Vincent Willem van Gogh - Essay Example

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in a village called Groot-Zundert whose proximity is close to a place known as Breda, located in the province of North Brabant in the south of Netherlands mostly known for its domination by the Catholic Church. It was on the 30th of March 1853 when Theodorus van Gogh, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus were blessed with a baby boy. Van Gogh was the oldest child and he was named after his grandfather and of a brother stillborn exactly a year before his birth. The name Vincent was a common name in the van Gogh family: his grandfather who was very learned was also called Vincent and he studied theology in the University of Leiden in the year 1811. His grandfather had six sons, three of whom were talented in the arts where they became leaders. The van Gough family was talented in the Arts and Religion. Vincent had two brothers Theodorus and Cor, and he also had two three sisters, namely Elisabeth, Anna and Willemina (Bassil 45). It is said that as a child Vincent was silent, thoughtful and serious traits that saw him through the zundert village school from around 1860, history shows that a single catholic teacher taught approximately two hundred pupils this later changed in the year 1861 when he and his sister were home taught by a governess until 1864 when van Gogh was sent to a boarding school. Jan Provily’s boarding school was located at Zevenbergen about 32km away. Later as an adult Vincent disclosed that he was distressed on leaving his family. It was not until he went to the Willem 2 college in Tilburg that he met Constantijin C Huysmans, a renowned successful artist in Paris that he was taught to draw, but it is to be noted that his interest in art had began at an early age. As a child he used to draw throughout the years that made him come to the conclusion that he wanted to be an artist (Gogh 67). His early drawings are expressive and well done but do not have the intensity that his later works generated. In the month of March 1868, he returned home after abruptly quitting school. He is later quoted saying that his youth was gloomy, cold and sterile. Lucky for him, in July 0f the year 1869, his uncle mostly known as Cent helped him get employed as an art dealer with the Goupil & Cie in The Hague. He later got transferred to London. It must be noted that this was a very joyous time for Vincent since he was just twenty years old and successful. He earned more than his father. Vincent apparently developed feelings for Eugenie Loyer, his landlady’s daughter but upon his confession about his feelings to her, she rejected him saying that she was engaged to someone else. This left him dejected and isolated and as well fervent about religion. His family arranged for him to go to Paris, which did not help since he did not like the way art was being treated (Bassil 89). Goupil terminated his employment and Van Gogh went back to England and worked as an unpaid teacher in a small boarding school where he made sketches of the harbor. Van Gogh had two unhappy and unsuitable romances and had worked as a preacher maybe due to the cultured and religious atmosphere he was brought up in. He also had worked as a clerk in a bookstore and an art salesman. He studied art in Belgium when he worked as a preacher where he was determined to give happiness by creating beauty. In 1885, he went to Antwerp and stumbled upon the works of Ruben and resulted to buying many Japanese prints. In 1886 while in Paris, he studied with Cormon. He started to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes after he inevitably met Pissaro, Monet and Gauguin. Due to his lack of confidence, it made his company be difficult and because of the night long discussions together with painting all day made his health deteriorate. Later on he decided to go to Arles with the hope that his friends would join him and with their help start an art school. Gauguin did join him but near the end of 1888 he left Arles because Van Gogh chased him with an open razor, he ultimately stopped him but not before he chopped his own ear lobe off. After that incident Van Gogh started to alternate between fits of lucidity and madness which resulted to him being sent to the asylum in Saint Remy for treatment (Sateren 78). There were important figures in Vincent’s life and this included Theodorus van Gogh also known as Theo who was his younger brother. He was an art dealer and was Vincent’s closest friend. It is noted that over three fourths of the more than approximately eight hundred letters Vincent wrote during his life were to Theo ad this includes his first and last letters. Johanna Gesina van Gogh also known as Bonger was another influential figure in Theo’s life, Johanna was Theo’s wife and she was the first to publish the letters that Vincent wrote to Theo after his death. Vincent’s mother also had an impact in his life too. She was known as Anna Cornelia van Gogh. Theodorus van Gogh, Vincent’s father also had an impact in his life. Cornelia Adriana Vos Stricker was his cousin’s widow whom he apparently fell in love with but she turned him down because she was still grieving her husband and she returned to Amsterdam. Dr. Felix Rey is also included on the list of those who had an impact on him because he was the one who treated him an Arles after he cut off part of his left ear lobe. Dr. Paul Gachet was also also an influence since he treated him Auvers-sur-Oise. Of all the influences named above all had their impact on Van Gogh in their own way but the most notable artistic influence is Paul Gauguin. It is said that after chopping off his ear Vincent offered the cut off ear lobe as a gift to a prostitute. After Vincent and Gauguin parted ways the influences they had on each other still stuck on and this is evident where Gauguin’s work began to have a religious touch and themes to it because of the strong religious background van Gogh had. He started using brighter colors, especially yellow and thicker brush strokes just like van Gogh did while van Gogh adapted Gauguins technique of painting from the memory, this resulted to his paintings becoming less realistic but more decorative. Even after a hundred and fifteen years Van Gogh’s artwork still leaves a legacy, it alters the way mankind views beauty, individuality, persona and style in art. He has inspired many people to engage in art. The ‘potato eaters’ is one of the greatest works of Van Gogh. It was completed in 1885 when he didn’t have much experience and didn’t have the skills that would later make him famous. The rawness of this painting is most probably what attributed to the interesting look of the piece. His target was to make a painting of human figures that appeared to exist naturally hence the portrayal of the figures in the dark room with an oil lamp. This proved to be a bit hard since his artistic skills were still new. Due to these factors he was trying to consider, it made the painting to be more appreciated in the art community. The completed painting had five figures all comfortably sited around a square table enjoying a meal of potatoes. There is one male and four females. Albeit the painting’s setting is in darkness, it is possible to see the emotions in each of their faces. It is said that the figures are so intense that one can hear the conversation around the table (Sunwall & Gogh 87). The starry night is also one of the paintings that has also gained major publicity. Starry night is one of the most well known images in modern culture. It intrigues people because of several aspects: a night sky filled with swirling clouds, a bright crescent moon and stars ablaze with their own light. The features might be exaggerated but the scene relates to us all and we are comfortable with it. Secondly, the small town that lies below the rolling hills of the horizon. This brings about a peaceful essence flowing from the structures. Thirdly, it is notable at the left of the painting there is a massive dark structure which brings about an even greater sense of size and isolation. Poppies painting, known as the van Gogh poppies is also another painting that is a work of art from Vincent. The flower in this painting is common in many countries but has its popularity based with southern France. This image was most probably influenced by the vast presence of field covered by poppies. Vincent Van Gogh died two months later after cutting off part of his earlobe. He had shot himself. Tragically, van Gogh died not knowing the acclaim his art would receive. Works Cited Bassil, Andrea. Vincent Van Gogh. wilmington: Paw Prints, 2008. Print Gogh, Vincent Van. Van Gogh drawings: 44 plates. New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2007. Print James Sunwall, Vincent van Gogh. The Potato Eaters. London: Players Press,, 2004.Print Sateren, Shelly Swanson. Van Gogh. Minneapolis: Capstone Press, 2006.Print Read More