All About Vincent Van Gogh!
Enjoy learning all about his man and his life, along with a few alternate theories on how his ear came to be cut, along with his mysterious death.
— EARLY LIFE —
* Van Gogh was born in March of 1853, in the Netherlands. His father was an austere country minister, and his mother was a moody artist whose love of nature, drawing and watercolors was transferred to her son.
* The eldest of six, Vincent van Gogh had two brothers and three sisters (‘Theo’ was the younger brother who would later play an important role in his older brother's life as a confidant, supporter and art dealer).
* At age 15, van Gogh's family was struggling financially, and he was forced to leave school and go to work. He got a job at his Uncle Cornelis' art dealership, Goupil & Cie., a firm of art dealers in The Hague. By this time, van Gogh was fluent in French, German and English, as well as his native Dutch.
— HIS LIFE AS AN ARTIST —
* In the fall of 1880, van Gogh decided to move to Brussels and become an artist. Though he had no formal art training, his brother Theo offered to support van Gogh financially.
* Van Gogh's art helped him stay emotionally balanced. In 1885, he began work on what is considered to be his first masterpiece, "Potato Eaters." Theo, who by this time living in Paris, believed the painting would not be well-received in the French capital, where Impressionism had become the trend.
* Nevertheless, van Gogh decided to move to Paris, and showed up at Theo's house uninvited. In March 1886, Theo welcomed his brother into his small apartment.
* In Paris, van Gogh first saw Impressionist art, and he was inspired by the color and light. He began studying with some of the famous artists there.
* He became influenced by Japanese art and began studying Eastern philosophy to enhance his art and life. He dreamed of traveling there, but was told by Toulouse-Lautrec that the light in the village of Arles (in the south of France) was just like the light in Japan.
* In February 1888, van Gogh boarded a train to the South of France. He moved into a now-famous "yellow house" and spent his money on paint rather than food.
— HIS MENTAL HEALTH (and loss of an ear) —
* In December 1888, van Gogh was living on coffee, bread and absinthe in Arles, France, and he found himself feeling sick and strange.
* Before long, it became apparent that in addition to suffering from physical illness, his psychological health was declining. Around this time, he is known to have sipped on turpentine and eaten paint.
* His brother Theo was worried, and he offered Paul Gauguin money to go watch over Vincent in Arles. Within a month, van Gogh and Gauguin were arguing constantly, and one night, Gauguin walked out. Van Gogh followed him, and when Gauguin turned around, he saw van Gogh holding a razor in his hand; It’s said that Van Gogh cut off the top part of his left ear after he and Gauguin parted ways that evening.
* The police found van Gogh in his room the next morning, and admitted him to the hospital. Theo arrived on Christmas Day to see van Gogh, who was weak from blood loss and having violent seizures.
* On January 7, 1889, van Gogh was released from the hospital, however, after the incident, he remained alone and depressed. For hope, he turned to painting and nature, but could not find peace and was hospitalized again. He would paint at the yellow house during the day and return to the hospital at night.
--- ((FOR THE MYSTERY-LOVERS)):
**Find out why many people have believed that van Gogh didn’t cut off his own ear: https://www....yId=103990820
— THE DEATH OF VAN GOGH —
* On July 27, 1890, Vincent van Gogh went out to paint in the morning carrying a loaded pistol and shot himself in the chest, but the bullet did not kill him. He was found bleeding in his room.
* Van Gogh was taken to a nearby hospital and his doctors sent for Theo, who arrived to find his brother sitting up in bed and smoking a pipe. They spent the next couple of days talking together, and then van Gogh asked Theo to take him home.
* On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh died in the arms of his brother Theo. He was only 37 years old.
--- ((FOR THE MYSTERY-LOVERS)):
***Learn more about some well-formed theories about the death of Van Gogh and why he might not have actually killed himself. These are solid theories that have been floating around for decades and will 100% make you question what you thought you knew :)
https://www....h/video/78123
— HIS MASTERPIECES —
* Vincent van Gogh completed more than 2,100 works, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolors, drawings and sketches.
* Several of his paintings now rank among the most expensive in the world; "Irises" sold for a record $53.9 million, and his "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold for $82.5 million.
* A few of van Gogh’s most well-known artworks include:
- ‘Sunflowers’ https://www....on/s0031V1962
- ‘Irises’ http://www.g...s-dutch-1889/
- 'Self Portrait’ https://www....portrait.html
- ‘Starry Night’
(*Shown above) This is considered to be his most well-known work of art and is our personal favorite!
* Van Gogh painted "The Starry Night" in the asylum where he was staying in Saint-Rémy, France, in 1889, the year before his death. “This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big,” he wrote to his brother Theo.
* A combination of imagination, memory, emotion and observation, the oil painting on canvas depicts an expressive swirling night sky and a sleeping village, with a large flame-like cypress, thought to represent the bridge between life and death, looming in the foreground. The painting is currently housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY.
****More about this famous work of art: https://www....ry-night.html
**Interesting fact: The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.
***** VAN GOGH AT PINOT'S PALETTE *****
If there's one thing our customers LOVE, it's Van Gogh-inspired artwork! Pinot's Palette has been offering replication paintings like 'Starry Night' since we opened (Nation-wide) 10 years ago! Famous artworks like Van Gogh paintings are easily identified by everyone and are something that people want to create themselves and hang in their homes! By taking some of Van Gogh's most famous pieces and simplifying them so they can be created in our 2-3 hour classes, we're able to give our customers a little piece of Van Gogh and his incredible style of art for their own.
Each month, you're sure to see at least one Van Gogh painting on the calendar (and often times, many classes); You’ll even see some extra-special and unique paintings that are based on ’Starry Night’ but might be themed for Halloween, Christmas, the beach, a specific US city, and more!
** Check out what's coming up:
October 4th, 'Starry Night: Halloween'
Join us for this fun twist on Van Gogh's Starry Night - Halloween Edition at Pinot's Palette studio near you! "There is magic in the night when the pumpkins glow by moonlight."
THIS IS A BLACK LIGHT CLASS!!! YAY!
*Learn all about these special glow-in-the-dark events: https://www....llseeyousoon-
*Sign up: https://www..../event/353997
October 5th, 'Starry Nightmare'
A fun painting that combines a scary Halloween picture with the famous artist, "Van Gogh”.
*Sign up: https://www..../event/353999
October 21st, 'Wheatfield From St. Remy'
Come and enjoy this beautiful Van-Gogh inspired landscape with its swirly clouds, golden grasses and abstract trees.
*Special for this class: First Glass of House Wine or Beer Included with Admission!
*Sign up: https://www..../event/350255