A LIFE IN COLOR: VINCENT VAN GOGH

By Rev. J.J. Purcell

The life of Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) can be examined on many levels. Yet, in any examination of the man's life, at its heart you will find artistic genius, the extent of which is rarely manifested by people.

Was he just a painter? I think that would be a dramatic understatement. Van Gogh opened the eyes of a world to the power of color, form, texture and impression as no one had before him, in the opinion of art critics and patrons on every content, through the march of time.

The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles at Night (1888)

Technically speaking, van Gogh was a Post Impressionist painter, who was Dutch. He lived an especially troubled life, which he ended at the age of 37 years old. However, before van Gogh's untimely departure, he left mankind in excess of 2,100 works, which include: 860 oil paintings and 1,300 watercolors, drawings, sketches and prints.

Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, a village nearby Breda in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. He was the eldest surviving child of the Rev. Theodorus van Gogh, of the Dutch Reformed Church. His mother's name was Anna Cornelia Carbentus. He had a younger brother, art dealer Theo van Gogh, who played a prominent role in his life. He had another brother, named Cor, and three sisters: Elisabeth, Anna and Willemina.

The Red Vineyard (1888)

Where did the art of Vincent van Gogh begin? Well, I suppose at birth, but it started to be noticed when he moved to the Hague in 1882, where he called upon his cousin, Anton Mauve (1838-1888), who was a Dutch realist painter.

Throughout his short life, van Gogh suffered terribly from psychological disorders, which proved to be a catalyst, in the opinion of many, where it involved his end. Yet, his life was and remains a bright spot in the story of man.

Historian Simon Schama noted that van Gogh, though leaving no children, instead left the world  Expressionism. Artists from Willem de Kooning, Howard Hodgkin and Jackson Pollock, to name only a few, followed in the enormous footsteps left in the wake of van Gogh's work.

Still Life: Vase with 12 Sunflowers (1888)

Today, van Gogh continues to influence generations of artists, designers and architects through the collection of work he created and his brother, Theo, protected and represented long after van Gogh's demise.

In looking at the work of van Gogh, one sees not only the figure of which he paints, but also the striking color, depth, texture and contours. It is not that these concepts were never examined before, but they were somehow brought together in a manner that evoked, and continues to evoke, something that is not quanitifiable in the human soul.

Though the man lived only briefly in his life, and mostly in obscurity at that, his work, nevertheless, is eternal.