“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process” –Vincent van Gogh. Growing up with a large family of three sisters and two brothers along with his parents, Vincent van Gogh was a quiet child who wasn’t particularly interested in art. Completing some education, being employed by the Hague gallery, and beginning a ministry with miners of Borinage, van Gogh eventually found his way to artistry with supportive motivation from is brother, Theo. Although van Gogh suffered from mental illness, there was still some purity within him that allowed him to create some of the most recognized and admired pieces of art today. Within his short-lived career as an artist, before his tragic suicide, van Gogh produced over 2,000 …show more content…
Gachet that now sell for many millions of dollars ("Van Gogh, Vincent”). Overshadowed by his mental instability and financial slump, Vincent van Gogh failed to sell all but one piece of his art while he was living. But without his unstable brain and time spent in complete isolation, some of the world’s most beautiful works of art may not have been produced. Originally showing no interest in being an artist himself, it wasn’t until van Gogh had spent time in Europe where inspiration met the canvas. After two years in Paris, he moved to southern France where “under the burning sun of Provence, he painted scenes of the fields, cypress trees, peasants, and rustic life characteristic of the region.” His iconic use of “swirling brush strokes and intense yellows, greens, and blues” began when van Gogh had …show more content…
Places that he was least valued when he was alive are now places that make the most money off of van Gogh. For example, Arles “determinedly tries to brand itself as Van Gogh's town” however “in 1889 the ancestors of these Provençal locals officially petitioned their mayor to have him locked up.” The slightest shift of angle after his death changed how people viewed him and his work for now there are “knick-knacks being peddled in the streets” including “T-shirts”, “ashtrays” and “fridge magnets” (Januszczak). Moreover, taking part in his known insanity is his disagreement with the painter, Paul Gauguin. The two started having “violent disagreements over their art views” that led to “van Gogh wildly threaten[ing] Gauguin with a razor” and later that same night “sever[ing] part of his own ear” ("Gogh, Vincent Willem Van”). The said “severed ear” fell into the hands of a prostitute, which allowed for another perspective to be had by society on van Gogh and his sexual being. The man “slept with a lot of prostitutes” and “later on, he lived with one”, letting society to see him as filthy and absolutely senseless (Januszczak). It was his mental state that made van Gogh the way that he was, but it also made him the artist he was. Misunderstood by himself as well as the society that surrounded him gave van Gogh emotions portrayed