The Study of an Artist –Vincent van Gogh
Birth Year : 1853
Death Year : 1890
Country : Netherlands 

Vincent van Gogh would become one of the most well-known artists in the world. His paintings have become easily recognizable to cultures throughout the world, and he has become the archetypal “tortured artist.”

Van Gogh was born in 1853 and grew up in Holland. He was raised in a religious family with his father being a minister. When his school ended, Vincent followed his uncle’s profession and became an art dealer learning the trade in Holland and then working in England and France. Vincent was successful and initially happy with his work. However, he soon grew tired of the business of art, especially in Paris, and lost interest in the trade.
 After returning home, Vincent began to study theology. While very passionate and enthusiastic, he failed exams to enter further extensive theological programmes.Characteristic of his personality, he was intelligent, able to speak multiple languages, but he did not think that Latin was a language for preaching to the poor.
During this period, he worked as a missionary in a coal mining community living with hard working poor common people. As his development as a preacher was stalling, his interest in those around him was increasing. His life as an artist was beginning.

In 1880, at 27 years old, Van Gogh entered the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium. The following winter, living in Amsterdam, Vincent fell in love, had his heart broken, and began painting for the first time. The next few years would result in little success both in love and art.

Van Gogh’s Potato Eaters, his first major work, was painted in 1885. By this time, he was still having difficulty finding love, but was beginning to receive interest in his paintings.
 He was now fully devoting himself to painting: living frugally, studying colour theory, and admiring the works of artists like Peter Paul Rubens. Unfortunately, as would be his entire life, his paintings were still difficult to sell.
 His brother Theo, an art dealer and the recipient of many letters from Vincent, commented that there should be more colour in his work. Van Gogh was painting peasants and rural landscapes using dark earth tones. Around this same time, Impressionism, with its bright vivid colours, was becoming popular.

The next year, Vincent moved to Paris where his art began to take on the style that would make him famous. In Paris, he was discussing art with some of the most avant-garde and influential artists of his time – painters like Gauguin, Bernard, and Toulouse-Lautrec. He was using more colour, applying the paint with thick, bold brushstrokes, and painted all that surrounded him. Van Gogh arranged to show his work, to positive reviews, but was still unable to sell any pieces.

One of Van Gogh’s dreams as an artist was to start a colony for artists in Arles in the south of France. Vincent moved to Arles in 1888 where he was joined by Gauguin. While there, Van Gogh entered the most productive and creative period of his life painting his famous Sunflowers. However, it also was a time of great turmoil for Vincent, beginning a period of hospital stays for mental illness and physical decline.

After just ten years of painting and producing some 900 paintings, Vincent van Gogh took his own life in 1890. Never fully appreciated in his own time, it wouldn’t take long for the art world to recognize the genius they lost. Within twenty years of his death, there were memorial shows of his works all over the world – influencing generations of artists to come.

So this was the artist our Room 5 class studied intensely for a one week period. We discussed what art is, what makes a Masterpiece, and how an artist can express himself. Vincent van Gogh’s life was looked at and how his personal experiences influenced his art. We looked in wonder at some of his 900 outstanding artworks, all produced in just the final ten years of his life.
One painting the class looked at was one of his bedroom, painted in 1888, while in Arles. It was analysed for its depth of colour, three dimensional perspective, subtle outlining to highlight features, and its message of a lost soul and loneliness.

We attempted to paint this painting of Vincent van Gogh's using many of his techniques of colour mixing, depth, vanishing points and outlining. Thank you Renee, Imogen and Molly for sharing your work.What do you think?

Here we have written samples of children expressing their idea of what they think art is.

                            What is art?

Sometimes people think to themselves and say, “What is art?”

Well art is a way to show emotions. Art can be big and bold or nice and soft. Art can be found anywhere, from galleries to magazines.

 The key to art is using your own style.

Art can be rebellious, like breaking a rule. Art can be realistic or your imagination, like the dream you had last night for example.

Art is a nice way to make a statement.

Those are some of the reasons I love art.

By Renee

        What Is Art?   

Go into an art gallery.

Look around.

What do you see?

What I see is mystery, wonder and so many emotions.

I see artists trapped.

Trying to let out all their feelings on canvases.

I see broken hearts, happy families and people at war.

                                                   ***

Art doesn’t have to be realistic.

You can let your imagination run wild.

 I see chocolate oceans with gummy whales with chocolate fish.

What do you see?

Art is full of things you never thought possible;  flying cars, talking sharks and karate displaying jelly fish.

                                                 ***

Art isn’t just pretty.

It can show terrifying horror, headless horseman, ghosts and peanut butter and little boy sandwiches.

Art can show many different times in history.
War, dinosaurs, Ancient Romans and Gauls like Asterix.

Art is many different things; drama, photography and dance.
Slow drifting movements showing sorrow.

To me art is a way to express your feelings.

I love making art that is bold and creative.

I see colourful villages of orange elephants.                                                      
What do you see?

By Imogen