The Life of Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890

At 16, Vincent van Gogh left home to work for an art dealer in The Hague. That marked the start of a lifelong correspondence with his younger brother Theo.

Vincent tried different jobs, from art dealer in Paris and schoolmaster in England to lay preacher in the Borinage coal mine district in Belgium. At 27, he discovered his true calling.

Vincent lived in various places in the Netherlands. In The Hague, he took painting and drawing lessons with his cousin-in-law, the artist Anton Mauve. Love also provided inspiration.

In 1883 Vincent moved back in with his parents, in Nuenen. Here, he painted and sketched farmers, weavers and workers. He started working on ‘The Potato Eaters’.

In Paris, Vincent developed his own, well-known style with bright colours. Yet after two years the hectic city life became too much.

Vincent made some of his most famous artworks, such as ‘Sunflowers’, in the South of France. But he also fell ill and cut off his ear. He kept working despite everything.

Vincent spent one year in the mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Despite his unstable mental health, he was very productive: he made about 150 paintings in a year, including ‘Almond Blossom’.

Vincent spent the last few months of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris. He made new friends and painted a lot. But why did he start worrying about his future after visiting his brother Theo?

After Vincent's death, more and more people liked his art and he became famous. The Van Gogh Museum first opened its doors to the public in 1973. What role did Theo's wife Jo and his son play in all this?