Vincent van Gogh

Who is Vincent van Gogh?

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert in the Netherlands and became one of the most influential figures in Western art. He came to painting relatively late, after working as an art dealer, teacher and lay preacher, and produced almost all of his roughly 2,000 artworks in the final decade of his life. His style evolved from the sombre tones of early works such as The Potato Eaters (1885) to the vivid colour and bold, expressive brushwork of his years in Paris, Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise. Famous works include The Starry Night (1889), his Sunflowers series, and numerous self-portraits. He struggled with mental illness and poverty, and sold very little during his lifetime, supported financially and emotionally by his brother Theo, whose surviving correspondence documents his ideas. He died in France in 1890. Today he is celebrated worldwide as a pioneer of modern art.

Sources: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam — permanent collection and catalogue · The Letters of Vincent van Gogh (Van Gogh Museum / Huygens ING critical edition, 2009) · Museum of Modern Art, New York — The Starry Night (1889)