Historical Figures Codexery

Vincent van Gogh

The tortured genius who changed art forever.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh · via Wikipedia: Vincent van Gogh · Public domain

Vincent van Gogh was born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, and was the oldest surviving child of a minister and his wife.[1] During his life, Vincent van Gogh did not achieve success and was viewed as both insane and a failure.[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Vincent Willem van Gogh
Born
30 March 1853
Birthplace
Zundert, North Brabant, Netherlands
Died
29 July 1890
Place of death
Auvers-sur-Oise, Val-d'Oise, France
Cause of death
Self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest
Movement
Post-Impressionism
Years active
1881–1890

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He gave up his comfortable lodgings to a homeless person and moved to a small hut, which led to his dismissal for "undermining the dignity of the priesthood."[3] In March 1880, Van Gogh set out on an 80 km trip on foot to meet the artist Jules Breton, but returned without making his presence known.[4] He decided to become an artist around August 1880, encouraged by his brother Theo.[5] As a child, Vincent's mother fostered his drawing, yet his early sketches, while expressive, lack the power seen in his later creations.[6]

Through his uncle Cent, a job was secured for Van Gogh at the art dealership Goupil & Cie in The Hague starting in July 1869.[7] In March 1886, Van Gogh relocated to Paris, where he lived with his brother Theo and took lessons at the studio run by Fernand Cormon.[8]

What the cited sources add

In addition to art, Van Gogh was very knowledgeable in literature, and his correspondence is full of literary references.[9] In late March 1884, Van Gogh wrote to his friend Anthon van Rappard, giving him samples of poetry by Jules Breton.[9] Van Gogh's father was so worried about his behavior that he considered having him committed to a psychiatric institution in Geel.[5] The Van Gogh Route account notes that Van Gogh undertook a punishing walk in March 1880 to Courrières to meet Jules Breton.[5]

The Van Gogh Letters web edition, created from 15 years of research by the Van Gogh Museum and Huygens ING, includes all of Van Gogh's correspondence with his brother Theo, as well as with Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, and numerous other individuals.[10] According to The Eclectic Light Company, Van Gogh traveled 85 miles on foot to visit Jules Breton at his residence, but was stopped by the tall wall around the property.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pomerans 1997, p. xv (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McQuillan 1989, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fell 2015, p. 17; Callow 1990, p. 54 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh: 9 December 1875", www.webexhibits.org; "034 (034, 27): To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 31 May 1875. – Vincent van Gogh Letters", www.vangoghletters.org; "The Poem That Inspired a Van Gogh Painting, Written in His Hand", The Raab Collection; "500 (503, 406): To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 4 and Tuesday, 5 May 1885. – Vincent van Gogh Letters", www.vangoghletters.org; Route, "Vincent van Gogh in Borinage, Belgium", Van Gogh Route; hoakley, "Jules Breton's Eternal Harvest: 4 1877–1889", The Eclectic en.wikipedia.org
  5. Route, "Vincent van Gogh in Borinage, Belgium", Van Gogh Route. facts only, no text reused. vangoghroute.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Naifeh Smith 2011, p. 14–16; Tralbaut 1981, p. 39.; Hulsker 1980, p. 8–9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walther Metzger 1994, p. 16; Van Gogh 2009, p. [http://www.vangoghletters.org/vg "Van Gogh: The Letters"] (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Vincent van Gogh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tralbaut 1981, p. 39. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "The Poem That Inspired a Van Gogh Painting, Written in His Hand", The Raab Collection. facts only, no text reused. raabcollection.com
  10. "034 (034, 27): To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 31 May 1875. – Vincent van Gogh Letters", www.vangoghletters.org. facts only, no text reused. vangoghletters.org
  11. hoakley, "Jules Breton's Eternal Harvest: 4 1877–1889", The Eclectic Light Company, 6 April 2017. facts only, no text reused. eclecticlight.co

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Vincent van Gogh (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Artists & Composers

Elsewhere in Historical Figures

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →