Vincent van Gogh in his own words
Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was born on 30 March 1853, in the town of Zundert in the south of the Netherlands. Vincent spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers, travelling between The Hague, London and Paris, after which he taught for some time in England.
He is known for his vivid use of colour. However his early works, such as The Potato Eaters and Skull of a skeleton with burning cigarette in 1885, consisted of a limited palette, using mostly sombre earth tones.
It was not until March 1886 when he moved to Paris and then later to the south of France, where his style began to be influenced by French Impressionist artists and the strong sunlight found in southern Europe. Gradually his style evolved, with the use of striking colours and emotive brushstrokes, becoming unique and now eternally recognisable as the 'Van Gogh' style.
Despite his artistic abilities, Vincent suffered from anxiety and fits of mental illness.
How and to what extent this influenced his work is largely unknown. Modern critics consider that Vincent was deeply unhappy because his sickness made his painting slower and less clear. Often his personal relationships were disastrous, instead turning to his art to express his love for humanity and exploration into man’s social and spiritual condition.
Find things beautiful as much as you can, most people find too little beautiful.
Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it.
Let us paint a lot and be productive, and be ourselves with all our faults and qualities.
If one truly loves nature, one finds beauty everywhere.