Vincent Willem van Gogh

Still life with poppies

Caption: Vincent van Gogh [Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, 1853-1890] - Still life with poppies, cornflowers, peonies and chrysanthemums - Vincent Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, son of a small town preacher. He began his working life employed by Groupil & Cie, an international art dealer, but then left to consider a career with the church as his religious zeal grew. In 1879, having grown disenchanted with both formal religious education and the evangelist path, he decided to become an artist. Over the course of the next ten years, before he took his own life, he produced an enormous body of work. While it is not quite true that he never sold a piece of art, during his lifetime his primary supporters were his brother Theo and other artists. Van Gogh also relied on Theo for financial support. While some art historians question how much of Van Gogh current popularity is due to romantic mythology around the "insane genius", his work is unquestionably powerful and unique.