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THE AMAZING ARTIST - VINCENT VAN GOGHTHE TURBULENT LIFE OF AN ECCENTRIC GENIUSCOMPILED BY HOWIE BAUM

PRONUNCIATION OF VINCENT’S LAST NAME"English people say 'Gof,' the French say 'Gog' and the Dutch pronounce it with aguttural sound -- ‘Cookh.'

VINCENT WILLEM VAN GOGHHe lived from March 30,1853 toJuly 29, 1890 and was born inZundert, Netherlands (Holland).He was a Dutch Post-Impressionistpainter who started painting late inhis life.He posthumously became one of themost famous and influential figures inWestern art history.A self-portrait done in 1887, and nowat the Art Institute of ChicagoIn the last 2 years of his life, hecreated about 2,100 artworks,including 860 oil paintings, and1,300 watercolor paintings andsketches.

PAINTINGS BY VINCENTHis paintings include landscapes,still-life, portraits, and selfportraits with bold colors anddramatic, impulsive andexpressive brushwork.In his early painting days, manyof the images are much darkerthan the later ones.Not commercially successful, hestruggled with severe depressionand poverty, eventually leading tohis suicide, at age 37.

HIS BIRTH ANDCHILDHOOD He was born in1853, in Zundert,Netherlands, thesecond of 6children. From childhood,he was serious,quiet, thoughtfulbut melancholy andsad, some of thetime.(Holland)

His father, Theodorus van Gogh, wasan austere country minister.His mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus,was a moody artist whose love ofnature and drawing was transferredto Vincent.

THEO VAN GOGHTheo, Vincent’s 4 yearyounger and beloved brother,supported Vincent financiallyand emotionally.In 1880, when Vincent was27, Theo encouraged him topaint since he knew he reallyenjoyed drawing.

THE LARGE SET OFLETTERS THATVINCENT SENT TOHIS BROTHERTHEO, AND OTHERSFrom the Hague, in1872, Vincent beganwriting regular lettersto Theo.Over many years,Vincent wrote 950 ofthem, many with artsketches, that luckilyTheo kept.Theo wrote 39 lettersto Vincent.

These letters between the brothers,has given us so much personalinformation, about Vincent.There are also more letters thatVincent wrote to his sister Wil andother relatives, as well as betweenartists such as Paul Gauguin,Anthon van Rappard, and ÉmileBernard.

SAVING VINCENT’S LETTERSAND ARTVincent's sister-in-law and wife tohis brother Theo, was Johanna vanGogh-Bonger.After Theo’s death in 1891, besidesorganizing Vincent’s paintings, shealso spent many years compilingthe letters, which were firstpublished in 1914.Arnold Pomerans, editor of a 1966selection of the letters, wrote that,fortunately, Theo "was the kind ofman who saved even the smallestscrap of paper”.

THE GROUPIL GALLERYWhen he was 20, in 1873, he worked atthe Groupil Gallery in London. Daily contact with works of art inLondon kindled his appreciation ofpaintings and drawings. He fell in love with EugenieLoyer. When she rejected his marriageproposal, he had a breakdown.He became angry with people at work,telling customers not to buy the“worthless art,” and was then fired.By this time, he was fluent in French,German and English, as well as hisnative Dutch.

In 1876 he was offered a position as anassistant preacher at Isleworth, nearLondon. His interest in evangelicalChristianity and ministering to thepoor becomes obsessional. In the winter of 1878, Van Goghvolunteered to move to a coal mine,a place where preachers were usuallysent as punishment. He preached to the sick and alsodrew paintings of the miners, whocalled him “The Christ of the CoalMines.” The evangelical committees were notpleased with Van Gogh’s lifestyle. Andhe was forced to find anotheroccupation.

He decided to become a clergymanand devoted his life to God.He spent time as a Protestantmissionary in southern Belgium.He drifted in ill health andsolitude before taking up paintingin 1881, having moved back homewith his parents.In 1886, he moved to Paris, where hemet members of the avant-garde,including Émile Bernard and PaulGauguin, who were reacting againstthe Impressionist sensibility.

Midway through 1881, he dida brief period of study withAnton Mauve, a master in TheHague School of art.Mauve not only covered thebasics but also introduced hispupil to watercolors and oils,thus broadening the artist'sscope of expression.Vincent's Still Life WithCabbage and Clogs, one ofhis first paintings, makes useof the somber earth tonesthat characterize his earlyworks in the Dutch style.

INITIALLY PAINTING INBLACK AND WHITEVincent van Gogh producedhis first drawings whilestaying at his parents' homein Etten, in the Netherlands,from November, 1883 toDecember 1884.He learned from books onanatomy, perspective andartistic technique.The artist restricted his firstdrawings to a black andwhite palette, believingmastery of this discipline tobe essential beforeattempting works in color.

IMPRESSIONISMIn 1886 Van Gogh enrolls in theEcole des Beaux-Arts inAntwerp.He did not accept the pedanticacademic style of training, andhe withdraws.After that he arrives in Paris. Helives with Theo in Montmartre,an artists’ quarter.Toulouse LautrecIn Paris, Van Gogh first sawimpressionist art, and he wasinspired by the color and light.He began studying withToulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, andothers.Pissarro

THE MAIN PLACES WHEREVINCENT LIVEDHe lived in more than twenty citiesin four countries: The Netherlands,England, Belgium but mostly, inFrance.He lived in Paris, from 1886 to 1888where he was exposedto Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism,and styles like Pointillism.In 1888, he moved to Arles, closer tothe countryside in France, of which heenjoyed the peace and quiet.At this time, he embarked on his mostprolific periods starting in Arles, in thesouth of France and continuing until hisfinal days in Auvers-sur-Oise (at thetop of the map)

HIS INTEREST IN JAPANESEARTDuring the Winter of 1886 to 1887,he became influenced by Japaneseart and eastern philosophy, toenhance his art.He dreamed of traveling there.Toulouse-Lautrec told him that thelight in the village of Arles, Francewas just like the light in Japan.Vincent bought 660 woodcut printsfrom the Paris art dealer SiegfriedBing, that were for sale, at lowprices.Vincent preferred prints with brightcolors and attractive images suchas geishas in kimonos and exoticlandscapes.FLOWERINGPLUM ORCHARDCOURTESANBRIDGE IN THERAIN

TRACES OF USEVincent surrounded himself withhis Japanese prints in the Parisapartment he shared with hisbrother Theo.He pinned them to the walls ofhis studio.THE SOWERHe always took some of the printswith him, to study them ‘calmlyand at length’.After a year, he no longer neededthem to see the world “with amore Japanese eye’”CARAFE AND CITRUSFRUITALMOND BLOSSOMSFrom 1888, his compositionsbecame flatter, more intense incolor, with clear lines anddecorative patterns.

HIS JAPANESE PRINTS IN THEVAN GOGH MUSEUMTheo and later his widow, Jo vanGogh-Bonger, took good care ofVan Gogh’s Japanese prints, sothat the majority of themeventually found their way into theVan Gogh Museum which is inAmsterdam, Holland.You can view over 500 colorfulworks from his collection andadmire them, just as Van Goghhimself did.Explore his Japanese printcollection athttps://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/japanese-prints

In 1888 he moved into the“little yellow house” and spentmost of his money on paint,rather than food.He found himself feeling sickand strange, even sippingturpentine and eating paint.

WHEN DID VINCENTCHANGE FROM PAINTINGIN DARK COLORS, TO THEBRIGHTER YELLOW ONES ?One of his greatest paintings "The Potato Eaters" was theresult of his deep sympathy tothe peasant class, that he didin 1885.In that year, he was still inhis Dutch period, paintingworks like this, whichfeature dark, muddled,grays, browns, and greens.

HIS PALETTE COLORS CHANGE TO BRIGHTER YELLOWSAfter 1888, his color palette changed to much brighter colors, especially yellows.YELLOW SUNFLOWERSYELLOW FIELDS OF GRAINEVEN THE YELLOW MOON IN STARRY NIGHT

“THE REDVINEYARD”Van Gogh sold only onepainting while alive:'The Red Vineyard'which he painted in1888, in Arles France.It sold for 400 francs inBelgium, seven months,prior to his passing.This is equal to only 3.95 in today’scurrency !

SELF PORTRAITS OF VINCENTMost of his self-portraits were done between1853 to 1890.Vincent produced his self-portraits becausehe wanted to practice painting people.Van Gogh painted 35 self-portraits in hisbrief lifetime of 37 years.The majority of them – over 25 – were donewhile he was in Paris (1886–88).He was short of money in that period andstruggled to find models. The artist chosethe simplest solution and painted himself

SELF-PORTRAIT DEDICATED TOPAUL GAUGUINSEPTEMBER 1888, OIL ON CANVAS

VINCENT VAN GOGH, SELFPORTRAIT WITHOUT BEARDPainted at the end of September 1889Oil on canvasThis may have been Van Gogh's lastself-portrait, given as a birthday giftto his mother.

JOSEPH ROULINJoseph became aparticularly good, loyaland supporting friendto Van Gogh, duringhis stay in Arles.van Gogh found him tobe "such a good souland so wise and so fullof feeling and sotrustful."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v 5VK-7-cB24ggo to .55

THE ROULIN FAMILYIt is a group of portraitpaintings Vincent did in Arles,in 1888 and 1889.They are of Joseph, his wifeAugustine and their threechildren: Armand, Camille andMarcelle.It was difficult for financial andother reasons for him to findmodels.So, finding an entire familythat agreed to sit for paintings— in fact, for several sittingseach, was a bounty.

Loving Vincent is a 2017 experimentalanimated biographical drama film about thelife of the painter Vincent van Gogh.It is the first fully painted animated featurefilm.

MAKING THE MOVIELoving Vincent was acomplicated film to make.The first step was to write ascript, provide a storyboard and“do the visualization” on thecomputer.Next came the live-actionshooting with a high-profile cast.Then, the oil painting animationbegan in earnest.There were 124 animators, from20 different countries, and eachwas expected to provide 1/3 of asecond of material each day.

The story of Loving Vincent begins one yearafter death of Vincent van Gogh, in thesummer of 1891.Our hero, Armand Roulin sets out to discoverthe truth about Van Gogh, and in doing someets many people who knew Vincent whenhe was alive, and they share their memoriesof him with Armand.PAINTING OF ARMAND ROULIN,BY VINCENT

“LOVING VINCENT”The idea for this movie beganin 2007.Loving Vincent is structuredlike a detective story.Armand Roulin is the youngman from Arles carrying anunopened letter that van Goghwrote to his brother, shortlybefore his death.As he tries to deliver the letter,Armand discovers Vincent’sbrother had also died and thenfound out more and more aboutthe artist.The more he found out, themore he came to admire him.

“LOVING VINCENT”It is the world's first,fully oil-paintedanimation, feature film.It was created by ateam of some of thebest 124 painters fromall around the world.It took 6 years to make.The movie has 62,400frames and each one isan oil painting oncanvas, using Vincent’spainting style.It was filmed in liveaction with real actorsand actresses and theneach frame was handpainted and animated.

These are the personspainted in the movie“Loving Vincent”, as doneby some of the manyartists who worked onpaintings for the film.VIDEO

VINCENT TIME-TRAVELINGAND SEEING ONE OF HISPAINTING EXHIBITIONSDoctor Who is a British sciencefiction series, produced andbroadcast by the BBC since 1963.The Doctor, a Time Lord from theplanet Gallifrey, explores theuniverse in his time machine thatlooks like a 1963 London “policebox”.The Doctor and his lady friendgo back to pick up Vincent totake him to a museum of hispaintings in 2010.Vincent gets to hear the ArtCurator talk about him !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v LLdtK9JvXJg&t 1s4.8 min

“Worn Out”, a sketchdrawn in 1882

Portrait of Vincent van Goghby Henri de Toulouse-LautrecDone in 1887 as a pasteldrawing.