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Vincent Van Gogh

The general facts of Vincent Van Gogh's life are nearly as well known as his paintings, which are some of the most popular images in the history of art. His paintings are sold for record-breaking prices today, but he was almost unknown in his own lifetime. Van Gogh's life, maybe more than the lives of most painters, plays an important part in understanding his art. A biographical sketch of Van Gogh and an analysis of one work, his famous The Starry Night (1889), demonstrate how, for this artist, personality and circumstances affected the creation of his art.

Vincent Van Gogh was born in Holland in 1853. His father was a clergyman, a family tradition that Vincent was to consider as a career. But two of Van Gogh's uncles had a gallery in The Hague which they sold to an international art dealer, Goupil, who had galleries in several countries. Van Gogh had shown some interest in art as a child and when he was 16 he took his first job working for Goupil. He worked in The Hague and then in London. But he was very unsuccessful at this job since he could never keep from offending the wealthy customers and was fired in 1876.1 In 1877 he worked in a book store. In 1878-79 Van Gogh made a decision to join his family tradition and began training for the ministry at the University of Amsterdam. He failed at this too.

Throughout his life, Van Gogh was "imbued with a strong sense of mission" in whatever field he pursued.2 When he failed at the theological seminary Van Gogh still wanted to pursue a similar job. He went as a lay missionary to a depressed coal-mining region in Belgium. He met with humiliating failure there too. His idea was that he would live as the early Christians had. "He gave everything he possessed to the poor, went about in a worn soldier's coat . . . and slept on the ground in a wooden hut."3 He cared for the miners, especially when they were sick. But the people, unable to comprehend why he would subjec...

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Vincent Van Gogh. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 18:18, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702434.html