Gogh, Vincent van

(1853-1890)

Gogh, Vincent van (1853-1890) The son of a Dutch pastor, van Gogh became a
missionary in a coal-mining district in Belgium, where he shared the poverty
and hardships of the miners. He did not begin to become an artist until he was
living in great poverty after his dismissal from the mission in 1880. Then he
joined his brother Theo in Paris and came immediately into contact with the
works of the Impressionists, which Theo endeavored to sell in the gallery
devoted to Modern Art that he directed. He met Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro,
Degas, Seurat, and Gauguin, and in 1888 went to Arles, where he was later
joined by Gauguin. In December 1888 he became mentally imbalanced, and from
then until his death suffered intermittent attacks of manic depression. During
the intervals he painted with a frenzy and passion in asylums or wherever he
found himself living. In July 1890 he shot himself. His brother Theo, to whom
most of his long and revealing letters were addressed, and who was his constant
support, moral and financial, died six months later. Van Gogh's Dutch period is
characterized by his use of dark color, heavy forms, and subject matter chiefly
drawn from peasants and their work. He ignored Theo's advice to lighten his
palette as the Impressionists were doing. Later he adopted the Impressionist
technique and turned to flowers, views of Paris, and portraits and self
-portraits that enabled him to experiment with new ideas. He painted many
landscapes and portraits in heightened color and with a vivid expression of
light and feeling. His paintings are vivid in color and with writhing,
flamelike forms in the drawing, completely expressive of his tormented
sensibility.

Copyright© 1995 ZCI Publishing Inc.