Meet Vicent van Gogh... a man that while alive was a complete insane loser and a couple of years after his death was labeled has one of the most important artists of all time, making his paintings be worth more than 100 million dollars!
It´s kind of a given why Van Gogh was insane. The man ripped off his own ear! (That´s pretty mutch the definition of insanity... lol).
But saying that Van Gogh was just "insane" is not really giving justice to the man. The fact is that the foutain to Van Gogh´s insane behaviours was the fact that he was a deeply emotional person. And not being able to deal with those emotion made him do... things that only a mentally ill man would.
This is one of the reasons why Van Gogh is now considered a genious of art. Because there is so mutch emotion behind his paintings.
Dude sure... I have emotions too, but I still have two ears!
To understand Van Gogh and to understand the value of his work... we have to talk about his life... and it´s not that pretty.
Van Gogh worked in 1881 has an art dealer in Paris in a gallery of his uncle... but he didn´t like it. He thought that the art market was all dumb, and not only he hated the economy behind it, he hated the process of making art "sellable" it self.
So at 23 years old, Van Gogh decided to quit and move to Amsterdam. Why would a 23 year old quit his job and move to Amsterdam? To smoke weed To become a priest afcourse!
Oh yes, Van Gogh wanted to become a priest. He wanted to help the people the homeless and the most needed... (aahhh... cute <3).
He actually got a job in Belgium, where he was one of the responsibles to spread the Protestants Chursches work.
Unfortunately he was quicly fired... why? Well, he had this thing where when he saw people on the streets begging, he would offer his clothes and walk around naked. (ahh... cute... and wierd... <3).
Miners' Wives carrying sacks of coal (1882) by Van Gogh (Belgium). (Image Source)
So, he then quits being a priest and decides to enroll in an art college in Brussels.
He didn´t like it. He didn´t like how art was thought and didn´t make any friends there.
But no worrys, he moves back to Amsterdam and enrolls in an art college there... and again, didn´t make any friends and thought all of it was dumb.
Van Gogh was pissed off, without a job and without any path in his life. And where do you go when world kicks you the butt? To your parents house!
This didn´t work out that well because he also got pissed off at his parents has well, completly cutting all contact with his father!
He did, however, did develope a strong relationship with his younger brother Theo. (probably the only true friend Van Gogh had on his entire life... damn...).
Then his father dies and Van Gogh gets really depressed...
He dicides to try ANOTHER art college and, you got it, DIND´T LIKE IT AGAIN!
Van Gogh is pretty mutch done with college but he has an idea... "screw college, what if I go to the capital (Paris) of art and learn from the artists there?".
This turns out to be a very good decision for Van Gogh... (at least for a couple of months...).
It´s in Paris that finds this new hot hipster painting technique called Impressionism.
Impressionism is basically a painting technique that focuses more on what an image makes you feel, than what it really is, by giving more relevance to the colour and light of the image... basically...
But even this was not undergroud enough for Van Gogh and he joins a group of local hipsters (Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin).
They though that Impressionism was great and all, but that could do better... and they started what is called The Post-Impressionism.
While Impressionism takes advantages of the coulors and light, Post-Impressionism just says... "well, while we are here lets screw shapes and porposion too! Let´s screw everything :D"... ... again, basically...
The Seine Bridge at Asnieres (1887) by Van Gogh (Paris). (Image Source)
They start to get a little bit of fame, and actually start to go to bars and selling and promoting their art.
On the other hand... Van Gogh started to not like where this little bit of fame was leading and after arguing with his new hipster friends, dicides to leave Paris...
At this point you are probably asking...
WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM VAN GOGH?! CAN YOU JUST CHILL?!
And again... Van Gogh was a super emotional man with very strong convictions.
He moves to Arles, a city on the south of France... and he really likes it there. It´s more quiet than Paris, and it´s trully a beautiful place.
There´s only one problem... he fells lonelly. So he dicides to invite his "friends" to come there... and his "friends" say: "yeah dude you´r a freak, no can do amigo." And Van Gogh gets really sad... (ohhh).
He then begins to send letters and letters for his friends to come... until Paul Gauguin says "Can you stop being a desperate girlfriend already? Ok dude, I will go..." and Van Gogh says... ... ... "yeahay....".
Van Gogh thought Paul Gauguin would really like the sunflowers he was painting... yeah, guess what, he didn´t.
Paul Gauguin didn´t like the sunflowers, thought Van Gogh was insane and the two started arguing.
It got so ugly, that Van Gogh picks a knife and starts poking Paul with a knife! Paul Gauguin didn´t fell like being stabbed (go figured...) and left.
And that´s when Van Gogh got so mental... got so insain... that he ripped his ear with a pair of scissors!
Fortunally, he went to the hospital and didn´t die. He also decided to keep his ear, kept it in a box and offer it to a prostitute... yes, Van Gogh´s brain is pretty fried right now...
A while after what happened he thinks its a good idea go to an asylum to get treated and get help... probably a good idea Van Gogh.
In this asylum, it´s where Van Gogh paints one of most awesome paintings: The Starry Night.
After a year in the asylum, Van Gogh was felling better (not cured but better) and he transfered himself to another asylum (this one in Paris) where he at least was able to be with his brother Theo.
Everything was cool, everything was fine... until Theo son got really really sick, and Van Gogh again got even sadder...
But that is not all, Theo then decided to got back to Amesterdam and left Van Gogh alone.
That´s when Van Gogh got so sad and so lonelly... that he shot himself on the chest!
But he wans´t able to hit his own heart with the bullet, making him suffer and just bleed out to death.
Theo actually was able to get to Van Gogh and hear his finals words, which is said to have been:
"The Sadness Will Last Forever"
Theo died a couple of months later and nobody gave a *shit about Van Gogh or his work... until a couple years later when Impressionism was not hipster anymore and Van Gogh was labled one of the best that ever lived...
This is the story of Van Gogh ... lived like a nobody, died like a nobody, but will live forever has a a man who lived ahead of his time... a slightly to mutch emotional one...
