Legacy of Vincent van Gogh

Also known as: Vincent Willem van Gogh
Quick Facts
In full:
Vincent Willem van Gogh
Born:
March 30, 1853, Zundert, Netherlands
Died:
July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France (aged 37)
Movement / Style:
Post-Impressionism

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Largely on the basis of the works of the last three years of his life, van Gogh is generally considered one of the greatest Dutch painters of all time. His work exerted a powerful influence on the development of much modern painting, in particular on the works of the Fauve painters, Chaim Soutine, and the German Expressionists. Yet of the more than 800 oil paintings and 700 drawings that constitute his life’s work, he sold only one in his lifetime. Always desperately poor, he was sustained by his faith in the urgency of what he had to communicate and by the generosity of Theo, who believed in him implicitly. The letters that he wrote to Theo from 1872 onward, and to other friends, give such a vivid account of his aims and beliefs, his hopes and disappointments, and his fluctuating physical and mental state that they form a unique and touching biographical record that is also a great human document.

The name of van Gogh was virtually unknown when he killed himself: only one article about him had appeared during his lifetime. He had exhibited a few canvases at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris between 1888 and 1890 and in Brussels in 1890; both salons showed small commemorative groups of his work in 1891. One-man shows of his work did not occur until 1892.

Van Gogh’s fame dates from the early years of the 20th century, and since then his reputation has never ceased to grow. A large part of this reputation is based on the image of van Gogh as a struggling genius, working unappreciated in isolation. The dramatic elements of his life—poverty, self-mutilation, mental breakdown, and suicide—feed the drama of this mythology. The notion that his unorthodox talent was unrecognized and rejected by society heightens the legend, as it is just that sort of isolation and struggle that has come to define the modern concept of the artist. This mythical van Gogh has become almost inseparable from his art, inspiring artists to dramatize his saga in poems, novels, films, operas, dance ensembles, orchestral compositions, and a popular song. Wide and diverse audiences have come to appreciate his art, and the record-breaking attendance at exhibitions of his works—as well as the popularity of commercial items featuring imagery from his oeuvre—reveal that, within the span of a century, van Gogh has become one of the most recognized painter of all time. The unprecedented prices his works have attained through auction and the attention paid to forgery scandals have only increased van Gogh’s stature in the public imagination.

Because the most sensational events of van Gogh’s life are thinly documented and layered with apocrypha and anecdote, there is a trend in van Gogh studies to penetrate the layers of myth by reconstructing the known facts of the artist’s life. This scholarly analysis has taken many forms. Medical and psychological experts have examined contemporary descriptions of his symptoms and their prescribed treatments in an attempt to diagnose van Gogh’s condition (theories suggest epilepsy, schizophrenia, or both). Other scholars have studied evidence of his interaction with colleagues, neighbors, and relatives and have meticulously examined the sites where van Gogh worked and the locales where he lived. In light of van Gogh’s continually increasing popularity, scholars have even deconstructed the mythologizing process itself. These investigations shed greater light on the artist and his art and also offer further proof that, more than a century after his death, van Gogh’s extraordinary appeal continues to endure and expand.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
This article was most recently revised and updated by Alicja Zelazko.

Vincent van Gogh is well known to have cut off a part of his own ear, but the circumstances of the incident are not fully understood. The event occurred on Christmas Eve in 1888, when van Gogh was living in Arles, in the south of France. He had been sharing a house with fellow artist Paul Gauguin, and their relationship was fraught with tension. The two artists had differing artistic philosophies and temperaments, which led to frequent quarrels. On that fateful night, after a heated argument with Gauguin, van Gogh, physically and emotionally exhausted, reportedly chased him with a razor before turning the blade on himself and slicing off part of his own left ear.

Following the incident, van Gogh is reported to have wrapped the severed ear in paper and delivered it to a woman at a nearby brothel, instructing her to “guard this object carefully.” Van Gogh’s self-mutilation may have been a manifestation of a mental health crisis and his emotional turmoil. Afterward, he was hospitalized, and Gauguin left Arles for Paris, effectively ending their collaboration. Van Gogh returned home a fortnight later and resumed painting, producing a mirror-image Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889) and other works. However, he was soon admitted to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

There are various theories about why van Gogh cut off his ear. Some suggest the episode may have been exacerbated by his consumption of absinthe, a potent alcoholic beverage. Others speculate that it was an act of self-punishment or a desperate plea for help. Additionally, some art historians have proposed that Gauguin may have been involved in the incident, possibly injuring van Gogh during their altercation.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica