No one in this world hasn’t heard of Vincent Van Gogh, and we’ve known about his art since we were younger. We know the basics of his life and paintings, but there are some extremely interesting things that most of us don’t know about. Vincent was much more than just an artist, his life was more complex than most of us can imagine. If you want to know more about his art, life, and death, you should check out these interesting about Willem van Gogh that you probably didn’t know.
1. He was not the only Vincent in the family
One of the things that not many people know is that Vincent had five siblings, two brothers and three sisters. He was the eldest son in the family.
He was the closest relative to his brother Theo and was the one who took care of Vincent throughout his life. Theo was the person who fully supported his brother and gave Vincent money so that he could survive.
However, Vincent was not the first to receive his name, and a year before he was born, his parents lost a son who had the same name as the famous artist: Vincent Willem van Gogh. A year after the death of the newborn, the artist was born, and his parents decided to name him after their lost son.
2. He did not start painting until later in life.
Most artists we know started playing with brushes and canvas from a very young age, but Vincent was different. He is one of those who realized his potential only at a relatively late age.
Vincent began painting at the age of 26, and it is known that his first painting began in late 1889, when he was in the hospital garden. From then on, he explored his talent and throughout his life never stopped working on works of art that gave meaning to his life. Unlike many other
famous artists, Vincent did not attend any art classes and taught himself everything he knew. Although he wanted to attend art school, he was only able to afford it four years before his death.
3. He created more art than we know about
We all know Van Gogh’s most famous paintings, but few know how many pieces of art Vincent created. Records show that he had over 2,000 pieces of art in his collection, of which about 900 were paintings.
Another interesting fact is that Vincent painted most of his paintings in the last two years of his life and continued to paint until his deathbed.
4. His style is one-of-a-kind
As we previously mentioned, Vincent was self-taught, and he didn’t like following anyone’s advice, especially by the end of his life. When he got enough money to attend art school, he had a lot of problems with his professors, because no one understood or liked his style.
He was not able to afford models, and most of the creations he painted were based on landscapes and nature. Nevertheless, he loved painting himself as well, and he was the only model that he could take as much time as needed to work on. As you can see if you click here, his paintings were based on landscapes, the sky, and trees. He explored different ways of representing one sight, and some of his most famous paintings include flowers and trees.
5. He wasn’t successful when he was alive
This is a fact that some people know, but most of us don’t. When we think of successful people who were the best at what they did, we assume that Vincent was as famous in his time as he is now. The reality is that no one understood his art or cared about his creations when he was actively painting.
He only sold one of his pieces in his lifetime, called “The Red Vineyard.” Some people say that this is a tragedy and that he never realized how important he was and still is, but others say that the fact that he was not successful is the reason he created so much emotional art that will remain famous and priceless to so many people forever.
6. He dealt with a lot of health issues
Few people know that the famous artist was an extremely controversial person and it is said that his physical and mental health was one of the reasons for his art and creativity.
He suffered from mental illness throughout his life and is reported to have suffered from a form of manic depression. Along with this, it is said that he had hallucinations and that he even tried to reflect some of his visions in his works.
In addition to the mental health problems he suffered from, he also suffered from epilepsy and several other diseases.
Towards the end of his life, without receiving specific therapy for everything he had experienced, Vicente committed suicide in 1890. He was only 37 years old, and although he played with only a brush for 10 years of his life, he created works that will always be invaluable and will never be forgotten.
Most of us do not know many of these things, and hopefully, these interesting facts will help you understand the life and death of this incredible artist, and you will see even more beauty in his work. Although it is quite difficult to afford his works, it does not mean that you cannot have them in your home. There are currently many works for sale, as well as many prints that represent his work and his life. You can use the prints to decorate your home and add some art to it.
