Vincent van Gogh's Liberation
By; Clara Wicinski
"Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear"
Vincent van Gogh completed this portrait of himself two weeks after he severed his ear of with a razor blade.
Conflicts
- Criticized by his own brother and many individuals for his very different style of impressionist art.
- Struggled with mental illnesses that deprived him from having a satisfying life.
- Unknown by anyone for his pieces during his lifetime.
Resolutions
- When van Gogh's work was put on display in 1901, his style was greatly admired by the public and eventually inspired a modern form art called, expressionism.
- The artist completed some of his best paintings while trying to suppress his psychological thoughts and actions.
- Even after more than one hundred years, Vincent van Gogh is still considered the greatest Dutch painter to have ever lived.
"Starry Night"
This artwork done by Vincent van Gogh is one of the most recognized paintings in the history of western culture.
Biographical Paragraph
- Childhood
Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands to very strict and religious family. Van Gogh's father, Theodorus van Gogh, worked as a pastor for their local church while his mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus, thrived as an emotional artist whose talents were inherited by van Gogh himself. The artist had a total of five siblings but, one brother that was also named Vincent, was born stillborn exactly one year before van Gogh, so seeing his name and birth date on a tombstone was just the beginning of his troubles. As a teenager, van Gogh's family was struggling financially wise so they forced him to leave his education behind and get a profession at at his uncle's art dealership, Groupil & Cie, where he would get his first taste of artistic culture.
- Adulthood
In the summer of 1873, van Gogh transferred to a gallery in London where he became absolutely infatuated with the English art and his landlady's daughter who rejected his proposal for marriage. Eventually, van Gogh had a mental breakdown and abandoned all his artistic abilities to devote his life to god but, the church did not agree with his choice of lifestyle and extruded him from the chapel. Depression was apparent in van Gogh in 1882 because of his lack of love and support from women and family so he became a nomad, drawing and painting as he made his way across Drenthe.
- Professional Career
Van Gogh was so emotionally distraught that painting was basically the only thing that could help him cope with the unbearable pain of loneliness. While living in Paris, he began to work on one of the most preeminent paintings of all time, "Potato Eaters," but, he was criticized widely by his brother and critics because it was a very different form of impressionist art which was popular throughout Europe at the time. Eventually, the artist moved to the south of France where he painted over two hundred paintings and it is said van Gogh began to eat paint and drink tree oil because he dissipated all of his and parent's money on paint. Paul Gauguin, a French artist, moved into van Gogh's apartment for about a month in 1888 because Vincent's psychical and mental health started to greatly decline. However, Paul moving in caused Gogh's condition to grow even more from the constant bickering and ultimately he decided to cut his ear off with a razor blade. After that incident, van Gogh was almost always in and out of hospitals for the rest of his life. Furthermore, on May 8, 1880 Vincent began to paint in the hospital gardens which is where historians observed that he painted more unrealistic work with bold strokes.
- Death
At thirty-seven years old van Gogh went out on July 27, 1890 to paint and carried a pistol with him. Van Gogh eventually shot himself in the chest but, the blow did not kill him so, he was taken to a hospital and died two days later in the arms of his favorite brother.
- Accomplishments
After Vincent van Gogh's death, Johanna, van Gogh's brother's wife, admired his pieces and decided to collect most of them and put seventy-one of them on display in Paris. The artist's fascinating work instantly gained an enormous amount of attention from the public and even after more than one hundred years he is still considered the greatest Dutch painter of his time. The paintings he constructed now rank among the most expensive in the entire world. Van Gogh's unique style and technique changed the artistic culture for the better by creating a new form of art called, expressionism. Although, Vincent van Gogh endured many hardships during his lifetime, he is widely known now for his ravishing masterpieces.
Works Cited
- "Vincent van Gogh Style and Technique." Artble. Artble, 2016. Web. 16 Mar 2016.
- "Vincent van Gogh Biography." bio. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 16 March 2016.
- "Vincent van Gogh Quotes." brainy quote. Xplore Inc, 2016. Web. 16 Mar 2016.
- van Gogh, Vincent. Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Courtauld Galleries, London. Khan Academy. Web. 16 Mar 2016.
- van Gogh, Vincent. Starry Night. Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Wikipedia. Web. 16 Mar 2016.
- Free School. "Vincent van Gogh for Children." online video clip. YouTube. Youtube, 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Mar 2016.
Websites
- http://www.biography.com/people/vincent-van-gogh-9515695
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/vincent_van_gogh.html
- http://www.artble.com/artists/vincent_van_gogh/more_information/style_and_technique
- https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/post-impressionism/a/van-gogh-self-portrait-with-bandaged-ear
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night
- https://youtu.be/qv8TANh8djI