Why Did Vincent Van Gogh Sign His Paintings with Vincent and Not His Surname?

‘Actually not a “Van Gogh”’

Vincent's relationship with his family, especially his father, was a bit difficult because they had different views on both personal and professional matters. In a letter to his brother Theo dated December 1883, Vincent talks about an argument he had with his father not long before, and how he saw himself in relation to his family:

‘At present I’m observing Pa – I see, I hear, I feel what Pa is – and I don’t like it – decidedly not. If you are thus, if you’re becoming more and more thus – then it’s wise to part.’

He continued:

‘are you a “Van Gogh” too? I always regarded you as “Theo”. In character I’m quite different from the various members of the family, and I’m actually not a “Van Gogh”’.

Vincent also wrote in the same letter that he didn’t want to be identified with the traditional views his surname was being linked with.

How to pronounce Van Gogh?

There’s another reason why Vincent signed his paintings with his first name: it’s difficult to pronounce Van Gogh in other languages.

Before Vincent decided to become an artist, he worked in commercial art trade in London and Paris. He knew from experience that people often had a hard time pronouncing his typically Dutch surname. Even in his early drawings, he therefore signed with ‘Vincent’.

He mentioned this in a letter to his brother Theo in March 1888 about an exhibition where some of his paintings were displayed:

‘But – although this time it makes no difference at all – in future my name must be put in the catalogue the way I sign it on the canvases, i.e. Vincent and not Vangogh, for the excellent reason that people here wouldn’t be able to pronounce that name.’

Van Gogh Museum Article

Find out more about why and how Vincent van Gogh signed his paintings in the article Simply ‘Vincent’: An Overview of Van Gogh’s Signed Paintings.