Vincent van Gogh, a cool dude
This is a bit of a random beginning but hopefully I'll make this a regular occurence were I write about people that I find interested and share a lesson or two.
I recently came across this amazing painter's biography and it thoroughly surprised me. Vincent Van Gogh is a really famous painter who only became famous after his death in 1890. Heres the backstory (from the Van Gogh Gallery: https://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/biography.html)
Vincent Willem van Gogh (born 30 March 1853 and died 29 July 1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. "He was the son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional, lacked self-confidence and struggled with his identity and with direction. He believed that his true calling was to preach the gospel; however, it took years for him to discover his calling as an artist. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had already experienced two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium) where he was dismissed for overzealousness." *sidenote* 'overzealousness' would you ever imagine being fired for that?
Vincent Willem van Gogh (born 30 March 1853 and died 29 July 1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. "He was the son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional, lacked self-confidence and struggled with his identity and with direction. He believed that his true calling was to preach the gospel; however, it took years for him to discover his calling as an artist. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had already experienced two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium) where he was dismissed for overzealousness." *sidenote* 'overzealousness' would you ever imagine being fired for that?
After moving to different cities to focus on painting,"Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment. In May of 1890, after a couple of years at the asylum, he seemed much better. Two months later, he died from what is believed to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound. During his brief career, he did not experience much success, he sold only one painting, lived in poverty, malnourished and overworked. The money he had was supplied by his brother, Theo, and was used primarily for art supplies, coffee and cigarettes."
"In spite of his lack of success during his lifetime, van Gogh’s legacy lives on having left a lasting impact on the world of art. Van Gogh is now viewed as one of the most influential artists having helped lay the foundations of modern art." Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the public imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius, the artist "where discourses on madness and creativity converge"
His story really stood out to me in the sense that it made me really question life as I know it. Is it really worth it, what we're doing now, is it worth it? Or are we all just simply mad? hoping and dreaming for something that may never come to pass. Will we live lives that are unappreciated and unrecognised only to be seen great when we leave this earth? How dreadful.
Another thing I found was that he never really started painting until he was 27 years old. He only found something to be passionate about in his late 20's, which in a way gives me hope and reassurance that just because I don't have it all figured out at my age(21), it doesn't make me a hopeless case or a complete. Life has a funny of interrupting our boring patterns for something more exciting. Anything is possible.
Anyways, I hope you learnt something from this odd post, what knowledge did you gain?
I have personally known about this man's life since i saw The great Gatsby, the author of that book turned movie who died of depression because of a book which made him well known afterwards.... I think that statement about us being mad may be true, i dont see why not after all normal really isnt a stable concept. I do however feel like people only care what you had to say when you are dead, which really sucks if you ask me. I have no desire to be heard but i think he was brave to choose a new career while he was old. He is a testimony to how bad things can get even if you are good at what you do, talent alone isnt enough. The good part of that story is that his brother supported him, imagine giving your mad brother money to buy painting equipment, a true hero.
ReplyDeleteI dont have things figured out, but i would advise you to learn as much as possible, because even talent is a collective of well practiced habits or well nurtured traits. The internet exists because telephones were a big hit, they basically used the infrastructure set up by telecom companies to send and receive data. Phones are small computers, videos are fast moving pictures, cars are automated wagons and sometimes in order to build a strong house, first you have to dig. So goodluck and dont be afraid of being overzealous at your workplace.