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Origins -

Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, to Theodorus van Gogh, a country minister, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, an artist.

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A sad name story -

Van Gogh was named after his paternal grandfather, but the name had originally been used for an older brother who had died during childbirth one year before his birth. He saw his brother’s tombstone with his name on it.

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He tried many other careers before declaring himself an artist -

Before painting, van Gogh tried his hand at many other careers, including as an art dealer, school teacher, and preacher. After little success and finding these roles unfulfilling, he took up painting at almost the age of 27. He declared himself an artist in a letter to his brother Theo in 1880.

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His start as a painter -

He then traveled through Belgium, Holland, the UK, and France in pursuit of his artistic vision. When van Gogh first began painting, he used peasants and farmers as models. He would later paint flowers, landscapes, and self-portraits.

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A poor artist -

Too poor to pay for new equipment, van Gogh painted over many of his artworks instead of buying new canvases.

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He taught himself -

Largely self-taught, van Gogh only received formal artistic training for about four months a few years before his death.

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A difficult personality -

He was known for having a strong and difficult personality. People close to him felt that he had a tendency for self-martyrdom, and he alienated many fellow painters with his argumentative ways.

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He only cut off a piece of his own ear, not the whole ear -

One of the most famous anecdotes of van Gogh’s life concerns him cutting off his own left ear. In reality, only the lobe of the ear was cut off. This happened in 1888 during an argument with fellow artist Paul Gaugin, which sent him into such a frenzy that he mutilated his ear with a razor.

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What happened to his ear? -

It's believed that van Gogh then wrapped the partially severed ear in paper, and delivered it to a prostitute at a brothel where he and Gaugin used to visit.

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He only sold one painting during his lifetime -

In 1889, van Gogh was invited to exhibit at Les XX, an annual art show in Brussels. He submitted three landscapes, two sunflower studies and a painting, titled 'The Red Vineyard' (pictured). Anna Boch, the sister of a friend of van Gogh, paid 400 francs for the painting.

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He admitted himself to an asylum -

After his nervous breakdown in 1888, which resulted in the ear-cutting incident, van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself to the Saint-Remy-de-Provence asylum.

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His most famous work was painted in an asylum -

There he painted his most famous work, 'The Starry Night,' which was the view from his bedroom window. It's now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection in New York.

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A spontaneous artist -

His paintings were often completed quickly, as his style was spontaneous and intuitive. He once told his brother, "When anyone says that such and such painting is done too quickly, you can reply that they have looked at it too fast."

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He created a lot of art -

In 10 years, van Gogh created around 2,100 artworks, including approximately 900 paintings. Such a scale equates to creating nearly a new piece of artwork every 36 hours.

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His brother was his biggest supporter -

Initially, when they were employed by the same art dealer, it was Theo who encouraged his brother to pursue art. Most of Vincent's financial support came from Theo.

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Brotherly love -

Theo's encouragement and emotional support are chronicled in the numerous letters that they exchanged. Fortunately, these letters were preserved.

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His life is documented through hundreds of letters -

In fact, van Gogh wrote over 800 during his lifetime, to his brother Theo and to his artist friends Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard, and many others. Although many of the letters are undated, historians have been able to place most of them in chronological order, to better understand van Gogh’s life.

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Most of his letter were to his brother -

Over 600 letters were exchanged between van Gogh and his brother Theo, which shows us their lifelong friendship and van Gogh’s artistic views and theories.

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He only had one romantic relationship -

In 1882, while he was in The Hague to study drawing with a friend, van Gogh made the acquaintance of a seamstress and prostitute named Clasina Maria Hoornink. Hoornink had a five-year-old daughter and was expecting a child fathered by a man who had abandoned her. Wanting to marry her, van Gogh eventually left her after his father demanded he end the relationship. Hoornik subsequently gave her children to family members and committed suicide in 1904.

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He was troubled by mental illness for most of his life -

Evidence suggests that van Gogh had manic depression and suffered from psychotic episodes, as well as delusions, throughout his life.

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Mental illness and suicide ran in his family -

Vincent van Gogh's parents had six children: three sons and three daughters. Of these six, Vincent struggled with mental illness, and his brother Theo died under mysterious circumstances, which some believe to have been suicide. His other brother, Cornelius, committed suicide at 33, and his sister Wilhelmina spent the last four decades of her life in a mental institution.

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He shot himself -

Van Gogh shot himself on July 27, 1890, in a wheat field in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, where he had been painting. After the shooting, he managed to walk back to his residence and was treated by two doctors, who were unable to remove the bullet. He died two days later from an infection in the wound.

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His final paintings depict the field where he shot himself -

One of van Gogh's final paintings is the haunting 'Wheatfield with Crows,' an abstract work filled with black crows and paths leading nowhere. It depicts the field where he attempted to kill himself.

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His final words -

Next to his deathbed, his brother Theo said the artist's last words were "la tristesse durera toujours," meaning, "The sadness will last forever."

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His therapist took many of his artworks -

After his funeral, Theo invited the small circle of mourners to Vincent's lodgings and suggested they each take a painting in remembrance of his brother. When it was their turn, Dr. Paul Gachet and his son gathered as many paintings as they could carry. These paintings were privately kept by Gachet's son for many years, until he donated most of them to the Louvre. Today, they make up the bulk of the van Gogh exhibition at the Musée D'Orsay in Paris.

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His death sent his brother into a downward spiral -

By 1891, Theo van Gogh was a patient at a psychiatric hospital near Utrecht, Holland. He died on January 25, 1891, aged 33. His death has been speculated about ever since, including syphilis-induced dementia, suicide, and severe depression over his brother's death. Initially buried in Utrecht, Theo’s wife, Johanna, had her husband exhumed and reburied next to Vincent in Auvers-sur-Oise.

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His sister-in-law helped popularize him -

In fact, much of van Gogh’s success can be attributed to his sister-in-law Johanna, who committed herself to forwarding his legacy after his death.

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The legacy -

After Johanna's death, her son Vincent Willem, named after his illustrious uncle, continued her work and established the foundation that is responsible for the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

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One of the most expensive paintings in history -

Ironically, despite the financial hardship he faced in life, van Gogh created one of the most expensive paintings in history. His 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet,' sold for US$82.5 million in 1990, the equivalent of around $190 million today when adjusted for inflation.

Sources: (History Hit) (Ranker)

See also: Famous artist homes and studios you can visit

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