"The son of a Dutch Protestant pastor, van Gogh believed he had a religious calling and did missionary work in the slums of London and in the mining districts of Belgium.  Repeated professional and personal failures brought him close to despair. "

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 916

The Potato Eaters

The Japanese Influence:

The Bridge in the Rain - copy of a Japanese print

Almond Blossoms

     "Today, van Gogh's work stands as an important contribution to the development of an expressionist art, and it has deeply influenced generations of artists.  Although monetary value does not necessarily reflect artistic value, it is worth considering that in recent years, van Gogh's paintings consistently have brought the highest prices at auction.  In 1987, Sunflowers (1888) sold for #39.9 million to a Japanese insurance company.  The following year, Irises (1899) [not the one pictured below] was purchased for $53.9 million by Alan Bond, and Australian brewing and real estate tycoon.  (Bond eventually defaulted on the payment for the painting, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles subsequently bought the work.) In 1990, Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890) was sold to Ryoei Saito, a Japanese paper manufacturing magnate, for $82.5 million, the most ever paid for an artwork [until a painting by Picasso sold for $104 in 2004]. ... It is sobering to think an artist who has had such a dramatic impact on the direction of art and on the general public died thinking himself a failure."

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 917

Irises

Late Works:

     "Although the image of van Gogh as a madman persists in the public imagination, van Gogh is better described as a tormented individual who suffered from epileptic seizures.  Only after he turned to painting did he find a way to communicate his experiences. "

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 916

Self-Portrait

     "For van Gogh, the power to create involved the expressive use of color.  As he wrote to [his brother] Theo: 'Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more arbitrarily so as to express myself forcibly.'  In another letter, he explained that the color in one of his paintings was 'not locally true from the point of view of the delusive realist, but color suggesting some emotion of an ardent temperament."

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 916

The Bedroom at Arles





Wheatfield with a Reaper






Undergrowth

     "Van Gogh's insistence on the expressive values of color led him to develop a corresponding expressiveness in his paint application.  The thickness, shape, and direction of his brush strokes created a tactile counterpart to his intense color schemes.  He moved the brush vehemently back and forth at right angles, giving a textilelike effect, or squeezed dots or streaks onto his canvas from his paint tube.  This bold, almost slapdash attack enhanced the intensity of his colors."

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 916

Ears of Wheat

     "When van Gogh died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1890 at the age of 37, he considered himself a failure as an artist.  He felt himself an outcast not only from artistic circles but also from society at large.  The hostile reception to his work, both from fellow artists and the general public, no doubt reinforced this perception.  Throughout his brief career, he encountered great difficulty selling his work; indeed, he sold only one painting during his lifetime."

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 917

Crows Over Wheat Field