Vincent Van Gogh and Me - by Holly J. Miller

Early this morning I watched a very interesting program about post-impressionist painters Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh which made me realize that I undoubtedly have a lot in common with Van Gogh. He had an intensity and passion that I can relate to. When he was interested in a subject, be it religion, drawing or painting, he totally immersed himself in that subject - reading, watching, learning all he could as quickly as he could so that he could become proficient in his interest. This is a style of learning with which I am very familiar and most comfortable.

Vincent also had great passion in his love life. That, however, never came to a good conclusion for him. His first love rejected him out of hand as she was secretly engaged to another man. Next, he fell in love with an aging prostitute. She moved in with him but during their 9-month love affair the passion they shared manifested itself in anger and fighting and abuse so he eventually left her and moved to the country. There he discovered the impressionistic style of painting and fell head-over-heels for this new love.

Immersing himself in the lifestyle of a painter he began to emulate those he considered the great artists of the time. One of those artists was Paul Gauguin. Vincent considered Gauguin his teacher, mentor and friend. They even lived together in a little yellow house in Arles France for a time. The house was so small that in the winter they both had to paint in the one room with a fireplace. The room was cramped and Van Gogh’s passion and intensity began to wear on Gauguin. Eventually Gauguin made the decision to abandon Arles and return to Brittany where he was happier.

Upon realizing that he was loosing what he desired most, the opportunity to learn from his mentor, Van Gogh suffered an epileptic episode in which he cut off a portion of his left ear. This was not a sexual affair, but a very one-sided, passionate need of Van Gogh’s. He considered Gauguin one of the greatest painters of their time and wanted very much to study and learn from him and work with him.

Vincent soon recovered from his injury and began to paint some of his most well-known canvases - Sunflowers among them. He actually did a complete study of the sunflowers over many days during which the flowers faded and eventually died. Soon after, Van Gogh committed himself to a mental hospital where he continued to paint. It was during his time in the hospital that he completed Starry Night.

A very prolific painter, Van Gogh however, sold only one painting during his lifetime - The Red Vineyard. After a relatively short decade-long career as an artist, Vincent Van Gogh died by his own hand at the young age of 37.

During his lifetime as an artist Van Gogh evolved from solemn, dark paintings like The Potato Eaters to bright, happy paintings with thick layers of paint and very prominent brush strokes. Though not a painter like Van Gogh, I do feel that my life through Christ has evolved from a solemn, dark existence to one that is bright and happy and thick with layers of memories, the brush strokes showing as laugh lines on my face.

You can see all of Van Gogh's paintings at:
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/