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Who is Van Gogh?

Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who lived from 1853 to 1890. He is considered one of the world's most famous painters, and you are likely to recognize some of his work, such as the painting Starry Night. Van Gogh's life story is a bit tragic-- he struggled with mental illness and though he conveyed great emotion and beauty in his paintings, he was very poor and not well known as an artist...

Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who lived from 1853 to 1890. He is considered one of the world's most famous painters, and you are likely to recognize some of his work, such as the painting Starry Night. Van Gogh's life story is a bit tragic-- he struggled with mental illness and though he conveyed great emotion and beauty in his paintings, he was very poor and not well known as an artist until after his death by suicide. 


Over his lifetime, Van Gogh's art styles transformed, with changes often reflecting his mental and physical health status. In his early years, Van Gogh was very inspired by earlier impressionist "peasant painters." Later, he was influenced by the Japanisme (Japanese-influenced art) which had a hold on Paris, as well as the bold brushwork of artists like Paul Cezanne. It has been suggested that some of the changes in Van Gogh's own color choice brushwork were a result of retinal disease, which would have impacted the way he literally saw the world. Another possibility suggests that he sustained a visual disorder from either eating his paints (which likely contained lead) or from having been prescribed a slightly toxic foxglove medication during one of his stays in a hospital.


Van Gogh's art continues to work its influence in art and pop culture today. 

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