The Life of Van Gogh
...us vacation, so he traveled to the Borinage, a coal mining district in Belgium. The conditions for both Vincent and the miners were very bad. Vincent read from the bible to the miners and lived in complete poverty. Vincent’s position at Borinage is soon relieved and he then moves to Cuesmes to continue similar work helping the miners. Vincent soon gets bored of his religious studies and he gets back to painting. Theo, Vincent’s brother, begins to financially support Vincent. This would go on till the end of Vincent’s life. Later in the year, Vincent took some formal studies of anatomy and perspective at the Academy in Brussels. Vincent visits his brother Theo in Etten and spends time with a painter named Anton Mauve, who first introduces Vincent with watercolors. Vincent’s relationship soon begins to fall apart. Vincent soon meets Clasina Maria Hoornik and they move in together. She is a prostitute with a five-year-old daughter and is pregnant with another child. While continuing his studies and painting with some other painters, Vincent's physical state again begins to decrease and he is hospitalized for three weeks for gonorrhea. When he is released, Vincent began to experiment with oils and spent much time painting nature as well as using Clasina and her newborn child as models. Starry Night Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night is a marvelous painting in which Van Gogh paints a picture that is colorful and descriptive. This painting can be described as mysterious and intriguing. It can signify a variety of moods, objects, and atmosphere. Van Gogh portrays a small French town located in the countryside. This town is characterized by rolling mountains, big starry sky, small houses, green fields, a large tree, and a church. He uses these details to paint a story full of color and intrigue. Van Gogh uses oil to paint this work. After more than a year together, Vincent ends his relationship with Clasina and pursues a life focused to his work. He travels to Drente in northern Holland and paints the landscape as well as the peasant workers. Later in the year, Vincent moves to Nuenen to stay with his parents. He sets up a small studio to work and continues to rely on Theo for support. While continuing with his work, Vincent began a relationship with a neighbor's daughter, Margot Begemann. Both families are opposed to their plan to marry. In despair, Margot attempts to poison herself. Vincent is again very upset as this relationship ends, but continues his work and becomes friends with Anton C. Kerssemakers, a tanner and art enthusiast. They spend much time together, discussing art and visiting museums. After the death of his father in March, Vincent continues with his work and, in early spring, paints what many consider his first great work, “The Potato Eaters”. Later in the year, Vincent moves to Paris and lives with Theo. Wishing to continue with some more formal education in the arts, Vincent submits some of his works to the Antwerp Academy and is put in a beginner's class. Vincent does not fit in well with the Academy and leaves. Theo, who is working for Boussod and Valadon managing an art gallery in Montmartre, introduces Vincent to the works of the Impressionists: Claude Monet, Pierre-August Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas and Georges Seurat. Their work has a deep influence on Vincent and his use of color. Vincent moves into the Yellow House where he will paint his work. Vincent’s friend, Paul Gauguin moves in with him. As the weather gets bad, Vincent’s great relationship with Paul begins to sink. Vincent soon attacks Gauguin with a razor blade, but he fails. After this, Vincent cuts off his earlobe. Shortly after this, Vincent is hospitalized. Vincent soon begins to improve and leaves the hospital on January 7, 1888. His mental state soon decreases and Theo is forced to put Vincent in a mental asylum. From the asylum, Vincent paints some of his most famous paintings, which are: “The Series of Olive Groves” and “Cypresses”. His work influen...