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Vincent van Gogh: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Vincent van Gogh
On a winter evening in 1881, Vincent van Gogh held his left hand in the flame of a lamp for as long as he could, declaring that he would only let go if he could see his cousin Kee Vos-Stricker. This desperate act of self-mutilation was not an isolated incident of madness but a calculated, albeit failed, attempt to force a connection with a woman who had firmly rejected his marriage proposal with the words no, nay, never. Born on the 30th of March 1853 in the village of Groot-Zundert, Vincent was the oldest surviving child of a Dutch Reformed Church minister and a woman from a prosperous family in The Hague. He carried the name of a grandfather who was a prominent art dealer and a brother who had been stillborn exactly one year before his birth, a burden of expectation that seemed to follow him from the start. His early years were marked by a profound unhappiness that overshadowed his education; he was sent to boarding schools where he felt abandoned and later to middle schools where he was deeply unhappy. By the age of fifteen, he had already begun to show signs of mental instability, yet he remained serious, quiet, and thoughtful, a child who drew with an intensity that would eventually consume his life. The path to his artistic destiny was paved with rejection and failure, from his abrupt return home from school in March 1868 to his dismissal from the art dealership Goupil & Cie in 1876. He was a man who struggled to find his place in the world, drifting through careers as an art dealer, a teacher, and a missionary before finally turning to the canvas, a decision that would change the course of Western art forever.
The Dark Years of Nuenen
Between 1883 and 1885, Vincent van Gogh lived in the village of Nuenen, where he painted with a somber palette of dark browns and earth tones that stood in stark contrast to the vivid colors that would later define his legacy. During this two-year stay, he completed nearly 200 oil paintings, focusing on the lives of peasants and the harsh realities of rural labor. His masterpiece from this period, The Potato Eaters, was a culmination of years of work that his brother Theo initially criticized for being too dark and unsuitable for the modern style of Impressionism. Vincent's life in Nuenen was marked by poverty and isolation; he ate poorly, often consuming only bread, coffee, and tobacco, and his teeth became loose and painful from malnutrition. He formed a relationship with Clasina Maria Sien Hoornik, an alcoholic prostitute with a young daughter, and together they had a son named Willem. The relationship ended in late 1883 when Vincent's father discovered the details and pressured him to abandon Sien and her children, leading Vincent to leave and return to his parents. The period was also marked by tragedy when a neighbor's daughter, Margot Begemann, took an overdose of strychnine after Vincent's less enthusiastic reciprocation of her love. Vincent's father died of a heart attack on the 26th of March 1885, leaving Vincent to navigate a world that seemed increasingly hostile to his existence. Despite the darkness of his life, he was determined to capture the essence of the people he lived among, creating works that were raw, unpolished, and deeply human.
Common questions
When was Vincent van Gogh born and where did he grow up?
Vincent van Gogh was born on the 30th of March 1853 in the village of Groot-Zundert. He grew up as the oldest surviving child of a Dutch Reformed Church minister and a woman from a prosperous family in The Hague.
What happened to Vincent van Gogh on the 23rd of December 1888?
On the evening of the 23rd of December 1888, Vincent van Gogh severed his left ear with a razor during a crisis with Paul Gauguin. He delivered the severed ear in a package to a seventeen-year-old woman named Gabrielle Berlatier at a local brothel.
How many paintings did Vincent van Gogh create during his time in Arles?
During his time in Arles, Vincent van Gogh completed 200 paintings and more than 100 drawings and watercolors. This period marked one of his most prolific phases before his mental health declined.
Who did Vincent van Gogh live with in Nuenen between 1883 and 1885?
Between 1883 and 1885, Vincent van Gogh lived with Clasina Maria Sien Hoornik, an alcoholic prostitute with a young daughter. They had a son named Willem before the relationship ended in late 1883.
When did Vincent van Gogh die and what were his last words?
Vincent van Gogh died in the early hours of the 29th of July 1890 after shooting himself on the 27th of July 1890. His last words were reportedly The sadness will last forever.
How many letters did Vincent van Gogh write to his brother Theo?
Vincent van Gogh wrote more than 600 letters to his brother Theo between 1872 and 1890. These letters serve as the most comprehensive primary source on his life and artistic theories.
In February 1888, Vincent van Gogh moved to the southern French town of Arles, seeking refuge from the gray skies of Paris and the exhaustion of city life. He found himself in a foreign country, as he described it to his brother Theo, where the Zouaves, the brothels, and the people drinking absinthe seemed like creatures from another world. The time in Arles was one of his most prolific periods, during which he completed 200 paintings and more than 100 drawings and watercolors. His palette exploded with yellow, ultramarine, and mauve, reflecting the intense light and energy of the Provençal countryside. He painted harvests, wheat fields, and rural landmarks, including The Old Mill and the series of sunflowers that he created to decorate the Yellow House, a four-room apartment he leased on the 1st of May 1888. Vincent's goal was to establish an artistic commune, a place where he could live and work with other artists, and he eagerly awaited the arrival of Paul Gauguin. He prepared for Gauguin's visit by painting four versions of sunflowers in one week, hoping to create a decoration for their shared studio. The Yellow House became the center of his world, a place where he painted The Night Café, which he intended to express the idea that a café is a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad, or commit a crime. The light of Arles transformed his work, turning it into a vibrant celebration of life and nature, even as the shadows of his mental illness began to lengthen.
The Severed Ear and the Asylum
On the evening of the 23rd of December 1888, the relationship between Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin reached a crisis point that would end in tragedy. After a series of quarrels and a period of heavy rain that kept the two men shut in the Yellow House, Gauguin left for a walk and was followed by Vincent, who rushed towards him with an open razor in his hand. Vincent returned to his room and, in a fit of what he later could not recall, severed his left ear with a razor, causing severe bleeding. He bandaged the wound, wrapped the ear in paper, and delivered the package to a woman at a brothel he and Gauguin both frequented, a woman named Gabrielle Berlatier, who was only seventeen years old at the time. The next morning, a policeman found him unconscious and took him to the hospital, where he was treated by a young doctor named Félix Rey. The ear was brought to the hospital, but Rey did not attempt to reattach it as too much time had passed. Gauguin immediately notified Vincent's brother Theo, who rushed to Arles on Christmas Day to comfort his brother. The aftermath of the incident led to Vincent's voluntary entry into the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on the 8th of May 1889. Inside the asylum, he found a new source of inspiration in the hospital's gardens and the surrounding countryside, creating works such as The Starry Night and Cypresses. The asylum became a place of both confinement and creativity, where Vincent produced some of his most famous paintings while suffering from hallucinations and delusions.
The Final Wheat Fields
In May 1890, Vincent van Gogh left the asylum in Saint-Rémy to move to the Paris suburb of Auvers-sur-Oise, where he came under the care of the homeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. Gachet was an amateur painter who had treated several other artists, including Camille Pissarro, and Vincent's first impression was that the doctor was iller than he was. During his last weeks, Vincent painted with an intensity that defied his declining health, completing approximately 70 oil paintings in as many days. He became captivated by the vast fields of wheat under turbulent skies, which he described as representing his sadness and extreme loneliness. On the 27th of July 1890, Vincent shot himself in the chest with a revolver, possibly in the wheat field where he had been painting or in a local barn. The bullet was deflected by a rib and passed through his chest without doing apparent damage to internal organs, possibly stopped by his spine. He was able to walk back to the Auberge Ravoux, where he was attended to by two doctors, including Dr. Gachet. Vincent died in the early hours of the 29th of July 1890, with his last words reportedly being The sadness will last forever. His brother Theo, who had supported him financially and emotionally throughout his life, died only six months later on the 25th of January 1891, unable to bear the grief of losing his brother. The two brothers were eventually re-buried side by side in the municipal cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise, their graves a testament to a bond that had sustained Vincent through his darkest hours.
The Letters That Changed Art
The most comprehensive primary source on Vincent van Gogh is his correspondence with his younger brother Theo, a collection of hundreds of letters that record Vincent's thoughts, theories of art, and personal struggles. Vincent wrote more than 600 letters to Theo, while Theo wrote only around 40 to him, and the two maintained a lifelong friendship that was documented in these eloquent and expressive missives. The letters, which span from 1872 until 1890, have been described as having a diary-like intimacy and read in parts like autobiography, adding a fresh dimension to the understanding of Van Gogh's artistic achievement. Vincent's letters were not just personal correspondence; they were a window into his mind, revealing his deep engagement with the art world, his admiration for artists like Jules Breton and Paul Cézanne, and his evolving theories on color and form. Many of the letters were illustrated with sketches, and art historians have been able to place most in chronological order, despite some gaps in the record, particularly during his time in Paris when the brothers lived together and had no need to correspond. After both brothers had died, Theo's widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, arranged for the publication of some of their letters, with the majority being published in 1914. These letters have become a crucial part of the Van Gogh legacy, providing insight into the mind of a man who created over 2,100 artworks in just over a decade, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life.
The Legacy of the Tortured Genius
Vincent van Gogh's work began to attract critical artistic attention in the last year of his life, but it was only after his death that his art and life story captured the public imagination as an emblem of misunderstood genius. The efforts of his widowed sister-in-law, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, were instrumental in promoting his work, arranging for the publication of their letters and organizing exhibitions that introduced his paintings to a wider audience. His bold use of color, expressive line, and thick application of paint inspired avant-garde artistic groups like the Fauves and German Expressionists in the early 20th century, and his work gained widespread critical and commercial success in the following decades. Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings ever sold, and his legacy is celebrated by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings. The story of Vincent van Gogh has become a lasting icon of the romantic ideal of the tortured artist, a figure who suffered greatly for his art and who found redemption in the act of creation. His paintings, from the swirling skies of The Starry Night to the vibrant sunflowers of Arles, continue to captivate audiences around the world, a testament to the power of art to transcend suffering and to speak to the human condition.