About
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. Not commercially successful in his career, he struggled with severe depression and poverty, which eventually led to his suicide at age thirty-seven.
In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art.
Artist Timeline
30 Mar 1853
Born in Groot-Zundert, the Netherlands
Jul 1869
Joins The Hague branch of the firm Goupil & Cie.
Mar 1876
Leaves Goupil & Cie after various transfers to Brussels, London, and Paris.
May 1877
Moves to Amsterdam to become a church minister.
Jul 1878
Moves to Brussels to train to become a missionary.
Dec 1878
Becomes an unofficial missionary worker in the Borinage region of Belgium.
1879
Decides to become a full-time artist.
Oct 1880
Moves to Brussels to study art.
1882
Moves to The Hague and studies under his artist cousin Anton Mauve.
1883
Moves back to his parents at Nuenen, the Netherlands.
Apr 1885
Produces his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters.
Mar 1886
Moves to Paris where he shares an apartment with his brother Theo.
Feb 1888
Moves to Arles in southern France.
23 Dec 1888
Suffers from some sort of attack and cuts off part of his ear.
May 1889
Voluntarily admits himself to the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole.
May 1890
Moves to Auvers-sur-Oise in northern France to consult Dr Paul Gachet.
29 Jul 1890
Dies from a self-inflicted pistol shot in Auvers-sur-Oise.