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170 jaar of Van Gogh
On 30 March 1853, 170 years ago, Vincent van Gogh was born in the Dutch village of Zundert, North Brabant. Van Gogh became renowned across the world for his masterpieces like Almond Blossom, The Starry Night and Bedroom in Arles. We're diving deeper into the life of the sensitive and passionate Dutch painter from the 19th century, Vincent Willem van Gogh.
Who was Van Gogh?
Vincent van Gogh is famous across the world for his major influence on post-impressionism and expressionism. The painter lived from 30 March 1853 to 29 July 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he eventually died. Over his career, Vincent van Gogh created over 2000 paintings and drawings and he left behind around 900 letters of correspondence. Although Van Gogh's masterpieces are still loved to this day, that wasn't evident during his lifetime. *"I can't do anything about the fact that my paintings aren't selling. But the day will come when people will see that they are worth more than the amount we paid for the paint and my, by all accounts, very meagre livelihood," wrote Vincent in a letter of correspondence to his brother Theo van Gogh in 1888.
Approach to painting
At the age of sixteen, Vincent began his career in the world of art as an apprentice at the international art firm Goupil & Cie, working with his uncle Vincent, also known as Uncle Cent. In 1873, his brother Theo was hired by Goupil in Brussels and Vincent was transferred to London and later Paris. September 1872 was the starting point for a lifelong exchange of letters between the Van Gogh brothers. Due to his great love of art, Vincent's work at Goupil increasingly started to bore him. He struggled to figure out what he wanted to do with himself instead and that meant he spent some time working as a minister, as a clerk in a bookstore and later as a theology student, but nothing really stuck. When he was 27, he decided to pursue art as a profession. Vincent Van Gogh lived in various places and was taught by Anton Mauve. In 1881, Vincent returned to his parents’ home, but his parents didn't agree with this decision. However, his brother supported Vincent financially so that he could focus solely on art.
Vincent van Gogh lived in 9 different places in the Netherlands:
Zundert, Zevenbergen, Tilburg, The Hague, Amsterdam, Dordrecht, Etten, Drenthe and Nuenen.
A pioneer of modern art
From 1886 to 1888, Vincent lived in Paris, where he developed his own style with short brushstrokes and striking bold colours. In contrast to his earlier work, he started using brighter colours, partially influenced by modern art. He was drawn towards new subjects, such as the countryside, portraits, cafés and boulevards. Although there was plenty about life that inspired him, his health began to deteriorate. He resided for some time in Saint-Rémy, a psychiatric institute, where he created around 150 paintings. Once recovered, he left the institution, but he later suffered from countless panic attacks and mental health problems. In the final months of his life, Vincent lived in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where he found much needed respite and created a new painting almost every day. There were other artists working there too and he could continue to visit his brother in Paris. Despite his passionate nature, his mental illness got the better of him and Vincent died on 27 July 1890.
Recognising a master painter
After Van Gogh died, appreciation for his work finally began to increase. Theo van Gogh organised a memorial exhibition for Vincent, but six months later Theo died himself. His wife, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, inherited all the paintings that Theo had been given by Vincent. Eventually, she made sure that the work of Vincent van Gogh was exhibited everywhere, something that her deceased husband had always wished for his brother Vincent.
Van Gogh the Art Hero
These days, around two million people a year travel from across the globe to admire the Dutch painter's artworks in Amsterdam. At Art Heroes, we can't imagine art history without him either. His pieces are an important addition to our 'Old Masters' collection. Explore our range of Vincent's pieces and hang them on your wall. For example, go for a landscape painting as wallpaper, a portrait on HD metal, a still life on canvas or a street scene in an ArtFrame. Sit back and browse the 'Vincent van Gogh' art collection on Art Heroes and celebrate 170 years of Vincent van Gogh with us.
