Vincent+Van+Gogh

Edited by Karishma

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**Introduction**
Vincent Willem van Gogh, one of the most famous Dutch painters of 19th century, was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Holland. His striking color and assertive brushwork powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism, in modern art. Van Gogh was passionate about helping the poor, nursing the sick, and preaching in the most dangerous mines. Van Gogh had a short and intense painting career in the history of Western art.

**Early Life**
Van Gogh was an introvert; he often spent his free time in the countryside observing nature. At 16 his uncle apprenticed him to The Hague branch of the art dealers Goupil and Co. Van Gogh worked for the Goupil in London from 1873 to May 1875 and in Paris till April 1876. In Paris, Van Gogh’s religious brooding increased. He often read the Bible aloud at night. In 1875, Van Gogh’s training as an art dealer ended, and a letter to his brother Theo, said, “When the apple his ripe, a soft breeze makes it fall from the tree; such was the case here…” (Wallace 11). Vincent spent his “working” hours translating the Bible in French, German, and English and made sketches. “They think I’m a madman, because I wanted to be a true Christian. They turned me out like a dog, saying that I was causing a scandal.” (Gogh, Vincent van, EBSCOhost) Van Gogh said to an acquaintance.

**Van Gogh’s Artist Career**
Van Gogh’s artist career was exceptionally short for such a famous master; it lasted only for ten years from 1880-1890. First, he went to the Brussels Academy, where he studied drawings. Then in 1881, he moved to his father’s parsonage at Etten, Netherlands, his art mainly symbolized nature. His paintings were mostly about life, landscape, and figure; portraying the enduring hardships of the peasants. Van Gogh’s other letter to Theo explained the importance of art, he said, " No result of my work could please me better than that ordinary working people would hand such prints in their room or workshop." (Krauss 17). Van Gogh worked with great speed and intensity, and with a spontaneous and instinctive style of painting. In Paris, Van Gogh worked with Paul Gauguin; they both were quite influential to each other, but their relations rapidly deteriorated due to their opposing ideas.

**Van Gogh’s Tragic End**
Throughout his life, Van Gogh’s reputation describes him as a struggling genius, working unappreciated in isolation. In 1889, Van Gogh suffered increasingly from discontinuous attacks of mental illness. He spent the year in and out of the mental asylum. In July 1890, at age 37, Van Gogh went out in the field and shot himself, when interrogated by the police Van Gogh said, “What I have done is nobody else’s business. I am free to do what I like with my own body.” (Gogh, Vincent van, EBSCOhost). Van Gogh died two days later on July 30, in Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France. His work had a powerful influence on the development of much modern painting.

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|| Political
 * Social

|| Economic ||
 * Worked with artist Paul Gauguin in Paris, but their opinionated ideas caused their relationship to deteriorate. (Wallace 49) || The impressionists and post-impressionists influenced Van Gogh greatly when he was in Paris. (Wallace 51) || The great gap between the rich and poor endured because industrial and urban development made society more diverse and less unified. (A History of Western Society 788) ||
 * Van Gogh and his younger brother Theo had a unified relationship in art, life and death. (World News Digest, Gogh, Vincent Willem van) || European workers began demanding better working conditions, less corruption in government, and universal suffrage. (Gale Research Inc. Business and Economy: Overview) || France and its leader had a sacred duty to provide jobs and stimulate the economy. (A History of Western Society 816) ||
 * At 20, he fell in love with a British woman, Ursula, but the thought of loving him had never entered her head. (Wallace 11) || Middle class factory owners wanted political power and the right to vote. (Gale Research Inc. Business and Economy: Overview) || Many farmers and workers were driven towards railroads, mines, and factories. (Gale Research Inc. Business and Economy: Overview) ||
 * Had an intense desire to express misery and poverty of humanity he saw in France. (World News Digest, Gogh, Vincent Willem van) || The first political power remained in the hands of the emperor of France, Napoleon III. (A History of Western Society 817) || Industrialization spread throughout the world in the mid 1800s. (A History of Western Society 817) ||
 * Ordinary people took a major step toward in the centuries-old battle against poverty, reinforcing efforts to improve aspect of human existence. (A History of Western Society 787) || Socialism grew during the 1800s as a reaction to the Industrial revolution. (A History of Western Society 817) || Louis Napoleon and his government encouraged the new investment banks and massive railroad construction that were at the heart of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. (A History of Western Society 817) ||

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“The Age of Nationalism, 1850-1914.” //A History of Western Society//. Advanced Placement Edition Ninth Edition ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 816-817. Print.

“Gogh, Vincent van.” //History Reference Center//. EBSCOhost, 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

“Gogh, Vincent Willem van.” //World News Digest//. N.p., 2010. Web. 8 Mar. 2010. .

Krauss, André. //Vincent Van Gogh: Studies in the Social Aspects of his Work//. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, Inc., 1987. N. pag. Print.

“Life in Emerging Urban Society in the Nineteenth Century.” //A History of Western Society//. Advanced Placement Edition Ninth Edition ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 787-789. Print.

Stewart, Jack. “Lawrence’s ontology of art: a meditation on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.” //Literature Resources from Gale//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

Van Gogh, Vincent. //Van Gogh//. Ed. Rachel Barnes. New York: n.p., 1990. Print.

Wallace, Robert. //The World of Van Gogh//. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1969. Print.

Pictures:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/VanGogh_1887_Selbstbildnis.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_127.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Vincent_Van_Gogh_0012.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_002.jpg http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/?terms=van+gogh&edit=yes&page=1 http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/?terms=van+gogh&edit=yes&page=1 http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/?terms=van+gogh&edit=yes&page=1 http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/?terms=van+gogh&edit=yes&page=1 http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/?terms=van+gogh&edit=yes&page=1 http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/?terms=van+gogh&edit=yes&page=1