Vincent Van Gogh, Troubled Genius
73
Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zunder in Holland; he was one of six children. He was closest to his brother Theo who was four years younger.
Before he took on painting full time, Vincent held several jobs. He began working for an art dealership run by his uncle Vincent at the age of 15; he was fired at 21 for his poor attitude in dealing with customers. Other jobs he held were supply teacher, minister's assistant and bookshop clerk.
In 1880, at the urging of his brother Theo, he turned to art full time. He attended the Royal Academy of Art in Brussels where he studied under Willem Roelofs. After taking art courses Vincent began painting in earnest. Theo supported Vincent financially for the rest of his life.
Throughout his life, Van Gogh suffered from mental problems that may or may not have been medical in origin. In 1888, he cut off his left ear lobe and supposedly gave it to a prostitute. He was hospitalized after that event.
Vincent Van Gogh died on July 29th, 1890, two days after shooting himself in the chest.
Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive but now his painting are amongst the highest priced works of art. His Irises sold for $102.3 million in 1987 and Sunflowers sold for $75.4 million the same year. His art is housed in art galleries all over the world and in a poll I looked at recently, Van Gogh and Leonardo Da Vinci were tied for favorite artist.
 | Amazon Price: $19.85 List Price: $40.00 |
 | Amazon Price: $18.98 List Price: $40.00 |
Vincent (Starry Starry Night) by Don McLean
The song Vincent by Don McLean is one of the most beautiful and haunting songs that I have ever heard. I listened to it so much when it was released in 1972 that I still have the words memorized. I am sure it contributed to my long standing appreciation of Vincent Van Gogh's art works.
Excerpt from Vincent (Starry Starry Night)
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will.
Reprinted from http://www.don-mclean.com/
Starry Night Over the Rhone 1888
The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night 1888
|
Vincent Van Gogh STARRY NIGHT Poster DUTCH REPRO SMALL
Current Bid: $4.95
|
|
Vincent Van Gogh The Harvest Oil Painting on Canvas Art Reproduction 20x24"
Current Bid: $32.99
|
Sunflowers 1888
Starry Night 1889
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (1)
- Funny
- Awesome (3)
- Beautiful (1)
- Interesting (2)
CommentsLoading...
The world is thankful for Theo. Too bad Vincent never got the recognition he deserved during his lifetime, but he certainly had a unique talent and a genius that is appreciated even more today.
Maybe if he had achieved financial and popular success in his time, his work would have lacked the emotional appeal that it projects.
Seems rather ironic that his work is so familiar and valued now.
Nice job.
Thanks for the comments. I enjoyed looking at all the videos of Van Gogh on You Tube.
You are probably right, Rochelle. I'm quite sure his paintings would have changed too if he had been a success while he lived.
Awesome and amazing subject/content matter in this hub! I absolutely love V. Van Gogh's artwork! Thanks for adding some of his artwork here. 'a starry night' & 'Starry Night Over the Rhone' are two of my most favorite of his! I just dig the blue and the accents within the paintings, and looking ever so closely at the human images in the artwork, and trying to find something I might have missed before. I can look at these for an eternity!
Thanks. Starry Night is definitely my favorite Van Gogh painting.
I love Van Gogh's "Starry Starry Night" and Don McLean's "Vincent". Thanks for this beautiful hub!
This brought tears to my eyes. I love Vincent Van Gogh, and have just returned from an all-too-brief art tour of Holland and Belgium, so I'm still swooning. And then I find this! Many thanks.
Lovely hub - van gogh spent a couple of years in Provence where I live (he was at Arles then St Rémy) and the light and colours that he captured were among the things that drew to to first visit Provence years ago ... and now it's home !
Uninvited, I actually saw Starry Night for real in person and WOW. There is nothing like seeing a familiar painting in person. Seeing a print, you think it's so beautiful but for real is a whole different ball game.
For instance, I always wondered why the big noise about Jackson Pollack until I saw one of his paintings in person at the Corcoran and was floored.
I have to admit, I am grateful he was so troubled. I think it brought beauty to his painting. For me, Van Gogh stands as one of the most emotional, beautiful artists ever.
Great reading. You make it seem that his problems made the world so beautiful for the rest of us...and you're right. Thanks! Really enjoyed listening to Starry Night song too!
Very interesting article - the life of Van Gogh is the story of a man who lived a very difficult life, what with poverty and mental problems. Fortunately, his brother, who loved him, believed in him, and supported him, so we could enjoy his paintings!
Have you seen the news that there is a new book out saying that it was Gauguin who really cut of Van Gogh's ear in a fight outside a brothel and the story was concocted to protect Gauguin's reputation?
Yes, I heard that story during my research. I didn't mention it because it isn't really proven and only mentioned in one book :)
I enjoyed this hub very much, Uninvited Writer. The paintings are interesting and the videos are superb. I am not, however, a great fan of art. I took an art appreciation course at UConn -- passed the course but failed to gain an appreciation for art. In fact I spent all of 10 minutes in the Louvre Museum in Paris, but left because I had other things to do. I guess I'm a lost cause when it comes to art.
Vincent Van Gogh, a definite favorite. I have always loved his use of color and as a post impressionist, he I believe was one of the best. Of his almost 900 paintings I think the Irisis will always be my favorite!
Sorry you aren't a fan William. That's okay though, you can still visit :)
Kym, I have a copy of Irisis on my kitchen wall. Starry night will always be my favorite.
I am a great fan of Van Gogh. I'm glad there are hubbers who are art lovers. Thanks for writing about one of the worlds best and most brilliant artists. The song Vincent is also one of my favorite songs. I can keep singing it.
Thanks for dropping by IslandVoice. He was definitely one of the best.
Have you had a chance to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam? There are lots of his early studies there, where he's experimenting with restricted palettes and other techniques that were to become his stock in trade. Vincent was also one of the first songs I learned on guitar, lotsa years ago!
Unfortunately, I haven't been to Amsterdam at all. I really would like to visit one day.
Wonderful hub! My appreciation for his work was enriched when I had the opportunity to see some in person. The actual laying on of the paint is a sight to behold. His work is so dynamic, alive!
Wow! What an excellent story. Thanks for sharing. I love his work and learning every little detail about his life that I can.
Absolutely LOVED this hub. I too was overwhelmed by ´Starry, starry night´ in 1972. Thanks for printing the words out. , and for putting up so many of Van Goghs´paintings. To think he never sold ONE in his life is quite sad , . Thank you again for a great hub
I very much enjoyed this hub and being able to sing the words of Vincent correctly was nice too. Love that song.
This is a great hub. It is a great moving song, and the videos are great so we can see his paintings again.
I have always loved his work--but yes, deeply troubled--
great hub. I've always loved Starry Night!
Uninvited Writer, I've included this hub in my list of weekly favorites. Congrats!
I too love the song Vincent. I also love the episode about Van Gogh on Dr. Who. Wouldn’t that have been great if he could have seen a glimpse into the future, and known how much his vision was appreciated. I was fortunate to see his work among the other impressionists at the National Gallery in D.C. in the late 90s.
anywho. i'm doing a project on starry night so if you could like give me info. on that????? thx.
He happens to be my favorite artist so this hub was a natural for me. Great job, wonderful research and the video was topnotch.
B. Panciera 3 years ago
****GREAT HUB! I LOVE the youtube clips!