Vincent Van Gogh example essay topic

Vincent Van Gogh: Woe is Me During the last twenty years of the nineteenth century a new form of artistic painting formed. Postimpressionism was a form of art where the artist was highly individual and expressive. Some of the most creative painters in history helped to make the style a success. Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne are two of the most creative and popular painters among the post impressionists, but not the master.

The master of the post impressionist movement was Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent Van Gogh was born on the 30th of March 1853, in the small village of Zundert; in the south of the Netherlands. He was the oldest of six children born to Theodor us Van Gogh and Cornelia Carbentus. He began his education in 1861, at the village school in Zundert; he would subsequently attend two boarding schools.

Van Gogh excelled in language learning French, English, and German. During that time he also began drawing. Vincent for the most part educated himself. In March 1868, he ends his formal education and begins an apprenticeship with Goupil and Cle. (Fine Art Web) The Goupil and Cle. Were art dealers in Europe and Vincent was stationed at their Paris Headquarters.

During his time spent as a salesman, for the art gallery, Van Gogh developed a love for fine art. Van Gogh began to become unstable and the Paris Gallery released him in 1873. Upon leaving Paris, Vincent (wanting to be useful) trained for the ministry in 1877, at Amsterdam University. After failing to land a post in the Church, he became an independent missionary and practiced among the Borinage miners. "His experiences as a preacher are reflected in his first paintings of peasants and potato diggers; of these early works, the best known is the rough, earthly Potato Eaters (web bio. htm). "In 1886 van Gogh went to Paris to live with his brother Theo van Gogh, an art dealer, and became familiar with the new art movements developing at the time.

Influenced by the work of the impressionists and by the work of such Japanese printmakers as Hiroshige and Hokusai, van Gogh began to experiment with current techniques. Subsequently, he adopted the brilliant hues found in the painting of the French artists Camille Pissarro and Georges Seurat (web bio. htm). In Paris, Vincent discovered color and the division ist ideas, which helped to create the distinctive dashed brushstrokes that is seen in his later works. In 1887, at a restaurant in Paris, Van Gogh organized an exhibition. The show contained his works along side of works by some of his friends; Paul Gaugiun, another of the great post impressionists, was one of his friends to participate in the show. Vincent and Gauguin would communicate with each other for some time.

"He was joined briefly by Gauguin in October 1888, and managed in some works to combine his own ideas with the latter's Synthetism, but the visit was not a success. A final argument led to the infamous episode in which Van Gogh mutilated his ear (web). In 1889, Vincent became a patient, voluntarily, at the St. Remy asylum. During his stay at the asylum, Van Gogh produced some his most visually stimulating paintings. He often painted portraits of people that he admired, but his landscapes from that time are breathtaking. In all he produces one hundred fifty paintings while he was a patient at St. Remy.

(Van Gogh Museum) In May 1890, Van Gogh places himself under the care of Dr. Paul Gatchet. Under Gatchet's care, Vincent seems to improve mentally, and produces almost a painting a day over a two month period. "A series of 12 canvases in a distinctive panoramic format celebrates country life: 'I'm all but certain that in those canvases I have formulated what I cannot express in words, namely how healthy and heartening I find the countryside. ' Although he worries that he might again become mentally unstable, Vincent briefly enjoys a peaceful period" (web timeline / timeline 6. html). On July 27, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh walks to a nearby wheat field and shoots himself in the chest. Two days later, with his brother Theo by his side, Vincent dies.

On July 30th, Van Gogh is buried in Avers. Vincent Van Gogh left an incredible output of work for the world to see; including around seven hundred letters he wrote to Theo. Van Gogh was a genius at expression of feeling. He is one of the most collectable artists ever, and my favorite painter. His paintings were completely opposite his personal life, in that they showed delight and warm feelings. Although he has been dead for over one hundred, his legend remains.

Through his paintings we have the opportunity to see how the mind of a truly gifted genius worked. Vincent Van Gogh: Woe is Me

Bibliography

Vincent Van Gogh Museum". Timeline. 10 May 2000.
web bio. htm (10 May 2000).