Published on March 30, 2026
One of the most influential artists in history, Vincent van Gogh left behind a mammoth collection of works, in which he elevated scenes from mundane everyday life with rich, poetic strokes. Often reflecting on his own life through his art, the great artist helped lay the foundations of modern art. Posthumously celebrated as one of the greatest artists of all time, van Gogh’s life, with its looming cloud of mental distress and gloom, along with his prodigious talent, made the post-impressionist master the perfect fit for the tag of the quintessential “tortured artist.”
Vincent van Gogh – in full Vincent Willem van Gogh – was born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert, Netherlands. Born to Theodorus van Gogh, an austere Protestant pastor, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, an artist whose love of nature and art van Gogh inherited, the young artist was quiet and self-contained, spending his free time wandering the countryside, observing nature. At the age of 15, due to a financial crisis in his family, van Gogh was forced to leave school and start working. He worked as an art dealer in London from 1873 to 1875 and in Paris from then until 1876, frequented art galleries, and developed his own distinct artistic sensibility. He also loved English literature, developing a strong liking for the writings of Charles Dickens and George Eliot.
In London, van Gogh fell in love with his landlady’s daughter, Eugenie Loyer. Suffering from a breakdown after she rejected his marriage proposal, van Gogh dismissed art and literature, devoting his life to the church. He taught at a school and later moved to an impoverished coal mine in the south of Belgium, where he preached to the sick and poor. In an act of selflessness, van Gogh decided to live in a tiny hut there—a move that the evangelical community did not approve of, resulting in his dismissal from missionary practice.
Sinking into despair with the belief that his faith was destroyed, in the fall of 1880, van Gogh decided to move to Brussels and become an artist. This was when he started taking art seriously, believing that he would bring consolation to humanity through art. Van Gogh wrote in one of his letters: “I want to give the wretched a brotherly message. When I sign [my paintings] ‘Vincent,’ it is as one of them.”
Van Gogh’s inability to maintain happy relationships with women, perhaps owing to his unstable temperament, caused him great sorrow and pain. The artist, who said, “I can’t live without love,” was an astute romantic who believed that love was infinite, deep, and real. His numerous failed attempts at romantic relationships include his cousin Kee Vos-Stricker, a prostitute named Sien, and a restaurant owner in Paris, Agostina Segatori. These women often made it into van Gogh’s artworks, similar to almost all other aspects of his life that took form in his art.
Vincent van Gogh eventually found true, requited love in nature, art, and his brother, Theo van Gogh – an art dealer in Paris who supported him throughout his pursuit of art. In van Gogh’s famous, heartfelt letters to his brother, he goes into great detail about his life. Signed “Loving Vincent,” these letters were not merely an exchange of life events but offered meditations on love and the meaning and purpose of life itself.
Theo introduced van Gogh to artists in Paris and ensured that his brother did not run out of money, even after the rest of his family had abandoned him. It was in the French capital that van Gogh first saw impressionist art and was drawn to the luminous shades used in those paintings. He also met modern art masters like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin there and was introduced to Impressionist painters like Camille Pissarro and Georges Seurat.
Vincent van Gogh’s artistic career was extremely short, lasting only 10 years from 1880 to 1890. He studied drawing at the Brussels Academy and moved in with his parents for a short period in 1881, where he worked hard and self-trained. Realizing the need for guidance from artists with more experience, he began working with Anton Mauve, a Dutch landscape painter. He experimented with oil paints soon afterward, moving to Drenthe, an isolated part of the northern Netherlands, to work “alone with nature.”
In the years that followed, van Gogh’s art grew bolder, creating works featuring his signature subjects – still life, landscapes, and figures. His famous works like Weavers and The Potato Eaters were completed during this period, highlighting the daily life of peasants and the countryside.
Arriving in Arles in southern France in 1888, the artist finally had his breakthrough in art. Between 1886 and 1888, van Gogh’s post-impressionistic style took full shape, with a shift from the dull tones of his previous works to pure colors and distinct brushwork similar to the pointillistic style. Masterpieces such as the Portrait of Père Tanguy and Self-Portrait in Front of the Easel were created, and van Gogh painted in full swing.
The time van Gogh spent in Arles was his most productive – he fell in love with the bright southern sun and painted in ecstatic bursts of creativity. He painted olive trees, sunflowers, wheat fields, and cafes, resulting in some of his most iconic works. Van Gogh was joined and French artist, Paul Gauguin, in his Yellow House in Arles, and the two worked together, though with disastrous results due to van Gogh’s unstable temperament. Suffering from declining physical and mental health and becoming completely financially dependent on Theo, the artist spent all his money on paints and barely ate. Towards the end of 1888, van Gogh and Gauguin had a fallout, and a
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