Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands, the son of a Protestant minister. He worked as an art dealer, a teacher, a lay minister in a Belgian mining town, and a bookseller before turning to painting at age 27. He was largely self-taught, though he briefly studied at the Antwerp Academy and spent time in Paris absorbing Impressionist influences.

Van Gogh produced over 2,100 artworks -including 860 oil paintings -in roughly a decade of artistic activity. His style, characterized by bold colors, expressive brushwork, and emotional intensity, anticipates Expressionism and has influenced virtually every major art movement since. Works like 'The Starry Night,' 'Sunflowers,' and his series of self-portraits are among the most recognized images in Western art.

Van Gogh suffered from severe mental illness throughout his adult life, experiencing episodes of psychosis and depression. In December 1888, during a breakdown, he severed part of his own ear. He voluntarily committed himself to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he continued to paint prolifically.

Van Gogh died in July 1890 at age 37 from a gunshot wound, almost certainly self-inflicted. He sold only one painting during his lifetime. Today his works regularly sell for hundreds of millions of dollars, and he is widely considered one of the greatest painters who ever lived.