Art Guide · Painters
Vincent van Gogh
1853–1890
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) is the best-known Dutch painter of Post-Impressionism. He took up painting at 27 and made more than 2,100 works in about a decade; The Starry Night and Sunflowers are among his most famous.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
He was born in Groot-Zundert in the south of the Netherlands, the son of a pastor. After trying his hand as an art dealer, teacher and preacher, he decided to become a painter only in 1880, at 27. Throughout his career he was supported, financially and emotionally, by his brother Theo, an art dealer.
In 1886 he moved to Paris to live with Theo. Meeting the Impressionists and seeing Japanese woodblock prints transformed his palette. In 1888 he settled in Arles in the south of France, dreaming of an artists’ community in the Yellow House; Paul Gauguin stayed with him for nine weeks. After a crisis in December 1888, he voluntarily entered the asylum at Saint-Rémy in 1889.
In May 1890 he moved to Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, where he died on 29 July 1890, aged 37. He sold only a handful of works in his lifetime; his fame spread thanks to Theo’s widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who exhibited the work and published his letters.
Style
Thickly applied paint (impasto), rhythmic directional brushstrokes and complementary colours that intensify each other are Van Gogh’s signature. From Japanese prints he took flat areas of colour and bold framing, from the Impressionists working outdoors; but he used colour as he felt it rather than as he saw it, opening the way to Expressionism.
Key works
The Arles period gave us the Sunflowers series and Café Terrace at Night (1888); Saint-Rémy The Starry Night, Irises and Wheat Field with Cypresses (1889); and his final months Wheatfield with Crows (1890). He painted Almond Blossom (1890) to celebrate the birth of his nephew. Hundreds of letters to his brother describe step by step how these works came about.
Key works
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Frequently asked questions
Which art movement does Van Gogh belong to?
Post-Impressionism. He adopted the Impressionists’ light and outdoor painting but made colour and brushwork a means of personal expression.
What is Van Gogh’s most famous painting?
The Starry Night, painted in Saint-Rémy in June 1889. It is now in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
How many works did Van Gogh make?
More than 2,100 works in a career of about ten years, of which around 860 are oil paintings; the rest are drawings and watercolours.