Van Gogh painted 200 pictures in two years, including the Self-Portrait (1887) and Portrait of Père Tanguy (1887-1888). The artist takes the practice of building the figure utilizing separate brush strokes and solid and defined colors. The influence of impressionist artists and the growing admiration for Oriental art led Van Gogh to develop his style. He becomes familiar with the impressionists Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro.

This one is the painter's most pleasant time. In February, he is welcomed in Paris by his brother Theo. In January 1886, Van Gogh traveled to Antwerp, where he began studies at the local Academy. In April of the same year, Van Gogh painted The Potato Eaters, characterized by dark tones. The following year he returns to his parent's house, where he spends his days reading and painting. He writes to his brother, 'I don't want to paint pictures, I want to paint life.' He makes numerous drawings and oil paintings. He paints watercolors where sailors, anglers, and peasants appear. After that, he spent his days drawing and moved in 1881 to The Hague, where he was welcomed by the painter Mauve. In 1880, Van Gogh went to Brussels, and with the money his brother sent him, he studied anatomy and perspective. However, the contact with the workers' misery caused his first great spiritual crisis, accompanied by the loss of faith, and in 1879 he was dismissed. He takes the place of a missionary preacher in the coal mines of Borinage, Belgium. Then, he joins the Theological Seminary at the University of Amsterdam.įailing of lack of base, he entered the Evangelical School in Brussels. Finally, in 1877 he got a job in a bookstore in Dordrecht until he decided to pursue his father's career. Van Gogh becomes depressed, suffers repeated nervous breakdowns, and spends long periods of loneliness.

Then, in December, he goes to Etten the same year, where he meets his family, but his family relationships are complex he only feels understood by Theo, his younger brother. He goes to England, where he accepts the teacher position at a small-town elementary school. However, in April 1876, after being upset with his clients, he was dismissed from the Goupil group. In 1875, van Gogh obtained his transfer to Paris, where he thought he could free himself from all his frustrations. Then he goes to London, always at the service of the gallery.

After three years, he is sent to Brussels, where he spends two years. In 1869 he entered a local boarding school.Īt 16, Van Gogh went to The Hague to work with his uncle, who opened the branch of Galeria Goupil, an important company that sold works and books. The son of a Calvinist pastor was a rebellious and withdrawn child. Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Zundert, a small Dutch village, on March 30, 1853. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was an influential Dutch painter, one of the most outstanding representatives of post-impressionist painting.

Vincent Van Gogh by Rainer Metzger