Vincent Van Gogh: Passions and Interests of an Artist

Vincent Van Gogh, a son of a Dutch minister, was born on March 30th 1953. He grew up in a small village in the south of the Netherlands. He always had an interest in reading and drawing, but never foresaw himself becoming an artist until later in life. Although he never showcased any special talent for drawing, he was surrounded by artistic influences such as his uncles who happened to be art dealers. His true passions were nature and religion, which he began to pursue during his early life.

At the age of 16, Van Gogh began working for 'Groupil and Co', an art dealing company owned by his uncle which was located in the Hague. During this time, he was constantly surrounded by paintings and illustrations. The company was impressed by Van Gogh's work, and later allocated him to their branch in London, and then on to Paris. While in London, Van Gogh fell in love with his landlady's daughter, Ursula Loyer, which resulted in him asking for her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, she rejected him which left him deeply heartbroken. As well as that, Van Gogh became devastated and distressed by the poverty that surrounded him in London, as well as the huge contrast between the wealthy and the poor.

Vincent began to read the Bible, which prompted his desire to help the poor people. He became increasingly religious, which led to him no longer being as prosperous or as successful in his work with the Groupil, leading him to be dismissed from his job. Feeling the need to do good work, Van Gogh first worked as an unpaid assistant in a school in London. His faith became increasingly important to him, leading him to become a preacher in his local church. At 24, he returned to the Netherlands and began training to become a priest. However, studying to be a priest was very demanding. His father was unable to afford to pay for his study. When his Uncle opted to sponsor him in Amsterdam, he continued his studies but struggled profusely as he worked day and night, wearing himself out. Sadly, Vincent couldn't qualify for further religious studies. He continued to preach whilst living off of his family. He had no job or home, which put him in crisis. His brother, Theo, sent him money as well as drawing materials. At the age of 27, Vincent decided to become an artist. Relating to his new found interest in art, Van Gogh once wrote: 'I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing. From that moment everything has seemed transformed for me.' [1]

Van Gogh refused to study art formally, most likely due to his failures in his studies for the priesthood. His brother began to send him prints of figure drawing exercises, which Vincent continuously practiced. This was mostly due to Van Gogh's lack of understanding when it came to the human anatomy. He also focused on improving on his skills relating to perspective, which helped him understand the distance of his landscapes. [2]

As his painting artistic skills improved, Van Gogh moved to the Hague, where he was given lessons from the artist Anton Mauve, his cousin. Mauve was a successful artist when it came to painting dutch scenery. Van Gogh began to believe himself as an artist. However, he had little money to support himself as well as his career choice. In 1882, Van Gogh set up a home with Sien Hoornik in the Hague. She was a local woman who often posed for him. Despite Van Gogh's desire to marry her, his family had disapproved of their relationship [1]. In 1883 Van Gogh moved away from the failed love affair, spending several months in Drenthe which were peaceful, empty moorlands in the north of the Netherlands, where continued to focus on the poor as well as his artwork.

In 1885, Van Gogh's father, Theodorus, passed away. His death had left Vincent devastated, increasing his determination to succeed as an artist. This led to one of his finest work, 'The Potato-Eaters'. Although his family were middle-class, respectable people, Van Gogh was deeply affected by the poverty around him, which is depicted in this painted. It's said that this artwork was his most divine piece at the time. It depicts the tragic tale of a Dutch family dressed in dirty rags with worn out skin. Their features are exaggerated, as well as their clothing. This was done to make the viewers understand the harsh reality of poverty. However, due to its heavy themes as well as the 'ugly' faces portrayed in this painting, this artwork was heavily criticized. As well as that, the dark themes in this painting didn't suit Paris' more colorful and fashionable taste. The painting was hugely misunderstood, and the message Van Gogh was attempting to convey had not been received. In relation to this piece Van Gogh said, 'I have really wanted to get the idea that these folk, who are eating their potatoes by lamplight, have tilted the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish, so it speaks of manual labour and they have honestly earned their food.'

Van Gogh's brother convinced him to move to Paris. Theo attempted to persuade Van Gogh into painting more lighter themes, such as peaceful landscapes, using bright tones like the painters who called themselves 'Impressionists.' The established movement of Impressionism conveyed art filled with a wide range of bright tones and colors. Complementary colours were used to create fleeting effects of light tones as well as nature. Contrasts of orange hues would often be lined up with soft tones of blues. This way of art was more peaceful and lighter. Van Gogh began to develop friendships with Impressionists like Paul Signac. Signac was more focused on an art form called pointillism, which Von Gogh began to explore. Signac convinced Van Gogh to avoid the use of dark tones and to begin using brighter, softer colors instead. While studying Impressionism and Pointillism, Van Gogh began to develop a unique art style of his own.

While exploring many different compositions, he found his love for painting ordinary things such as potatoes, apples and sunflowers as well as shoes. He began to paint a series of self portraits in 1886. His self portraits may have been due to him not being able to afford model, but he made a phenomenal effort at painting himself. He was developing his artist skills whilst painting himself, as well introducing powerful emotions that were depicted through color and expression. [1] The last self-portrait he painted in Paris conveys Van Gogh's understanding of bright tones and complementary colors. In his painting 'Self-portrait as a Painter, 1888' we can see how his flaming, almost luminous, orange beard that are juxtaposed to his blue coat. We see little flecks of orange on his jacket as well. This showed his clear influence of the Impressionist technique using complementary colors. Continuing to explore lighter themes, Van Gogh moved to the south of France to focus on painting landscapes with smoother and brighter themes in 1888. Just like most impressionists, Van Gogh focused on capturing that fleeting moment that can often by captured through photography. But instead of photography, Van Gogh used his lighter palette filled with complementary colors to make brighter colors stand out.