Portrait of Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh Painting Reproductions 6 of 18

1853-1890

Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter

Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch painter (Groot Zundert, Brabant, 1853-Auvers-sur-Oise 1890).

Vincent Van Gogh embodied the myth of the misunderstood genius of his time, so much so that his works were ignored in his own time and are today among the most sought-after in the world. He tried to exorcise his inner turmoil through painting. His research into form and color had a lasting influence on the avant-gardes to come.

A pastor's son, Vincent Van Gogh was named after a brother who was stillborn the year before he was born. Four years after his birth, he had another brother, Theodorus (1857-1891), whom he called Theo - and who supported him morally and financially throughout his life.

An unstable child with a talent for drawing, Vincent's uncles included the founder of the Goupil art gallery in Paris, which had numerous branches throughout Europe. He was sent successively to the Hague branch (1869), then to the Brussels and London branches (1873-1876), to learn the art business. Following setbacks in love, he took refuge in mysticism, writing letters to Theo as an outlet for his troubled soul.

After a brief stay in Paris, Van Gogh returned to London and became a schoolteacher in the working-class district of Isleworth. He sensed a true religious vocation, which led him to evangelize the miners of the Borinage region in Belgium. His zeal for evangelism offended the ecclesiastical authorities, who put a stop to it after a year (1879). After several years of solitary wandering, painting took precedence over preaching.

A devotee of Jean-François Millet, Van Gogh devoted himself to the study of landscapes and peasant scenes when he took up oil painting in 1882, on the advice of his cousin by marriage, Anton Mauve (1838-1888).

In Nuenen, near Eindhoven, where he lived for almost two years (December 1883-November 1885), he became familiar with Dutch realism (Potato Eaters, 1885). He then moved to Antwerp to attend the École des Beaux-Arts, where he discovered the work of Peter Paul Rubens. But, put off by the teaching he received, he left again in February 1886 to join his brother in Paris, who took him in at a studio in Montmartre.

Van Gogh frequented the milieu of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painters (Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac). He joined the studio of Cormon (1845-1924), where he became friends with Émile Bernard and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who were to exert a clear influence on him. The three friends organized their first exhibition in 1887. They didn't sell any paintings, but they knew that their time had not yet come.

In contact with Gauguin, but also under the influence of Japanese prints, Van Gogh refined his research into color; his palette became lighter and more diversified, his style more flexible, giving rise to experiments in still lifes, landscapes and portraits (Père Tanguy, 1887). To perfect his work, he needed to find skies other than those of Paris. So, in February 1888, he moved to Arles. Dazzled by the light of the Midi, Van Gogh made color the very object of his work, rather than just a component of it. He sought the greatest possible intensity in both tones (such as the yellows in the Sunflower series) and chromatic relationships (yellow/blue, yellow/green, blue/green, red/green): flowers (Peach in bloom, "Souvenir de Mauve", 1888), landscapes (the Crau Plain with the ruins of Montmajour), interiors (the Night Café), portraits (Mousmée in the armchair) are charged with great expressivity.

Living alone among the people of Arles, who were suspicious of this strange outsider, Van Gogh sank into depression. Yet he did not abandon his dream of forming a community of painters. He finally persuaded Gauguin to join him. The master of Pont-Aven arrived in Arles in November 1888 and took up residence in the "Yellow House" - his host's studio.

But he couldn't stand Gauguin's inexpressive nature, and on the evening of December 23, 1888, after a more violent argument than the previous ones, he left for the house. Shortly afterwards, Van Gogh took a knife and cut off part of his left ear, which he then took to a prostitute. Two self-portraits bear witness to this gesture.

Admitted to the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence asylum, where he remained for a year (May 1889-May 1890), Van Gogh devoted himself to a style of painting in which elongated brushstrokes and twisted forms convey the force of his torments (Starry night, 1889). As soon as he was discharged, he had to leave Arles under pressure from the locals, whom he frightened.

Terribly weakened, Van Gogh agreed to go to Auvers-sur-Oise, where Dr. Paul Gachet lived. A doctor, but also an art lover and himself a painter in his spare time, Gachet was a friend of Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas. Through Théo Van Gogh, he became aware of Vincent's work, the importance of which he immediately sensed, at the same time as his illness. From then on, he never stopped trying to get him to come to Auvers-sur-Oise, drawing criticism - unfounded at the time - from those who accused him of acting out of self-interest.

A real friendship developed between the two men. Gachet succeeded in establishing a climate of trust around Van Gogh, which had a beneficial effect. The painter painted a first portrait of his benefactor, who, filled with admiration, commissioned a second. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Van Gogh was aware that his talent was recognized and his art understood by a man of quality.

Picking up his brushes again, he spent whole days at his easel, executing several of his masterpieces: "The Church of Auvers-sur-Oise", "View from the bedside" (1890), "Cottages at Cordeville", "Wheatfield with Crows". Here again, color is crucial, but it becomes darker, and forms more tortured, like the painter's mind. His inner pain is the strongest: "There's something inside me: what is it?" he desperately wants to know. He only benefited from the help Gachet was able to give him for three months, and ended up quarrelling with Gachet as well.

On July 27, 1890, while out for a walk, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest and, despite Gachet's care, died two days later. This was the end of an artist who had signed over eight hundred canvases, but who, during his lifetime, sold only one, the "The Red Vineyard", bought in Brussels in 1890.

412 Vincent van Gogh Paintings

View of Vessenots Near Auvers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

View of Vessenots Near Auvers 1890

Oil Painting
$435
Canvas Print
$63.65
SKU: VVG-1221
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 55 x 65 cm
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain

Village Street and Stairs with Figures, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Village Street and Stairs with Figures 1890

Oil Painting
$529
Canvas Print
$88.69
SKU: VVG-1222
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 50 x 70.5 cm
Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, USA

House in Auvers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

House in Auvers 1890

Oil Painting
$558
Canvas Print
$61.44
SKU: VVG-1223
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 60 x 73 cm
Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, USA

Still Life - Pink Roses, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Still Life - Pink Roses 1890

Oil Painting
$459
SKU: VVG-1224
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 32 x 40.5 cm
New Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark

Thatched Cottages at Cordeville, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Thatched Cottages at Cordeville 1890

Oil Painting
$630
Canvas Print
$60.89
SKU: VVG-1225
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 73 x 92 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise 1890

Oil Painting
$630
Canvas Print
$60.33
SKU: VVG-1226
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 94 x 74.5 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

Landscape with Carriage and Train in the Background, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with Carriage and Train in the Background 1890

Oil Painting
$630
Canvas Print
$60.20
SKU: VVG-1227
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 72 x 90 cm
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia

Wheat Field at Auvers with White House, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Wheat Field at Auvers with White House 1890

Oil Painting
$374
Canvas Print
$76.64
SKU: VVG-1228
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 48.5 x 62.8 cm
Phillips Collection, Washington, USA

Portrait of Doctor Gachet, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Doctor Gachet 1890

Oil Painting
$529
Canvas Print
$63.24
SKU: VVG-1229
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 68 x 57 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

Field with Poppies, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Field with Poppies 1890

Oil Painting
$630
Canvas Print
$60.89
SKU: VVG-1230
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 73 x 91.5 cm
Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands

Vineyards with a View of Auvers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Vineyards with a View of Auvers 1890

Oil Painting
$630
Canvas Print
$59.92
SKU: VVG-1231
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 65.1 x 80.3 cm
Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, USA

Still Life - Red Poppies and Daisies, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Still Life - Red Poppies and Daisies 1890

Oil Painting
$504
Canvas Print
$57.85
SKU: VVG-1232
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 66 x 51 cm
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, USA

Still Life - Vase with Roses and Anemones, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Still Life - Vase with Roses and Anemones 1890

Oil Painting
$323
Canvas Print
$67.64
SKU: VVG-1233
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 51.7 x 52 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

Undergrowth with Two Figures, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Undergrowth with Two Figures 1890

Oil Painting
$587
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: VVG-1234
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 49.5 x 99.7 cm
Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio, USA

Bank of the Oise at Auvers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Bank of the Oise at Auvers 1890

Oil Painting
$619
Canvas Print
$52.48
SKU: VVG-1236
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 73.4 x 93.7 cm
Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan, USA

The Grove, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

The Grove 1890

Oil Painting
$614
SKU: VVG-1237
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 73 x 92 cm
Collection Joseph H. Hazen, New York, USA

Field with Wheat Stacks, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Field with Wheat Stacks 1890

Oil Painting
$596
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: VVG-1238
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 50 x 100 cm
Private Collection

Wheat Field with Crows, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Wheat Field with Crows 1890

Oil Painting
$550
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: VVG-1239
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 50.5 x 103 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Wheat Fields at Auvers Under Clouded Sky, July 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Wheat Fields at Auvers Under Clouded Sky July 1890

Oil Painting
$574
Canvas Print
$60.33
SKU: VVG-1240
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 73.3 x 92.4 cm
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, USA

Plain at Auvers, July 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Plain at Auvers July 1890

Oil Painting
$396
Canvas Print
$81.78
SKU: VVG-1241
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 50 x 65 cm
Private Collection

Wheat Field with Cornflowers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Wheat Field with Cornflowers 1890

Oil Painting
$565
Canvas Print
$55.35
SKU: VVG-1242
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 60 x 81 cm
Private Collection

The Trinquetaille Bridge, 1888 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

The Trinquetaille Bridge 1888

Oil Painting
$619
Canvas Print
$60.06
SKU: VVG-1243
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 72.5 x 91.5 cm
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland

The Railway Bridge oner Avenue Montmajour, Arles, 1888 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

The Railway Bridge oner Avenue Montmajour, Arles 1888

Oil Painting
$574
SKU: VVG-1244
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 71 x 92 cm
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland

Tarascon Stagecoach, 1888 by Vincent van Gogh | Painting Reproduction

Tarascon Stagecoach 1888

Oil Painting
$565
Canvas Print
$58.95
SKU: VVG-1245
Vincent van Gogh
Original Size: 71.4 x 92.5 cm
Art Museum at Princeton University, New Jersey, USA

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