Greetings to regular readers and art lovers! The article "Vincent van Gogh: biography, interesting facts, video" is about the life of the famous Dutch post-impressionist artist and his work.

The works of this master had a timeless influence on the painting of the twentieth century. For 10 years he created more than 2100 works: portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, still lifes…

Vincent van Gogh: biography and creativity

Youth

The future famous artist, whose works are now estimated at thousands and millions of dollars, Vincent Willem Van Gogh was born in the village of Grot-Zundert (Holland) in the spring of 1853 in the family of pastor Theodore and his wife Cornelia.

Vincent van Gogh at a young age

Men in this family chose the path of a priest or a seller of paintings. In 1869, the young man got a job at Goupil & Co. in The Hague, which sold various works of art. One of the owners of the company was his uncle.

However, Van Gogh did not have the talent for such work, but he loved painting, was intelligent and knew how to win over literally any interlocutor. Thanks to this, he achieved some success. He also had a good ability to learn foreign languages.

In the summer of 1873, a 20-year-old boy was sent to work for two years in a branch of the company, which was located in the capital of Great Britain.

London-Paris

He rented an apartment, lived without worries and enjoyed the delights of the capital city, visited the so-called haunts. With a decent salary, he could become a successful salesman. But he desperately fell in love with the beautiful daughter of the owner of the apartment, and here a deep disappointment awaited him.

It turned out that the object of his passion was engaged. It was a hard blow. Refusal in a matter of days changed the young man beyond recognition, he became gloomy and taciturn. This was the beginning of failure in relationships with all the women who later met on his short life path.

In 1875, Van Gogh changed the company's branches several times, lived and worked in Paris, then again in London. However, nothing can bring back the former Vincent with a cheerful character. He forever loses faith in himself, he is not interested in anything and even work. The result was a layoff.

In search of myself

Religion came to the rescue. Vincent wanted to help the poor. In 1876 he came to Britain and got a job as a school teacher, first in Ramsgate and then in Isleworth. A year later, this occupation bothers him and he leaves for his homeland.

Self-portrait 1887

He worked as a clerk in one of the firms in Dordrecht, then went to Amsterdam and entered the theological faculty of the university. The strictness that prevailed here forced him to quit his studies and in the summer of 1878 return to his parents. In the family of relatives and friends for eight years, he almost completely finds peace.

In the spring of 1886, Vincent arrived in Paris to live with his only brother, Theo, who was renting an apartment in the Rue Lepic, Montmartre district. He paid for several lessons from the famous artist F. Cormon, made a close acquaintance with Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin.

Here, 33-year-old Van Gogh is gaining popularity because he completely discards gloom and unsociableness. He successfully imitates the works of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Their canvases are exhibited in the Theo Gallery and attract deep interest from the French public.

Van Gogh "Irises" 1889. Getty Museum, Los Angeles

But in the fate of a novice artist, something unexpected happens. He settles in the Brussels school of evangelists and comes out as a preacher in the Borinage, a huge mining district. Vincent, jobless and penniless, gives away all his clothes and everything else he has left.

Van Gogh wholeheartedly wanted to convey to the poor the true teachings of Christ, but the church considered him a fanatic, and in the summer of 1879 banned his activities.

Van Gogh remained in this area for some time, making sketches, sketches and studies of people and nature. It is here that the 27-year-old Vincent suddenly has an insight - he wants to become a painter.

"Search a woman"

Although Van Gogh took lessons from famous painters, he was largely self-taught. He learned the art when he copied canvases, read many books on this subject and constantly made all kinds of sketches. He wanted to choose the path of an illustrator for himself in the future, and in the winter of 1881 he took lessons from Anton Mouve.

At this time, Van Gogh creates the first oil painting. Although Vincent is working hard to master the basics of painting, he has not yet completely rid himself of his past emotional problems.

He is experiencing a new romance, and again the passion is not reciprocated. His cousin, who recently remained the widow of Kay Vos, becomes a hobby. Again comes the pain test of rejection.

During the celebration of Christmas 1881, Vincent has a serious quarrel with his father because of Kay. As a result, he left his homeland and went to The Hague, where he met Clazina Hoornik, a dressmaker who worked part-time by providing intimate services to men.

The artist lived with this woman for several months, although he contracted a venereal disease from her. He wanted to legitimize the relationship in order to save the "fallen woman." From this step, his relatives stopped him.

Vincent was constantly morally and financially supported by Theo: he wrote letters to him, sent money. In December 1883, Vincent leaves for home (his parents moved to Nuenen).

In the spring of 1886, he and his brother rent an apartment in Paris. The artist will not return to his homeland. But here, apart from Theo, he has no friends and the reason for this is his unpredictability and heavy, uncontrollable character, sometimes he even becomes dangerous, since Van Gogh abuses alcohol.

Arles

By a strange coincidence, almost all the artist's moves occur every two years. In 1888 he left Paris and moved to the small town of Arles. The locals are not happy with his appearance. He looked strange and they, according to Van Gogh himself, considered him "a drunkard and a vagabond."

Night Cafe Terrace (1888). Written in Arles

The world-famous centenarian, who was born and lived in Arles for 122 years, describes the artist as "dirty, very poorly dressed, unfriendly, who smelled of booze."

But pretty soon, Vincent, as if warming himself under the sun of Arles, made several friends, including the postal worker J. Roulin, who repeatedly posed for him.

History of the ear

The artist decided to organize a special village for people of art in this bewitching area and convinced Paul Gauguin to come and discuss some of the details of this plan.

In Arles at Christmas they had a big fight. In the heat of a quarrel, Van Gogh wanted to cut Gauguin with a razor, but he, fortunately, ran away. Vincent was beside himself with anger and cut off part of his ear. It was a clear sign of mental illness. Theo placed Vincent for treatment in a psychiatric clinic, where the artist spent half a month in a hospital bed.

Vincent Van Gogh. Self-portrait with bandaged ear and pipe. 1889. Zurich Kunsthaus Museum, Private collection of Niarchos

Doctors noted a significant improvement in his mental state and he returned home. However, in less than three weeks, he had terrible hallucinations and again, now for a whole year, he ended up in the Saint-Remy-de-Provence clinic, under the vigilant supervision of medical personnel.

Between violent bouts of aggravation, Vincent creates new canvases with incredible speed, depicting everything he sees from the window of the hospital ward. In the spring of 1890, doctors at a general consultation called his condition consistently satisfactory.

Last resort

Vincent, having been discharged from the clinic, went to the quiet and picturesque village of Auvers-sur-Oise, 40 kilometers from. On the way to a new home, the artist met his brother's family, where the first-born had recently appeared, he was given the name Vincent.

Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Van Gogh felt himself almost reassured in this charming corner. But mental illness did not release him from tenacious claws, and on July 27, 1890, 37-year-old Vincent fired a shot, pointing the muzzle of a pistol at his chest.

The wound turned out to be fatal, and two days later he left for another world. Theo died six months later. The brothers found eternal rest in the Auvers cemetery.