This March, the whole world celebrated the 161th anniversary of the birth of Vincent Van Gogh's, whose paintings are now included in the list of the fifteen most famous and expensive artworks in the world. The paradox is that it was the artist's lifelong dream to sell at least one of them to get the money and pay off his countless debts.
When a healthy boy was born on the 30th March, 1853 to the family of Pastor Theodore Van Gogh and his wife Anna Cornelia Karbentus in Groot-Zundert, Holland, the young couple’s joy had no bounds (vangoghgallery). There was not a second hesitation of how to name the child: of course, Vincent, like his older brother. Although he was the only child of his parents, the boy soon found out the reason of being named Vincent. Walking alone in the vicinity of his village, he wandered into the cemetery. On one of the plates read: "Vincent Van Gogh, March 30, 1852." Shaken to the core, he went back home and asked his mother for explanations. His mother took a deep sigh and told that exactly one year before Vincent was born she had had a boy, who passed away almost immediately after birth (biography.com). Why he was also named Vincent? It was a common name in their family, for example, his grandfather or uncle from the Hague were also named Vincent. Deep in her heart, Anna was happy that her son never returned to this subject, and in his behavior hardly changed: he was still closed, indifferent and unsociable. However, even after having five more children, Anna closely watched grown and matured van Gogh and could not forget that conversation. His grown brothers and sisters, as though feeling how much always wayward, difficult and tedious Vincent differed from him, avoided their elder brother. Vincent singled out only one of all his siblings – Theodore, or Theo, who was four years younger than him. They often wandered along the village together looking at the vast sandy plains, pine forests and the heath (Pomerans, p 1) and Vincent taught Theodore to observe the insects and enjoy the little things. Their bond was immensely strong, and Vincent gladly opened his heart to his younger brother, although no one else was allowed any close to it. Outside the family, Vincent showed the opposite side of his character. He barely played with other children, and was quite, thoughtful and serious. In the eyes of fellow villagers, he was sweet, friendly, well-mannered, good-natured and humble kid (GFX Heroes).
Unyielding and disobedient, Vincent only followed his own whims. «He takes it from his mother» - grumbled his grandmother, Theodore’s mother, during her short visits. Anna, though offended, could not help noticing that her adorable little boy was just as stubborn and willful as she was, and sometimes resembled a volcano with the passions running high and ready to be set free any moment. Any little thing could suddenly make him rage. This was one of the reasons that forced the good pastor Theodore Vincent Van Gogh take his son out of the communal school. However, a few years later, Vincent again went into education. He spent two years in a boarding school in Zevenbergene, then lived in Tilburg for a year and a half and came home only on vacations. "Son, what do you want to be when you get an education?" – his parents asked Vincent all the time, but the boy stared at the floor in a sullen silence. If he only knew it himself! As the son showed no interest in any profession, it was decided on a close family gathering that he would be a paintings seller
The father's brother Uncle Sent, who earned quite a fortune selling paintings, gave Vincent a letter of recommendation, which was addressed to the Director of the Hague branch of the Paris firm called "Goupil&Cie". Having retired and leaving all his business affairs, he sold his art gallery to this company. Vincent became the youngest employee of the Hague branch of the company, and Theo soon joined the family business as well. Theodore and Anna had a very uneasy feeling about sending their peevish and unsociable eldest son to the city where he now had to live and work.
Nevertheless, the first letter of Mr Terstech settled peace to the household, as it informed the worried parents that not only did Vincent show an incredible diligence, but also has a phenomenal memory and perfectly remembered all the paintings and reproductions in the store. Van Gogh was soon promoted and departed to work for the London branch of the firm. London amazed and captivated the young man: warm May air, filled with spring blooms, a new landscape outside the window of the plain guesthouse, and most importantly, the opportunity to visit museums, where he now spent all his free time. "Being in a different environment, surrounded by paintings and works of art, I am frantically amazed by art, felling the emotions which are reaching up to a frenzy of love. I do not regret it now. Being away from home, I only miss my home country because of its pastoral country pictures" - he wrote to his brother. To look like all respectable Englishmen, Vincent even bought a topper hat. "It is impossible to do business in London without it" - he wrote his family. Although, everyone took this awkwardly looking man for a Dutch farmer, it did not bother Vincent. This well arranged daily grind might continue for a long time, if on day Vincent, disgruntled by a high rent fee, did not decide to change the place of residence and moved into the house of the widow Loyer. This was the beginning of it.
The thing was that the landlady had a beautiful daughter Ursula (or Eugene from other sources). For the young inexperienced youngster, this girl impersonated all the possible virtues and perfections. Since Miss Loyer helped her mother keep a nursery, Vincent called her "Baby Angel”. Coquettish lady gladly accepted awkward courtesies from the funny stranger, but had no idea that she was playing with fire, as Vincent fell head over heels with her and wanted to start a family with this woman he wanted to have children with. "I've never seen, and even could not imagine in my dreams anything more beautiful than the tender love that binds her to her mother. Please, love her for me. I am happy in this house, where I get so much attention and generosity, and my life here is truly the gift from Lord"- he shared with his parents. Little did he know that Ursula had been engaged to another man (Stone, p. 10), and soon Vincent’s happiness shattered to pieces. Vincent was forced to leave the house he was once so happy in, as he could not take this heartbreak.
And after a while the owners of the company transferred van Gogh to Paris.
The beautiful city did not soothe the pain from his recent rejection, and he told his managers that “the artwork trading was just a form of organized crime” Now he sought salvation in the Bible, and calmly accepted the fact that the company owners dismissed him from work. Vincent found himself more worried about how this news could upset his relatives. It came as no surprise, because their son soon wandered into a long search for something to settle with, and was a school teacher, book salesman and even a preacher in the most remote areas inhabited by the poor. He soon gave up, because nobody understood him, and those he was ready to die for only laughed at him and his ragged clothes. Vincent returned to his father's house, but did not find peace. Instead, the insidious fate prepared a new trap for him as he fell in love with his recently widowed cousin Kee with a four year old baby on her arms. "Who loves, lives. Who lives, works. Who work, has bread! I will be successful not in my uniqueness, but in the most common way possible"- he promised in the letter to his brother. Sadly, but his unconditional love only lead to another rejection and heartbreak. Kee was indecisive and did not know what she wanted, but one thing was clear: their relationships had no future. Vincent’s father blamed him for madness and crazy love, and the life in the father’s house soon became unbearable for the young man.
It was the year of 1880. His parents almost gave up on their oldest child and got used to the thought that no sphere suited Vincent and he was capable of nothing. Vincent himself was stranded and lost, and decided to follow Theo’s advice as the last resort and went into painting. Although the younger brother knew about Vincent’s talents, he warned him that painting is a luxury and he might not afford it. But Vincent had decided to become a true master and passionately immersed in the study of the subject. Theo supported his older brother and sent him money out of his monthly payments. Despite more than modest living conditions, Vincent was happy. "And yet I feel like the erstwhile energy is coming back to me even in this extreme poverty. I told myself: whatever happens, I will take a pencil and start drawing. I have to push forward. I have changed, and I am back on the right track again”, - he writes in his letters to Theo, reporting on the work done (Stone&Stone). After all, Theo had always been the one to believe in Vincent even when the whole world turned his back to him. The feeling of loneliness and misunderstanding had been following van Gogh his whole life
Vincent learned the basics of painting and drawings technique, and felt considerably better in his attempts to express himself. Thanks all the same Theo, who maintained friendly relations with many artists, including the Impressionists Monet, Sisley, Degas and Pissarro, Vincent met with like-minded people. Van Gogh was delighted, as he could now listen for hours and then argue about color and lighting, shapes and composition, and had the feeling of finally belonging somewhere. Although his innate squeamishness haunted him, sometimes he spoke to his brother: "I am sorry for the imposition, but could you please send me some money from time to time? Poverty stands in the way of talent”. Still, he was ready to suffer anything for the sake of doing what he loved the most. Vincent also did not abandon the dream of the family happiness, but alas, the fate refused to give him such chance. In 1882, while living in Paris, Van Gogh met Christina Maria Hoornik, better known as Sien. He told his family all about his new affair, and they were shocked by the fact that he searched happiness and stability with a woman of such easy behavior. Still, even the fact that Sien had a five year old daughter, and was expecting another child at the moment of their meeting did not bother him: Sien needed help, and he needed the illusion of "a real life". Vincent brought her home after she left the hospital with her second child. Theo was desperate, as he now had to support both Vincent and his new family: sadly, but nobody was interested in Vincent’s artworks, and there were times when Vincent begged his younger brother to send him some money (as in the letter from Saturday, 14 January 1882). However, having lived together for a year and a half (the time marked with emotional instability for both van Gogh and Sien), van Gogh had to admit that he could do very little to change that woman’s untroubled lifestyle, and they soon separated (vggallery).
Vincent’s passion for painting remained unchanged, but over the years he had grown tired of frequent relocations and the bustling of Paris and went to the south of France - Arles. He was greatly inspired by the Provence genuine landscapes, and drew hills, orchards, wheat fields, olive gardens and holly spinney despite the weather conditions, madly driven by his passion (Kimmelman). Vincent had an astonishing burst of creativity, and produced some 200 paintings and more than 100 drawings and watercolors over fifteen months (Glueck). It was here in 1888, that he wanted to create a "South workshop" - a union of artists brought together under one roof all associates. However, no painters responded to his offer. Paul Gauguin, a poor and unrecognized genius, was the only one who showed some enthusiasm and visited van Gogh in late October. Although at first the relationships between the artists were quite friendly, their contradicting views on life and, most importantly, on art and painting spawned endless arguments. The stress was building up, and the possible hereditary epilepsy had tensed the pressure around Vincent. It was then that he went into his first bout of madness and cut a part off his own ear after a fight with Gauguin (Glueck). This accident was reported in the newspapers, and van Gogh’s name became public. Of course, suspicion fell on Gauguin, who told police that Vincent actually tried to kill him, and when the attempt failed, vented his anger on his own ear. No one knew whether the police believed him, but they did not stop him when he was hastily leaving Arles a few days after.
Theo immediately came to Arles when he found out about the accident, but neither he nor the artist himself knew that it was far not the last one. Theo wondered how could his playful companion and a talented adventurous guide turn into such a tormented soul (Naifeh&Smith), but understood that it was dangerous to leave Vincent unattended. Van Gogh spent some time under the supervision of Dr. Ray in a psychiatric hospital and then in the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Masol, near Saint-Remy-de-Provence. As soon as the attacks stopped, the artist went to Paris to visit Theo, who was now married: his wife Johanna gave him a son named Vincent. Van Gogh was genuinely happy his brother: what a blessing it was that Theodore, unlike himself, was able to start a family. On the downside, it meant that the money Theo now could send Vincent was very limited, as he had to provide for his own family. Vincent spent some time there, and, having said goodbye to Theo and his wife, went to the town of Auvers, located North-West of Paris, under the supervision of Dr. Gachet. The family house the artist stopped at was warm and welcoming, and the fellow artists admitted that Vincent’s drawing skills rapidly grew and developed. Still, vague bouts of melancholy and anxiety often took the possession of him, and even a complimentary article devote to the artwork of van Gogh in the literary journal “Mercure de France” by critic Albert Ore had only encouraged the artist only for a short while. The events which took place in Theo’s house on July 6, 1890 will forever remain unknown, as the eyewitnesses are long gone from this word, and the letters are not to be found. The researchers suggest that distressed by serious problems at work and suddenly deteriorated, Theo let it slip to Vincent that he was a burden for his family. Perhaps, Vincent misunderstood him, but in one of the last letters, dated July 23, he said: "I will never think of you as a simple merchant of Corot paintings, because I was the direct tool for your indirect creation of many paintings. Well, I poured my heart out to these works and lost half of my mind. I will pay you back with the money, or die”. Unfortunately, Vincent never managed to make any money out of his works.
Vincent went for a walk to the field on the 27th of July and shot himself with a pistol. When he did not show up for dinner, the hosts became worried and immediately called Dr. Gachet when they found wounded Vincent. One look at him was enough for the doctor to realize that he could not help him. The orushed to Auvers to tell his brother the last "farewell": Vincent passed away on the 29th of July. His grave was covered with twelve sunflowers. Although this suicide biographical detail is argued in Van Gogh’s biography book by the Pulitzer-prize winning authors Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, who claim that van Gogh was accidentally shot by a teenaged boy named Rene Secretan and his brother Gaston while the three were out drinking together, it still the most commonly believed version. The experts cannot yet agree on the validity of Naifeh and Smith’s theory (Gibson), but deeply unhappy van Gogh was likely to “welcome death”, and although he considered suicide to be an act of moral cowardice (Kakutani), many fellow artists and the people who knew him accepted the fact of van Gogh’s escaping from the poor and desperate life he was forced to lead.
Theo only lived for a half of year after his brother’s death. He died in January, 1891. His widow Johanna and son Vincent Van Gogh did everything to perpetuate the name of the artist, who produced nearly 900 paintings and more than 1,100 wоrks on paper оver the cоurse of his decade-lоng career (1880–90) and is now the most remarkable, recognizable and expensive (Brooks) artist in the history of the modern art. Van Gogh sold only one painting ("The Red Vineyard") in his lifetime, and exactly one hundred years his "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" was bought for 82.5 million dollars in the auction Christie's in New York, which is the absolute record among the paintings. Controversy was present in all aspects of van Gogh’s life, and above all stands the fact that the artists himself considered his artistic talent of a very secondary importance, while he is now regarded as a vanguard figure in the world of art of all times.
Annotated Bibliography:
Brooks, K. (2014) Revealing The Many Faces Of Vincent Van Gogh On His 161st Birthday. The Huffington Post. Posted: 03/30/2014 10:06 am EDT Updated: 03/30/2014 10:59 am EDT. Web. Retrieved on April 18 2014 from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/30/vincent-van-gogh_n_5051910.html
The article, published in honor of 161th anniversary of van Gogh’s birth, is rich for his self-portraits in high definition and big size. The article also talks about the style of his paintings and gives a brief introduction on the modern image of the artist and some commonly known facts about his personality and life.
Dear Theo: The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh (1995). Stone, I. Publisher: Plume (September 1, 1995)
The 1670 pages of material perfectly narrowed down to a normal-sized book, which is interesting to read. Unlike “Lust for life”, where the author tells us a fascinating story about the artist’s stormy life, the artist himself talks from the pages of this book and represents himself as a talented and strong letter-writer. These letters open the soul of often misunderstood artist and Stone lets the letters to speak for themselves.
GFXHeroes. Vincent Willem van Gogh 1853-1890 All Known Paintings HQ. N.p. N.d. Web. Retrieved on April 17, 2014 from: http://www.gfxheroes.com/artimages/965-vincent- willem-van-gogh-1853-1890-all-known.html
An online resource which offers the biography of Vincent van Gogh. It talks about the artist’s life journey from his childhood through adolescence and adult years, and to the suicide. It also focuses on his missionary activity and the peculiarities of his personality. The biography is brief and up to the point.
Gibson, M. (2011). New Book Claims Vincent van Gogh Didn’t Commit Suicide. Time. Published on October, 17. Retrieved online on April 18 2014 from:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/17/new-book-claims-vincent-van-gogh-didnt-commit-suicide/
The article gives another overview of the bibliography book “Van Gogh: The Life”, written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, and says that the book “is stirring up controversy”, as it claims that the artist did not actually commit suicide.
Glueck, G. (1984). WHERE VAN GOGH'S ART REACHED ITS ZENITH. The New York Times. Published on October, 7. Retrieved online on April 18 2014 from:
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/07/arts/where-van-gogh-s-art-reached-its-zenith.html
The article talks about the historical and political background of van Gogh’s climatic phases of artistic work, particularly focusing on his stay at Arles and relationships with Gauguin. It also talks about some of his artworks’ artistic style, atmosphere, landscape and color.
Kakutani, M. (2011). The Persona and the Palette. The New York Times. Published on October 20. Retrieved online on April 18 2014 from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/books/van-gogh-the-life-by-steven-naifeh-and-gregory-white-smith.html
The article goes about the bibliography book “Van Gogh: The Life”, written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith. It particularly focuses on the part of the book where the authors argue over the commonly believed theory according to which the artist committed suicide and say that he actually was accidentally killed. The article also says that the book “provides a minutely annotated map of the intellectual underpinnings of his [van Gogh’s] philosophy and art”.
Kimmelman, M. (2005). The Evolution of a Master Who Dreamed on Paper. The New York Times. Published on October, 14. Retrieved online on April 18 2014 from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/14/arts/design/14kimm.html?ref=vincentvangogh&_r=0
The article talks about the manner in which the artist painted some of his work, focusing on the period of his artwork in Provence, France (1888). It discusses some of his emotional influences, and the objects often present in his works (dictated by the landscape of the area). It also tells about the exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam organized by its representatives Sjraar van Heugten and Marije Vellekoop and Colta Ives and Susan Alyson Stein of the Met.
Lust for Life (1984) Stone, I. Publisher: Plume; 50th anniversary edition (June 1, 1984)
This biographical novel does not provide copious bibliographic details, but instead gives us a great insight into van Gogh’s art and philosophy. The author is a great storyteller, and knowingly skips over undramatic events in the artist’s life, preferring to focus on more important events in van Gogh’s stormy life. It is not read as a historically accurate biography, but rather as an enriching and entertaining novel.
The Letters of Vincent van Gogh (1998). Van Gogh, V. (author), Pomerans, A. (translator). Published Penguin Classics (March 1, 1998).
The thorough collection of van Gogh’s letters, which are an in-depth study of his work and reflect his life path, impressions, struggles, inspirations, religion and art. This work not only reveals van Gogh as a great writer, but also confirms his status as an artist and gives the impression of him painting with words. The book offers a very intimate look into the vulnerability of van Gogh’s soul and represents the artist as a man of a very strong conscience an immense intelligence.
Van Gogh: The Life (2012). Naifeh, S and Smith, G. Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (December 4, 2012)
The biography of the famous artist presented by Harvard Law School graduates and the Pulitzer Prize winners does not only offer us some research, information and quotes on van Gogh, but actually lets us meet and feel van Gogh as a person who once lived a very extraordinary life and is worth reading about. It is a compelling novelistic narrative, which also includes discussion of the importance of music in Van Gogh's aesthetic formation.
Vincent Van Gogh Biography. Van Gogh Gallery. N.p. N.d. Web. Retrieved on April 19, 2014 from: http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/biography.html
Another short biography of van Gogh, including a video with his self-portraits and links to more detailed reviews of his early years, later years, mental state, influences and paintings. It also links to the time line of van Gogh’s life and gives some short facts about the artist.
Vincent van Gogh. The letters. http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let200/letter.html
The digital collection of van Gogh’s correspondence with his younger brother Theo, published within the website of the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam. The collection contains hundreds of letters available for search by period, correspondent, and place.
Vincent Willem van Gogh. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 10:02, Apr 18, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/vincent-van-gogh-9515695.
The biography of Vincent van Gogh, supported by a few of his photographs, self- portraits and artworks. The biography is detailed and contains enough facts to form the impression of what the artist’s life, routine and artistic activity was like. It also includes four videos, where it tells about the painter’s life.
Woman Sewing, with a Girl. vggallery.com. The drawings. N.p. N.d. Retrieved online on April 18, 2014 from: http://www.vggallery.com/drawings/p_1072.htm
The digital collection of van Gogh’s paintings, which has brief information about each painting, tells the story behind it and gives the insight about the artist life’s circumstances, under which each painting was created. It also gives a biography of the people pictured on the canvas, and includes information about a painting’s provenance and exhibitions in chronological order.
