Vincent Van Gogh Influences

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You may know him as the man who cut off his ear and sent it to his lover, or the man who ate yellow paint because he believed it would make him happy, but I know him as arguably one of the best artists of all time, and that is Vincent Van Gogh. In his lifetime, he painted over 900 paintings, most being unsuccessful until years after he died. There were social, economic, and cultural influences on Van Gogh which affected his lifetime achievements. No matter how beautiful his paintings were, Van Gogh had ghosts, just like everyone else. Vincent Van Gogh struggled with severe depression, anxiety and some even say bipolar disorder, all ultimately leading up to his suicide in 1890. Vincent Van Gogh was a considerably lonely man, he didn't have many people to turn to, so he often went to his brother, Theo with his problems. Theo was kind of like his rock, he helped him out financially, giving him a place to stay, and trying to help him sell his paintings, considering he was an ‘art dealer’. I believe Theo was the biggest social influence in Van Gogh's life. In 1872, Van Gogh began writing letters to Theo. He was believed to write over 500 …show more content…

He grew up as a Christian, considering her dad was a country minister. As previously stated, his mother was an artist. She loved nature and painting, especially watercolor. Although painting was a serious hobby of his, that wasn't the only thing he did. Van Gogh loved reading books, and writing letters. He would write at least 2 letters to his brother, Theo,each day. They ranged from what he wanted to do in life, to all of his troubles. He shared everything with Theo, depending highly on his brother for housing, advice, and money. He also often took nature walks, very long ones. For some time, Van Gogh was interested in becoming a minister, just like his father. He studied Christianity for

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