Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Willem Van Gogh was born on the 30th of march 1853 and died July the 29th 1890, after years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness. He died aged 37 from a gunshot wound, generally accepted to be self-inflicted (although no gun was ever found).As a child Vincent was serious, silent, and thoughtful. In 1860 he attended the Zundert village school, where the single Catholic teacher taught around 200 pupils, Vincent and his sister Anna a year later left the Zundert village school and was home schooled by a governess until October 1864. Then Vincent was sent to Jan Provily's boarding school about 20 miles away. He was distressed to leave his family.

Began to draw as a child but did not begin painting until his late twenties. In July 1869 his uncle Cent helped him to obtain a position with the art dealer Goupil and Cie in The Hague, After his training Goupil transferred him to London, Vincent spent most of his adulthood working for a firm of art dealers, travelling from Hague, London, and Paris. In London Van Gogh did some unpaid work as a supply teacher in a small boarding school.

In March 1886, he moved to Paris and discovered the French Impressionist.

Later he moved to France and was Influenced by the strong sunlight he found there. His work grew brighter in colour and he developed the unique and recognizable style. Vincent was a post-impressionist painter of Dutch origin whose work was notable for its rough beauty, emotional honesty and bold colour. His work had a far reaching influence on the 20th century