Simon Schama's Power of Art
Born in Groot-Zundert, The Netherlands, Van Gogh spent his early life as an art dealer, teacher and preacher in England, Holland and Belgium. His period as an artist began in 1881
when he chose to study art in Brussels, starting with watercolours and moving quickly on to oils. The French countryside was a major influence on his life and his early work was dominated by sombre,
earthy colours depicting peasant workers, the most famous of which is The Potato Eaters, 1885.
It was during Van Gogh's studies in Paris (1886-8) that he developed the individual style of brushwork and use of colour that made his name. In 1888 he moved to Arles where the Provence landscape
provided his best-known subject matter. However, it also marked the start of his mental crisis following an argument with his contemporary Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh was committed to a mental asylum in 1889
where he continued to paint, but he committed suicide in 1890.
(from bbc.co.uk)
| Vincent Van Gogh |
| Related Links |
| Vincent van Gogh This is a collection of eBooks and films of the Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch artist whose work had a far-reaching influence on 20th-century art. |
| The Great Artists: The Post-Impressionists This is a documentary series that chronicles the lives, times and works of some of the great Post-Impressionist painters - Paul Cezanne, Henri Rousseau, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. |
| Private Life of a Masterpiece: Sunflowers Perhaps the most reproduced of all 19th century paintings, the Sunflowers has a story that lies at the crux of the complex relationship between Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. |
Go to Simon Schama's Power of Art Home or watch other episodes:
| Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio |
| Gian Lorenzo Bernini |
| Rembrandt van Rijn |
| Jacques-Louis David |
| Joseph Mallord William Turner |
| Vincent Van Gogh |
| Pablo Picasso |
| Mark Rothko |