The Life and Death of Vincent van Gogh

With the Delta Prince Edward and PEI Convention Centre hosting a van Gogh experience this month, a post on van Gogh seemed timely.

If you haven't gone to the show, I highly recommend it!

Who was van Gogh?

Born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert, Netherlands, Vincent Willem van Gogh is now considered to be one of the greatest Post-Impressionist painters of all time and one of the main painters to influence Expressionism in modern art.

His work really gained popularity in the late 20th century - pieces available at auctions around the world were being sold for record-breaking amounts.

Part of this popularity is because of the number of his published letters which have solidified him as the "quintessential tortured artist."

Early Life

Van Gogh was the eldest of six children, born to a Protestant pastor, in a small village in the Brabant region of the southern Netherlands. He was known to be a quiet, self-contained boy who spent his free time outside observing nature.

Apprentice

At 16, be became an apprentice to Goupil and Co.,  The Hague branch of art dealers in London. His uncle was a partner there. He remained here from 1873 to 1875 and in the Paris branch from 1875 to 1876.

Van Gogh's work led to him loving the arts but he disliked being an art dealer. He developed a fondness for Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and especially the works of French painters Jean-Francois Millet and Camille Corot. The French painters' influences lasted throughout his life.

Mentality

Mentally, van Gogh was not in a good place. He loved art, but despised being an art dealer. He was very solitary as well, especially after his affections for a young woman in London were rejected in 1874.

He changed careers to work as a language teacher and lay preacher in England, then as a bookseller in the Netherlands in 1877.

Ministry

Wanting to serve humanity, he planned to enter the ministry and took up theology. This endeavor did not last long as in 1878 he ended his training as an evangelist in Brussels - he disputed the orthodox doctrinal approach, putting him into conflict with authority.

He left to do mission work in Borinage, an impoverished coal-mining region in Southwestern Belgium.

"There, in the winter of 1879–80, he experienced the first great spiritual crisis of his life. Living among the poor, he gave away all his worldly goods in an impassioned moment; he was thereupon dismissed by church authorities for a too-literal interpretation of Christian teaching."

With no money and his faith destroyed, van Gogh withdrew even further. He told an acquaintance, "They think I'm a madman because I wanted to be a true Christian. They turned me out like a dog, saying that I was causing a scandal."

Art

After realizing the ministry was not for him, van Gogh began to take his drawing seriously and believed he could bring consolation to others through it. This realization helped re-store his self-confidence.

Unfortunately, his career only lasted from 1880-1890. He went to the Brussels Academy to study and in 1881 he moved to his father's parsonage at Etten, Netherlands to study and paint nature. Although he was diligent and was improving he realized he needed the guidance of more experienced artists. In late 1881, he went to The Hague to work with Anton Mauve, a Dutch landscape painter. He'd visit museums and meet more painters.

In the summer of 1882, he expanded from drawings and watercolours to oil paints.

In 1883, he went to Drenthe (an isolated part of the northern Netherlands), for three months desiring to be among the people and nature. Drenthe was also frequented by Mauve and other Dutch painters. After three months he returned home, which was then at Nuenen, a village in the Brabant.

He remained in Nuenen for most of 1884 and 1885. During this time, he grew more confident in his skills, became bolder. He painted still life, landscapes, and figures related to/referencing the daily lives of peasants, their hardships, and the nature around them.

The Potato Eaters (1885), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Eventually, he felt too isolated in Nuenen and went to study at the Antwerp Academy in Antwerp, Belgium. However, he only lasted three months as his numerous artistic influences led him to refuse the Academy's dictates. As a result, he was only at the Academy for three months before going to Paris in 1886.

Between Spring 1886 and February 1888, van Gogh created his own style. His works became colourful, he was less traditional, and his tone became lighter.

Van Gogh tired of Paris after two years and in February 1888 moved to Arles in southeastern France. In Arles, van Gogh's art thrived. Where he was once so hesitant to stray from traditional methods, he was putting paint directly onto the canvas and was spontaneous and instinctive because he worked very quickly as he was determined to capture the effect or mood of a piece while he was in the moment.

He once told his brother if someone thought a painting had been completed too quickly, then the person had "looked at it too fast."

Big Plans

Van Gogh had big plans. While in Paris, he had hoped to form an Impressionist group with some of the artists he had met, such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin. Once in Arles, he rented and decorated a house. His plan was to persuade these other artists to join him and found "The Studio of the South."

In October 1888, Gauguin arrived and they worked together for two months. Unfortunately, their relations deteriorated quickly due to opposing ideas and temperaments.

His Ear

We have all heard that van Gogh cut off his own ear. But, how much do we really know?

We know that on Christmas Eve 1888, van Gogh got into a heated argument with Gauguin. Some believe this was instigated because van Gogh was mentally and physically exhausted.

Reports say that van Gogh began arguing with Gauguin and chased him down with a razor, cutting the lower half of his ear off in the process.

A sensational news story then reported van Gogh, deranged by this point, visited a brothel near his home and gave the bloody ear to a woman named Rachel, saying "Guard this object carefully."

However, 21st century art historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans examined police records and artists' correspondence and in their book Van Gogh's Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence, claim Gauguin actually cut van Gogh's ear with a sword and, for an unknown reason, van Gogh took responsibility and was hospitalized.

Gauguin, meanwhile, went back to Paris. Van Gogh returned home a fortnight later and began painting again. Several weeks later, he started showing symptoms of a mental disturbance severe enough that he was sent back to the hospital.

In 1889, he feared losing his capacity for work, which he saw as integral to his sanity and asked to be temporarily placed in an asylum at Saint-Remy-de-Provence to be under medical supervision.

He stayed there for 12 months, his mood alternating between calm and despair. He kept working during this period, producing The Starry Night, Garden of the Asylum, Cypresses, Olive Trees, Les Alpilles, plus portraits of doctors and his interpretations of works by Rembrant, Delacrois, and Millet. During this period, he used more muted colours and tried to make his paintings more calm.

The Starry Night (1889), Britannica

His Last Year

Van Gogh wanted to see his brother, Theo, and northern France. In May 1890, he arrived in Auvers-sur-Oise to stay with Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, a homeopathic doctor-artist. At first, van Gogh's worked enthusiastically.

Almond Blossom (1980) Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

In early July 1890, van Gogh visited his brother in Paris. He learned Theo was considering quitting his management job at an art dealership and opening his own business. Such a move was financially risky.

For van Gogh, this was worrying as he had relied on Theo for financial stability for years. Van Gogh returned to Auvers-sur-Oise. His friendship with Gachet was suffering and he was full of guilt for his financial dependence on Theo, who now had a wife and son. 

On July 27, 1890, Van Gogh walked into a wheat field and shot himself in the chest with a pistol. He staggered back to Auberge Ravoux, where he was staying. A doctor was called and a telegraph sent to his brother Theo. On July 29, 1890, van Gogh died with Theo by his side.

Six months later, on January 25, 1891, Theo died as well. In 1914, Theo's remains were exhumed and re-buried beside his brother, symbolizing the close relationship they had in life.

Graves of Vincent and Theodore van Gogh, Auvers-sur-Oise, from Atlas Obscura

Van Gogh's name was basically unknown until after his death. He was constantly poor and lived on Theo's generosity. After his death, Theo's widow, Jo van Gogh, raised awareness of his work in various ways. Slowly, his work became more known and collectors started wanting the pieces. In 1914, in addition to having Theo's grave moved, she published the letters between Vincent and Theo. 

Summarizing why van Gogh is so well remembered and loved, is probably best summed up in this clip from Doctor Who

"After Vincent's Death." Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincents-life-1853-1890/after-vincents-death

"Vincent Van Gogh." Britannica. July 25, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh/Legacy