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Art Report Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Holland. He was named after his grandfather and his stillborn brother. His father was a minister of the Dutch Reform Church and his family had always loved art for many generations Thus, Gogh's two greatest passions were religion and art. He had many siblings: Theodorus 'Theo', Cor, Elisabeth, Anna and Wilemina. He attended a local school at first, bu then he and Anna were home schooled. In 1864, his parents sent away to a boarding school. He transferred to a new school in 1866, where a successful French artist, Constantijn C. Huysman, taught him to draw. In 1868, he suddenly left school returned him. He recalled his early years as "My youth was gloomy and cold and sterile." After having many jobs that he couldn't keep all over Europe, he decided to become an artist at Theo's advice between 1970s and 1980s. He studied art in Belgium because he loved the idea of making people happy with the creation of beauty. In 1881, Gogh came home after nine months of education and he was inspired. He spent his time experimenting, testing, and mastering his skills. By the end of 1881, he had move out of his parents' and into his own home. After many flight years of moving from one country to the next, he completed his first master piece: // The Potato Eater // in 1885//. // Gogh had a tendency to use bright colors and his art was influenced with the techniques from Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. By 1888, something other than art was developing in his head. The first signs of epilepsy were beginning to unfold, among other mental conditions such as psychotic attacks and delusions. In one particular episode, Gogh was throwing threats at his roommate of the time, Paul Guanine, with a knife in hand, and later that say, he cut off a bit of ear. That threw him in the hospital for some time, and once he was released, Guanine had fled town and with his dreams shattered. Later that year, he committed himself into an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where his art really started rolling. Even though Gogh couldn’t paint nor draw for a long period of time with having another episode, it was in the asylum that his most famous masterpiece came about: // The Starry Night //. The swirling, dizzy stars may be a sign of his mental state at the time, and all his works during that time were the same style. He was released from the asylum in 1890 and moved to the outskirts of Paris. Despite his severe depression, he continued drawing and painting- completing nearly one painting each day. He was a heavy drinker, which did help his condition at all. Gogh felt he had failed life and he had no more reason to live. Thus, he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest, but survived. Gogh staggered back from the field he was in and into the Ravoux Inn. He died there two days later. Theo was by his side and witnessed his last words: "// La tristesse durera toujours //" (the sadness will last forever)//. //   Fame only caught up with Van Gogh after his death. Theo died six months after his brother, and his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, was left to carry on his legend. She had always been an avid supporter of her brother's-in-law work and was determined to see his work gain the recognition she so thought he deserved. Gogh-Bonger published the 900 letters he wrote to her late husband, which spread the compelling story of Van Gogh. His letters told the story of a committed painter who threw himself into his art, suffered from his mentality, but captured the world nonetheless.


Images:

 Title: The Potato Eaters Date: 1885 Media: Oil on canvas URL/Site name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Van-willem-vincent-gogh-die-kartoffelesser-03850.jpg

 Title: The Starry Night Date: 1889 Media: Oil paint on a canvas URL/Site name: