The Art History of Vincent Van Gogh
March 30th marks the birth of the great painter Vincent Van Gogh.Van Gogh was born March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Holland. During the brief 10 years that Van Gogh pursued painting he produced some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings. Though he had little success during his lifetime his status as an artist has been compared to the likes of Rembrandt.
Van Gogh was taught drawing in middle school by a successful artist from Paris. Although he excelled in the subject he found the boarding school “gloomy…cold and sterile…” He immediately dropped out of school and returned home. His Uncle persuaded him to take a job with a local art dealer in London where he was successful for a time later commenting it was the “happiest year of his life.” However after accepting a 2nd transfer to the Paris office he became notably displeased with his situation and was shortly thereafter terminated.
Van Gogh had thought to become a Pastor like his father and in May 1877 left for Amsterdam to study Theology. Religion would later prove to be an unsuitable profession for the emotional Van Gogh. After he failed the Theology exam he took a position as a missionary in a coal mining village in Belgium. He was later released for being “too overzealous.” The church authorities felt his choice of living conditions undermined the church. All was not lost for while Van Gogh was in Belgium he spent much of his time drawing portraits of the villagers. After his dismissal he lingered for a spell in Belgium working on his drawings.
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