Van Gogh, the art genius unrecognized during his life
Van Gogh (1853 - 1890). Self-Portrait with Straw Hat (1887). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
The first child born to Vincent Van Gogh’s parents, also named Vincent, died in childbirth. A year after this tragic event, in 1853, to the delight of the couple Theodorus and Cornelia, Vincent Willem Van Gogh was born, in the village of Groot-Zundert, Holland. The Van Gogh child, who would forever mark the history of art, grew up under a certain anguish of coming across many times with his own name written on the tombstone in the church cemetery. His father was an evangelical pastor.
Vincent was lonely. He did not play with his older brother or his three younger sisters. Encouraged by his mother, who was inclined to art, the young man drew and painted as a student and demonstrated talent for being an artist. An uncle from the city of The Hague, who worked with the purchase and sale of works of art, found a job for the boy. Remaining in this place for four years, Van Gogh moved to London in 1873.
Milk Jug (1862). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
An impassioned passionate
In the land of the British queen, Vincent fell in love with Eugénie Loyer, daughter of his lordship. After declaring his feelings to her, he was rejected and became depressed, which affected his performance at work. He was fired and went to Paris, home of his brother,Theo. Heartbroken, he stayed inside reading the Bible.
works of art for sale, related to this article's themes, inspirations, content or styles
 | Rones Dumke The ABC´s of metaphysics I 76,00 x 62,00 x 0,40 cm Collage USD 1.135,00 I WANT TO BUY THIS ARTWORK |
Despite being in Paris, art capital of the world, he did not know that an artistic revolution would soon occur It was Impressionism taking its first steps.
Old Woman Asleep after Rops (1873). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
Van Gogh and the Faith
He returned to England in 1876 as an unpaid assistant for a private school in Ramsgate. The school moved to London and he was given the task of collecting late payments in poor areas of the city. Vincent was shaken by the misery that he witnessed. Unable to charge those people, he resigned.
The experience awakened his religious leanings. Like his father, he became assistant to a Methodist religious leader. He returned to The Netherlands willing to graduate to the ministry. But his parents doubted his ability to be strict with religious studies. According to his parents' predictions, Vincent stopped training.
However, he did not give up working in the ministry. At the age of 25, he moved to Belgium, where he served as a missionary. There he found misery still greater than in London. He gave up his belongings to share with the poor. He would not even eat. His superiors were troubled by the notion that his disheveled appearance while he was preaching reflected badly upon the church, and dismissed him.
The situation provoked an existential crisis in Vincent. From this turbulence he drew a conclusion about his fate: He wanted to be an artist.
The religious man converts to art
With the same vigor as he had shown in his religious devotion, Vincent turned to art. He went back to his parents' house and began painting. He progressed in his creations, but quickly began to become unstable psychologically, which worsened after a new, complicated but doomed romance. The affair with his cousin Kee Vos shook him. Religious discussions with his father also made him stressed, so he left his parents' house in 1881.
Boy Cutting Grass with a Sickle (1881). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
Without being able to support himself, he sought help from his brother, who sent him a small allowance, since he did not have such favorable financial conditions. A maternal relative, the landscape artist Anton Mauve, began to mentor him in art.
works of art for sale, related to this article's themes, inspirations, content or styles
 | Malu Brandão Lapa fields 50,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm Canvas USD 710,00 I WANT TO BUY THIS ARTWORK |
Van Gogh, at this time, shared a room with a prostitute and his children. He spoke to this woman about marriage, but his brother persuaded him to give up the idea. Vincent returned to his parents' house in 1884, this time in Nuenen.
In this place, his focus was on portraits of peasants. His major work at this time was "The Potato Eaters," a dark picture in which some peasants, with unfriendly faces, appeared around a table for a meal.
“The Potato Eaters” (1885). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
After the death of his father in the same year, Van Gogh moved to Belgium, entering the Academy (of Fine Arts) of Antwerp but being rejected as early as the first year. He moved again to brother Theo’s apartment in Paris in 1886.
Van Gogh meets Impressionism
By that time, Impressionism was already highly prized in the art market and in the Paris critic circles. His brother, as a dealer of works of art, owned pieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir and Pissarro in his gallery. Van Gogh soon realized the force of that movement. However, the leaders of Impressionism did not understand one another and did not join forces. Without a school available in that style, Vincent went to study in the studio of Fernand Cormon, a more academic painter who did not sympathize with Impressionism. Next to him were Emile Bernard and Toulouse-Lautrec, both post-Impressionist painters, who were to separate from Cormon afterwards.
The more he studied, the more Vincent liked the way the Impressionists used colors and light. He also got a taste for producing outdoors, something characteristic of unconventional artists. He drank a lot, shouted, and was blunt in his opinions.
works of art for sale, related to this article's themes, inspirations, content or styles
 | Lavalle Deriva 11 21,00 x 27,00 x 0,00 cm Drawing USD 330,00 I WANT TO BUY THIS ARTWORK |
Along with Gauguin, Seurat and Lautrec, Van Gogh formed an Impressionist movement group. In conversations irrigated with absinthe, they discussed the course of this wave. But the difficulty in exposing the works was immense. Without a financial return, the artists had to leave the capital because the cost of living was high. In 1888, Vincent went to the south of France. The chosen city was Arles, because, in his head, the landscapes of the region resembled those of Japan, a country whose artistic production intrigued him.
Japonaiserie (after Hiroshige) (1887). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
Portrait of Père Tanguy (1888). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
In Aries, Van Gogh ran into violent opposition to him and the prejudiced thinking of the local population. He was mocked by the people of the small town because of his unconventional appearance and behavior. Vincent did not give a damn and put into practice an old will: To create an association of artists.
He invited and urged Gauguin to come first in what he called dubbed the Yellow House. It was October 1888.
Paul Gauguin's Armchair (1888). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
Still Life - Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers (1888). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
Minus one earlobe
Gauguin did not like the place very much, and Vincent's difficult temper did not help. Even so, they produced for two months. One day, they were arguing when Vincent threw absinthe at his friend and threatened him with a razor. Gauguin went to a hotel and Van Gogh cut off the lobe of his own ear in repentance. He lost a lot of blood and went to the hospital.
Van Gogh was extremely shaken by the whole situation and was later hospitalized for psychological problems. On his return, the people of the city greeted him with a petition: they wanted the "madman" to be removed from the place.
works of art for sale, related to this article's themes, inspirations, content or styles
 | Dhi Ferreira Untitled 94,00 x 115,00 x 0,10 cm Canvas USD 3.635,00 I WANT TO BUY THIS ARTWORK |
His earlobe however, had not been lost. He sent the body part to Gabrielle Berlatier, as discovered by the British newspaper "The Art Newspaper" in 2016. Gabrielle was employed by a brothel. The reason for the "gift" is unknown.
Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
In 1889, with no hope, no project, no friend, no mental balance, Van Gogh was admitted to a sanitarium in Saint-Rémy. Vincent realized that he really had a disease, something like epilepsy. Even with treatment and seizures, he produced about 200 works while hospitalized.
It was there that he painted one of his most famous works. “The Starry Night” would be his view from the hospital. In this room, he had neither a canvas nor ink, but he had charcoal and paper to make his sketches. The cypress tree that appears in the work is a constant element in the art of Van Gogh. This tree species is related to symbolic of death in several countries.
The Starry Night (1889). Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
Critics consider the canvas a masterpiece. The contrast between the mess and turbulence of the sky with the calm of the village impresses a striking aspect on the work: Whomever sees it hardly ever forgets. Spirals and strong brush strokes sign the artist's work. The present depth between the sky and the village brings out the Impressionistic elements. An almost abstraction directs towards modernism.
Temporary recovery and death of the artist
His brother, Theo, eventually brought Vincent unexpectedly good news that his work was beginning to gain prestige. One of his canvases was sold for 400 francs in 1890. This was the only canvas sold in his lifetime.
Vincent stayed with his brother for a bit, then went to Auvers, near Paris. There he was treated by Dr. Gachet, a homeopathic physician and amateur painter, known among artists. He understood Van Gogh's needs and gave him canvases and brushes during treatment. Vincent would have said about the doctor: "He seemed to me sicker than me, or we'll say as much." At this stage, he seemed to have improved.
Portrait of Dr. Gachet. Image for mere illustration of the site Wikiart.org
However, when visiting Theo in Paris, he realized that his brother, his maintainer, was in financial trouble. This made him very worried and tormented. When he returned to Auvers, he did not find his doctor. On July 27, 1890, he went out on a wheat field with a revolver to shoot at birds.
He shot himself in the chest. He went back to his house, lay down, smoked his pipe. Theo arrived the next day. Vincent Van Gogh died at the age of 37 in his brother's arms.
invest in culture: acquire a work of art from one of our artists – or give a gift card to someone special!
you can also be interested in reading
Yayoi Kusama: from imagination to reality. The artist who developed an artistic language from her hallucinations.
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
get to know our artists
Art inspired by impressionism
23/06/2020 12:29
Incrível. Parabéns ??????????
20/06/2019 19:39
Brilhante!
Inspired by impressionism
The ABC´s of metaphysics I
76,00 x 62,00 x 0,40 cm
Drawing, painting and gluing on wood
USD 1.135,00
Lapa fields
50,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 710,00
Deriva 11
21,00 x 27,00 x 0,00 cm
USD 330,00
Untitled
94,00 x 115,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 3.635,00
Market in Sao Francisco do Sul - Santa Catarina
30,00 x 40,00 x 0,10 cm
Watercolor on Hahnemuhle paper 425g/m². 200 lbs
USD 560,00
Diptych Satori XVII
90,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200g paper – Print run 1/10
USD 1.305,00
Satori I
60,00 x 90,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200g paper – Print run 1/10
USD 865,00
Untitled
100,00 x 100,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 1.845,00
Body landscape II
29,00 x 42,00 x 0,10 cm
Ink on Montval paper 300g
USD 510,00
Reflex Series, Movements Collection
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Digital photography. Fine art prints in Canson Rag Photographique 310g. Drawing 6 units
USD 1.585,00
Satori XVIII
90,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200g paper – Print run 1/10
USD 865,00
Time rules everything
90,00 x 140,00 x 2,00 cm
Painting, drawing and collage on canvas
USD 3.540,00
Samba
20,00 x 58,50 x 14,00 cm
Carving in reclaimed wood (Peróba)
USD 2.970,00
Laziness
10,00 x 10,00 x 0,10 cm
linocut
USD 60,00
Eden VI
165,00 x 130,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 3.820,00
Body landscape VII
29,00 x 42,00 x 0,10 cm
Ink on Montval paper 300g
USD 510,00
Horta 5
25,00 x 25,00 x 5,00 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 395,00
Nossa Senhora Aparecida minimalist
35,00 x 25,00 x 15,00 cm
Ceramic sculpture
USD 385,00
The Dark Side of the Sun
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Digital photography. Printing on Hanhemuhle Photo Rag paper
USD 1.090,00
Dogs
100,00 x 100,00 x 4,00 cm
Mixed technique on canvas
USD 2.790,00
Untitled
120,00 x 175,00 x 0,50 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 3.150,00
Araucaria
90,00 x 60,00 x 4,00 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 1.070,00
Garden series
50,00 x 75,00 x 5,00 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 1.405,00
The blue awakenings
89,00 x 70,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic paint, oily pastel and collage on cardboard
USD 1.830,00
Deriva 7
21,00 x 27,00 x 0,00 cm
USD 330,00
In front of door of time
100,00 x 100,00 x 3,00 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 2.595,00
Visual dialogs Series
70,00 x 70,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 1.700,00
Sisters
63,50 x 29,50 x 14,00 cm
Sculpture - reclaimed carved wood (garapa)
USD 2.535,00
Brain
30,00 x 20,00 x 0,10 cm
Drawing / graphite on canson paper
USD 420,00
Untitled
100,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 2.175,00
Paths of the Pitangas
168,00 x 193,00 x 0,30 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 2.830,00
Skate art Series
160,00 x 118,00 x 0,50 cm
Drawing / graphite on paper layout / abstract figure on dark background, centralized composition
USD 7.145,00
Form and emptiness
140,00 x 100,00 x 0,04 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 3.110,00
30,00 x 30,00 x 0,50 cm
USD 295,00
The Dark Side of the Sun
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Digital photography. Printing on Hanhemuhle Photo Rag paper
USD 1.155,00
Flowers in the field III
40,00 x 50,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 680,00
Mythology
35,00 x 27,00 x 0,00 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 720,00
Stretching wood dog from Sertânia
27,00 x 50,00 x 11,00 cm
Carved ceder wood
USD 450,00
Frown
35,00 x 22,00 x 16,00 cm
Japanese pottery technique Raku Nu
USD 1.480,00
Cobogó. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
100,00 x 100,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fiber 200g paper. Print run 1/15
USD 1.105,00
As if it were spring
60,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Archive Mineral Pigment on Canson Rag Cotton Paper - signed limited edition - 1/20
USD 470,00
Shadows. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
86,00 x 130,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fiber 200g paper. Print run 1/15
USD 1.070,00
São José de Macapá Fortress
70,00 x 100,00 x 4,00 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 1.740,00
In progress
24,03 x 16,05 x 0,10 cm
India ink, 180g linen paper and graphite.
USD 105,00
Fishermen in the Valadares Island - Paranagua - Parana
30,00 x 40,00 x 0,10 cm
Watercolor on Hahnemuhle paper 425g/m². 200 lbs
USD 560,00
Plastic garden XI
35,00 x 45,00 x 10,00 cm
Acrylic on digital plot printed on plastic
USD 555,00
Untitled #12
26,00 x 24,00 x 10,00 cm
Punk granite
USD 1.605,00
Choirs, series Fernando de Noronha
120,00 x 80,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph with mineral pigments on paper (Canson Rag photographique 100% cotton). Print run 0/10
USD 1.000,00
The Dark Side of the Sun
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Digital photography. Printing on Hanhemuhle Photo Rag paper
USD 1.090,00
Skateboard deck I
40,00 x 20,00 x 4,00 cm
Acrylic paint on wood with quartz base.
USD 360,00
Sacred sleep
80,00 x 130,00 x 3,00 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 2.910,00
A sweet expression of emotion
40,00 x 20,00 x 0,01 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 590,00
Tour. São Paulo, Brazil
86,00 x 130,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fiber 200g paper. Print run 1/15
USD 1.070,00
Bear
10,00 x 10,00 x 0,10 cm
linocut
USD 60,00
Mini Tapestry #118
30,00 x 30,00 x 5,00 cm
Acrylic framed tapestry, with overlapping layers, in threads thin and thick dyed cotton, and hand embroidered.
USD 300,00
Untitled #16
30,00 x 27,00 x 12,00 cm
Basalt of volcanic origin
USD 2.000,00
The fall of Eve
75,00 x 75,00 x 0,60 cm
Painting and collage
USD 1.215,00
L'Aurora e il Tramonto
52,00 x 21,50 x 26,00 cm
Carved ceder wood
USD 2.445,00
Satori VIII
60,00 x 90,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200g paper – Print run 1/10
USD 865,00
Timbaúva
35,00 x 33,30 x 0,10 cm
Woodcut, watercolor and oil pastel on paper
USD 200,00
Visual Dialogues Series 3
40,00 x 40,00 x 0,10 cm
Spatulated with oil paint on canvas
USD 555,00
Garden
50,00 x 75,00 x 0,10 cm
Woodcut in two prints on paper
USD 355,00
Original sin
20,00 x 30,00 x 0,10 cm
Drawing / graphite on layout paper
USD 420,00
Peacock
10,00 x 10,00 x 0,10 cm
linocut
USD 60,00
21,00 x 27,00 x 0,00 cm
USD 290,00
The girl and the Birds III
12,00 x 19,00 x 19,00 cm
White clay ceramic, commercial glaze, fired at 1230 C°, terracotta clay base
USD 200,00
Deriva 4
21,00 x 27,00 x 0,01 cm
USD 330,00
Satori VI
60,00 x 90,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200g paper – Print run 1/10
USD 865,00
Visual dialogs Series
25,00 x 25,00 x 2,00 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 380,00
Urban Series
40,00 x 30,00 x 0,10 cm
Drawing on tablet. Canson 280 - 10 copies
USD 275,00
Sem título 2
100,00 x 100,00 x 0,01 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 2.010,00
Nego drama
45,00 x 45,00 x 2,50 cm
Painting with handmade earth paint on a 45 cm diameter ceramic dish
USD 190,00
The Dark Side of the Sun
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Digital photography. Printing on Hanhemuhle Photo Rag paper
USD 1.155,00
Forces of nature
50,00 x 50,00 x 0,01 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 1.095,00
The journey
140,00 x 80,00 x 0,04 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 2.530,00
Visual dialogs Series
70,00 x 70,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 1.260,00
Vênus
23,00 x 15,00 x 8,00 cm
Ceramics high temperature
USD 815,00
Ipê rosa
100,00 x 70,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic and collage on canvas
USD 1.080,00
By the pink church
30,00 x 20,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 395,00
Reclined Conductor
23,00 x 35,00 x 16,00 cm
Sculpture - reclaimed carved wood (cedar)
USD 1.155,00
Geometric redux study after Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup I: tomato '68
60,00 x 60,00 x 0,01 cm
Archive Mineral Pigment on Canson Rag Cotton Paper - signed limited edition - 1/20
USD 670,00
Metropolis 2
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Photography - Fineart printing on Canson Rag Protographique paper - Signed limited edition 1/10.
USD 1.285,00
Nature of Sancho, Fernando de Noronha series
120,00 x 80,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph with mineral pigments on paper (Canson Rag photographique 100% cotton). Print run 0/10
USD 1.000,00
Woman and flower Series
100,00 x 150,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 1.990,00
Untitled
87,00 x 145,00 x 0,10 cm
Oil on canvas
USD 4.235,00
Musician Playing The Guitar
37,00 x 7,00 x 11,00 cm
Carved ceder wood
USD 255,00
Finite cycle
160,00 x 95,00 x 45,00 cm
White marble calacatta
USD 12.500,00
Plastic Garden I
38,00 x 54,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on digital plot printed on plastic
USD 595,00
Shame
51,00 x 19,00 x 19,00 cm
Sculpture - reclaimed carved wood (garapa)
USD 1.815,00
Pau-Ferro
35,00 x 33,30 x 0,10 cm
Woodcut, watercolor and oil pastel on paper
USD 200,00
Florest
80,00 x 120,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph with mineral pigments on paper (Canson Rag photographique 100% cotton). Print run 0/10
USD 1.000,00
Boipeba
50,00 x 80,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph printed with mineral ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 240g paper. Circulation 8
USD 1.185,00
Wetland
50,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 710,00
A pure expression of joy
100,00 x 100,00 x 0,01 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 1.915,00
Meio e Conceição, Fernando de Noronha series
120,00 x 80,00 x 0,10 cm
Photograph with mineral pigments on paper (Canson Rag photographique 100% cotton). Print run 0/10
USD 720,00
Look Again: The Dark Side of the Rainbow
40,00 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Matte Painting Digital with original photographs and illustrations under Hahnemühle Photo Rag Paper 308gsm (Matte paper - 100% cotton - light texture) Limited print: 0/10
USD 420,00
Bonsai
28,05 x 22,05 x 0,10 cm
Lyinoleography on paper
USD 210,00
Untitled
120,00 x 100,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 925,00
Superagui Series
150,00 x 100,00 x 0,10 cm
Acrylic on canvas
USD 1.575,00
Look Again: Giraffes
38,80 x 60,00 x 0,10 cm
Matte Painting Digital with original photographs and illustrations under Hahnemühle Photo Rag Paper 308gsm (Matte paper - 100% cotton - light texture) Limited print: 0/10
USD 420,00
Body landscape IX
29,00 x 42,00 x 0,10 cm
Ink on Montval paper 300g
USD 510,00
