Introduction to Van Gogh
"His life was one of the most difficult and arduous yet brilliant achievements anyone has ever experienced..."
The 37-year-old Van Gogh He shot himself in despair...
Today, Van Gogh has become a great artist who is worshiped by others, an anomaly, an eternal genius and ascetic in the history of art... ----- [Van Gogh Art Museum]
The great nineteenth-century art master Vincent van Gogh (referred to as Van Gogh on this site) was born on March 30, 1853, in a family of priests in Zundet, southern Netherlands. His father, Theodore van Gogh, was a local pastor. The mother's name was Anna Cornelia. Four years later, Van Gogh's younger brother Theo was born. He was Van Gogh's biggest and staunchest supporter and admirer in his life.
As a child, Van Gogh didn't like studying, but he was very talented in languages. He spoke English, German, and French, and wrote letters in them. In addition to the Latin and Greek he learned later when he was studying religion, as well as his native Dutch, he knew six languages ??in total. This shows that Van Gogh was a very smart man, not a madman! This must be clarified! Please see the article ""Crazy" is not a word that can be used to describe him".
In 1861, Van Gogh entered primary school. In 1869, 16-year-old Van Gogh was introduced to the art dealer Uncle Vincent (who has the same name as Van Gogh, referred to as Uncle Vincent) and entered the Hague branch of the Paris Goupil Company (the largest gallery in Europe at the time). This store was It was founded by Uncle Vincent. The current manager is the young Mr. Tersteeg. The store sells paintings and reproductions of famous paintings. Van Gogh was transferred to the London branch because of his outstanding work. His simplicity, sincerity, and enthusiastic character made others like him, and his future seemed bright, because his uncle was one of the largest art dealers in Europe at the time, and he was considered the ideal successor to this famous art dealer. /p>
Through his work during this period, Van Gogh learned a lot of art knowledge and read a lot of literary works (Van Gogh loved reading throughout his life, as can be seen from his letters), This gave him a high appreciation of art at a very young age, which also laid the foundation for him to become an outstanding artist in the future. His favorite painters are Millet, Rembrandt, Breton and others. .
In 1871, his father was transferred to Hellwater.
In the summer of 1872, Van Gogh returned to Hellwater to visit his parents and meet his younger brother Theo, who was studying abroad. In August, Theo went to The Hague, and Van Gogh and his brother spent a pleasant and unforgettable time. After Theo left, they began a life-long correspondence. These more than 650 letters written by Van Gogh to Theo. It is the most important information for us to understand Van Gogh. (Please see the collection of Van Gogh’s letters on this site)
In 1873, Theo began to work at the Brussels branch of Goubil Company and became a colleague of Van Gogh. /p>
In 1874, Van Gogh suffered his first huge blow when he failed to propose to his landlord's daughter in London. He was frustrated and lost enthusiasm for his work. Customers and colleagues were very critical of him. Finally, in early 1876, Van Gogh was fired by Gubier Company.
Van Gogh found a job as a teacher through a recruitment advertisement in the newspaper. In April 1876, he came to the British seaside town of La. Msgate, worked as an unpaid trainee teacher in the school run by Mr. Stokes. In July, the school moved to Isleworth, but after the probation period, Van Gogh still did not receive his salary. He began to find another job. At this time, he was fortunate enough to get acquainted with the local Pastor Jones, and worked as an assistant teacher in the school run by the pastor. Later, he became an assistant pastor. Van Gogh even had his first missionary trip, which was exactly what he had dreamed of. After falling out of love in London, he devoted himself to religion and became a "religious fanatic". In December, Van Gogh went home for Christmas. The specific reason is unknown.
In 1877, with the help of Uncle Vincent, Van Gogh went to work as a clerk in a bookstore in Dordrecht. However, because he devoted himself to religion, he neglected his work. A few months later, he lost his job again.
In May 1877, with his father's permission, he came to Amsterdam to stay at the house of Uncle John, who was the commander of the Dutch Navy at the time, to prepare for the entrance examination to the seminary. Van Gogh's uncle was a highly respected pastor and found him the best teacher. But being anxious for practical work and hating the obscure Latin and Greek, he gave up further studies.
In July 1878, he entered the Brussels Missionary School to study, but still did not obtain a graduation appointment letter.
In December of the same year, he decided to go to the Borinage mining area in Belgium to work as a pastor. It was a hell-like place, where miners lived an inhuman life and there were frequent gas explosions. In order to help the miners as much as possible, Van Gogh lived and ate in the same shabby houses as the miners and gave them all his food and belongings. Later, because his work was too "enthusiastic" and his image was too "ugly", the church considered him Damaged the pastor's image and fired him. But Van Gogh's actions were respected by the miners, and some regarded him as a saint.
After being fired again, Van Gogh did not leave immediately, but continued to engage in voluntary missionary and relief work.
At this time, he planned to engage in art!
In October 1880, on the recommendation of a friend, he went to Brussels to study and create.
In April 1881, Van Gogh returned to Eton where his parents lived. He began to study and create paintings, but his family and relatives began to be disappointed in him (in fact, they have always been disappointed). But at this time, Van Gogh's deep passion for art had just begun to burn.
While at Eton, he fell in love with his recently widowed cousin Kay (the daughter of the pastor’s uncle who had helped Van Gogh). He and Kay got on well, but when he proposed to marry When she got married, she was rejected again! Kay fled back to Amsterdam. The infatuated Van Gogh went to the residence of Kai's parents to find her, but Kai's father refused Van Gogh's request. Van Gogh put one hand on the lit candle and deliberately let the fire burn himself. Kai's father finally had to blow it out. Candles... Van Gogh left anyway.
After being hit again, Van Gogh came to The Hague. He got help from his already famous painter relative Anton Mauve (also translated as Mauve). Under his guidance, his painting skills improved rapidly. He also has the support of Tersteeg, the manager of the Goubil branch in The Hague. But later due to various reasons, for example, Van Gogh once rejected Mauve's suggestion: to paint plaster statues. However, it is more reasonable to say that it was because Van Gogh dated the prostitute Sean that he finally broke off with Mauve and Tersteeg. His life was in trouble again. He could only rely on the money sent by his brother Theo every month to maintain his life, and this life of relying on his brother continued until Van Gogh committed suicide.
In February 1882, Van Gogh met his wife Sean and lived with her. Out of sympathy for his tragic life, Van Gogh decided to live a peaceful life with Sean. Everyone was against their union, even Theo. They eventually broke up.
In mid-September, after breaking up with Sean, Van Gogh left The Hague for Drenthe in the north of the Netherlands and began a few months of wandering and creation.
At the end of 1883, the 30-year-old Van Gogh came to his parents' new home in Newnan.
On March 26, 1885, Van Gogh’s father passed away. At that time, Van Gogh completed one of his famous works (the so-called famous is the evaluation of later generations, and no one knew about Van Gogh at that time) "The Potato Eaters". During this period, Van Gogh was influenced by the Dutch School of Painting, Rembrandt and other painters. His paintings were deep, thick, and had a strong local flavor. On the one hand, he likes to paint farmers out of respect and admiration for laborers, and he is also influenced by his spiritual mentor, Miller.
In November 1885, Van Gogh went to Antwerp to study while creating. He began to admire Rubens and came into contact with Japanese ukiyo-e paintings.
In February 1886, Van Gogh suddenly went to Paris to live with his brother Theo. Theo was already a well-known art dealer at the time, and he highly admired Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painters. Under the introduction of his younger brother, Van Gogh met painters such as Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Camille Pissarro, and Seurat. He also got acquainted with Tang Ji, who sells painting supplies. During this period, Van Gogh was deeply influenced by Impressionist painting. His paintings became bright and fresh, and he used some Impressionist techniques such as pointillism. At the same time, he also began the creation of his famous self-portraits.
In early 1888, the 35-year-old Van Gogh was tired of the city life in Paris and came to Arles, a small town in southern France, in search of the bright sunshine and boundless farmland he longed for. He rented the "yellow house" and prepared to build a "painter's home" (also known as the "Southern Studio"). His creation truly reached its climax. "Sunflowers", "Night Cafe-Outdoor", "Night Cafe-Indoor", "Harvest Scene" and "Seaside Fishing Boat" are representative works of this period. But he still can only rely on Theo's support to live.
While in Arles, Van Gogh met the postman Lulin. The kind-hearted Lulin may be Van Gogh's only friend in Arles. Van Gogh also painted many portraits of the family.
In October, Gauguin came to Arles to live with Van Gogh, which was what Van Gogh had dreamed of. In order to decorate Gauguin's house, he planned to paint a dozen (12 pictures) of sunflowers, but unfortunately he did not finish them. His feelings towards Gauguin were complicated. He respected Gauguin, but they often quarreled over personality differences and artistic differences. Later, Van Gogh often became mentally disturbed due to overwork. After a quarrel with Gauguin, he lost his mind and attempted to "assassinate" Gauguin. After Gauguin ran away, Van Gogh returned to the "Yellow House", cut off part of his right ear and dedicated it to a local prostitute... .This is the famous "ear-cutting incident". Gauguin left, and Van Gogh's grand plan to establish a "painter's home" came to an end. He also became mired in mental illness.
In April 1889, Theo got married.
In May, Van Gogh came to the monastery of Saint-Remy with complicated emotions to receive psychiatric treatment (Van Gogh should have suffered from epilepsy. Some people have concluded that Van Gogh suffered from this disease. There is a genetic component as there is a history of this in their family).
He has attacks every once in a while, but he is usually very sober (epileptic patients are like normal people when they are not having attacks), and he has also created a large number of works.
At this time, Van Gogh had completely surpassed Impressionism, formed his own unique style, and became a master of painting with his heart!
Van Gogh believed: Painting cannot just be satisfied with imitating the external image of things... but should depict nature with feeling and truth while expressing the artist's subjective opinions and emotions, so that the work has personality and Unique style.
It can be said that using painting to express the artist's subjective feelings has been the theme of some subsequent painting schools and even the entire modern art. But at that time, people such as Van Gogh and Gauguin were not understood at all, so Van Gogh only sold one oil painting in his life. His artistic creation in the past ten years was all carried out with the funding of Theo. "Starry Night" is the most famous work of Saint-Remy's period, and can also be said to be the most famous of all his works.
In May 1890, Van Gogh went to Paris to meet his brother Theo, his wife, and their son who was just over a year old (Van Gogh’s nephew was also named Vincent Van Gogh , later became an outstanding engineer, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was established under his efforts)
On May 21, Van Gogh moved to Auvers near Paris to receive treatment from Dr. Gachet. . Everything went smoothly. But the famous work "Wheatfield and Crows" is considered to foreshadow Van Gogh's death.
July 27, Sunday. While out sketching, Van Gogh shot himself! But he missed his vitals and was carried home, but he refused to receive treatment. (It is also said that the bullet was too deep and could no longer be treated.)
Early on the morning of July 28, Theo rushed to Orville. He sat beside Van Gogh's bed and recalled his childhood days with him...
Van Gogh said: "The pain will last forever"
At dawn on July 29, Van Gogh Gao died.
On July 30, a funeral was held. The only people attending the funeral were Theo, Gachet, Bernard, Lucien Pissarro (son of the famous painter Pissarro), and Tanguy.
In a letter found on Van Gogh after his suicide, Van Gogh said: "Speaking of my career, I risked my life for it, because of it, my sanity has become almost Collapse."
Theo was bedridden with grief, and died six months after Van Gogh's death.
Later, he was buried together with Van Gogh in the Auvers Cemetery. Their brothers' story will touch the world.
After that, with the efforts of Theo’s wife Joanna (she lent Van Gogh’s paintings to the exhibition. In fact, before Van Gogh’s death, some critics already praised Van Gogh). His reputation is growing.
Van Gogh’s mother died in 1907. He lived to see the day when his son became famous--and she regretted throwing away Van Gogh's painting.
Theo’s wife Joanna sorted out Van Gogh’s pile of paintings and drawings, as well as hundreds of letters written to Theo.
In 1914, Van Gogh's collection of letters was published. Van Gogh's life gradually became known to people all over the world.
In 1927, Joanna died.
In 1934, "Longing for Life——The Biography of Van Gogh" was published. Today, this book has sold tens of millions of copies, and many people fell in love with Van Gogh through this book.
In 1962, with the efforts of Van Gogh’s nephew, the Dutch government built the National Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to permanently collect Van Gogh’s works and letters. This is also the art museum with the largest collection of Van Gogh's works.
Van Gogh’s nephew died in 1978. He saw the completion of the Van Gogh Museum during his lifetime.
Today, Van Gogh has become a world-famous art master...
His "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" still maintains the highest record for world art auctions ------$82.5 million.
Van Gogh died at the age of 37, and his major works were completed in the last few years of his life. There are more than 800 oil paintings, more than 1,000 sketches, as well as watercolors, prints and other works. This site has only selected some of the most representative works to show you.
Van Gogh was a master of painting with his heart. He said: "My work is my body and soul. For it, I risk losing my life and sanity."
Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne are all outstanding post-Impressionists. Painters, they all transcend Impressionist painting, are mentors of modern art and eternal stars that illuminate the history of human art!
Note: In March 1987, Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" was bought by Japan's Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company at a high price of 22.5 million pounds at the London antique painting auction market. (According to the recent price comparison, 1 British pound = 15.8 yuan, which is approximately 355.5 million yuan, that is: 355.5 million yuan. At another auction, "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" sold for 82.5 million yuan. The U.S. dollar transaction still holds the highest record for art auctions in the world, equivalent to approximately 6.8475 billion yuan, which is truly priceless)
To be concise:
Introduction to Van Gogh< /p>
Vincent van Gogh (Vincent van Gogh, 1853.3.30-1890.7.29) was born in a rural pastor family in the Netherlands. He is one of the three great masters of post-Impressionism.
When Van Gogh was young, he worked as a clerk in a painting shop, which was his earliest "art education". Later, he went to Paris and met the Impressionist painters, and was inspired and influenced by colors.
For this reason, people call him "Post-Impressionism". But he studied the expressive power of lines in Eastern art more thoroughly than the Impressionist painters, and he admired the "Ukiyo-e" of Japan's Katsushika Hokusai. Among Western painters, those who had a greater spiritual influence on him were Rembrandt, Daumier and Millet.
Van Gogh was kind-hearted and sympathized with the poor. In his early years, in order to "comfort all the unfortunate people in the world", he went to a mining area to work as a priest at his own expense, eating the worst food and sleeping together with the miners. on the floor. When a mine exploded, he once risked his life to rescue a seriously injured miner. His over-serious spirit of sacrifice caused uneasiness in the church, and he was finally removed from office. In this way, he returned to his painting career, received short-term guidance from his cousin and some Dutch painters at that time, and established friendship with new painters in Paris (including the Impressionist painters).
All of Van Gogh's outstanding and original works were completed in the last six years of his life. The mood of his first works was often low, but later, a large number of his works changed from low to loud and clear, as if he wanted to use cheerful songs to comfort the suffering of the world and express his strong ideals and hopes. A British critic said: "He spent all his energy pursuing the simplest and most common thing in the world, which is the sun." His paintings are not only full of bright colors under the sun, but also go down more than once It depicts the eye-catching sun itself, and several times depicts sunflowers. In order to commemorate his deceased cousin Mo Fu, he painted a picture of "Peach Blossoms in Bloom" under the sun, and wrote a poem: "As long as the living are still alive, the dead will always be alive."
If people can truly love each other, life will last forever. This is Van Gogh's desire and belief. However, the cold and dirty reality finally caused this sensitive and passionate artist to suffer from intermittent mental disorder. He was in a state of madness when the illness occurred, and became even more painful after the illness. Unwilling to increase the burden on others (especially his brother Theo), he committed suicide on July 23, 1890 and died a few days later. He was only 37 years old. A few months later, Theo, who had devoted all his love and material resources to him, also died.
People say: Theo was born for Van Gogh...