Vincent Van Gogh
Author: Kadence Buchanan

The Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh has produced some of the
world's most popular, most beloved and most expensive
paintings. Despite his great success, he was also known as a
tortured, lonely artist who many felt was mad or at least on
the verge of insanity. It is a testament to his immense talent
that today, a century after he has died, the world still
remembers Vincent Van Gogh.

Of course, we have to acknowledge the fact that not everyone
who remembers Van Gogh does so entirely because of his art.
People also remember Van Gogh because of the story that has
been immortalized in songs about how he cut off his ear and
committed suicide because his genius was not recognized during
his time. But the history books reveal that this may not
exactly be the case. While it is true that Van Gogh had bouts
of madness, it is also true that he his work was greatly
praised by his fellow artists and radical art critics just
before his death. It seems that the story has intertwined both
myth and reality.

As an artist, Van Gogh was actually a late bloomer and he only
spent about 10 years on his craft. Before becoming an artist,
he was primarily an art dealer and a teacher in England as well
as a preacher in Holland. At the outset, most of his work
consisted of somber colors until he was influenced by
Impressionism in Paris and his style quickly developed. In his
10 years as a painter, Van Gogh produced around 900 paintings
and 1100 drawings. His most famous works were actually created
during the last two years of his life. Records show that he was
prolific during the last two months of his life, producing 90
paintings during that time.

Contrary to popular belief, Van Gogh did not become an
overnight sensation immediately following his death. In fact,
his post-mortem fame was gradual, but was spurred tirelessly by
his widowed sister-in-law who was devoted to promoting his
artworks. Eventually, memorial exhibitions were mounted in Van
Gogh's honor in Brussels, Paris, The Hague and Antwerp. This
was soon followed by hugely successful retrospectives in Paris
(1901 and 1905), Amsterdam (1905), Cologne (1912), New York
City (1913) and Berlin (1914).


About The Author: Kadence Buchanan writes articles for
http://worldofartandleisure.com/ - In addition, Kadence also
writes articles for http://itsfamilytime.net/ and
http://ijewelrycenter.com/