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Βρυξέλλες, Βέλγιο

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Vincent lived in Brussels twice: in 1878 and for a longer period of time in 1880-81. In 1878, he followed a three-month course to become an evangelist. This plan had originated when Vincent was rejected to an enrolment of Theology studies in Amsterdam. In Brussels the duration of the training was shorter and with less requirements, so he applied there. After a trial period of three months, he was not accepted for further schooling but he was allowed to practice as an evangelist in the Borinage mining area.

Vincent moved to Brussels again in October 1880, convinced that he could serve God as an artist. He began to work on his drawing technique and came into contact with other artists. Vincent enrolled at the Art Academy and worked in the studio of artist friend Anthon van Rappard. Despite allowances provided by his father and brother Theo, Vincent was struggling financially. And, when Van Rappard left town, Vincent no longer had a place to work. This misfortune led him to leave Brussels behind again to live with his parents in Etten.

Letter 159

Letter 162

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Βρυξέλλες, Βέλγιο

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Βρυξέλλες, Βέλγιο

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Αμβέρσα, Βέλγιο

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Vincent arrived in Antwerp from the Dutch town of Nuenen on 24 November 1885. Antwerp had plenty to offer Vincent: good materials, drawing clubs with models, and churches, museums and galleries stuffed with art. In January of 1886, he enrolled in a course in drawing from classical sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. He was delighted to see “nudes and antiquity again”, as he aspired to become proficient in figure studies. In the meantime, Vincent began to have serious dental problems, probably caused by his unhealthy lifestyle: he was a heavy pipe smoker and ate poorly. The drawing classes he took at the academy were, however, far too traditional for him. They were to end in late March 1886, but Vincent could not wait that long and left Antwerp for Paris on February 28 to further develop as an artist in the French capital.

Letter 544

Letter 552

Letter 566

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Αμβέρσα, Βέλγιο

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Head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette , 1886

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In Cuesmes, a small village in greater Mons, Vincent first lived with the evangelist Edouard Joseph Francq and later with his neighbours, the Decrucq family. The location and the surrounding countryside were permeated with shades of rural and working-class life, which the painter would incorporate into his work throughout his career.

It was here, in this modest home, that Van Gogh took the first steps in his artistic career and started focusing entirely on drawing. The themes he tackled, such as that of the workers and their modest homes, would reappear frequently throughout his work.

Sometimes he drew in his small room, other times in the garden. However, he felt that he did not have enough space to work properly: “It’s tiny as it is, and there are two beds, the children’s and mine.” [Letter 158] In October of 1880, Vincent left Cuesmes for Brussels because he longed for space, light and other artists.

Letter 156

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Λονδίνο, Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο

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Vincent lived in London for roughly three years, from 1873 to 1875. During his time in London, Vincent visited famous institutions like the British Museum and the National Gallery, where the works he admired included those by ‘peasant painters’ such as François Millet and Jules Breton. He also read everything from museum guides and magazines to literature and poetry.

Vincent van Gogh arrived in London in 1873 to work for the art dealership Goupil & Cie. His brother, Theo van Gogh, had secured him a position there. During his time in London, van Gogh immersed himself in the art world, gaining valuable experience in the art market and developing relationships with artists and collectors.

Although van Gogh's time in London was relatively brief and not particularly successful in terms of his career in the art trade, it played a significant role in shaping his artistic sensibilities and providing him with a foundation of knowledge and experience that would later inform his groundbreaking work as a painter.

Letter 011

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Ράμσγκεϊτ, Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο

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It is believed that Vincent van Gogh spent some time in Ramsgate because of health issues. He was known to suffer from various health issues throughout his life, and it's possible that he sought out the sea air in Ramsgate as a form of recuperation. However, his stay in Ramsgate was relatively brief, and there are no known artistic endeavors or significant events associated with this time.

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Άιζελγουορθ, Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο

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Vincent van Gogh's stay in Isleworth, England, was brief and relatively uneventful. He lived there for a short period in 1876 while working as an assistant teacher and preacher at a small school called Reverend Thomas Slade-Jones' School, which was located in Isleworth.

During his time in Isleworth, van Gogh continued to grapple with his vocational choices and explored various career paths, including teaching and preaching. However, he ultimately found these pursuits unsatisfying and decided to leave England to pursue a different direction in life.

Letter 085

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Χάγη, Ολλανδία

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Vincent van Gogh lived in The Hague twice in his lifetime, from 30 July 1869 until 10 May 1873 and from 27 November 1881 to 11 September 1883.On 30 July 1869, Vincent reached The Hague and even registered himself as a resident there. His uncle Cent van Gogh helped him find a job with the international art dealers Goupil & Cie and became the youngest worker in the company. Through his connections in his work, Vincent was able to get in touch with plenty of art and he threw himself into his new role with great enthusiasm. He indeed came into contact with members of the Haanebeek family, the Tersteeg family, the Roos family, meaning he grew some social life. A few successful years with the firm passed, and then Vincent was transferred to Goupil & Cie’s London branch. Although Vincent was happy to travel to England and improve his English, he knew he would miss The Hague.

Letter 005

Letter 008

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Χάγη, Ολλανδία

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Χάγη, Ολλανδία

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Άμστερνταμ, Ολλανδία

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Vincent van Gogh arrived in Amsterdam in 1877 to work for the art dealership firm Goupil & Cie. He was employed there as an art dealer, a position that was quite common for individuals with an interest and education in art during that time. Van Gogh's move to Amsterdam marked a significant step in his professional life, as it was his first real venture into the art world.

During his time at Goupil & Cie, van Gogh immersed himself in the art trade, learning about various artists, styles, and movements. His job involved tasks such as studying artworks, corresponding with clients, and facilitating sales. However, despite his initial enthusiasm for the art business, van Gogh grew increasingly disillusioned with the commercial aspects of the trade. He found the focus on profit and market trends to be at odds with his own artistic ideals and aspirations.

Van Gogh's time in Amsterdam was marked by personal and professional challenges. He struggled with the demands of his job, feeling a sense of dissatisfaction and longing for a deeper connection to art. His experiences in Amsterdam would later influence his decision to pursue a career as an artist himself, ultimately leading him on a transformative journey of self-discovery and creative expression.

Letter 114

Letter 116

Letter 120

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Άμστερνταμ, Ολλανδία

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Άμστερνταμ, Ολλανδία

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Νούενεν, Ολλανδία

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In December 1883, Vincent left Drenthe to stay with his parents in Nuenen. He was not met with a warm reception but his parents allowed him to stay and to set up a studio in the mangle room in their house. Vincent’s family relations were not as good as they had been, however he decided he wanted to stay there since he found the landscape and the people impressive and inspiring at the same time. On the land and in his studio, he started working and produced studies of some common Brabant residents. Vincent also loved going out into the countryside and painting landscapes. He was particularly concerned with the effects of color and earth hues. We could tell he was quite confident in his abilities because of the numerous figure studies he had made, while he even produced the large figurative painting The Potato Eaters in Nuenen. The artist often went to Eindhoven while he was living with his parents, where he bought painting gear and gave art lessons to Willem van de Wakker, Anton Kerssemakers and Antoon Hermans.

Letter 409

Letter 496

Letter 507

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Νούενεν, Ολλανδία

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Νούενεν, Ολλανδία

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Παρίσι, Γαλλία

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the Hill of Montmartre with Stone Quarry , 1886

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Theo was the manager of Goupil art dealers (later Boussod, Valadon & Cie) on the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris. He introduced his brother to the colourful work of prominent modern artists like Claude Monet. Vincent van Gogh also got to know a new generation of artists at Fernand Cormon’s studio, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Emile Bernard.

All those new impressions and new people had an influence on his own work and inspired him to experiment freely.Vincent’s work grew steadily brighter in Paris, under the influence of modern art. He used brighter colours and developed his own style of painting, with short brush strokes.

The themes he painted likewise changed, with rural labourers giving way to cafés and boulevards, the countryside along the Seine and floral still lifes. He also tried out more ‘commercial’ subjects, such as portraits. Vincent mostly acted as his own sitter, however, as models were relatively expensive.

Meanwhile, he discovered a new source of inspiration in Japanese woodcuts, which sold in large quantities in Paris. Vincent and Theo began to collect them. The influence of the bold outlines, cropping and colour contrasts in these prints showed through immediately in his own work.After two years, Vincent began to tire of the frenetic city life in Paris.He longed for the peace of the countryside, for sun, and for the light and colour of ‘Japanese’ landscapes, which he hoped to find in Provence, in the South of France. Following a train journey that lasted a day and a night, he arrived on 20 February 1888 in Arles, a small town on the River Rhône.

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Παρίσι, Γαλλία

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Vincent was delighted with the bright light and colours in Arles, and set to work enthusiastically, painting orchards in blossom and workers gathering the harvest. He also made a trip to the coast, where he painted the boats.

His style became looser and more expressive. Vincent corresponded with Theo about his plan to set up a ‘Studio of the South’ in Arles for a group of artists whose work Theo could sell in Paris.

'You know I’ve always thought it ridiculous for painters to live alone &c. You always lose when you’re isolated.'

Vincent to Theo, Arles, 28 or 29 May 1888

With this ‘artists’ colony’ in mind, Vincent rented four rooms in the ‘Yellow House’ on Place Lamartine. Paul Gauguin was the first – and, as it would turn out, the last – artist to move in with him.

Gauguin arrived in late October 1888, but only after considerable cajoling.

Van Gogh and Gauguin worked hard together and their collaboration resulted in some exceptional paintings. At the same time, however, the two men had very different views on art, which led to frequent, heated discussions . Gauguin worked mainly from memory and his imagination, while Vincent preferred to paint what he could see in front of him. Their very different characters caused the tension between them to rise steadily.

When Gauguin threatened to leave, the pressure became too much. Van Gogh became so distraught that he threatened his friend with a razor. Later that evening, he sliced off his own ear at the Yellow House, wrapped it in newspaper and presented it to a prostitute in the nearby red-light district.

The morning after he cut off his ear, Vincent was admitted to the hospital in Arles. Later he went to Paris .

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Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer , 1888

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Σεν-Ρεμί-ντε-Προβάνς, Γαλλία

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Vincent van Gogh 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.

Once Vincent arrived at the clinic in Saint-Rémy, he immediately began working again. On his good days, he often painted in the institution’s walled garden and he was later allowed to work outside the hospital too.

He was also given an extra room inside the clinic to use as a studio, where he produced a series of works, including copies of prints after paintings by artists like Rembrandt and Millet.

Vincent’s mental health continued to fluctuate. During one period of extreme confusion, he ate some of his oil paint, following which he was restricted to drawing for a while. Yet, Vincent was exceptionally productive at Saint-Rémy, where he completed around 150 paintings in the space of a year.

'As for me, my health is good, and as for the head it will, let’s hope, be a matter of time and patience.'

Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, between 31 May and 6 June 1889

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Σεν-Ρεμί-ντε-Προβάνς, Γαλλία

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Σεν-Ρεμί-ντε-Προβάνς, Γαλλία