"In life as in art, I can cope with it without the Lord God. But I can not exist, I am suffering from man - without something greater than I, something that fills my whole life - without the creative force."

- Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh has become known as one of the most tragic figures in world art. Despite the fact that he was not famous during his lifetime, only a few years after his death, his style started to have a major impact on the artistic movement. Currently, his paintings sold for record amounts. Van Gogh himself envisioned it, he wrote: "Nobody can do anything with the fact that no one buys my paintings. But the time will come when people will realize that their value is more than the cost of paint."

Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in a small Dutch village of Groot-Zundert in a family of Teodorus the cleric and his wife Anna Karbentus. Exactly one year before that Anna gave birth to a dead child, named Vincent, a coincidence which might had a negative impact on his mind later and became one of the reasons for the loss of Van Gogh mental health.

A Vincent had a happy childhood spent in the progressive-minded family, surrounded by thebeautiful nature of the village. He was the eldest of six children: Anna (1855), Theo (1857), Vilhemena (1862) and Cornelius (1866), who also tragically committed suicide being even younger than Vincent, aged 34 years. The career of Vincent in the artistic world began at age 16 when he began to sell paintings of other artists. His three uncles were occupied with selling pictures. Following their example in 1869 he entered the company Goupil renowned French art dealer company, and worked in its offices in Europe. In 1873 there was his first emotional crisis , he loved the girl who was already engaged to another person. After Eugenie Loyer rejected him, he felt the first attack of melancholy, which turned into a depression. As a result of his conduct, his work began to suffer, and in 1876 he was dismissed for incompetence, and then went to Amsterdam to study theology, but he did not pass the exam and went to missionary school in Brussels.

After finishing school Van Gogh went to Borinage, a poor mining region of Belgium, where he was very much facilitate the lives of people around him. His life in this period was modest to the extreme, he lived in barracks, sleeping on straw, there was almost no difference from the lives of poor miners. Despite intolerable conditions Vincent begins to paint. Many workers, whom he met in Belgium, inspired him and he made many drawings, inspired by the style of Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875), he even made a few copies of his works. The theme of god-fearing, hard working people is reflected in the best-known work "potato eater". Returning from Brussels in 1881 and living for a while with his parents, he was again suffering from the undivided love, this time to a widowed cousin, who soon gave him a clear message that she was not interested in him.

Rejected and suffered from depression, Vincent did find the strength to move forward and settled in The Hague, where he begins to explore the art of Anton Mauve, he begins to explore different styles in art, and does a lot of reading. More than others he loved Dikens, Zola and Hugo. Months spent working and studying have been very helpful in creating his unique style. At the same time, he meets a local woman, Sienna Hoornik. She was a mother, a prostitute pregnant with her second child, when she met Vincent. She is present in several of his drawings at the time (including "Sorrow"). In 1883, Van Gogh leaves her feeling guilty later, also suffering from the fact that his brother Theo stops to give him financial support.

In November 1885 Van Gogh comes to the Academy of Arts in Antwerp, which he leaves in a few months because of disagreements with teachers, believed that he had not sufficiently high standard of drawing. However, staying at the Academy had a lasting effect on his work, presenting it to the work of Rubens, and modifying his previous concept of color. From the dark tones, it gradually turns to a lighter and easier. In spring 1886, after leaving the Academy, Vincent moved to Paris to his brother. The brothers spend two years together, during this period of great creativity Vincent influenced byworks, sold by his brother, who was still working at Goupil, namely the works of Pissarro, Sisley, Guillamin. He also becomes acquainted with the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, and is interested in Japanese art, the influence of which can be seen in some of his works of that period. In February 1888 Vincent left his brother and Paris and moved to the village. "I'll go somewhere to the south, so as not to see all this accumulation of artists which bothers me,"- he writes.

He moved to the province, where creates some of his most famous works such as Sunflowers. He lived in Arles, reminding him to Japan and did not cease to admire the beauty of this southern province, travelling a lot in the province. "Now my colors are very bright - sky blue, orange, pink, bright yellow, light green, light wine, violet", - he writes to her sister. During the spring, he paints blooming trees, dozens of paintings, flushed with tender southern sun. In a letter to his brother Theo he writes: "I have never had such a wonderful opportunity to work. Nature is very beautiful, I can not paint as beautifully, but it touches me so much that I do not think about the rules." He works continuously and the only thing that saddens him - a constant shortage of money and paints.

During his stay in Arles, Gauguin arrives, who is also intended to settle in the province, but after several months of living together two artists strongly fight and Gauguin left. This altercation resulted in the Vincent cuts off your ear. The tragic altercation occurred on Dec. 23, 1888. December 24, Van Gogh was admitted to hospital in Arles, suffering from recurrent attacks of insanity. However, January 7, Van Gogh did leave the hospital and returned home with a great desire to continue working. Over the next year, he repeatedly comes to the hospital, but sometimes his mind clears and he paints pictures, the theme for which are located right in the garden around him: "I work with materials, found here in the garden which is purple irises and lilac bush. " During this period he wrote the famous landscapes with cypresses and olive trees, still life with flowers. In 1890 he moved to the north, in Auvers: "Auvers is very beautiful. Here, among other things, a lot of thatches, which is becoming a rarity." He continues to paint.

The last picture of Van Gogh was the one with wheat field and black birds over it, he expressed his "sadness and extreme loneliness."

Great artist tragically passed away on July 27, 1890, he shot himself. But he did not die immediately, but two days later, at the hands of his brother Theo.

In the seven years of intense creativity, he has created over 800 paintings and 700 drawings. But brighter than all, his talent opened in the landscape, following his choleric temperament. For the whole life he sold only one picture to a friend, the artist and nobody thought could not admit then that his "Irises" will be sold at auction in 1987 in New York for 53 million dollars.

Wonderful words said about the works of Van Gogh Ogtay Mirbo: " His life was not long. He never was professionally satisfied with his work. He wanted more, he dreamed of the impossible. We shall love Vincent Van Gogh and revere his memory, because he was really true and great artist."

Author: Kateryna Pryvalova
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