Erika Montes Contreras

Art 1010
Patricia Bingham
March 7, 2016
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 to a country minister father and a
moody artist mother. As a young boy, Vincents family was struggling financially and was
forced to quit school and begin working. He was a very quiet child growing up who had
no interest in studying art. When he began working at a gallery selling paints and when
that was no longer working out, Vincent moved to London and Paris. When he moved to
Paris, he fell in love with Eugenie Loyer and proposed. Eugenia turned his love down and
was insulted by his behavior towards her. His inability to read the emotions of others
caused him to fail to see that she never had an interest in him. (1) Vincent was very upset
and threw away all his books except the bible; he began teaching boys in school and
began preaching. He then wanted to become a minister like his father however Vincents
behavior towards the curriculum of the Latin language was stopping him from taking the
exams as he called the Latin language, dead.
Vincents behavior began to change when he moved to Belgium and began
working for the coalmines; he was often seen giving his money and clothes to the poor
people. The company disagreed with Vincents lifestyle and asked him to find another
job. Theo, Vincents younger brother, offered to support him financially and advised
Vincent to begin painting. Vincent personality towards his love life was strange. He fell
in love with his cousin, Kate, when she became widowed and Vincents family

disapproved of his behavior. Van Gogh then left his cousin alone and found a prostitute to
fall in love with; when she left him he became very depressed. When he moved to
Nuenen, he was known as that strange man walking around the streets in search of people
to draw. Many saw him painting scenery for hours at a time without noticing people
walking by. Vincent was a fast learner and picked up new techniques and would utilize
the new techniques in his paintings often.
Intensely serious and uncommunicative, walked around clumsily and in a daze
with his head hung low were the words Vincents sisters described him. As being the
oldest sibling in the family, he was described as stranger to himself and his family. His
mother saw Vincent as a disappointment due to the failure of keeping a job. When
Vincent wasnt able to keep a job, his parents became very hesitant to help him
financially. When his father found out that Vincent drifted from his religious beliefs and
had fallen in love with his cousin, their father/son relationship was over.
Theo, the youngest brother, was Vincents closest sibling in the family. Vincent
would always write to Theo letting him know of the events happening in his life and
often speaking about art. Theo convinced Vincent to quit his job and fulfill his dream of
being a painter; Vincent agreed and went to go live with Theo in Paris. While moving to
Paris, Vincent met a famous artist by the name of Paul Gauguin. They became very great
friends and Vincent moved in with Gauguin, while living together they learned from each
other their different styles of painting. Gauguin stated their friendship was electric and
soon came to an end when Vincent tried attacking Gauguin with a knife. Gauguin also
stated that Vincents inability to comprehend normal social relationship is what caused

their friendship to end (2). Gauguin moved out and they never saw each other after the
incident however still wrote letters to each other often.
During the time Vincent Van Gogh was alive, he taught himself how to become a
painter and learned first by mastering black and white before drawing with color. After
learning how to paint in color, he began painting everyday sceneries. When he moved
back to Nuenen, with his parents, he painted many poor people thus creating The Potato
Eaters. He then departed to Paris where he began living with his brother, Theo. Van Gogh
saw the works of many artists, including his new friend Paul Gauguin, and began
studying their techniques to his artwork and then applying lighter colors to his paintings.
When Van Gogh left for France, he learned the technique of Japanese prints and created
The Flowering Orchard. His friend, Gauguin, joined Van Gogh but departed shortly after
Van Gogh had a breakdown. Van Gogh then had another mental breakdown cutting off
his ear and giving it to a prostitute. When he returned from the hospital, Van Gogh
voluntarily went to an asylum to receive help, where he made Starry Night and some
150 canvases more. When he left the asylum, Vincent was in a depressive state and he
wrote to his brother, Theo, a last time writing, I feel a failure. That's it as far as I'm
concerned...I feel that this is the destiny that I accept, that will never change. A few days
after completing, Wheat Field with Crows, Vincent shot himself with a gunshot to the
chest and died two days later from the wounds. Theo died six months later, from lung
caner, and Theos widow published Vincents work, gaining the recognition his art longed
for. (3)
Starry Night Over the Rhone is my favorite painting, the colors are cold colors,
there are about five different cool colors in this painting however you can see the image

produced. The image is on a pier overlooking the sea and little stars in the sky. There are
also lights in a far distance of the city reflecting on the water, while on the pier are two,
faded, figures holding hands.
I feel this piece is significant is because Van Gogh produced this painting while
living in France. When Vincent moved to France, his mood began to sour. It was said that
his awkwardness of being around artists during the day was beginning to take a toll. He
would frequently have mood swings and began his depressive state. Van Gogh was able
to express his internal emotions on to a canvas and show others how he was seeing life.
Because Van Gogh used dark, cool colors on this painting, I felt sadness. When I
looked more into the painting, I noticed the two figures on the bottom right corner and
they looked a bit faded. I thought about his brother Theo and his wife, when reading
about Van Gogh, it was said that their relationship began to deteriorate when they got
married. When I look at the painting, I wonder if that was supposed to be his brother and
his wife. The lights in the distance reflect on the water and have a feeling of light
optimism remaining in Van Goghs life.
Van Goghs texture was big, heavier, lined, brush strokes on his canvases and was
said that he often used paint straight from the tube. His painting is somewhat realistic
however is a night effect painting or a landscape. The unity in the picture combines with
his emotions during that point in time of his life.
In the beginning, Van Gogh believed that he had to master drawing first before
becoming a great painter. Once he became satisfied with how to draw, he began adding
color to his paintings. When he studied form and movement, he was able to produce
many watercolor paintings. He also learned to se lighter colors to his paintings and tried

broken brushstrokes to his paintings. Van Gogh also imitated Gauguins technique by
using heavier brush strokes.

Works Cited:
A. Book from a physical library
Bowen, Richard. Vincent Van Gogh - Modern Artist, Mason Crest Publishers, 2003
B. One online website
http://www.artble.com/artists/vincent_van_gogh
http://bonniebutterfield.com/VincentVanGogh.htm

C. The following Art Data Base. http://www.ahdb.org/

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gogh/hd_gogh.htm

1. "Vincent Van Gogh." Artble. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

2. "Troubled Life of Vincent Van Gogh and the Birth of Expresionism." Troubled Life of
Vincent Van Gogh and the Birth of Expresionism. Bonnie Butterfield, 2011. Web. 07 Mar.
2016.
2. Bowen, Richard A., and Paolo Rui. Vincent Van Gogh: Modern Artist. Print.
3. Department of European Paintings. Vincent van Gogh (18531890). In Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gogh/hd_gogh.htm (originally published October
2004, last revised March 2010)