Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter born in Groot-Zundert in North Brabant. He took up painting seriously in 1881 and worked for only about nine years, yet produced a large body of paintings and drawings. His early Dutch work, such as The Potato Eaters of 1885, is dark and earthy. After moving to Paris in 1886 he met the Impressionists, and in February 1888 he settled in Arles in the south of France, where his colour grew bolder and his brushwork more rhythmic. Sunflowers, Bedroom in Arles and The Starry Night, painted in 1889 while he was staying at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, come from this period. In May 1890 he moved to Auvers-sur-Oise to be near his brother Theo and Dr Paul Gachet. He died there on 29 July 1890, aged 37. He became widely admired only after his death.