The Painter
About
Self-Portrait · 1889
I paint in oils, mostly outdoors and mostly fast, before the light moves on. Colour is the whole language for me. A wheat field is never only yellow, and a night sky is never only black.
I came to painting late, after trying the church and the trade in pictures. The South taught me the most. In Arles I took a small yellow house and tried to build a studio where painters could work side by side.
What I want is to make things that comfort people, the way a piece of music can. If the work is honest about a place and an hour, that is enough.
I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.
Life & Work
1853
Groot-Zundert
Born in the Netherlands, the son of a pastor.
1869
The Hague
Joins the art dealers Goupil & Cie, his first trade in pictures.
1880
Brussels
After the church and teaching, he decides to become an artist.
1885
Nuenen
Paints The Potato Eaters, his first major work.
1886
Paris
Meets the Impressionists; his palette turns to light and colour.
1888
Arles
Takes the Yellow House and paints the Sunflowers and the night.
1889
Saint-Remy
Enters the asylum and paints The Starry Night and the irises.
1890
Auvers-sur-Oise
Seventy canvases in seventy days, among the last he made.
Exhibited
Salon des Independants, Paris
Les XX, Brussels
Societe des Artistes, Paris
Collected
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
The Museum of Modern Art
The National Gallery, London
In Numbers
860+ Oil paintings
2 Years of major work
1 Sold in his lifetime
Yours, Vincent