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Birth date
Vincent van Gogh was born Vincent Willem van Gogh on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands -
At age 15
Van Gogh's family was struggling financially, and he was forced to leave school and go to work. He got a job at his Uncle Cornelis' art dealership, Goupil & Cie., a firm of art dealers in The Hague. By this time, van Gogh was fluent in French, German and English, as well as his native Dutch. -
Groupil Gallery in London
Van Gogh was transferred to the Groupil Gallery in London. There, he fell in love with English culture. He visited art galleries in his spare time, and also became a fan of the writings of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. -
The Church of Belgium
In the winter of 1878, van Gogh volunteered to move to an impoverished coal mine in the south of Belgium, a place where preachers were usually sent as punishment. He preached and ministered to the sick, and also drew pictures of the miners and their families, who called him "Christ of the Coal Mines." -
Become an Artist
van Gogh decided to move to Brussels and become an artist. Though he had no formal art training, his younger brother Theo, who worked as an art dealer, offered to support van Gogh financially. He began taking lessons on his own, studying books like Travaux des champs by Jean-François Millet and Cours de dessin by Charles Bargue. -
First Masterpiece
van Gogh began working on what is considered to be his first masterpiece, "Potato Eaters." His brother, Theo, by this time living in Paris, believed the painting would not be well-received in the French capital, where impressionism had become the trend. -
"Little Yellow House"
van Gogh boarded a train to the south of France. He moved into the "little yellow house" and spent his money on paint rather than food. He lived on coffee, bread and absinthe, and found himself feeling sick and strange. -
"Self portrait with bandaged ear"
The artist Paul Gauguin discovered his friend van Gogh With blood pouring from his hand, he offered his friend his ear, asking him to "keep this object carefully." During that time van Gogh was admitted to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital. -
"Wheatfield with crows"
Van Gogh was taken to a nearby hospital and his doctors sent for Theo (Vincent's brother), they spent the next couple of days talking together, and then van Gogh asked Theo to take him home. On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh died in the arms of his brother. He was 37 years old.
