In his lifetime, Vincent van Gogh was seen as a failure, but today, he is viewed as the foremost representative of postimpressionist art. Unable to conform to normal life, Vincent turned to art to express his feelings. His style of using choppy brushstrokes with brilliant colors was looked down upon
by other artists of his time, but with support from his brother, Theo, Vincent lived his dream of
becoming an artist. Although he enjoyed painting, the intense feeling of failure and rejection by
women, took a toll on Vincent. He went through long bouts of depression, which led to his
suicide. Today, Van Gogh is seen as one of the most achieved and inspirational artists of all time.
Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in North Brafant, Holland. He was the son of Theodorus van Gogh, an evangelical Calvinist, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus. He was the second son named Vincent - the first died in infancy. This always made Vincent feel like a replacement son for his parents. As a child, Vincent was shy and preferred to be alone. He liked the outdoors and admired its beauty, which he portrayed in his paintings later in life (Schaffner 16).
Vincent spent the first twenty years of his life trying to discover his true calling. He first worked as an art dealer for Goupil and Co. in Paris. While working there he learned a lot about art and developed his own tastes and preferences. Van Gogh then decided that he wanted to go into the ministry. He went into theological studies at the University of Amsterdam. After failing his classes, Vincent served as a missionary from November 1878 to July 1879 in a coal-mining
district in Belgium. Observing the lives of these people inspired Van Gogh to become an artist
(Schaffner 17-18). Van Gogh's first major painting, The Potato Eaters of 1885, reflects his
ambition to be a painter of peasant life (Van Gogh's 2).
Vincent never took formal art classes. "Although he attended a few drawi...