ONE OF MY FAVORITES-VINCENT VAN GOGH

Vincent van Gogh (March 30, 1853 - July 29, 1890) considered to be the greatest Dutch painter since Rembrandt, though he had little success during his lifetime. All of Van Gogh's works were produced during a period of about10 years. His works consist of 900 paintings and around 1100 drawings. After which he succumbed to mental illness, some believe to be a bipolar disorder, and committed suicide. His fame grew after his death, following a showing of 71 paintings in Paris on March 17, 1901. This being 11 years after turning mad and killing himself.

Vincent was born in Zundert, The Netherlands; his father was a protestant minister, he found this profession appealing and would be drawn to it in his later life. As a child he was considered to be very serious and introspective. At age 16 Vincent started to work for the art dealer Goupil & Co. in The Hague. His brother Theo would end up joining the company later. I would like to mention that Vincent's brother was his life long friend and supported Vincent financially throughout his life. There have been a vast amount of letters they sent each other, which were preserved and published in 1914. They provide insight into the life of the painter, and show him to be a talented writer with a sharp mind.

In 1880, Vincent following the suggestion of his brother took up painting. For a brief period Vincent took painting lessons from Anton Mauve at The Hague. Although Vicent and Anton soon split over differences in artistic views, influences of the Hague School of painting would remain, notably in the way he played with light and in the looseness of his brush strokes. However his usage of colors, favoring dark tones, set him apart from his teacher.

Impressed and influenced by Jean-Francois Millet, van Gogh focussed on painting peasants and rural scenes.In the winter of 1885-1886 he attended the art academy of Antwerp in Belgium. Dismissed after a few months by his Professor this proved to be a disappointment. However Vincent did get in touch with Japanese art during this period, which he started to collect eagerly. He admired its bright colors, use of canvas space and the role lines played in the picture. These impressions would be a strong influence to him. In some of the portraits he painted the background shows Japanese art.

In spring 1886 Vincent went to Paris, where he moved in with his brother Theo. Here he met the painters Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin. He discovered impressionism and liked its use of light and color, more than its lack of social engagement. Especially the technique known as pointillism which made its mark on his own style. It should be noted that Van Gogh is regarded as a post-impressionist, rather than an impressionist.

In 1888, Van Gogh left Paris and went to Arles, France. He was impressed with the local landscape and hoped to found an art colony. He decorated a "yellow house" and created a celebrated series of yellow sunflower paintings for this purpose.Only Paul Gauguin, whose simplified colour schemes and forms attracted van Gogh, followed his invitation. The admiration was mutual, and Gauguin painted van Gogh painting sunflowers. However their encounter ended in a quarrel. Van Gogh suffered a mental breakdown and cut off part of his left ear, which he gave to a startled prostitute friend. In December 1888 Gauguin left.

Suffering from depression Vincent now exchanged painting dots for small stripes. In 1889 on his own request Van Gogh was admitted to the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole in Saint Remy de Provence, France. During his stay here at the clinic its garden became his main subject. Pencil strokes changed again, now into spiral curves.

In May 1890 Vincent left the clinic and went to the physician Paul Gachet, near Paris, where he was closer to his brother Theo, who had recently married. Gachet had been recommended to him by Pissarro; he had treated several artists before. Here van Gogh created his only etching: a portrait of the melancholic doctor. His depression aggravated. On July 27,1890 at the age of 37, after a fit of painting activity, van Gogh shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, with Theo at his side. His last words reported by Theo were "La tristesse durera toujours" translated to "The sadness will last forever". He was buried at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise; Theo died 6 months later,unable to cope with his brother's death and was buried next to him. It would not take long before his fame reached staggering heights. Large exhibitions were soon organized in: Paris 1901, Amsterdam 1905, Cologne 1912, New York 1913 and Berlin 1914.

Some interesting facts:

1) The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.

2) Van Gogh's paintings rank among the most expensive in the world.

3) On March 30, 1987 Van Gogh's painting Irises was sold for a record $53.9 million at Southeby's, New York.

4) On May 15, 1990 his Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold for $82.5 million at Christie's, thus establishing a new price record.