An Impressionist — Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh was a man in a hurry, an artist of tremendous energy and prodigious output. He killed himself when he was only 37, but he left behind him more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, which established his reputation in a way he would never have considered possible. Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1835 at Groot Zundert in the Dutch province of Noord Brabant. He was the son of a clergyman. His first artistic impressions were formed as a boy, from his uncle who was an art dealer. The motivation bore early fruit and from the age of 12 the young Vincent was drawing. The interest led to an apprenticeship in an art dealer’s firm, Groupil’s, in the Hague. When he was only 20, he was transferred to the firm’s London office. In London Van Gogh faced his first major crisis, when he was rejected in love. After that, he turned to religion, expressed disapproval with art-dealing and neglected his work, Groupil transferred him from London to Paris but, when his work was still unsatisfactory, dismissed him in 1876. The young Van Gogh made religion a consuming interest and during the next few years traveled in Britain, Belgium and Holland, trying to establish himself as a preacher, but without success. He developed strong opinions on social morality, customs and church life and alienated those he mixed with by an uncompromising attitude. In 1880, at the age of 27, he found himself drawn back to art. He had a job as an assistant evangelist in the mining village of Borinage in Belgium but realized an artistic drive which was to motivate him unceasingly until his death 10 years later. Although he returned to Noord Brabant and his family early in 1881, his first recognized works were set in Borinage and reflected the rural culture in which he was living and his belief in order and symmetry in both society and art. The period resulted in what became known as the Brabant canvases. At this time he was becoming obsessed with artistic development. Although he was limited in practical experience, his work showed confidence and maturity from the start, no doubt influenced by the strength of his personal convictions. It was not an easy time, however, emotionally. There were tensions within the family, now that he was living back with his parents in Brabant. He was short of money and rebelling against social and academic standards. Late in 1881 he moved to the Hague and established a relationship with a woman, Christine Hoornik, with whom he lived for a time. He broke with her in 1883, however, and never again established a significant intimate relationship with a woman. Between 1883 and 1886, at Noord Brahant again, his painting developed into characteristic dark landscapes and scenes of country life. He stressed character and expression rather than perspective and physical accuracy; he was already experimenting with impressionism. In 1886 Van Gogh left Holland forever and traveled via Antwerp to Paris, and to major changes in artistic style. Van Gogh’s work became more youthful in Paris. He lived with his brother, Theo, who managed the modern department of an art dealer’s. A new, more animated, painting style emerged and the impressionist tendencies of earlier work weakened somewhat. Van Gogh developed a taste for personalized brushwork and brilliant, unmixed colours. Among his most prominent experiments with colour were a series of some 30 flower paintings, a fascination which stayed with him until his death. 文森特·凡高是個閒不住的人，是位精力超凡而又多產的藝術家。儘管他在年僅三十七歲時就自殺身亡，但留下的繪畫作品卻超過了兩千幅，這使他名聲鵲起，如果還在世，這也會令他始料不及。 凡高1853年3月30日出生於荷蘭北布拉班特省的格魯特·宗德爾特，是位牧師的兒子。孩提時代，由於受到做畫商的叔叔的影響，他就對藝術已有了初步的印象。這種動力在他十二歲時就初見成果，年幼的文森特開始作畫了。對繪畫的興趣使他在海牙的古比爾畫店開始了學徒生涯。當他剛滿二十歲，就被調到畫店的倫敦分店。 在倫敦凡高面臨着他的頭一個重大危機：他失戀了。自打那時起，他皈依宗教，表現出對繪畫交易的不滿以及對工作玩忽職守的態度。古比爾把他從倫敦調到巴黎，可看到他的工作還是不盡人意時，就在1876年將他解僱了。 年輕的凡高對宗教癡迷不悔並在隨後的幾年中遍遊英國，比利時和荷蘭，試圖使自己成爲傳教士，然而未能如願。他對社會道德、習俗及宗教生活產生了強烈的想法並且態度堅定地疏遠那些與他交往的人。 1886年，他27歲時，發現自己重又對繪畫產生了興趣。在比利時的波里納日的採煤村他有一份做福音傳道者助手的工作，可他感受到一種藝術的衝動，這種衝動持續不斷地激勵着他直到十年後去世。 雖然在1881年初，他回到北布拉薩市班省家人身邊，他最初被認可的作品卻是以波里納日爲背景，所反映的是他長期生活在其中的鄉村文化以及對社會與藝術秩序和對稱的理念。這段時間產生了後來被稱作布拉班特的繪畫作品。 這時他開始沉迷於藝術的發展。儘管他受到實際經驗的限制，但其作品從開始就顯示出信心與成熟，毫無疑問這是受到了他個人信仰力量的影響。然而從情感上說這是一段不輕鬆的時期。因爲他回到布拉班特後與父母住在一起，家庭關係有些緊張。他手頭拮据並反對當時的社會和學術準則。 1881年末，他移居海牙並與一名叫克里斯廷·胡爾尼克的女人同居了一段時間。然而1883年他們關係破裂，他也再沒有與其他女人有過明顯的親密關係。 在1883年到1886年間，還是在北布拉班特省，他的畫風發展成獨具匠心的晦澀的風景畫和鄉村生活畫。他強調性格與表現而不是透視與精確。他已經在試驗印象派風格了。 1886年凡高永遠地離開了荷蘭取道安特衛普前往巴黎，他的藝術風格也發生了重大的變化。在巴黎凡高的作品變得更加青春洋溢。他和弟弟西奧住在一起，他弟弟管理着一家畫店的現代畫部。一種新的，更加充滿活力的畫風出現了，同時早期作品中的印象派傾向有所削弱。 凡高發展了個性化的筆法及鮮明、純色的品位。他對色彩最出色的實驗就是一系列約30幅花卉的繪畫作品，對這種創作的迷戀一直伴他到生命的最後。
