Private collection Being in our post of Legend of Vincent van Gogh , the Dutch artist’s this priciest portrait with a huge price tag of $ 71.5 million around 15 years before in 1998 was the third costliest painting of all the time and fourth if we consider the price-inflation. And it is still an impressive rank for a portrait. Alongside with its enormous price-tag there are other facts which make this painting unique from the rest of the self-portraits by Vincent van Gogh which are totals more than 35. This self-portrait executed in 1889, was the last self-portrait by the artist. After that he majorly focused upon the cypresses and wheat fields. Moreover, this is the only painting depicting the artist without beard . As Van Gogh’s many last works has become popular among buyers, this portrait was also among his last works. Thus, the combination of the unique facts and feature may have made the portrait so in-demand in the community. In all of his self-portraits, I find this particular one with more relaxed and sane manner.

As we observe this portrait, the eyes seems with an attributive gaze while the light pink lips has smiley corners as if he found some kind of temporal calmness among his mental anguish. This is also the neatest portrayal of himself. When other portraits have more strikingly strong colors, here there is no presence of strong colors instead to the every corner it contains the light colors. After observing the picture with some thought, a question rises that did he always stayed in anxiety or there was a little sojourn of peace before going totally mad. Van gogh is admired today to an unprecedented level. Although, this portrait is not as much popular as his other works like The Starry Night, Starry night over the Rhone or Cafe Terrace at Night in general public, it is valued among the artistic circles. Van Gogh gifted the portrait to his mother on her birthday. Overtime, the painting has changed many hands and right now is resting in a private collection. Drawings and Paintings Compared - Van Gogh Gallery Terminos de Busqueda de Google Drawings and Paintings Vincent Van Gogh, like many artists, drew a lot and for many different reasons. Often, an artist will draw to hone their skills at rendering figures or scenes.

As their talent progresses, drawing is still necessary but in many added ways. Before a painting is started, an artist will draw out the composition on paper because it is quicker and easier to change than painting. Even after that, once an artist knows what he wants to paint, he may draw a rough outline on the canvas and then paint over that drawing. Other times, a drawing may be a finished piece, showing the artist's skill as a draftsman. Van Gogh produced drawings for all of these reasons and more. In the early 1880’s, Van Gogh was enrolled at the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and was studying anatomy and perspective. He would continue drawing to master his craft throughout his career. In Study of Hands, Self-Portrait, and Tracing of the Japanese Courtesan Figure drawings, you can see van Gogh making drawings that aren’t meant to be final pieces for public viewing. When an artist like van Gogh is planning on making a painting, he will make preparatory drawings, or sketches, to work on elements of the painting. You can see the beginnings of his paintings in his drawings.

In The Sower, done in 1881, Van Gogh copied a painting by Millet. Later, in 1888 when van Gogh painted Sower with Setting Sun, he used a figure in the same pose. Van Gogh places a man in a field throwing seeds to the ground. As the sun sets, the sky is lit with golden sunlight and the ground is cast in flecks of blue and purple shadows. In 1881 and 1882, Vincent drew multiple pictures of men and women in sad poses or in a tired, worn out posture. In Worn Out from 1882 van Gogh shows an old man sitting in a wooden chair, bent over with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. Originally it was drawn as van Gogh was learning to make lithographs, or prints, and was titled At Eternity’s Gate. It wouldn’t be until 1890 when van Gogh was in Saint-Remy that he would paint a version of this man. In the painting he shows the same man, in the same pose, in the same room.

However, the painting shows him in vivid blue clothes with brown shoes sitting on a bright chair. The figure is outlined in a darker blue which makes it feel more flat than the drawing, less modeled. The painting, titled Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity’s Gate) was done just two months before van Gogh died, and shows the emotions he must have been feeling as his mental state was declining Many of van Gogh’s drawings were done after he painted a subject. For many artists the finished painting is the last step, but van Gogh often drew it again for various reasons. He was painting and writing back to his brother and friends constantly. Beyond just describing what he was painting or including small sketches, he went back and drew his pictures on paper and sent those with his letters. Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night shows the outside of a café in Arles, France. To the left is the café with the seats outside, lit in yellow, and behind the dark blue of a night sky. Van Gogh said “I find satisfaction in painting things immediately” and painted this on the site, working without a preparatory drawing. He enjoyed that he painted a night scene without using any black.

After he had painted the scene he made a drawing of it, as drawings are easier to share and don’t require the long drying time of paintings. The drawing is almost all line-drawings with almost no shading, except for that of the night sky. Van Gogh’s drawings of completed paintings were not just copies, rather he took the opportunity to rethink his compositions and change them to give them new life. Since drawing and painting require different techniques and produce different results, van Gogh was able to adjust the drawings for the different medium and create almost entirely new pictures, giving the same impression as their originals. Van Gogh wrote letters constantly. Nearly every day of his career is documented in his letters to his brother Theo or other artists. When Vincent was planning a painting or had recently completed one, he would sketch it in the letter or on a separate sheet of paper, or, on occasion if paper was not immediately available, an envelope. They are much simplified versions of his paintings showing just the most important elements to give the reader an idea of his most recent work. Van Gogh Prints (No Ratings Yet) Loading...

Nicknamed as Fou Rou (Crazy Man) in locality, Vincent van Gogh was one of the six children of Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus and born in Groot Zundert, Netherlands on 30th march 1853. He was the oldest child of the family and named after his grandfather and a stillborn brother before him. In his later life he gathered mental illnesses like schizophrenia and clinical depression, due to which is suspected, he once cut off a portion of his left ear and ultimately in 1890, came to his death by a gun shot on his chest. His work encompasses different types like landscapes , portraits, still-life and some gloomy portrayals like head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette maybe referring to his mental depression of his later life. The Genius In present times, Van Gogh is put in the every list of the genius artists. Maybe he had some strife with his mind, but the same mind produced the art which ranks in both segments of highly acclaimed and highly-paid art-pieces. But instead of knowing just about his revered paintings let’s have a quick look of his entire oeuvre divided by his work-style.

Aside from his mental illness in later years, most of his works represents a sane, thoughtful and creative artist who portrayed the beauty of the world. He produced more than 2000 art-works mostly in just a short time span of 10 years ranging from 1881 to 1890. His subjects in the paintings varied in this period. At the beginning of his career the subjects of his paintings tended more towards to natural beauty, people and different locations. They were filled with fine observations of genre. Though, there you could also find one or two pieces ( At Eternity’s Gate AKA Sorrowing Old Man ) with dark portrayals of depressed figures. Maybe those depress-themed paintings were the clues of his stumbling mental conditions appeared later on. Later one, after his shift to Nuenen, he was attracted to draw people working on weaving machines. His other interest during the time was the peasants working in his area. The outcome of the years of researching on the peasants was The Potato Eaters in 1885, which was acclaimed well in community and was considered as one of his major works in earliest times.

It was one of the three paintings which were stolen in 1991 from the Van Gogh Museum. His other notable works during the time were Still-life with straw Hat and Pipe, Still-life With Earthen Pot and Clogs and some portrayal of woman sewing. Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette Before that in early times of 1884, he was much more attracted towards the still life paintings mostly depicting bottles, fruits and crockery as the subjects. The bottles as the main subjects were maybe the reflection of his drinking habits (mainly Absinthe) after his father’s death in 1885. Though, later on he was treated by Dr Amadeus Cavenaile. Well, didn’t get well soon as he gained poor health due to overwork and excessive smocking. Can you relate this situation with the skull painting accomplished by him? As mentioned above he researched on peasants lives extensively. Thus, to represent all the knowledge he gathered, he painted numerous portraits and paintings about the peasants’ lives.

The next major change in his paintings came in 1886 when he started to draw his self-portraits and produced about 39 of them (one of them is shown at the beginning). Some of them show his one ear with a bandage over it. The reason behind it is the infamous incident in which he cut of his own ear. Though, the highest price for his self-portrait is for Self-portrait without Beard sold for $ 71.5 million. At the twilight of his life, he got some mastery over his art and developed the technique of Double Square, in which he combined two square canvases and painted one large painting on it. Moreover, in the last years his paintings majorly concentrated on the naturalistic theme of meadows, green farms and villages. That was the time when he produced his vastly known painting The Starry Night in 1889. It is Van Gogh’s most revered and known painting till date. The Mad The official statements about his mental conditions started after the known incident in which he chopped off a part of his ear. It was a neurological attack when he tried to attack on his friend Pau Gauguin but the incident ended with cutting off a portion of his own ear.

Though, there are too many speculations about the story because both of them never revealed the incident deeply to public which is called “pact of silence” between them. They agreed to not revealing the incident as Gogh wrote in his letter: “I will keep quiet about this and so will you.” But people tried to interpret the exact happening with possibilities of them fighting with each-other on some thing or it was the attack of seizure or Gauguin himself accidently cut Gogh’s ear. Not sure which one to believe, we can at least understand that from that moment he was severely considered as a mental patient. He was admitted to a hospital in Arles where his condition was declared as “acute mania with generalized delirium”. For vernacular understanding he suggested there might be “a kind of epilepsy” is involved. Van Gogh himself accepted that he might have epilepsy. Thus, both utterances gave a backbone to the theory that Van Gogh actually had Epilepsy. After the first attack, he frequently suffered from the attacks in which once the attack lasted for 9 weeks. That suggests that he was not a normal patient but a serious one.

Now, there is a full list of theories suggesting the different states of Van Gogh’s mental condition ranging from Epilepsy, Bipolar disease to Sunstroke and Meniere Disease and many more. Though, all could have a little bit presence in his mind as the differencing lines between these mental conditions are very thin. Vase with Twelve Sunflowers But did this mental illness affected on his paintings or even his choice of subjects changed? He got his first major stroke in 1888 and as we look at the paintings after that time, I don’t find much difference in theme, subject or colors. Yes, he has more tended towards the greenery of a farm or a village but that’s represents a healthy mind instead of a gloomy or depressed one. Instead, his well-known paintings like The Bedroom , Wheat Field with Cypresses , Vase with Twelve Sunflowers (shown on right) and The starry night were produced after 1888. So, we can’t really understand his mental voyage through years by observing his paintings. Suicidal end He died on 29th July, 1890 with a gunshot-wound on his chest.

Allegedly, due to the worsening mental health he shot himself in a wheat field but didn’t die immediately. After regaining conscious he reached to the inn where he was living at the time and there the inn-keeper called Dr. Gachet who dressed the wound but knew that the case was hopeless. When two policemen came to investigate about the suicidal attempt Van Gogh clearly stated: “My body is mine and I am free to do what I want with it. Do not accuse anybody, it is I that wished to commit suicide.” He died after two days at the age of 37 shutting off the possibilities of more genius works of art. Vincent Van Gogh - A History in Self Portraits Vincent Van Gogh - A History in Self Portraits Vincent Van Gogh Self Portraits VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890) 'Self Portrait: Saint-Rémy', 1889 (oil on canvas) Vincent Van Gogh charted his development as an artist in an amazing series of candid self portraits. These not only record the changes in his painting technique, but also reveal his psychological decline with a humility and honesty not seen since the self portraits of Rembrandt.

In the last five years of his life he painted over thirty self portraits. The self portrait above from the Musée d'Orsay brings together all the elements of Van Gogh's later work: a choice of color that reflects his emotional state and a style of drawing that pulsates with energy. It was painted shortly after he left the St. Remy asylum in July 1889 and shows that he was still fighting his demons. It is arguably the most intense self portrait in the history of art. This painting is a portrait of Van Gogh's internal crisis. His piercing eyes hold you transfixed but their focus is not on what is happening outside, but inside his head. The energy of the picture builds from the eyes which are the most tightly drawn feature. The rhythms of his brushstrokes spread across the planes of his face, gaining energy as they ripple through his jacket and hair, and finally burst into the churning turbulence of the ice-blue background. The cool blues and greens that he uses are normally calm colors, but when they are contrasted with his vivid red hair and beard they strike a jarring note which perfectly sets the psychological tone of the portrait.

This is a very courageous image of a man trying to hold himself together as he wrestles with his inner fears. The Influence of Dutch Art VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890) 'Self Portrait with Pipe', 1886 (oil on canvas) This self portrait, painted before Van Gogh's move to Paris, is typical of his earlier paintings. The dark earthy tones, which are characteristic of traditional Dutch painting, are used to create an image of humble dignity. This work is influenced by the art of Anton Mauve who was Van Gogh's cousin-in-law and tutor in the early 1880's. The style of the image, particularly the beard and hair, bear a strong resemblance to a Mauve himself. 'Self Portrait', 1887 (oil on canvas) This portrait displays the influence of Impressionism on Van Gogh's use of color and brushwork. The Impressionists tried to create the color of natural light by only using pure hues as seen in the colors of the rainbow. They banished premixed browns, blacks and greys from their paintings. Instead, they replaced them with unmixed dashes of pure color.

For example, Van Gogh's jacket is painted with red and green brushstrokes which fuse together on the canvas. Some areas mix naturally to form a brown, but some still retain the dashes of the pure unmixed colors. These mix optically in the eye of the spectator and increase the vitality of the color. The vigour of Van Gogh's brushwork heightens the expressive qualities of this self-portrait. The physical texture of his brushstrokes helps to convey the roughness of his tweed jacket and the softness of his felt hat. VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890) 'Self Portrait in a Felt Hat', 1887 (oil on canvas) In this work we have a perfect balance between the vitality of Van Gogh's color and the energy of his brushwork. His confidence and control of color is approaching its peak. The tones of the face form a traditional, realistic portrait. But the colors used to create these tones explode like a firework of red, orange, yellow, white, lilac, sky blue and green brushstrokes. He harnesses the energy of his brushstrokes by controlling their rhythm, size and direction.

They radiate outwards from his eyes to eventually build the blue and orange aura that encircles his head. The Emotional Impact of Color 'Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear', 1887 (oil on canvas) This self portrait with a bandaged ear is one of two famous versions. It was Van Gogh's dream to form an artists' colony in Arles with his friend, the painter Paul Gauguin . After Gauguin's arrival it gradually became obvious that their personalities clashed and they could not work together. They frequently quarreled and after one exchange Van Gogh lost his self control and attacked Gauguin. This resulted in the famous incident when Van Gogh, overwhelmed by remorse and depression, cut off the lobe of his ear. This painting, which was created within two weeks of that breakdown, is most certainly the calm after the storm. He takes a quiet and detached look at himself and expresses a feeling of renewed hope through his bright colors and simplified drawing. A clue to the origin of this bold style is found in the Japanese woodblock print on the wall behind him. Van Gogh suffered from a nervous condition which caused him to experience extreme mood swings.

Although his illness was responsible for his dark periods of depression and eventual death, he also experienced periods of elation when he painted with a unique understanding of the emotional impact of color and how to use it at its highest pitch. People seem to instinctively recognise this quality when they look at his paintings and they appreciate the great personal price he paid for the masterpieces that he created. This is what makes Van Gogh one of the most popular artists in the history of art. Vincent Van Gogh Notes VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890) 'Photographic Portrait, aged 13', 1866 In 1869 at the age of 15, Vincent Van Gogh trained and worked for five years as an art dealer for 'Goupil et Cie' at their branches in the Hague and London. Eventually he became resentful about the commercialism surrounding the sale of artworks, insulted customers and was fired. Various short term jobs followed, including supply teaching and as an assistant to a Methodist minister.

In 1879, Vincent Van Gogh worked unsuccessfully as an evangelical Protestant missionary in the poor coal mining district of the Borinage in Belgium before taking up painting at the age of 27. His early works depict the hard lives of Dutch peasants and demonstrate his respect for the humble dignity of their labour. These works were influenced by the dark earthy tones of traditional Dutch art which Van Gogh used to symbolise the peasants closeness to and dependence on the land for their survival. In 1886 he went to live with his brother Theo in Paris where he was influenced by Impressionism and Post Impressionism . The colors in his paintings brightened spectacularly and his output increased dramatically with over 200 paintings done in the two years that he spent there. In 1888, he set off with the intention of forming an artists' colony in Arles with his friend, the painter Paul Gauguin. After Gauguin's arrival it gradually became obvious that their personalities clashed and they could not work together. They frequently quarreled and after one exchange Van Gogh lost his self control and attacked Gauguin.

This resulted in the famous incident when Van Gogh, overwhelmed by remorse and depression, cut off the lobe of his left ear. The full force of Van Gogh’s work is seen in his paintings at Arles. These display a powerful emotional impact by their use of intensely exaggerated color which was very thickly applied to create a textured surface of great sensitivity. The energetic brushstrokes of these works are the hallmark of Van Gogh’s art. In 1889, his depression deepened and entered the hospital at St. Remy, near Arles. The paintings that he produced here, such as ‘ Starry Night’ show a corresponding increase in their emotive power as his brushwork becomes more convulsive. In 1890, he moved to Auvers-sur-Oise and lodged at the Ravoux Inn as this was closer to his brother Theo. His condition gradually deteriorated and on Sunday 29 July 1890, he walked out into a field and shot himself in the chest. He managed to stagger back to the inn but died two days later with his brother at his bedside. According to Theo, his last words were, 'la tristesse durera toujours' – 'the sadness will last forever'.

Portrait Lessons Menu 1000+ images about Van Gogh on Pinterest | Coloring pages, Oil on canvas and Amsterdam Van Gogh's Most Famous Paintings Meet Pop Culture Icons And The Result Is Stunning! Snoopy Sleeps Under A Starry Night ~ Van Gogh's Most Famous Paintings Meet Pop Culture Icons More THE FINE ART DINER: At Eternity's Gate: Van Gogh and the Infinite Struggle At Eternity's Gate: Van Gogh and the Infinite Struggle At Eternity's Gate or On The Threshold of Eternity, 1890. The work of Vincent van Gogh is always valuable for studying symbols and spirituality: he himself was going to be a preacher and the Bible influenced everything, simply everything that he did artistically. This particular painting is worth a thousand words, specifically, those words of Christ and of His saints. 1882 lithograph by Vincent van Gogh. Why is this such a powerful piece? Because the contradiction absorbs itself.

As the old man sits there, in a posture of anguish, it's the warmth of the fire providing the “light of illumination” and the “warmth of life.” The fire is the sign of the Holy Spirit (think of the fire at Pentecost) and what keeps the fire lit? The wood, and the wood is the sign of Christ, for by the wood of the Cross, humanity was set free, and by the wood of the Cross, the Holy Spirit sets us free from our sins. There are three examples of wood within this painting: the wood in the fire, the wood of the chair and the wooden planks of the floor. The wood in the fire is whatever it is the man grieves over, it's his sin or his fear, his anxiety or his pain, whatever the Holy Spirit has required of him, is in that fire, and the purgation of the Fire of the Spirit is setting him free, even at the very moment he appears to be enslaved to grief. That's the chair, the wooden chair where he sits symbolizing the Cross and the throne which this man is working towards as his heavenly reward.

Just as the Cross was turned into Christ's Throne, so this man's chair, the poverty of it, will be turned into a throne in heaven. Russian Icon of Moses and the burning bush (in the upper, right hand corner). As the bush burned, yet the bush was not consumed, so we are burned by the purgation of the Holy Spirit. The Lord appeared to Moses as a burning bush because that was the state of Moses' own soul, burning with the love of God, and a prefigurement of Christ's Sacrifice, for he would hang on the "burning tree," the Cross, which burned with His Love for fallen humanity. It's the wooden planks of the floorboards that serve as the foundation (also prevalent in the Bedroom at Arles, and in both paintings, the floorboards point out of the painting towards the viewer, extending themselves into our plane so we can extend ourselves into van Gogh's): without the foundation of first, Noah's Ark and secondly, Christ's Cross, this man, nor any man, would be able to hope to enter at eternity's gate, for in both Noah's Ark and Christ's Cross, the salvation of man has been promised by God. Why wood?

Because of the curse of the tree from which the forbidden fruit was taken; by wood was man condemned so by wood man is redeemed. Bedroom in Arles, 1888, Van Gogh Museum. The dominant coloring of the painting is blue, suggesting the melancholy of the man's soul, yet depression can also be the doorway of wisdom. I do not, under any circumstances wish to diminish the suffering of clinical depression and the hardships it brings, however, the saints have written at length on the sorrows which can burden a soul being tried by fire, and that which they have written of, van Gogh has painted. The “frame” around the fire is done in a deep blue, so we are invited to “frame” the fire in the guise of wisdom, which blue symbolizes: the deeper the color of blue, the deeper the wisdom attained (which is why Mary is always depicted as wearing blue). The work suit of the man is also blue.

From what van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, we know that he had planned this specific arrangement since the first drawing he did in 1882: “Today and yesterday I drew two figures of an old man with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. I did it of Schuitemaker once and always kept the drawing, because I wanted to do it better another time. Perhaps I’ll also do a lithograph of it. What a fine sight an old working man makes, in his patched bombazine suit with his bald head.” The blue of his work clothes are not nearly “as deep” as the blue of the fireplace frame, meaning, he still has “work” to do. The Madonna in Sorrow, 17th century, Sassoferato. That's the genius of the painting: the parables of Jesus and the lofty, mystical writings of the saints, are all summarized in this one, simple, poor room, with a lonely man, experiencing the anguish of the soul, the great struggle we are all called to.

He is fully clothed in the “garment of wisdom,” which is also the “bridal gown” of the soul, and, importantly, upon his feet are work shoes, symbolizing that his will (the feet) is united to doing the work of the Cross. His arms, the symbol of his strength, is also clothed in blue, meaning that he leans upon his hard-won wisdom for his strength. But there is another element to the man: his hands. At best, the darkness of them suggests dirt, and this could either be taken as his humility or the dirt upon his hands could translate as the “dirt of sin” but I think the atmosphere of the painting—and the tendency of the spiritual life—is the humility of the man, his hands in a posture of the prayer of suffering, and the dirt symbolizing his humility (for dirt is lowly). The reason I don't think, in this instance, it's the dirt of sin on his hands is because, when a person is spiritually advancing and has arrived as far as “eternity's gate,” they are not going to commit a mortal sin to separate themselves from the Face of God.

“The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord,” which means the fear of offending God by our sins, and this man is obviously clothed in the garment of wisdom. Yet his hands are so dark, they nearly appear decayed, rotted, as in death. This is the great contradiction which Christ calls us to: unless a grain of wheat falls and dies, it cannot bear fruit. It is only through death to the world that we can gain eternal life, and that is the purpose of the plaster wall behind the man, the white of the wall symbolizing his faith which he has used to cut himself off from the worldly pleasures and material goods of the world (note the emptiness of the room). Those who have read The Undead: Nosferatu have already noted the man's head: his baldness is meant to draw attention to the head and emphasize the man's knowledge, that not only does he have faith, but he knows; although he suffers a grief that only he and His Maker knows, he trusts that this suffering will be the the final test to enter eternity's gate. What does it mean, to be “At Eternity's Gate?” To be at the finish line, but not to have crossed it.

To be as far from hell as is humanly possible before death, but to still be susceptible to falling into hell. To be in the spiritual position where everything matters, where only the heart can mutter the alleluia that will win the moment, and secure the grace to enter through eternity's gate for eternity. To be at the gate in the greatest moment of darkness before the greatest dawn comes to light your soul, eternally. Posted by Vincent Van Gogh Drawings Vincent Van Gogh Drawings Start free drawing lessons Receive your free drawing lessons right in your inbox every week. These are not just little tips and techniques, but a full course of learning how to see, think, and draw like an artist. Despite the fame of his paintings, Vincent Van Gogh drawings are almost as celebrated and in terms of sheer volume represent the far greater share of his remaining body of work today. Van Gogh (1853-1890) was Dutch, although it was in France that he truly became the great painter we know today. In his early life in Holland, he lacked self-confidence and failed at many of the jobs he undertook - including even what he considered his vocation as a lay minister.

After some earlier experimentation with drawing, around 1880 he decided to turn definitively to art, beginning with a study of Rubens; he also bought himself many Japanese prints. "Self Portrait", Vincent Van Gogh In 1886, he came to Paris to help his brother Théo with his business and it was in the City of Light that Van Gogh discovered Pissaro, Monet and Gaugin. This was the origin of his Impressionist brushstroke, which as we know he later developed into his own utterly unique style. A Tormented Life... Nevertheless, his mental health was a greater and greater problem, until in 1888 when he famously went after Gaugin with a razor during a fight, concluding by cutting off part of his ear. He spent time in the asylum in St-Remy.

Commenters have proposed a wide range of undiagnosed and untreated maladies the poor man may have suffered from - they range from lead poisoning from his Titanium White paint to epilepsy, without forgetting the possiblities of Ménière's disease, bipolar disorder, sunstroke or acute intermittent porphyria, even syphilis - but it is clear that his was a tormented life, one that left its mark on his art. A Tortured Death He finally died from a gunshot wound to the stomach in 1890, which for long has been called a suicide. This has been subject to controversy since the 2011 publication of a book called Van Gogh: The Life. In it, the authors Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith claim that in fact the artist sustained a mortal injury when shot either intentionally or negligently by young boys of his acquaintance, during or after a bout of drinking. In the ensuing few horrible days of agony before he expired, Van Gogh, according to the authors, would have assumed responsiblity for his own death to save his young friends, hence the explanation of his famous deathbed words: "Do not accuse anyone...

it is I who wanted to kill myself..." The Importance of Théo The role of his younger brother is key in understanding Van Gogh - without Théo's financial support, encouragement and efforts on his behalf, he never would have been able to survive, even with the impoverished, difficult existence he did have. Théo was an art dealer, and in addition to being the artist's brother, he was also his best friend. Three-quarters or more of the 800 letters Vincent wrote were to Théo, including the very first one...and the very last one. Vincent Van Gogh Drawings "Man in Mourning", Van Gogh There are about 1,000 Vincent Van Gogh drawings, dating from 1877 to 1890. They can be placed in two great categories, although of course more distinctions are easily possible. The first is that of the studies and sketches he made as either preparatory work for a painting or simply to get a better understanding of his subject, as the drawing, left, of a man in mourning. But the second and clearly more fascinating category of Vincent Van Gogh drawings are those found in the letters already mentioned, mostly addressed to his brother Théo.

These letters not only contain a precious history of his development as an artist, but are also an important source of Vincent Van Gogh drawings that the artist dashed off to illustrate points he was making. Often, he would put a quick preliminary sketch in the letter to his brother, asking him for his advice and what he thought should be changed to produce the final painting. But in themselves, letters from Van Gogh to Théo were meant for his eyes only, with no intention of their being a permament work of art in themselves. An idea for a painting that Van Gogh suggested to his brother Théo in a letter... ...would later on become the painting "Marguerite Gacher at the Piano" (1890). Media in Vincent Van Gogh Drawings "Sorrow", by Van Gogh. In this drawing, the artist used pencil and ink wash. As far as drawing media was concerned, Van Gogh used anything he could get his hands on. This meant pencil, of course, but also black chalk or red chalk. He was also very skilled with ink (he even liked red ink) or charcoal, and experimented with mixed techniques frequently, as in the example to the left.

In Vincent Van Gogh drawings it's easy to see he experimented with not only as many media as he could, but also as wide a range of various kinds of paper; this meant that his drawings appear on not only Ingres paper (named after the artist Ingres, this is a special paper good for pastel or charcoal), but also laid paper (the wires in the papermaker's mold are parallel, producing a ribbed paper) and woven paper (the wires are woven into a mesh for a more even surface). An earlier "Sorrow" on which Van Gogh wrote a Michelet citation (my translation): "How is it that on this earth there be a woman alone?" For Van Gogh, drawings could be intended to be finished works of art in themselves, and he would draw the same subject again and again to try to find the best and most effective way of portraying it. Hence this earlier version of the drawing "Sorrow", just above. Van Gogh referred to it as "the best drawing I have done so far".

Vincent Van Gogh drawings are important because they show his immense talent, but also because what has come down to us makes it possible for us to see his stumbling first steps as an artist right through to when, as a master artist, he valued drawing as a faster way to capture light and shadow than by painting. It was a tool to permit him to share his vision for his art with his brother, and a real inspiration for artists today - because he is so profoundly, vulnerably human. He doubted himself and his ability, hungering for the skill of drawing while fearing he was incapable of learning it. As he told Théo in 1880 : "I cannot tell you how happy I am that I have taken up drawing again. I had been thinking about it for a long time, but always considered it impossible and beyond my abilities." Vincent Van Gogh Drawings as Inspiration "Carpenter", Van Gogh, ©Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, ©Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. This drawing dates from 1880.

"Woman Mourning", Van Gogh, ©Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, ©Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. This drawing dates from 1882, two years later. The amazing thing is that Van Gogh's entire artistic career only extended over the last ten years of his short life. For the first two years he did nothing but struggle to teach himself how to draw. The progress he made was prodigious, as evidenced by the difference between the drawing of the carpenter, above left, with its problems of proportion, shading and even artistic confidence, and the drawing of the weeping woman, above right, in which he has become a master. In fact, I share that on a personal note, for several years after my arrival in France I had just these two drawings up on the wall of my tiny quarters in Paris, telling myself that if Vincent could make it...I could too. One of the turning points in his self-instruction in drawing came when he discovered the concept of drawing grids, which permitted him to make a leap forward artistically.

He wrote to Théo: "Long and continuous practice with it enables one to draw as quick as lightning - and once the drawing is done firmly, to paint quick as lightning, too." Take a look at the drawing grids pages on this site , where you can learn more about them, download grid paper, and even download instructions for building your own. As for your drawing practice, you have several Vincent Van Gogh drawings below, available in PDF, for you to download and copy. 1. Bedroom in Arles (around 1888) is famous among Vincent Van Gogh drawings - it was in preparation for his celebrated painting of this same room. The objects are, indeed, in the same place than in the painting and we can feel the same sensation of rest, even without the colors of the painting. 2. Couple Out For a Stroll (1887) is a drawing done by Van Gogh with chalk. It must have been done very quickly by the artist, as indicates first of all the ways the lines are drawn; also, a crack in the midle of the drawing indicates the fact that Van Gogh probably folded it to be able to take it with him more easily. 3.

The Starry Night (around 1889) is another one famous among Vincent van Gogh drawings in that it was preparatory to his famous 1889 painting - an icon today! - called "The Starry Night". As with his drawing of his room, again his project is just about complete, a black and white version of the great painting to come. 4. Bridge in Arles (around 1888) is one of many representations van Gogh did of the the Langlois bridge (he also painted an oil of it in 1888). In this drawing, even if some elements such as the clouds were done quickly, other bits such as the bridge show thow much attention he gave to this drawing. 5. Old Man Grieving (around 1888) is another drawing van Gogh did well before the actual painting - here it turned into "Sorrowing Old Man ('At Eternity's Gate')", realized in 1890. 6. Postman Joseph Roulin (1888) is a drawing van Gogh did of the same postman that would pose for him in six different paintings.

Every time, van Gogh prepared a detailed portrait before starting the painting. He also painted other members of the Roulin family. 7. Rock and Ruins (1888) is a drawing van Gogh while he was at Montmajour. Here, aside from certain bits such as the plants near the rock, he seems to stick to very realistic representation: just look at how the ruins in the back are so detailed, as well as the path leading to them. 8. Nude Reclining Woman (around 1887) is pure van Gogh - he shows both the vulgarity and femininity of the model posing for him, in his very unique style that also preserves the personal resemblance of the woman.

Vincent van Gogh, Man Warming Himself at a Fire Vincent van Gogh, Field Vincent van Gogh, Fishing Boats Vincent van Gogh, View with Windmill Vincent van Gogh, Man Loading Cart Vincent van Gogh, Man Praying Vincent van Gogh, Boats Being Loaded Vincent van Gogh, Grandfather of the Artist Vincent van Gogh, Reaper Vincent van Gogh, Restaurant in Asnieres Vincent van Gogh, View of Sea Vincent van Gogh, Road with Willows 1000+ images about Art of Vincent Van Gogh on Pinterest | Starry nights, Vincent van Gogh and Museums Vincent van Gogh - letter to Theo, 21 Jan 1882 (Thanks to his brother Theo over 700 of van Gogh’s letters remain.) See More

Question: Who painted The Starry Night, Sorrowing Old Man and Self-Portrait Without Beard?
Answer: Vincent Van Gogh