Vincent Van Gogh: The Humble Genius

just Booya starting I wanna head this off at the pass in the UK we pronounce this man as Vincent van Gogh not Vincent van Gogh and going with the British pronunciation throughout enjoy Vince van Gogh was one of the greatest artists of all time but he just didn't know it despite his struggles with mental illness he still produced some of the greatest work that anyone has ever seen what we all know about his famous paintings few people know the intimate details of the man's life on today's by graphics we're gonna delve into the passionate life of Vincent van Gogh it's impossible to live up to the deads but this is how Vincent van Gogh began his life in a small village called gruesome dirt in the Netherlands in 1853 his parents Anna Cornelia Cobb enters and Theodorus van Gogh had a son who was stillborn who they named Vincent vilhelm van Gogh one year later they had a second son and gave their new baby the same name growing up Vincent would walk about with his mother and see his own name engraved on this dead brother's tombstone her mother seemed to be traumatized by the death of her first child and she was never afraid to tell the stories of how she lost him in her mind the real Vincent was this perfect little angel in heaven and no one could possibly compare to him both his father and grandfather were ministers for the Dutch Reformed Church so it was a very strict household to be raised in honor in Theodorus they went on to have two more boys and three girls Anna was most likely suffering from depression because she was never very loving or affectionate with any of her children she never gave them love or praise which made Vincent tries best to be deserving of the love he craved Anna was an amateur artist so she took her children into the fields and instructed them all to draw in their sketchbooks Vincent loved to do this since he would even carefully take bugs and plants home with him so that he could finish the drawing later Vincent was forced to leave school at a very young age they needed him to work as soon as possible luckily his uncle was not dealer as a firm called Coupole and C this was obviously the best kind of apprenticeship that Vincent van Gogh could have hoped for he was surrounded by a amazing works of art and part of his job was visiting museums to learn about the other great masters he taught himself to read and speak French German and English fluently so that he could sell art to clients all over Europe his brother Theo was also made to work for the same art dealership after completing his apprenticeship Vincent was transferred to one of the branches of the dealership in London when he was 20 years old as he moved into a boarding house owned by a widow named Sarah Ursula lawyer her daughter usually was 19 years old Vincent wrote to his family that he was very happy in the lawyer house he wrote that he loved the hustle and bustle of London and he did the gardening and other trues to help the ladies around the house now this is where the story gets a little tricky historians tell the story in a few different ways depending on the evidence that they find some believe Vincent fell in love with the daughter usually since they were only a year apart others believed that he was actually in love with the mother which would be far more scandalous this has intrigued people for years and that was even a play written about it called Vincent in Brixton where they theorized that he fell in love with both of them either way he proposed marriage to one of them only to learn that they were engaged to other men Vincent was shocked and tried to convince her to marry him instead he began to argue asking what was wrong with him their arguments were so intense that he was kicked out of the boarding house and told never to come back from age 20 to 23 Vinson started to read the Bible every single day and he put himself at a high standard of party customers visiting the Gulen seed gallery were told not to buy the artwork obviously this is the exact opposite of what Vincent should have been doing at his jobs so he was fired he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a minister and he found a job teaching at a Methodist school for boys he applied to the School of Theology in Amsterdam the school required everyone to pass Lattin exams if he did not study enough he would punish himself by skipping meals or sleeping outside considering that he was almost fluent in several Latin based languages Vincent should have been able to pass the test quite easily Vincent van Gogh did not care so much about which church he belonged to he just wanted to preach the Bible to the poor so he went to the Evangelical Church of Belgium and he was denied as well in 1878 he approached the church and volunteered to go to the coal mining towns in Brussels Belgium most ordains ministers didn't want to go there because it was one of the poorest and dirtiest communities in the country but these are the people's that van Gogh really wanted to help while he lived there he began to sketch the peasants while they were working in the coal mines the church had given him a comfortable house to live in but there was a local woman who was very sick and could no longer work she could not afford to pay her rent and had become homeless Vincent van Gogh took pity on her and gave the woman his house he decided to go and live in one of the coal mining shacks instead there was no furniture in the shack and he was forced to sleep on the bare wooden floor with the blanket the locals called him the Christ of the coal mines even though the common people loved him the Church Committee was humiliated they did not want someone who was living in squalor to represent their religion so they decided to fire him [Music] without any real job skills to speak of Vincent decided the one thing he truly loved to do was paint instead of preaching about God and the passion he felt for the world he painted his emotions instead now 27 years old Vincent wrote a letter to his younger brother Theo explaining that he wanted to become an artist Theo was still working at the art dealership he knew that Vincent was truly talented and he encouraged him to pursue his dream he even offered to financially support his endeavors to become an artist they had an agreement that Theo would send Vincent 50 francs a month for his basic living expenses Vincent would then send a number of paintings to Theo who was allowed to keep any profits he may have made from selling his brothers paintings in the gallery he was incredibly grateful for the opportunity and would forego eating meals in favor of buying more paints and canvases back then no one really knew the dangers of lead paint so he would use his mouth to wet his paintbrush which would have contributed to serious health issues even though he resolved becoming a painter Vincent still had to push through his depression and his self-doubt he once wrote if you hear a voice within you said I cannot paint then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced that same year Vincent fell in love with the wrong person for a second time his older first cousin named kevo Stricker had just lost her husband and was still mourning his death Vincent proclaimed his love and proposed to marry her promising to make her happy not surprisingly he left his home and fled to her parents house in Amsterdam but Vincent wouldn't take no for an answer and he followed her there Vincent confronted his aunt and uncle begging to speak with kee because he thought that he could still convince her to become his wife he claims that he didn't need long to accomplish this and put his hand over the gas flame saying that he promised he would stop talking when he couldn't stand the burning of his flesh anymore they quickly blurred the flame and told him to leave Vincent moved to The Hague which was the centre of the Dutch art movement at the time at age 28 he completed his first oil painting and sent it to Theo while living there he met a prostitute named Christina Maria Hornick who was also called CN she was an alcoholic suffering from syphilis and raising a four-year-old daughter CN was also pregnant with another man's child when she met Vincent so she could not work as a lady of the night yet again his heart went out to women who was suffering and he fell in love with her he wrote to his brother Theo that he enjoyed feeling like he was needed so Theo agreed to increase his monthly step ends so Vincent could take care of her and the children financially CN began modeling for him as the subject in his drawings in a way this was very helpful because he could not afford to harm models but no surprises here he caught both syphilis and gonorrhea from her the pain was so excruciating that he had to be hospitalized while he was in hospital sein had no loyalty to Vincent's she went back to selling herself on the streets Vincent van Gogh was already having issues with his mental health but syphilis is known for causing madness when Theo learned about this scandal he threatened to cut off Vincent financially if he did not end his relationship he knew that Vincent had a huge heart and that he was being taken advantage of so he was forced to break up with her and she left the Haig in 1885 Vincent van Gogh painted a piece called the potato eaters when he was 33 years old today it's considered one of his first masterpieces because it truly captures the emotions of these farm workers and he had successfully captured the essence of the poor it hopes that his brother would be able to sell it because it was similar to the dark paintings done by the Dutch masters however it was not a popular style in Paris which is where Theo was living and selling the work they would send letters back and forth with Theo sketching out examples of Monet because their work was actually selling very well Vincent van Gogh had never heard of him but it was intrigued to see the work once he arrived in Paris Theo brought him to the art gallery so that you could see all the work that he had mentioned in the lattice Vincent was blown away by the beautiful impressionist art movement Vincent immediately understood why the style was so popular and he swapped out his dark hues for vibrant colors Theo also introduced him to various painters that are famous today hiring a model was very expensive so he and his friends would pose one another so they could practice this is why there are so many self-portraits of Vincent van Gogh he often had no one else to model for him so he had to look in the mirror his postman Joseph or in-law often agreed to certain Tevez portrait painted - getting into long discussions with Van Gogh most of the Impressionists would only paint on days when the weather was beautiful they cared a lot about finding the perfect light they also understood the market really well so they could sell their paintings and make enough money to live for months at a time they would party and wait for inspiration to strike Vincent van Gogh was the polar opposite he had a very strong work ethic and he was willing to paint every single day in order to get better at his craft this caused him to get into a lot of debates because he believed that none of the other artists shared the same level of passion that he did he once wrote I feel such a creative force in me I am convinced that there will be a time when I will make something good every day on a regular basis I am doing my very best to make every effort because I am longing so much to make beautiful things but beautiful things mean painstaking work disappointment and perseverance Theo often has to apologize on behalf of instance outbursts the only artist in the group who actually felt inspired by Vincent's determination was Paul Gauguin encouraged Vincent loosen up and encouraged him to start drinking a green liquor called absinthe if you're unaware absinthe can cause hallucinations and it would have only contributed to more problems in Vincents mental health always determined to improve his style he began studying Japanese art it was almost as if he could see the soul behind the painter so he felt determined to read books on Buddhist philosophy he wished that he could move there and told the other Impressionists about it toulouse-lautrec told him that the French countryside had a very similar look to Japanese countryside and encouraged him to move there instead so he traveled to a town called al it was truly beautiful and it motivated Vincent to paint even more than before [Music] once he arrived in our Vincent found a yellow house with a very cheap rent of just 15 francs a month he spent most days painting in isolation surviving on a diet consisting mostly of cheap bread and coffee at nights he would drink absinthe there were points when he had absolutely no food so he started to drink the turpentine paint thinner and eat paint this began to do some serious damage to his nervous system and his mental state was in rapid decline Theo was worried about him and paid gurgaon nurse tippin's to live and work with Vincent's in all when he found out that he was coming Vincent filled up the house with sunflowers so that it was bright and cheerful for his best friend he had been alone for so long he stopped painting under the influence of the other impressionist artists in Paris now the work was completely original it was the best that it had ever been at first Paul and Vincent were getting along just fine as roommates but since Vincent's mental state was disintegrating he would initiate arguments with him and things became very uncomfortable see I wrote a letter to go again that a few of his paintings had been sold in Paris and sympton several hundred francs during one particularly bad fight porygon left the yellow house with his luggage announcing that he was taking the train back to Paris as he was walking down the street of all juergen heard footsteps running behind him when he turned around he saw Vincent van Gogh holding an open razor blade the two friends froze and stared at each other like deer caught in the headlights in that moment Vincent snapped out of it and realized the insanity of what he was doing he turned around and ran away Paul Gauguin hurried toward the train station and never spoke to Vincent again a few hours later Vincent showed up to the local brothel the side of his face was bleeding he handed one of the prostitutes an object asking her to take good care of it when a woman looked down in her open palm she saw that he had handed her his only ax [Music] the police showed up a Vincent's house the next day and they took him to the hospital so that he could be treated for the open wound we're in here used to be when his younger brother Theo arrived Vincent was laying in bed and he began having seizures he was physically weak and completely delusional Thea wrote a letter to their mother and sisters explaining that Vincent was very sick and that he might die he wrote that he completely blamed himself for not coming to visit Vincent sooner to check on his well-being after spending two weeks in the hospital Vincent was released he returned to his small yellow house and felt very much alone Theo had waited until Vincent's recovery to tell him the news that he was engaged her name was Joanna Banga she was an accomplished piano player who gave public performances and she worked at the British Museum library Theo and Joanna both shared a passion for the arts and they were very happy together instead of being happy about the news Vincent saw it as a sign that he would soon lose Theo's support and they would come a day when he would no longer spend time with him gossip spreads like wildfire in a small town so the citizens of all were whispering about the air incidents they believed that Vincent van Gogh was a threat to himself and others so they signed a petition saying that they wanted him to be locked in a cell in the hospital he wrote a letter to his brother Theo asking if he could be transferred to person tremie Asylum which would be a far more comfortable location than a cell he also sent him two large crates full of his paintings saying in a letter to Theo that he knew his life as a painter was probably never going to happen and he hoped that he could become employed as a hospital orderly in the asylum or any other job that he could possibly find but Theo never gave up on Vincent's talent he knew that the only thing that made his brother happy was painting so he paid for two comfortable rooms side by side one was used as his art studio and the other to be used as his living quarters the son Remi convents in hospital and beautiful gardens which is where Vincent would go to spend most of his time painting he stayed sober and was fed three meals a day his physical health was finally beginning to improve finally after years of going unrecognized Vincent van Gogh received a letter from Theo saying that his paintings were going on display in an archer in Paris one of the paintings called the red vineyards sold for 400 francs this was the first time that anyone had ever paid money for one of his paintings and to put a small dent into reimbursing Theo for the money he had invested for so many years Vincent had been afraid that marriage would come between his relationship with Theo but it was actually the opposite Joanna understood and supported Vincent's art career as well after Theo and Johanna got married and had their first son Vincent came to visit he had a gift for the baby a painting called the blossoming almond tree which represented spring and new life as he held his tiny nephew in his arms for the first time they told him that the baby's name was Vincent vilhelm van Gogh overwhelmed by the honor Vincent started crying tears of joy and that truly was hope that things would get better with all the Vincent's new hope and optimism about life Theo believed that his brother's health may have been improving so he helped him leave the asylum and find a place to live in the town of Mercer he chose an apartments living above a doctor named Paul Gautier who was an amateur painter and a huge supporter of the impressionist movement Theo hopes that by living with dr. Gachet he could live an independent life but still be close to medical care whenever he needed dr. Gachet knew that Vincent had gonorrhea and syphilis but he didn't know about his history of mental issues for a while things seemed to be fine Vincent had dinner and pleasant conversations with gachet's family and painted the portraits of his new friends and neighbors on July the 27th 1890 Vinson received a letter from Theo where he said that he was struggling selling paintings that month he was simply venting and never said that he would stop helping Vincent financially Theo even included the usual 50 francs but even the mention of financial difficulties sent Vincent into a downward spiral of self-hatred he felt he was a burden on the ones he loved the most and that they would be better off without him Vincent found a loaded pistol and walked out into the middle of a field before shooting himself in the chest bleeding and in shock Vincent realized that he was still alive he had barely missed his heart he slowly stumbled back to the house where dr. Gachet began to operate immediately the doctor sent a message for Theo to come on the next train when he arrived Theo found his brother sitting up in bed Vincent was covered in bandages and smoking his pipe Theo crawled into bed next to his brother and they stayed up all night talking about the happy memories from their childhood as they were falling asleep Vincent said this is just like when we were home please take me home thia agreed to take him back to their little Dutch village as soon as he recovered but it would never happen Vincent died in his sleep at 37 years old they covered his coffin in bright yellow sunflowers just six months later Theo died as well because he had secretly been suffering from syphilis too the brothers were buried side by side Theo's widow Johanna was left with almost nothing except their young son and a huge collection of Vincent van Gogh paintings as she went through his crate of these so-called rejects she found the starry nights which he had painted while looking out the window at the mental asylum Vincent attached a letter explaining the painting looking at the Stars always makes me dream this simply as I dream over the black dots representing towns and villages on a map just as we take a train to get to Terrace or or ruin we take a death to reach a star we can now get to a star while we are alive any more of them we can take the train when we are dead to die quietly of old age would be to go there on foot Johanna carefully catalogued Vincent's work she also collected his letters which is why we have so much information about the kind of person he was Johanna began to go across the continent to all the places where Vincent had lived trying to find any of his paintings so that she could keep track of them most people had written Vincent off as a madman so they neither destroyed the paintings or given them away Chiana was able to catalogue over 2100 sketches and pieces of art 860 of which were all paintings that does not include all the ones who were lost or destroyed Vincent van Gogh smother Anna was still rejecting him even after his death she burns an entire crate of her son's work but she lived long enough to witness just how wrong she was and the entire world began to realize he was truly a genius with Donna's help the paintings finally began to sell and his lifetime of prolific work supported his family for the rest of their lives today van Gogh work is truly worth a fortune and the portrait of dr. Gachet sold for eighty two point five million dollars even to this day his paintings still fetch tens of millions of dollars he is considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time despite all of his struggles Vincent van Gogh spent his life with passion and was devoted to the things he loved and even after attempting suicide he still found a reason to live it is good to love many things for therein lies the true strength and whosoever loves much performs much and can accomplish much and what is done in love is done well so I really hope you found that video interesting if you did please do hit that thumbs up button below and don't forget to subscribe we've got brand new videos or days or weeks so hit that notification bell when you're subscribing so you find out about those also why not check out our sister channel Geographics and as always thank you for watching

Channel: Biographics

Views: 589,010

Keywords: biographics, biography, biographies, people, famous people, simon whistler, Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent Van Gogh facts, Vincent Van Gogh life, Vincent Van Gogh story, Vincent Van Gogh bio, Vincent Van Gogh biography

Id: wI2i5ca1RT4

Length: 20min 23sec (1223 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 10 2020

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