Vincent van Gogh

Netherlands

Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch painter and one of the most influential artists of the modern age.

💡 Did you know? Before becoming a painter, van Gogh tried being an art dealer, teacher and preacher and failed at each.

a late, very prolific start

Van Gogh began painting only at 27 and made around 900 paintings in just ten years.

💡 Did you know? In his last two years he sometimes painted a picture a day: a frenzied burst of creativity.

glowing colours, restless brushwork

He is regarded as a pioneer of Expressionism.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh's thickly applied, swirling brushstrokes and glowing colours became a model for Expressionism.

his brother Theo

His brother Theo supported Vincent financially and emotionally: their correspondence runs to hundreds of moving letters.

💡 Did you know? The two wrote each other hundreds of heartfelt letters.

almost unsuccessful in his lifetime

Only after his death did he become world-famous.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh probably sold only a single painting in his lifetime: today his works fetch hundreds of millions.

at 37 (1890)

His life was overshadowed by mental distress.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh died in 1890 at 37 from a gunshot wound; just half a year later his beloved brother Theo died too.

The Starry Night

Around 1889: the swirling starry sky is one of the most famous pictures in the world.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh painted the swirling night sky from the window of a psychiatric asylum in Saint-Rémy.

The Potato Eaters

Painted around 1885.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh's first major work shows deliberately coarse peasants in dark earth tones: „with the same hands they eat with.“

Sunflowers

Around 1888: radiant yellow sunflowers, painted in Arles.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh painted the glowing yellow sunflowers to decorate the room for his expected friend Gauguin.

Portrait of Dr Gachet

Painted around 1890.

💡 Did you know? In 1990 the portrait sold at auction for a then-record 82.5 million dollars.

Wheatfield with Crows

Painted around 1890.

💡 Did you know? The dark field under a stormy sky is often thought (probably wrongly) to be van Gogh's last picture.

Bedroom in Arles

Painted around 1888.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh painted his simple room in the „Yellow House“ three times, as an image of calm and security.

Irises

Painted around 1889.

💡 Did you know? This glowing flower picture too was made in the asylum at Saint-Rémy: painting was a therapy for van Gogh.

Café Terrace at Night

Painted around 1888.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh painted the star-strewn night sky with no black at all: only deep blues and yellows.

The Night Café

Painted around 1888.

💡 Did you know? With harsh red and green van Gogh sought to express „the terrible passions of humanity.“

Starry Night Over the Rhone

Painted around 1888.

💡 Did you know? The town's gas lamps reflect in the river like a second row of stars.

The Red Vineyard

Painted around 1888.

💡 Did you know? This is regarded as the only painting van Gogh is documented to have sold in his lifetime.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853 to 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose glowing, expressive pictures are among the most famous in the world today.

💡 Did you know? Van Gogh lived in poverty and suffered severe mental crises: world fame came only after his early death.