Biographies of World Famous People Series -- Van Gogh

Author: Wu Shan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The "World Famous Person Biography Series" meticulously selects 31 world-renowned figures who have influenced the progress of human civilization in the fields of science, technology, culture, art, and education. Based on historical facts and catering to the reading habits of teenagers, the series introduces the life experiences, ideals, pursuits, and shining achievements of these famous individuals in a vivid and lively yet rigorous and meticulous manner. The series is carefully structured and designed with knowledge sections such as "Quotations," "Appreciation of Famous Passages," and "Chronology," accompanied by detailed historical images and rich knowledge links, making the books more readable and collectible. This book is a biographical story that vividly records the extraordinary life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. From a young age, van Gogh dreamed of becoming a painter, studied painting diligently, and engaged in artistic creation, but he faced numerous setbacks and hardships in life. His difficult experiences made him deeply sympathetic to the poor working people. Unwilling to cater to the aesthetic tastes of the upper class, his works were not recognized by society during his lifetime. However, "gold always shines," and soon after his death, his works gained fame, earning him the reputation as one of the most outstanding artists in Europe at the end of the 19th century and securing a place in the history of world painting. Van Gogh was a brilliant post-impressionist painter who surpassed impressionism and became a mentor of modern and contemporary art and an eternal star that illuminates the history of human art! Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was born into a family of a Protestant minister in Zundert, the Netherlands. Before the age of 24, he worked as a clerk at Goupil galleries in The Hague, London, and Paris. Later, he became a missionary and served in the Borinage mining area in southwestern Belgium, but he was dismissed due to his sympathy and support for the demands of the poor miners. After a period of extreme disappointment and poverty, he decided to achieve self-liberation through the pursuit of art. After 1880, he traveled to study, seeking guidance from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium and learning from the Dutch landscape painter Anton Mauve, but he ultimately decided to teach himself. He overcame various difficulties and strived to express the world according to his own understanding. Before 1886, his works were still in the exploration phase, with representative works such as "The Potato Eaters" and "The Weavers." In 1886, van Gogh came to Paris with his brother, who worked as a senior clerk at Goupil galleries, where he met Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat, and Paul Cézanne, and attended gatherings of impressionist painters. This greatly broadened his artistic horizons, and he began painting in a completely different way from before, with vibrant colors and bright tones. In his paintings, there was always a carnival of color and brushwork, creating an atmosphere that demonstrated an extraordinary vitality. This self-portrait is a prime example. Van Gogh painted numerous self-portraits in his lifetime, and this one is relatively early in his work. In February 1888, he traveled with Gauguin to Arles in southern France to paint for a year. This was a crucial period in the formation of his artistic style. The strong sunlight and the towns, fields, flowers, rivers, farmhouses, and churches of the south filled him with a desire to shout repeatedly, "Brighter! Brighter!" At this time, he and Gauguin had disagreements over impressionism but shared a strong interest in expressionism or symbolism. They even considered establishing a "Southern Impressionism" or an "Impressionist Separation." However, due to the deterioration of their relationship, Gauguin left, and after van Gogh's ear-cutting incident, his mental state deteriorated. As a result, they did not form any group. In 1890, after long-term treatment at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, van Gogh's condition slightly improved, and he returned to Paris, living by the Oise River in Auvers and receiving specialized treatment from Dr. Gachet. He worked diligently and produced works such as "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" and "The Church at Auvers." However, on October 27, 1890, after an argument with Dr. Gachet, he shot himself and ended his life.