his paintings in Brussels. He sent six paintings, including "Irises" and "Starry

Night."

The “Starry Night” was Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting. It was painted on June

1889. Its genre is landscape art. This painting is of a night sky with swirling clouds and below

there is a small town. Vincent painted Starry Night while staying in an Asylum at Saint- Remy in

1889.

On July 27, 1890, van Gogh shot himself on the chest but the bullet didn’t kill him. He

was found bleeding in his room. The doctors took him to the hospital. He died two days later on

July 29, 1890 in his brother’s Theo’s arms. He was 37 years old. On March 17, 1901, 71 of van

Gogh's paintings were displayed at a show in Paris, and his fame subsequently grew enormously.

Today, Vincent van Gogh is considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt. He

completed more than 2,100 works, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300

watercolors, drawings and sketches. Several of his paintings rank among the most expensive in

the world; "Irises" sold for a record $53.9 million, and his "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold for $82.5

million.