Vincent Willem Van Gogh was a famous Dutch painter. He influenced many people all throughout the 20th century and still influences many people today. His paintings were in a Post-Impressionist category. This paper will focus on Van Gogh’s early life and the struggles that he had to deal with on a daily basis.
Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30th, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands. His mother’s name was Anna Cornelia Carbentus and his father, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, was Theodorus Van Gogh. Van Gogh’s interest in art began at an early age. He drew things when he was a child and later went to school to learn how to draw. This was before he became an artist. His early drawings were expressive but they didn’t really have the intensity
…show more content…
He was very successful in this time. He was making more money than his father and he had fallen in love with his landlady’s daughter. When Van Gogh finally worked up the courage to talk to her, he was rejected. He found out that she (Eugenie Loyer) was secretly engaged to a former resident where Van Gogh had been staying. After he was rejected he became very isolated and passionate about religion. In 1876 he was fired from his job as an art dealer. After traveling abroad, Van Gogh moved home to the Netherlands and obtained a job at a book shop but he didn’t like this job. After some soul-searching, he decided to become a preacher. His parents supported him and sent him to a school in Amsterdam. While studying in Amsterdam, Van Gogh decided, that he wanted to take up art where he began making various paintings and drawings.
In 1884, Van Gogh met Margot Begemann and they decided to get married. Their families did not like the idea and this made Margot take an overdose of strychnine. Van Gogh rushed her to the hospital where she was saved. But that spring, his father died and Van Gogh was extremely sad over the loss. After this depressing period, Van Gogh began painting more and more and one of his first major pieces, The Potato Eaters, was