Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh, genius or madman? ‘The connection between genius and mental illness is paradoxically both clearer and murkier than that between genius and high intelligence. ‘ (Published on March 31 , 2011, Andrew Robinson) Van Gogh, possibly the most famous example of a known genius who beard the title of a mentally ill individual, had severe depression, inflicted serious injury on his own earlobe in the year of 1888, admitted himself to a mental facility, and shot himself in 1890, yet he is one of the most respected and well known men of our time, all because of his unmistakable and ingenious art work.Van Sago's recurrent mental derangement's were never in suspicion, not by himself nor his family. However, his sanity was never questioned either. Vincent Van Gogh was a known madman; it was never in question to anyone, not even himself, â€Å"l am unable to describe exactly what is the matter with me; now and then there are horrible fits of anxiety, apparently without cause, or otherwise a feeling of emptiness and fatigue in the head†¦. â€Å". (Vincent Van Gogh, date unknown) Van Gogh had been diagnosed with many conditions, illnesses and mental instabilities.Some being epilepsy, bipolar disorder, depression, psychotic episodes, and unpredictable mood swings. Doctors including Dry. Person and Dry. Felix Ere believed that Van Sago's epileptic seizures were occurring due to temporal lobe epilepsy. He was born with a brain laceration that was thought to of been intensified by his recurrent consumption of absinthe, this is what is believed to have caused his epileptic condition. Enthusiasm and dedication were standout characteristics in Van Sago's personality.Impulsive behavior was a prominent factor in his life, though hose periods were on every occasion trailed by depression and exhaustion. Therefore, doctors and specialists concluded that manic depression or bipolar disorder was a component of Van Sago's life. His bipolar disease is also wh at lead to his suicidal demise. Vincent Van Gogh was also diagnosed with Hyperplasia, which is a condition making ones desire [need to write intensify to an almost continuous level. This disorder is commonly linked to another of his conditions; epilepsy.The assortment of over 800 letters that Van Gogh wrote throughout his life time could be recognized and attributed to this condition. It has never been an uncertainty in our society that Vincent Van Gogh is in fact one of the most famous genius' within his art work; his art is known worldwide as astounding pieces of work. Although he was not recognized as a genius in his day, and his work was worth next to nothing, today he is seen as one of the greatest artists of both his and our time, and his paintings are worth millions.Not only was Van Gogh introducing a new style of art, experimenting with new concepts and colors but he was the beginning of a new era; expressionism. This is not only a remarkable point in history but also suppor ts the act that Vincent Van Gogh was in fact a genius; for one single man began a whole new look into art. The society he lived in was not ready for his non-conforming behavior and harsh reality of what truth lied behind his paintings.Not only with the realistic colors he used but also the concepts; he was not only painting portraits as everyone else was, however he rebelled against tradition and began painting landscapes and everyday images such as drawings of gardens, sunflowers, Patience Scalier, Eugene Boca, the Rollins, cafes, his room and his chair; all incredibly alive ND beautiful. Genius by definition is, ‘somebody with exceptional ability, especially someone whose creative achievements gain worldwide recognition'.It is no argue that Vincent Van Gogh met these requirements. It is believed that one of Van Sago's numerous physicians, Dry. Cachet treated his condition of epilepsy with a prescription drug by the name of digitalis. The drug has been known to cause one to s ee either yellow spots, or to view things in yellow. This is a very possible reason as to why Van Gogh painted a lot of yellow. A popular drink in his time was absinthe, and Van Gogh rank a substantial amount of it, however what most people don't know is that there is Outshone present in the liqueur.Outshone is a toxin that when taken in high doses can, once again cause one to view things in yellow. Physicians who have studied the artist have conflicting thoughts on whether this is what caused his attraction to yellow or not. Van Gogh used lead based paints, so there is differing assumptions to whether or not he suffered from lead poisoning by biting on paint chips. One of the effects from lead poisoning is that is causes one to see circles around objects; much eke halos, which is present in his famous painting ‘The Starry Night'.Van Sago's paintings are purely the reason he is known as a genius and the fact that his mental derangement's assisted with the completion of his wor k and to the standard it was, and also the way it was done supports the fact that he is a genius because he was a madman. Vincent Van Gogh; a man well recognized as a genius who beard the label of a mentally ill human being. Throughout his life he created some of the most high end paintings and drawings, and he would not have done so without some of the mental imbalances that were present in his life. Vincent Van Gogh Vincent van Gogh was an interesting man. Vincent van Gogh had one of the strongest impacts on the art world in the sass. He was not recognized until his death and he sold only one painting when he was alive. This painting was â€Å"The Red Vineyard†. Van Gogh suffered from mental illness and depression. No one knows how he got them but these illnesses have made his art better. He used his emotions and depression in his artwork. Every single piece of his depicts his depression and sorrow. Vincent van Gogh has impacted the world with his paintings. He was a post-impressionist minter whose work, notable for its beauty, emotion and color, highly influenced 20th- century art. â€Å"(www. Biography. Com/people/Vincent-van-Gogh-951 5695, Unknown Author) Most people know him for his famous painting â€Å"Starry Night†. Van Gogh has left his mark on the world and art itself. Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Holland. As a child van Gogh had a very normal life. He g rew up in the village of Grotto Evader. His parent's were Theodore, who was a Protestant minister, and Anna Cornelia van Gogh. Vincent was named after his older brother who died when he was born.His mother never got over her first son's death and never grew to love van Gogh. When he was young, he started forming mental problems. Van Gogh had two brothers and three sisters. Their names were Thee and Core and Elisabeth, Anna and WI. Vincent was the oldest of his family. He loved all of his siblings but he grew the strongest relationship with his brother Thee. When he was a child, his mother taught all the children how to draw and paint with watercolors. She also taught them how to love the environment and the outdoors. Vincent loved the outdoors and would always go on walks.On these walks, he would come across the cemetery and in the cemetery was Baby Vincent grave. The site of seeing his own name and birthday on the grave frightened van Gogh. Whenever he saw this he would think about how perfect his older brother was and how he will never reach that status and how he will fail. Vincent van Gogh went to school like any other kid in the sass but because of financial problems, he had to drop out and start working. When he was 16, he started working at the Hogue gallery which was run by Gospel and Company. His Uncle Cent, who was an art dealer himself, got him a Job.Being away from his family, van Gogh was at the height of his life. He started to gain more knowledge in every aspect. He began to read many books and he learned how to speak French, English and German. Vincent worked there for six years and on his fourth year at Gospel and Company, he transferred to London, England. When he was 20 years old, he fell in love with his landlady's daughter. Her name was Egg ©nine Layer. Van Gogh asked her to marry him but he was turned down and rejected. She said that she was already secretly engaged. Vincent van Gogh was infuriated by this.He threw away all of his books side the Bible and decided to devote himself to God. At work, Vincent started to argue and fight with his coworkers and the customers. When he turned 23, he was fired from Gospel and Company. He then decided to go to school to become a minister like his father. Van Gogh was very tough on himself and whenever he studied wrong, he would punish himself. These punishments would be starving himself or staying outside for the night in the cold. He was very stubborn and he refused to take one of the exams. No schools would take him because of his stubbornness and his refusal.Van Gogh still believed that he was meant to be a minister so went to preach to the miners of Baronage. While he was there, he sketched most of the things he saw. He gave his house to a sick woman and slept in a shack. He helped the miners but while he was helping them, he was suffering. The miners called him the Christ of the coalmines. Vincent van Gogh got pleasure from suffering. He felt that when he suffered, he w as taking some ones hurt away from them. The church felt that the Job wasn't safe for him so they let him go. Van Gogh had no place to live and had no money.He thought of himself as a failure and he would always look at the sketches of the miners and wonder how he could help people like that. He then decided that he wasn't going to help them by being a minister, he was going to help them through his art. He decided to become an artist. Even though he had no artistic training, he gave everything his all. Vincent wrote to his brother Thee, asking him for some support. Thee agreed and Vincent moved back to Holland. At the age of 28, he finished his first oil painting. Thee was a respected art dealer at Gospel and Company so every painting van Gogh would make, he would end it to Thee.Dan Gogh then fell in love with his cousin, Kate. Her husband had just passed away and she was grieving his death. Van Gogh asked her for her hand in marriage but she denied. She then ran away from Vincent but, like last time, he could not take no for an answer. He chased after her back to her home in Amsterdam. Van Gogh talked to her family and they explained to him that she didn't want that relationship. His family was very disgusted with him for his actions. Vincent did not want to live at home anymore so he moved to the capital city of South Holland, The Hogue.In the city, he met Classic Maria Horn. She was an alcoholic and a prostitute and Vincent soon fell in love with her. She also had a four-year-old girl and was pregnant. She became sick and stopped prostituting. Because she could not work anymore, she was Vincent model for all of his paintings. In 1882, Vincent van Gogh found out he had syphilis. Classic started work again and Vincent became very depressed. They started fighting and Vincent depression got worse. Van Gogh left Classic and moved to Drenched. If he didn't leave Classic, his family would cut him off and not support him with any money.In Drenched, he began to pai nt the people and the landscape. This is where he finished his first painting. â€Å"Fulfilling his desire to paint figures, and 1885 van Gogh completed his first major work, The Potato Eaters which proved a unknown author) Thee received â€Å"The Potato Eaters† and said it was too gloomy and dark. Thee said that the dark colors that Vincent used were not popular anymore. People in art started using bright colors and boldness which was called Impressionism. Van Gogh decided to go to the Academy of fine arts in Antwerp. He discovered Japanese art and really admired it.He learned a lot in art school but decided that it wasn't for him and moved to France. In France, van Gogh started painting like the other Impressionists. He was invited into a circle of Impressionist artists. This group consisted of Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, and Georges Serrate. Vincent began to use a brighter palette in all of his art pieces. Impressionist artists would only paint when the l ight was perfect and when they were in the mood. Vincent felt that it didn't matter and he would paint all day in any type of light. He also created the technique of using small and short brushstrokes.Vincent van Gogh created a new type of art, which was Post- Impressionism. He put more emotion in his art and was more experimental with his paintings and his techniques. Painting was the only thing that kept him sane most of the time. Van Gogh felt that he was more dedicated than the other artists. He and his artist friends would pose for each other to save money. They dedicated themselves to art and nothing else. In 1886, Vincent became very interested in Japanese prints. For two years, he painted like the Japanese. He moved into this yellow house in Arles because he was told the light was Just like Japan's.Vincent used his money for paint and not food. He lived off of bread and coffee. At night you would drink absinthe which made him feel strange and start hallucinating. In the day Vincent would find himself eating paint and drinking turpentine. Vincent van Gogh started to go crazy. His brother was worried about him so he paid Vincent friend, David Gauguin, to watch after him. David was also an artist and they painted together but they would always fight. David lived with van Gogh for a month but couldn't take it anymore. After an argument, David walked out of the house and went on a walk.He didn't think anyone was with them but then he heard footsteps and Vincent was right behind him holding a knife. Van Gogh went home and later that night he paid for a prostitute named Rachel. Vincent head was bleeding and he handed Rachel a part of his ear. When he handed her part of his ear, he said â€Å"keep this object carefully† and walked back to his house. He was found by the police and they checked him into the hospital. Thee came to visit him and Vincent was suffering from loss of blood and seizures. Van Gogh was released from the hospital was all alone.Davi d left the house ND Vincent became very depressed again. He tried to paint to make him feel better but it didn't work. The whole village of Arles made a complaint that van Gogh was a danger to the people in the town. Vincent was kicked out of Arles and checked into a clinic. Even though he was in the asylum, he still painted. He started to paint the hospital gardens and in November of 1889, he was asked to send in paintings to Brussels for an exhibit. He only sent six paintings and two of them were â€Å"Starry Night† and â€Å"Irises†. Throughout those 10 years, van Gogh painted about 900 painting.Vincent mental problems seemed to be getting better so he left the clinic. Van Sago's nephew was born on January 31, 1890. His nephew was named after him and to think Thee and his wife, he made a painting for them. This painting was named â€Å"Blossoming Almond Tree† and it symbolizes new life. During that same time, Thee sold one of Vincent paintings for the first t ime. Van Gogh moved to the country in Avers and his depression began to get worse. On July 27, 1890, Vincent went on a walk to a wheat field and shot himself. The gunshot did not kill him instantly and he found his way back to his apartment. Vincent van gogh There are a umber of things in this painting; this painting shows us that she is very poor. There are no flowers, lamps and garden. The house is the bare minimum; it shows the 19th Century things for the poor in the countryside were dark. Self-portrait, this painting shows us that he seems to frown and wrinkle his brow in concentration, he looks very lonely. He use orange dots in the background seem to reflect the orange red of his beard. He Inner is melancholy but he use the most warm color-orange, he should be eager to get love.I think that's almost impossible without knowing his name. He is one of the greatest artists in the world. He was born in 1850 three or two someday, whatever. And as a lot of people know, Van Gogh is the oldest child in their family, but actually, his parent's had a little baby before him, the baby died the same day Just one year before Van Gogh was born. So, they gave the two babies a identical name, this is why sometime people will call Van Gogh †the second Vincent. Sources: Chapter 4, Chapter 6, Chapter 1 1 . Vincent van gogh Vincent van Gogh BY allele Vincent Van Sago's Work of Art Ann. Lee Humanities 1301 Professor Philip Nonuser 02 December 2013 Professor Nonuser Vincent Van Gogh is a unique and outstanding artist who had a dramatic life that affected his paintings. At the age of twenty-seven, Vincent decided to devote his life for art because Vincent believed in the power of art. To him, a work of art, whether drawing or painting, had as striking an â€Å"effect† as a live sermon or a letter†( Euchre 17) . Van Gogh started his work of art with drawing.Vincent sent Thee, is brother, some of his drawings such as Au Carbonate (At the Coalmines), Miner Shouldering a Spade or Men and Women Going to the Mines. He drew everything he saw in everyday life. The miners and weavers usually appeared in his drawings. In the letter to his brother, Thee, he told him about his sympathy for these people :† I should be very happy if someday I could draw them, so that those unknown or little- known typ es would be brought before the eyes of the people†(20). In summer of 1882, he started paintings in oils.Vincent often paints † the simplest, most miserable, cost scorned objects† such as old shoes or † loamy' potatoes. (Huge 61). Vincent painted with dark and sorrowful colors. At the end of 1882, he experiments with lithography. He created a series often graphic works: nine lithographs and one etching. In the letter to his brother Thee, Vincent told him about drawing: Sorrow is one of Van Sago's lithographs. The special thing about this lithograph is that it was originally a painting about a naked prostitute † sitting with flabby breasts, heavy stomach, thin and stiff hair and weeping with her head on her knees† (Huge 6).Vincent also decided to do a lithograph based on the painting The Potato Eaters. The Potato Eaters is his first major work. It depicted five miserable family members, who were peasants, gathered around the table, eating their pota toes in the end of a day. Vincent wanted to attain the moral value in this painting: † I have tried to emphasize that those people , eating their potatoes in the lamplight, have dug the earth with those very hands they put in the dish, and so it speaks of manual labor, and how they have honestly earned their food† (Euchre 88).Van Sago's only etching, L ‘Home  ¤ la Pipe: Portrait du Doctor Cache,depicted Dry. Paul Cachet, a doctor and friend of Van Sago's who took care of him in the final weeks of his life. In 1886, Vincent moved to Paris, where he met his brother Thee, and he also made friends with Gauguin, Pissarro and Serrate. He discovered the French Impressionist. However, through Monticello, he â€Å"discovered both flowers and color† (Huge 63). And through his new friends, he brightened his palette. The Million De la Galatea is yellowed in tone but still muted in spite off pale sky.The hill of Montmartre was treated more conventionally; the painting was dominated by green and yellow ( Euchre 114). During 1887, Vincent created more than twenty- two self- portraits. The reason for this large amounts of his self-portraits was as though he wanted to rediscovered himself physically after he changed his style in art . Another reason is that Vincent Van Gogh was short of money, therefore, he became his own subject: â€Å"l purposely bought a good enough mirror to work from myself, for want of a model†.Self -portrait with a Straw Hat painted in the summer of 887 † show the artist's awareness of Neo-elementariness technique and color theory† ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art), † the background is sketched in by meaner of very widely spaced, comma- like strokes† ( Euchre 1 15). In 1888, he moved to Arles. Vincent was affected by the strong sunlight and he became † the prey of the sun† , † he burst out with spring, reached his highest point during summer and discovered July and the flame's p lenitude†(Euchre 165).At this point of time, his style changed immensely , and it was greatly impacted by the work of the Impressionists and Neo- Impressionists. He started to abandon somber palette and experiment with lighter colors such as red, yellow, orange, green, blue. We can easily see this change in his paintings such as The Pear Tree in Blossom, The Angle's Bridge, Boats at Anchor, Market Gardens, The Suave, A Walk in Arles, The Cafe at Night†¦ Etc. Besides, Vincent also developed his own unique style of painting. Vincent also experimented with the broken brush strokes of the Impressionists and hugely influenced by the Japanese prints.In 1887, he usually went to the shop of Samuel Being, a dealer of oriental art. He purchased many Japanese prints from Being. After that, he organized an exhibition of Japanese prints at the cafe Lee Tambourine. The Japanese prints were used in the background of the painting Portrait of Peer Tangy by Vincent. In the painting Still L ife with Plaster Statuette,† the plane in which the plaster statuette is placed crosses the picture surface vertically from one edge to the other, for shaking all the rules of illusionist perspective for the† plunging† approach of the Japanese†( Euchre 130).In the Woman at Lee Tambourine painted from the beginning of 1887, â€Å"the technique is Impressionist, but the background is treated in Japanese fashion, that is divided into parallel down in vertical stripes† (132). Between the years 1886 and 1889, Vincent painted more than over 30 self- portraits, reflecting his current pursuit of integrative color contrasts and a bolder composition. His collections of self-portraits place him among the most productive self- portraitists of all time. These portraits not only marked changes in his painting technique but also a reflection of his psychological world.The painting â€Å"Self Portrait with Pipe† was painted in 1886, before Vincent moved to Pari s. This is the typical kind of Vincent earlier painting style, using melancholy colors, which are characteristic of traditional Dutch painting. In 1887, Vincent was trying to use Pointillism for his â€Å"Self Portrait†. Pointillism is a painting technique which was created by the artist Georges Serrate. However, Vincent failed at imitating † Caesura's patient and analytical approach to the technique† ( The History in Self Portraits). Another self portrait of Vincent Van Gogh is † Self Portrait with a Gray Felt Hat†.This portrait showed that he reached the peak of his new painting technique. He also applied brush strokes of different contrast colors such as blues, oranges, yellow, white, lilac, sky blue, and green. In June 1888, Vincent was interested in the night of Saints- Maries in Arles that he decided to paint the beautiful view of the night. It was the † Night Cafe† which Vincent stated in the letter to Thee :† equivalent, thoug h different, of the † Potato Eaters† and † In my picture of the † Night Cafe† I have tried to express the idea that the cafe is a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad or commit a crime†( Euchre 164).Then, Vincent had his second night study : â€Å"Cafe Terrace by Night†. In the letter that Vincent sent to Wilhelmina, he expressed his pleasure to his paintings: Here you have a night picture without any black in it, done with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green, and in these surroundings the lighted square acquires a pale sulfur and greenish citron-yellow color. It amuses me enormously to paint the night on the spot. They used to draw and paint the picture in the daytime after the rough sketch. But I find satisfaction in painting things immediately.Of course it's true that in the dark I may mistake a blue for a green, a blue- lilac for a pink-lilac, for you cannot rightly extinguish the quality of a hue. (Euchre 164) In Octobe r 1888, Gauguin came to Arles and lived with Vincent. Gauguin was Vincent friend. He was famous for creating painting in many different styles, including Impressionism and Primitivism. When being together, they painted paintings and discussed with each other about different technique. Next month, under Gauguin urging, Vincent experimented with painting from memory.Vincent started to imitate Gauguin technique of painting from memory during this time that resulted in his painting becoming less realistic and more attractive. Vincent deliberately used colors to capture moods, rather than using colors realistically. Their first encounter in painting took place at the Alleyways. In December 1888, Van Gogh did two chair paintings: Vincent Chair and Gauguin Armchair. In Vincent Van Gogh- Art, Life and Letters, Euchre said Vincent chair † is a creature of light.The intensity of the yellow note, emphasized by the vibrant blue of the contour , marks the paintings of the future painted â €Å"in such a way that everybody , at least if they have eyes, would see it†. Whereas the elegant armchair is bathed in full chiaroscuro'(202). However, their enthusiasm for each other and art faded away, and soon replaced by quarrels. Vincent had less and less confidence in Gauguin. He wrote Thee: On various occasions I have seen him do things which you and I would not let ourselves do, because we have consciences that feel differently about things.I have heard one or two things said of him, but having seen him at very, very close quarters, I think that he is carried away by his imagination, perhaps by pride, but†¦ Practically irresponsible† ( CTD. In Euchre 202). About Vincent, he did not eat every day because he was short of money. Despite an empty stomach, he stayed for hours working under the sun. (Huge 80) . One time, when Vincent saw the portrait of Vincent Painting Sunflowers which was hidden by Gauguin , he could not recognized himself and reacted violentl y to Gauguin.When they went to a cafe, Vincent suddenly threw his glass of absinthe at Gauguin head. When Gauguin decided to leave Arles, Vincent tried many ways to make him stay. He had been through a difficult time to face with Gauguin threatened departure. He got up during the night to make sure Gauguin was still there, he used absinthe and bacon, since † the only thing to bring ease and distraction, in my case and other people's too, is to stun oneself with a lot of drinking or heavy smoking†(Euchre 211).One day, when Gauguin was walking in the street, Vincent threw himself at him with an opening razor in his hand. However, he did not attack Gauguin, he ran away. Back in his room, he cut off the lobe of his ear with the razor. He cleaned his ear and put it in an envelope and gave the doorkeeper his ear. He was discovered by the police and hospitalized at the H ¶tell-Died hospital in Arles. Gauguin left immediately for Paris, choosing not to visit Van Gogh in the ho spital. Then they never met each other in person again.Two weeks after it happened, he painted his self- portrait: Self -Portrait with Bandaged Ear. This portrait is considered as â€Å"the calm after the storm. He takes a quiet and detached look at himself and expresses a feeling of renewed hope through his bright colors and simplified drawing. A clue to the origin of this bold style is found in the Japanese woodblock print on the wall behind him†( The History in Self Portraits Para. 13). Van Gogh then started to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint- Remy for treatment.Van Gogh left Arles on 8 May. In mid-June, Van Gogh produced his best known work: Starry Night. In 1890, he shot himself in the chest by a revolver. During his career, he only sold one painting. Van Gogh became famous only after his death because of his innovative art that had a strong influence on the artists of the next generation. Even though Vincent Van Gogh ha d a very dramatic life, he devoted almost most of his entire life for art. A very unique feature about Vincent ark of art is his outstanding bold brush strokes which he adopted in his later paintings..