Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh was an extraordinary Post-Impressionist whose contribution to painting was not recognised during his lifetime. The son of a Protestant pastor, his religious beliefs were a strong influence on his work.
He became a lay preacher in 1878, working amongst the Belgian miners of the Borinage. He made his decision to become an artist after returning to his parents in Etten in 1881. Until the end of his life a frenzied and prolific creative output ensued, charged with spiritual joy, anguish and religious fervour. The constant flow of correspondance with his brother Theo, who funded his living, provides a comprehensive diary and passionate expression of his activities and thoughts. He was impressed by the social subject matter and realist style of Millet. His metting with Gauguin and other Post-impressionist artists in Paris in 1886 was the catalyst for a dramatic change in his work. He settled in Arles in 1888, producing many purely coloured, stormy canvases and ink drawings, done in conditions of great poverty. Periods of recurrent mental disturbance led him to an asylum in St Remy de Provence. Prisoners Exercising dates from this time, almost symbolic of the psychological trauma which imprisoned Vincent van Gogh until his suicide two years later.
text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Images: google images.
