Vincent Van Gogh Analysis

I have chosen Romanticism/ Post Impressionism, Olive Trees with yellow sky and sun, by Vincent Van Gogh; The Oxbow, by Thomas Cole, comparing it to the “Spirit Rising, by Christophe Vacher”.

Portrait Commission: A Formal Art Analysis of Vincent Van Gogh's : "Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat” (1887) and Gwenn Seemel's “Fragile (Before)” (2012)

In 1853 Vincent Van Gogh was born into a loving family. He got everything he wanted from his parents, since he was an only child. His dad worked for an oil company. He was a manager and wasn’t around very much. His mom on the other hand didn’t work and was with Vincent all the time. By the time he was 10 years old, his dad moved his family to France so they could have a better life.

There he fell in love with his landlord’s daughter, Eugenie Loyer. When his love was not returned, he became madly upset, which resulted in his dedication toward God and his new occupation as a minister. Becoming a minister was not an easy task for van Gogh, as he rejected taking the Latin exams in the School of Theology in Amsterdam, due his belief on the language being of the poor. In the winter of 1878, he volunteered to be located to an poor coal mine in Belgium (usually a place where preachers were sent as punishment). There, he preached and drew miners and their families. He eventual gained the title of “Christ of the Coal Mines”; this didn’t sit to well with evangelical committees. Eventually van Gogh had to search for another occupation and

His Uncle Cent then got him a job as a bookseller to help him decide and find what his purpose in life. Now, at age 24 Van Gogh has decided to study theology. Though efforts and sacrifices from friends and family alike, Vincent was not able to study for his entrance exam in theology. School was a subject that did not interest him, he’d find himself getting lost in nature on walks. His studies for theology were dropped but the flame inside of him to serve God still lingered. He ventured off to Belgium where he became known as, “The Christ of the Coal Mine.” His dedication and sacrifices were not enough for the mission, his contract was not renewed. The one thing Van Gogh was sure of was to serve God and he lacked

As odd as it sounds, Vincent was born exactly one year after his mother’s stillborn, also named Vincent. One thing that saddened van Gogh was seeing his deceased brother’s headstone with his name and birthdate already engraved into it.

Born on the 30th of March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands to his father Theodorus van Gogh, who was an austere country minister and mother Anna Cornelia Carbentus, who was a moody artist whose love for nature, drawing and water colours had been passed down to her son. Van Gogh’s art was notable for beauty, emotion and colour, at the age of 15 his family began suffering financially which meant he had to leave school and start working, he worked at his Uncle’s art dealership. In June of 1873 van Gogh was transferred to Groupil gallery in London and fell in love with the English culture and became

Van Gogh is commonly thought of as the typical eccentric, outsider or society but, interestingly enough, is not traditionally considered an outsider artist. The characterization of Van Gogh as an outsider artist is heavily contested, “The Van Gogh Museum can’t stand the notion of Vincent van Gogh as an outsider artist,” (Jones). He did communicate with other artists at the time, and was part of the art community by proxy of his brother, Theo. However, his works at this time were dark in tone, whereas the desire in the French art world was color. Theo often told the artist that his paintings were not selling because of his dark color scheme but Van Gogh continued to paint as he wished, never achieving widespread success during his lifetime. Van Gogh was raised in an upper middle class home but was an outsider to the traditional well-to-do lifestyle he was born into. Never truly able to support himself and never having settled down to

Vincent Van Gogh Madison Dunham You’re going insane. Eating paint as if it is food because you spent your weekly earnings on new art supplies without the thought of food. It drives you crazy, but you keep on painting. Almost 900 paintings before you commit suicide and only manage to sell 1.

The oldest of six children, Vincent was named after his parent’s first child that was stillborn. Vincent’s mother rejected him and this left a lasting despair within van Gogh. Due to financial difficulty, Vincent left school at an early age and began working at his Uncle’s art dealership. In 1873, he transferred to the Groupil Gallery in London where he enjoyed English culture and would frequent art galleries. This was also during a time Vincent first fell in love and upon rejection of his marriage proposal, he had a mental breakdown. It is understandable how rejection played a significant and damaging role in Vincent’s troubled life. Vincent then turned to religion, but his inability to conform and his willingness to suffer for his cause became disconcerting to others and he was compelled to find another

Arguably no other artist has captured people's imaginations like Vincent van Gogh. “Vincent van Gogh’s passion, contemplation of life, nature, art, his intensity, his mental illnesses, and his suicide at thirty-seven have all contributed to the powerful myths and love for the estranged artist” (Callow). It is hard to believe that such a beloved painter of today’s society lived such, a short and tortured life. At a young age things, did not start out too well for Vincent. He did not have a very good childhood, and went through many failures in life before he finally found he had an enjoyment for painting. He did not find out that he had a love for painting until he was about twenty-seven years old. Even when he discovered that his calling

Dutch Post-Impressionist painter. Born in the Protestant pastor family, is a pioneer of post-impressionism, and deeply affected the twentieth century art, especially the Fauvism and Expressionism. Works by the French realist painter Miller influence.

“In 1886, he went to Paris to join his brother Theo, the manager of Gopil’s gallery in Paris, van Gough studied with Cormon inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin. “He was so taken with these new impressionist painters, he tried to copy what they did but was unsuccessful. He saw, in Paris, new ideas never thought of before and started lightening his dark shades and thus, developed a bolder, unconventional, and truly unique style. Though he had changed his style, Van Gogh was still not selling any work which drew him even more into depression as

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most celebrated, renowned, and mysterious artists in the world today. Although he was an artist for the majority of his life he achieved almost all of his fame posthumously. This fame is not due exclusively to his remarkable artwork, as his life history, rife with mental illness, fascinating stories, and utter woe, contributes immensely to his eminence. When people pay tens or hundreds of millions of dollars for one piece, they are not just buying mere oil on canvas. They are buying the man behind the painting, the history and experiences that brought him to want to express the human condition in every brushstroke. Unfortunately his life has been romanticized to the point where fact blurs with fiction which overshadows the actual artwork. Therefore if I could have dinner with van Gogh I would love to learn about the true van Gogh from himself.

When Van Gogh was sixteen, his first job was working for his uncle at Goupil et Cie, an art gallery in The Hague. When he was nineteen he went to work at the Groupil Gallery in London and then to the gallery in Paris. He was finally fired from the gallery because he was not happy with his job and discoursed customers from buying the artwork. After that he decided that he wanted to be a preacher and studied to get into a theological school but failed. In 1879 he went to Borinage, a coal mining town, as a missionary to the poor coal miners. He lasted there a couple of years and then was dismissed.