The Life and Legacy of Vincent van Gogh: A Journey Through His Art and Struggles

[Music] an obsession with sunflowers a mutilated ear and a melancholic temperament

these are just a few characteristics of a truly great artist vincent van gogh then

anyway he spent years in relative obscurity putting his depression on the canvas

only to become one of the most celebrated artists of all time but can these innocuous details really

summarize such an iconic figure in the art world in this week's story we will explore the

life of vincent van gogh in the hopes of discovering the man behind the art we will also discover a

few important questions about his life and works was van gogh truly as sad as historians make him out to be

why did he cut off his own ear what was vincent van gogh's relationship with his brother

theo and how did it impact his art finally why did his art become so popular after his death

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the son of a protestant minister vincent van gogh was born in the netherlands in 1853.

vincent did not become a painter immediately but for a short time he was a preacher in the coal mining region of

boronage in belgium here he began to meet his first love humanity

and all the humble people he met at the sermons this was an important step for a subsequent career as a painter

which began shortly afterwards one of his most famous works the potato eaters painted in 1885

once he was back in his native netherlands bears witness to his concerns for the most humble subjects

it represents a harsh life of the countryside the emphasis on the hands of the protagonists

expresses their hard work simple life and dignity in 1886 while he was 33 vincent firmly

decided to pursue his career as an artist and he moved to paris in france he met

some of the most prominent impressionist painters of the time which profoundly impacted his art

at this point in his career his colors became brighter but his feelings were not equally bright

when vincent van gogh arrived in paris he had a dream a colony of inspired artists who worked

together to find a way to best represent humanity in all its power unfortunately the times of media could

be and all the french rallies were over mr magog felt terribly lost in this new cultural world

he realized that the utopian community of artists he searched for did not exist anymore and his style

focused on human nature was not yet appreciated through art van gogh hoped to express

himself with all his fragilities and strengths using contrasting colors and

expressionist deformations however the public at the time was not all that interested

[Music] in search of even brighter colors van gogh moved to the south of france in

1888 in auro still dreaming of a colony of artists living freely in the countryside

he invited paul gogan to join him in the iconic yellow house gogan's temperament led to a troubled

friendship which was also reflected in the paintings of both artists if we compare the painting

of gogon's chair 1888 with van gogh's own paintings we can come to understand their

divergent ideas about art and life van gogh's modesty is symbolized by a pipe tobacco

and onions alternatively gogan's work reflected that of a more elitist artist particularly with the inclusion of

candles and literature in any case one thing is for sure both artists

were misunderstood brilliant and incapable of understanding one another in auro van gogh also began to

experience periodic psychotic episodes after one particularly bad episode frightened gogan fled the yellow house

never to return feeling abandoned vincent cut off his ear and brought it to a prostitute in a bag as a request

for help and love his loneliness is well represented in the famous bedroom and

arrow painting the room expresses a sense of relaxation but simultaneously

through the nervous lines a sort of instability this metaphor of solitude could be seen

as a form of an unconventional self-portrait due to his mental distress van gogh was hospitalized later in life

while in the clinic inspired by feverish productivity he painted some of the greatest

masterpieces of his career despite the success van gogh was unable to sell any of them

starry night with its swirling disturbing clouds is probably the artwork that best

expresses van gogh's hallucinatory visions and artistic genius it exhibits the

power of his imagination but also the disorienting effects

of his mental state in august of 1890 concerned with the worsening of his mental condition and

his quickly depleting finances van gogh committed suicide in the middle of a wheat field

wheat field with crows represents the peak of his inner agitation a somber sense of death and a small road

leading to the unknown evaluating this painting today we can understand how vince van gogh was

not alienated from reality he felt the power of nature but the intensity

of his sensations had become intolerable soon after his beloved brother theo died as well

the posthumous success of the artist is curiously due to theo's widow joe van gogh boonger she dedicated the

rest of her life to selling vincent's artworks organizing exhibitions and publishing

his letters to theo the complex temperament of van gogh which cannot be reduced to just a

psychological illness shines through his art one can see this clearly in his iconic painting

sunflowers the painting is not a dark or morbid still life

instead it symbolizes his periodic joy and vitality van gogh wanted to introduce colors

freshness and brightness into his paintings possibly in the hopes of bringing those

feelings into his own life too sadly that would never come to fruition

in 1890 van gogh was buried with a bouquet of sunflowers as gogan said these yellow flowers

were completely vincent so what do you think about van gogh's multifaceted personality

was he a mad genius or simply a great artist who was years ahead of his time which artworks best represent this

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