Vincent van Gogh is widely regarded as one of the greatest painters in the history of Western art.
A Dutch Post-Impressionist whose work is celebrated for its emotional depth, vibrant colour, bold brushwork, and raw intensity, van Gogh created an astonishing body of work during a tragically short artistic career.
Though he sold only one painting during his lifetime and spent much of his life in poverty and mental anguish, his art has since become some of the most beloved, studied, and valuable in human history. His story is one of genius, suffering, brotherhood, and posthumous triumph.
Profile
| Full Name | Vincent Willem van Gogh |
| Born | March 30, 1853 |
| Died | July 29, 1890 (aged 37) |
| Birthplace | Zundert, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Painter, Draughtsman |
| Movement | Post-Impressionism |
| Parents | Theodorus van Gogh (Father – Protestant pastor); Anna Cornelia Carbentus (Mother) |
| Siblings | Theo van Gogh (brother – art dealer and closest confidant); Cor van Gogh; Wil van Gogh (sister) and others |
| Cause of Death | Self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest |
Early Life
Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, a small village in the Brabant region of the southern Netherlands. He was the eldest of six surviving children born to Theodorus van Gogh, an austere Protestant country minister, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, an artist with a love of nature, drawing, and watercolour painting traits she passed on to her son. In a detail that would cast a shadow over his earliest consciousness, Vincent was born exactly one year to the day after the stillbirth of his parents’ first son, also named Vincent van Gogh. Growing up with his own name and birth date already carved on a gravestone in the local churchyard left a melancholy imprint on young Vincent. He was described as a quiet, introspective, and self-contained youth who spent much of his free time wandering the countryside observing nature. He showed no early signs of the extraordinary artistic gifts that would emerge in the final decade of his life.
Education
Van Gogh attended various schools during his childhood, including the local village school and later a boarding school in Zevenbergen. He did not pursue formal artistic training in his youth. His formal education was inconsistent, partly because his family moved several times. At the age of 16, through his uncle Vincent a partner in the international art dealer firm Goupil and Co. he was apprenticed to the company’s branch in The Hague, beginning his first professional engagement with the art world. He later worked at Goupil branches in London (1873–1875) and Paris (1875–1876), where he developed a deep appreciation for art while selling it commercially. He was eventually dismissed from Goupil in 1876 for his erratic behaviour and growing religious fervour. Later in his artistic journey, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1885–1886 and the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, where he encountered Japanese prints and the work of Rubens, both of which influenced his evolving style.
Career
Vincent van Gogh’s career as an artist was remarkably brief spanning just ten years from approximately 1880 to 1890 yet extraordinarily prolific. After his dismissal from Goupil, he tried multiple vocations: teacher, preacher, and lay missionary. He spent a period working as a missionary among impoverished coal miners in the Borinage region of Belgium, living in extreme squalor in solidarity with the workers. It was during this period that he began drawing seriously, and in 1880 after being dismissed by church authorities for excessive devotion he committed himself fully to art.
His earliest works were dark, earth-toned paintings depicting peasant life in the Netherlands. His masterpiece from this period is “The Potato Eaters” (1885), a sombre depiction of rural working-class life that showed his compassion for the poor. In 1886, he moved to Paris to join his younger brother Theo, who had become an art dealer. Paris transformed van Gogh. He encountered the Impressionists including Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Seurat, and Gauguin and adopted a dramatically lighter colour palette and more dynamic brushwork. In Paris, he also became deeply influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, which shaped his bold outlines and flattened perspectives.
In February 1888, seeking light, warmth, and creative freedom, he moved to Arles in Provence, southern France. This period marked the most explosive flowering of his genius. He worked at a frantic pace, producing extraordinary works including the “Sunflowers” series, “The Bedroom in Arles,” and “The Night Café.” He envisioned Arles as an artists’ colony and invited his friend Paul Gauguin to join him. Their living arrangement, however, ended in a dramatic and well-documented crisis on December 23, 1888, when van Gogh, in a state of acute mental breakdown following a violent argument with Gauguin, cut off part of his own left ear and delivered it to a woman at a local brothel. Gauguin departed, and van Gogh was hospitalised.
In May 1889, van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Despite recurring mental crises now believed to have included bipolar disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy, or other psychiatric conditions he continued painting with remarkable intensity. Some of his most celebrated masterpieces were created during this period, including “The Starry Night” (1889), “Irises,” “A Wheatfield with Cypresses,” and “Sorrowing Old Man.”
In May 1890, van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, to be under the care of Dr. Paul Gachet. He worked prolifically, averaging almost one painting per day. On July 27, 1890, he went into the wheat fields and shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, on July 29, 1890, at the age of 37, with his devoted brother Theo at his side. In the decade of his artistic career, he produced approximately 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches.
Famous Works
- The Potato Eaters (1885)
- Sunflowers (1887 & 1888)
- The Night Café (1888)
- Bedroom in Arles (1888)
- The Starry Night (1889)
- Irises (1889)
- A Wheatfield with Cypresses (1889)
- Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890)
- Wheatfield with Crows (1890)
- Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity’s Gate) (1890)
- Over 35 self-portraits
Social Media / Online Legacy
Vincent van Gogh passed away in 1890 and therefore has no personal social media accounts. However, his legacy is maintained through:
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam: vangoghmuseum.nl – the world’s largest collection of his works
- Google Arts & Culture: Extensive digital archives of his paintings
Personal Life
Van Gogh never married. He formed deep emotional attachments throughout his life that were largely unrequited or tragic. He fell deeply in love with his widowed cousin Kee Vos in 1881, who rejected him. He later lived for a time with Sien Hoornik, a pregnant prostitute whom he tried to help, but this relationship eventually ended. His most enduring and significant relationship was with his younger brother Theo van Gogh, an art dealer in Paris who financially supported Vincent throughout his career and maintained a prolific correspondence with him that provides an unparalleled window into the artist’s mind and spirit. Vincent’s mental health deteriorated significantly in the final years of his life. His letters to Theo now considered among the most important documents in art history document his struggles with anxiety, depression, hallucinations, and his complex relationship with his art, faith, and sense of purpose. He was known to be deeply empathetic toward the poor and marginalised, a quality that informed much of his art.
Net Worth / Legacy
Vincent van Gogh died in poverty, having sold only one painting during his lifetime “The Red Vineyard” (1888), sold for 400 francs. Today, his works are among the most valuable ever sold. “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” sold for approximately $82.5 million in 1990. His paintings regularly fetch tens to hundreds of millions of dollars at auction. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, established in 1973 by his nephew Vincent Willem van Gogh in honour of the artist, houses the world’s largest collection of his works and attracts over 2 million visitors annually.
FAQs
Why did van Gogh cut off his ear?
During a severe mental health crisis in December 1888, following a violent confrontation with Paul Gauguin in Arles, van Gogh cut off part of his left ear. The exact reasons remain debated by historians and psychiatrists, but it is generally attributed to acute psychiatric distress.
How many paintings did van Gogh sell during his lifetime?
He sold only one painting “The Red Vineyard” during his lifetime.
What is van Gogh’s most famous painting?
His most famous work is “The Starry Night” (1889), currently housed at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
How old was van Gogh when he died?
He was 37 years old when he died on July 29, 1890.
Did van Gogh have a mental illness?
Yes. He suffered from severe mental health struggles throughout his adult life, including episodes of acute psychosis, depression, and seizures. Modern scholars have proposed various diagnoses including bipolar disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy, and borderline personality disorder.
Conclusion
Vincent van Gogh’s life was defined by profound suffering and extraordinary creativity. In just ten years as an artist, he produced a body of work that transformed the course of Western art and continues to inspire painters, writers, musicians, and millions of ordinary people around the world. The same emotional turmoil that tormented him during his lifetime charged his paintings with an intensity and humanity that transcends time and culture. Though he died unknown and penniless, van Gogh’s legacy is now immeasurable a reminder that great art is often born from the deepest pain, and that genius, though fragile, can endure forever.