An obsession with sunflowers, a mutilated ear, and  a melancholic temperament; these are just a few  

characteristics of a truly great artist: Vincent  van Gogh. He spent years in relative obscurity,  

putting his depression onto canvas, only to become  one of the most celebrated artists of all time.  

But can these innocuous details really summarize  such an iconic figure in the art world?

In this week’s story, we will explore the life of  Vincent van Gogh in the hopes of discovering the  

man behind the art. We will also answer a few  important questions about his life and works.  

Was van Gogh truly as sad as historians make him  out to be? Why did he cut off his own ear? What  

was Vincent van Gogh’s relationship with his  brother, Theo, and how did it impact his art?  

Finally, why did his art become so popular after  his death? Let’s explore all of this together!

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The son of a Protestant minister, Vincent Van  Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. Vincent  

did not become a painter immediately, but for a  short time he was a preacher in the coal-mining  

region of the Borinage, in Belgium. Here he  began to meet his first love: humanity, and  

all the humble people he met at the sermons. This  was an important step for his subsequent career as  

a painter, which began shortly afterwards. One  of his most famous works, the Potato Eaters,  

painted in 1885 once he was back in his native  Netherlands, bears witness to his concerns for  

the most humble subjects. It represents the  harsh life of the countryside. The emphasis  

on the hands of the protagonists expresses  their hard work, simple life, and dignity.

In 1886, while he was 33, Vincent firmly decided  to pursue his career as an artist and he moved  

to Paris. In France, he met some of the most  prominent Impressionist painters of the time,  

which profoundly impacted his art. At this point  in his career, his colors became brighter, but his  

feelings were not equally bright. He realized that  the utopian community of artists he searched for  

did not exist anymore, and his style, focused  on human nature, was not yet appreciated.  

Through art, van Gogh hoped to express himself,  with all his fragilities and strengths,  

using contrasting colors and  Expressionist deformations.  

However, the public at the time  was not all that interested.

In search of even brighter colors, van  Gogh moved to the south of France in 1888.  

In Arles, still dreaming of a colony of  artists living freely in the countryside,  

he invited Paul Gauguin to join him in the iconic  “Yellow House.” Gauguin’s temperament led to a  

troubled friendship, which was also reflected  in the paintings of both artists. If we compare  

the painting of Gauguin’s chair (1888) with van  Gogh’s own paintings, we can come to understand  

their divergent ideas about art and life. Van  Gogh’s modesty is symbolized by a pipe, tobacco,  

and onions. Alternatively, Gauguin’s work  reflected that of a more elitist artist,  

particularly with the inclusion of candles and  literature. In any case, one thing is for sure:  

both artists were misunderstood, brilliant,  and incapable of understanding one another!

In Arles, van Gogh also began to experience  periodic psychotic episodes. After one  

particularly bad episode, a frightened Gauguin  fled the Yellow House, never to return. Feeling  

abandoned, Vincent cut off his ear and brought it  to a prostitute in a bag, as a request for help  

and love. His loneliness is well represented  in the famous Bedroom in Arles painting.  

The room expresses a sense of relaxation, but  simultaneously, through the nervous lines, a sort  

of instability. This metaphor of solitude could  be seen as a form of unconventional self-portrait.

Due to his mental distress, van Gogh was  hospitalized later in life. While in the clinic,  

inspired by feverish productivity, he painted  some of the greatest masterpieces of his career.  

Despite this success, van Gogh  was unable to sell any of them.  

Starry Night (1889), with its  swirling, disturbing clouds,  

is probably the artwork that best expresses van  Gogh’s hallucinatory visions and artistic genius.  

It exhibits the power of his imagination, but  also the disorienting effects of his mental state.

In August of 1890, concerned with the worsening  of his mental condition and his quickly depleting  

finances, van Gogh committed suicide in  the middle of a wheatfield. Wheatfield  

With Crows (1890) represents  the peak of his inner agitation:  

a somber sense of death and a small road leading  to the unknown. Evaluating this painting today,  

we can understand how Vincent van  Gogh was not alienated from reality.  

He felt the power of nature, but the intensity  of his sensations had become intolerable.

Soon after, his beloved brother, Theo, died  as well. The posthumous success of the artist  

is curiously due to Theo’s widow, Jo van  Gogh-Bonger. She dedicated the rest of her  

life to selling Vincent’s artworks, organizing  exhibitions, and publishing his letters to Theo.  

The complex temperament of Van Gogh, which  cannot be reduced to just a psychological illness 

, shines through his art. One can see this clearly  in his iconic painting, Sunflowers. The painting  

is not a dark or morbid “still life.” Instead,  it symbolizes his periodic joy and vitality.  

Van Gogh wanted to introduce colors,  freshness, and brightness into his paintings,  

possibly in the hopes of bringing those  feelings into his own life, too. Sadly,  

that would never come to fruition. In 1890, van  Gogh was buried with a bouquet of sunflowers.  

As Gauguin said, these yellow  flowers were “completely Vincent.”  

So, what do you think about Van Gogh’s  multifaceted personality? Was he a mad genius or  

simply a great artist who was years ahead of his  time? Which artworks best represent this duality?  

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