Vincent van Gogh perhaps, one of the greatest artists to have ever lived, was born in 1853, in the Netherlands. He was the eldest of six children to his parents, and was only in touch with 2 of his siblings later in life. His brother Theo Van Gogh was the closest to him.
Van Gogh is considered as the greatest post impressionist (post impressionism is a French art movement, mainly characterized by vivid hues and exuberant brush strokes). Unfortunately, His artwork did not receive much success while he was alive
Van Gogh died at an early age of 37 and was not around to witness his work being recognized and appreciated.
Introduction to art
At the age of 16, he apprenticed at the art dealers Goupil and Cie at The Hague branch through his uncle. He worked at the Goupil in London and Paris as well in the following years. The everyday exposure to art seemed to intrigue him. Artists such as Frans Hals, Jean Francois Millet started to grow on him and greatly inspired him throughout his life.
He became extremely successful during his time at the Goupil but art dealing did not satisfy him at all, in fact he despised it and was dropped off from the Goupil during his time in Paris after which he took up a couple of different jobs and had to experience some unfortunate events led him to become devout and extremely pious. During his time back home he used to translate the verses of the bible in English and French.
One of his jobs included working as a missionary among the less privileged section of the society at a coal mining region, where he lived among the poor and gave away his possessions, this did not sit well with the religious authorities, and the church later banished him.
This left him feeling dejected and out of sorts. He felt abandoned by society and isolated himself. It was during this time that he used painting as a form of expression.
He moved to Brussels to learn drawing, and then later he moved to Hague to work under the guidance of Anton Mauve, a Dutch painter.
Van Gogh and Mental Health
Van Gogh went on to produce great paintings in the subsequent years, these years also saw his artwork evolve greatly. He worked with Paul Gaugin for an ephemeral time of about two months.
This was a time of absolute distress for him, he was tortured by his own head and his solitude did not side with him. In fact he was so troubled that one night he cut off his own year with a blade.
After this event, he was hospitalized where he kept experiencing psychotic episodes and yet was able to give the world some of the best paintings like The Starry Night, Olive Trees, Garden Of The Asylum and many more.
Van Gogh made his best paintings during the last two, extremely disturbing years of his life. Consumed by loneliness and the voices in his head, Van Gogh succumbed to his own mind. At the age of 37, he shot himself.
Vincent Van Gogh was a highly inspirational artist who had the ability to express emotions through a simple stroke of his brush. He expressed his pain through his brush which gave birth to an alluring piece of art that can make you feel emphatic emotions. And keep in mind that he was able to do this despite his ill mental health.
Eduindex 
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