Vincent Van Gogh
(1853-1890)

Died aged c. 37

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch: [ˈvɪnsənt ˈʋɪləm vɑŋ ˈɣɔx]; 30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. Not commercially successful, he struggled with severe depression and poverty, eventually leading to his suicide at age thirty-seven. Born into an upper-middle class family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet, and thoughtful. As a young man, he worked as an art dealer, often traveling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881, having moved back home with his parents. His younger brother Theo supported him financially; the two kept a long correspondence by letter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, contain few signs of the vivid colour that distinguished his later work. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and local landscapes. His paintings grew brighter as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the South of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include series of olive trees, wheat fields and sunflowers. Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor when, in a rage, he severed part of his own left ear. He spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he came under the care of the homeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. His depression persisted, and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh is believed to have shot himself in the chest with a revolver, dying from his injuries two days later. Van Gogh was commercially unsuccessful during his lifetime, and he was considered a madman and a failure. As he only became famous after his suicide, he came to be seen as a misunderstood genius in the public imagination. His reputation grew in the early 20th century as elements of his style came to be incorporated by the Fauves and German Expressionists. He attained widespread critical and commercial success over the ensuing decades, and is remembered as an important but tragic painter whose troubled personality typifies the romantic ideal of the tortured artist. Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings to have ever sold, and his legacy is honoured by a museum in his name, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.

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Commemorated on 7 plaques

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890 painter lived here 1873-1874

87 Hackford Road, Lambeth, SW9, London, United Kingdom where they lived (1873-1874)

Vincent Van Gogh the famous painter lived here in 1876

Twickenham Road, Isleworth, London, United Kingdom where they lived

1853-1890 painter Vincent Van Gogh taught here in 1876

6 Royal Road, Ramsgate, United Kingdom where they taught

Dans cette maison Vincent Van Gogh a vecu chez son frere Theo de 1886 a 1888

English translation: In this house Vincent Van Gogh lived with his brother Theo from 1886 to 1888

54 Rue Lepic, Paris, France where they lived

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890 painter lived here 1876

11 Spencer Square, Ramsgate, United Kingdom where they lived

In de hier eertijds gevestigde kunsthandel Goupil&Cie. werkte van 1869 tot 1873 Vincent van Gogh Hier maakte hij kennis met de wereld der kunst

Plaats 20, Den Haag, Netherlands where they worked (1869-1873)

Op deze plek woonde en werkte Vincent van Gogh 1882-1883

Hendrick Hamelstraat 8-22, Den Haag, Netherlands where they lived (1882-1883) and worked (1882-1883)