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Who was Vincent van Gogh?
Vincent van Gogh was a post-Impressionist painter whose work notable for its beauty, emotion and color highly influenced 20th-century art. He struggled with mental illness and remained poor and virtually unknown throughout his life. -
Life as a Preacher
Van Gogh then taught in a Methodist boy´s school, and also preached to the congregation. Although raised in a religious family, it wasn't until this time that he seriously began to consider devoting his life to the church. After two years the evangelical committees were not as pleased. They disagreed with van Gogh's lifestyle, which had begun to take on a tone of martyrdom. They refused to renew van Gogh's contract, and he was forced to find another occupation. -
Paintings
Vincent van Gogh completed more than 2,100 works, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolors, drawings and sketches.
Several of his paintings now 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. -
Self-Portrait
Over the course of 10 years, van Gogh created more than 43 self-portraits as both paintings and drawings.
"People say, and I am willing to believe it, that it is hard to know yourself. But it is not easy to paint yourself, either. The portraits painted by Rembrandt are more than a view of nature, they are more like a revelation,” -
van Gogh & Impressionist art
Van Gogh decided to move to Paris, in March 1886, Theo welcomed his brother into his small apartment.
In Paris, van Gogh first saw Impressionist art, and he was inspired by the color and light. He began studying with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Camille Pissarro and others. After two years he decided to move to the south of france into a now-famous "yellow house" and spent his money on paint rather than food. -
Van Gogh's Ear
van Gogh found himself feeling sick and strange. Before long, it became apparent that in addition to suffering from physical illness, his psychological health was declining. Around this time, he is known to have sipped on turpentine and eaten paint.
Van gogh cut off his ear with a razor, handed his ear to a prostitute named rachel with blood pouring from his hand, he offered her his ear, asking her to "keep this object carefully." -
Starry Night
The year before his death. “This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big,” he wrote to his brother Theo. -
Death
Vincent van Gogh went out to paint in the morning carrying a loaded pistol and shot himself in the chest, but the bullet did not kill him.He was found bleeding in his room.He was taken to a nearby hospital and his doctors sent for Theo who arrived to find his brother sitting up in bed and smoking a pipe. Then Vincent asked Theo to take him home.
On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh died in the arms of his brother Theo. He was only 37 years old
