Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) is one of the most original artists in the late 19th Century. He worked as an evangelist before taking up painting at the age of 27. He had a very short professional life lasting only for ten years. He was largely self taught but inspired by Impressionism, especially during his 2 years living in Paris. But as this short slideshow shows, Vincent is constantly exploring new styles and he would switch his style to paint the image he wanted. In his early days his painting was glomy and mainly with earthen colours. However, his paintings changed in his later works, using bright and primary colours. He became very good at it that even red coloured cows looked perfectly natural and acceptable. He had a tragic life with all his talent he managed only to sell only one of his painting. His story is also the story of two brothers, their love for each others and their sympathy to others. This seems to be a contradiction with Vincent self-portrait glazes.

1. Vincent VanGogh
The Darkness in my Soul
First created Apr 2007. Version 3.0 - 18 Apr 2021. Daperro. London.
Self-Portrait (Detail). 1887

2. Early Years 1881-1885
To age 28
View of Paris from Montmartre. 1886

3. Vincent Van Gogh
1853 – 1890, aged 37
[Van Gogh] has been occupied with
contemporary society’s problems for so
long, and he is still battling on with his
good-heartedness and boundless energy.
His efforts have not been in vain, but he
will probably not live to see them come to
fruition, for by the time people
understand what he is saying in the
paintings it will be too late.
A letter from Theo van Gogh to his wife Jo. Paris. 9-
10 Feb 1889.

4. Look out on a summer’s day

5. After Van Gogh was dismissed as a art gallery salesman in Paris, he began his training as a missionary,
in Brussels. In 1878, went to the Belgian mining district of the Borinage as a preacher. His devotion to
the miners was total. He gave his clothes away and like them, he lived a life of extreme poverty. He
was dismissed, due to his ‘unorthodox behaviour’.
Weaver

6. The ragged men in ragged clothes
‘I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.’ Letter to Theo. c17 Sept 1888.

7. Potato Eaters
In this period, Van Gogh painted
his first major painting ‘The
Potato Eaters’, which he took
great care and planning.
The painting takes on the colour
of a ‘dusty potato’. It echoes Van
Gogh’s concern for the poor and
his respect for the dignity of
labour. He wanted to paint the
harsh reality of the peasant.
“I have tried to emphasize that
those people, eating their potatoes
in the lamp-light have dug the
earth with those very [bare] hands
they put in the dish, and so it
speaks of manual labour, and how
they have honestly earned their
food.”
On the reflection on the girl’s
eyes, Van Gogh was careful
enough to use the same colour
as with the lamp.
On the lamp, he painted the
flickering of the oil lamp with
spikes of colours, around a
glowing halo of the flame.
Above : Painting studies for ‘The Potato Eaters’.

8. Potato Eaters

9. His paintings in this period was dark and often used earthen colours

10. Paintings 1885 - 1888
To age 35
View of Paris from Montmartre. 1886

11. Two paintings both painted in Paris, in the same year by Van Gogh. They cannot be more different in style.
Multiple styles

12. Van Gogh painted only a few nudes.
Nude

13. Impressionist subjects

14. Portraits
View of Paris from Montmartre. 1886

15. Portrait 1885

16. Portrait 1885

17. Portrait 1887
Agostina Segatori was the owner of the
café, in Paris. Her café is a popular
meeting place for the artists. She also
hang up their paintings in her café.

18. The stranger that you’ve met
The Postman Joseph Roulin was one of
Vincent’s few friends in Arles. The
postman sits alertly, with raised
eyebrows and a direct gaze, with a fish
tail beard.

19. Van Gogh’s mother. 1888
Van Gogh’s mother, Anna Carbentus
was an amateur artist. She taught all
her children to draw.

20. Dr Gachet. 1890
“I’ve done the portrait of Mr
Gachet with an expression of
melancholy which might often
appear to be a grimace to those
looking at the canvas. And yet
that’s what should be painted
…… Sad but gentle but clear
and intelligent, that’s how many
portraits should be done….”
A letter from Vincent van Gogh to his sister.

21. Weathered faces lined in pain
The painting is also known as :At
Eternity’s Gate”.
“… I drew two figures of an old man
with his elbows on his knees and head
in his hands. I did it of Schuitemaker
once and always kept the drawing
because I wnted to do it better another
time. Perhaps I’ll also do a lithograph
of it. What a fine sight an old working
man makes, in his patched bombazine
suit with his bald head.”
Vincent van Gogh.

22. Still Life
View of Paris from Montmarte. 1886

23. Van Gogh was Dutch, with fine still life tradition in paintings. Clogs were Van Gogh.
Still Life with Clogs. 1884

24. Drying Sunflower. 1887

25. An early painting of Van Gogh showing his preference of using a simplified and more vibrate palette.
Fruits. 1887

26. Altogether he painted some seven
paintings of Sunflower. Some of them
are near identical.
Flaming flowers that
brightly blaze

27. Sunflowers

30. Van Gogh was an admirer of the bold design, decorative colours and strong outlines of Japanese

31. While everyone were painting the elegance of the
age. Only Van Gogh focus on the downs & outs,
the ordinary things and people of his day.
But above all Van Gogh was driven by his obsessive
zeal, and his excessive use of limited colours. Van
Gogh was an experimenter and an originator in
painting, constantly changing and searching for a
different ways to paint.
Painter of Skelton, Empty Chairs & Dirty Shoes

32. Swirling Clouds in violet haze. Reflecting Vincent’s eyes of China blue.

33. Starry Night

34. Self Portraits
View of Paris from Montmartre. 1886

35. Compassion or Obsession
I do not of an artist who painted
himself so often.

36. The darkness in my soul
If Vincent Van Gogh is alive today,
most people will find it difficult to
make friend with him. In fact, the
townspeople of Arles drew up a
petition to have Van Gogh
readmitted to the mental hospital.
Vincent Van Gogh is driven by his
passion. There is only a thin line
between passion and obsession. It
is clear that he threw himself
totally into his mission in Borinage,
perhaps beyond just passion would
have done. In a different age, he
maybe regarded as a saint, not
unlike that of St Francis.

37. Self Portraits

38. Self Portraits

39. Like everyone of us, Van Gogh had a dark
side to his character. That should not take
away his genuine concerned for his fellow
beings.
Life is full of contradiction. On one hand
Van Gogh is the preacher and on another he
frequently visited the brothel. He also
suffered from syphilis as well. There are
some who believe that his madness was
caused by his illness or the mercuric
treatment.
Everybody heard about his story of cutting
off bit of his ear lobe and presented it to his
prostitute, Rachel, after his quarrel with
Gauguin, who was going to desert him.
Van Gogh had a history of self-harm,
perhaps to draw sympathy to himself. The
act of cutting off his ear lobe is a symbol of
defeat. Like the bullfight in the Arena, it is
customary to cut off the ear on the
defeated bull to present it as trophy of
defeat.
How you suffered for your sanity

40. In 1889, Van Gogh was admitted to a
mental hospital at Saint-Remy-en-
Provence, where he continued to paint in
spite of breaks in his sanity.
In May 1890, he moved to Auvers-sur-
Oise and placed himself under Dr
Gachet. He worked feverishly.
In 29 July 1890, he died two days after
his shot himself, only 5 years after he
painted The Potato Eaters.
The darkness in my soul

41. Arles & St Remy 1888
To age 37
View of Paris from Montmartre. 1886

42. Arles and
Saint-Remy
In February 1888, Van Gogh moved to
Arles in search of the sun and colour.
It was his most intense and productive
period. Paul Gauguin, his friend came
to join him later. In a quarrel, Van
Gogh attempted to kill his friend.
Gauguin wisely left and went to
Tahiti.

43. Langlois Bridge, Arles

44. Van Gogh lived on the first floor of the house, with green windows. He ate at the café next door. The house overlooks
the River Rhone, in Arles. Like most of his later paintings, he liked to use strong contrasting colours, particularly blue
and yellow. There is always a feeling of emptiness in his painting. The railway on the right link him to his brother in
Paris. Van Gogh told Theo that his only friend in the town, lived between the two bridges. He was the postman.
The Yellow House

45. The Yellow House

46. The Night Cafe
Also known as Café Terrace at Night, it is
a painting of a popular café in Arles.
Here Van Gogh used the strong
contrasting warm, bright light of yellow
against the cool deep blue sky of the
sparkling stars.
He used dashes of colour which he learnt
in Paris. The technique used on the
cobblestones of the street. A thick layer
of yellow paint, as in the canopy of the
cafe, gives the picture a brilliant glow.

47. The Night Cafe
‘The Night Café’ today at Arles.
Cleverly, he placed the faceless people in middle
ground, putting distances between the viewer / painter
from human contacts. Thus emphasizing the isolation
and created a sense of loneliness.
The almost white colour of the circular table tops are
echoed against the shinning stars. Whilst the strong
contrast of blue and yellow, bright and darkness
creates a sense of conflict in the painting.

48. Starry Night

49. Starry Night over Rhone

50. After Millet

51. Pink and red cows

52. Van Gogh restricted his palette
to a very few strong colours, but
the effects he achieved are
surprisingly varied. He liked –
red and green, or blue and
orange.
In The Bridge at Langlois he
used six basic colours and in The
Starry Night he limited it to four
basic colours.
At least two versions of this
paintings exist. Van Gogh
managed to turn a small parish
church into a much grander
building. It has a strange
perspective, with twisted shapes
and harsh colours.
The crooked church

53. This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.
This the last painting of Van Gogh, painted only days before his death. It was aggressively painted with
slashes from a palette knife, creating a rough brutal scene, pulling in different directions. The path lead
you into the picture but going nowhere. Two stormy clouds on swirled and stirred, thrashing ripples
across the wheatfield. This frightened a flock of feeding crow to flee. It is a painting of contrasting
colours and rhythm. It also marks the place where he tried to end his life.

54. They would not listen they did not know how
He passionately concerned for his fellowmen and a
firm believer that art should concern with
contemporary problems, seeking to stir
consciences and change our society.
His story is also about the love between two
brothers. His brother, Theo encouraged him to
paint and unfailingly supported him financially.
Vincent even died in his arm. Theo died six
months later.
The story of Vincent Van Gogh is a
story of a lonely and tragic man.
He failed as a salesman, failed as
a teacher, failed as a priest, failed
to sell his painting, failed in his
relationship with his friend
Gauguin, failed to find love and
failed to kill himself. Yet he
succeeded in becoming one of the
most admired and loved artist of
our time.
Brother Theo
Vincent and Theo were buried side by
side in the Auvers cemetery. The two
graves are covered with ivy, Van Gogh’s
favourite plant, which symbolises the
bonds between the brothers.

55. Music : Vincent by Don Mclean. 1971.
The
End
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56. Impressionist & Orientalism Paintings