by Wendy Roth

Created on: July 22, 2007

Vincent van Gogh is ranked as one of the founding fathers of modern art. At only ten years of drawing and painting, van Gogh had one of the briefest careers in art history.

Van Gogh was born March 30th, 1853, in the villiage of Groot Zundert in the Dutch province of North Brabant.
Van Gogh's family consisted of mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus, father, Theodorus van Gogh, one brother, Theo and three sisters. Although the eldest child, Vincent Willem van Gogh, was not the first born. One year before his birth, to that day, his mother delivered a child, a boy, also named Vincent Willem van Gogh. He was still born.

Theo, four years younger than Vincent, was to play a major part in van Gogh's life. Without the support of Theo, Vincent's art and life would have come to nothing.

Vincent was a very stubborn child and hot tempered too, given to strongly, contrary behavior. When he was praised by his parents, for a model elephant he had made, Vincent destroyed it. It is likely that praise embarrassed him.

Van Gogh had a very wealthy Uncle, who he called Uncle Cent. Vincent's uncle asked him to work for his company when he finished school. So, at 16 years of age, Vincent did just that.
Uncle Cent's headquarters was in Paris but he had business in London, Berlin and Brussels.
Uncle Cent sent him to work in an office at Goupil & Co. at the Hagile. Goupil's was a conservative house, speacialising in well-made reproductions of famous paintings.
After about three years, Theo came to visit. Soon, thereafter, the two brothers began exchanging letters.
The letters were so vivid. So revealing of Van Gogh's innermost feelings.

In 1875, Van Gogh's uncle arranged for him to be transferred to the Paris office. At Christmas, that same year, Vincent went off to Holland to visit his parents. Vincent had become increasingly careless in work. So on his return, he was given three months notice. Six years of training as an art dealer came to an end. To Theo he wrote, "When the apple is ripe, a soft breeze makes it fall from the tree; such as the case here..." (Quote from The world of Van Gogh).

At 23 years of age, Vincent was unemployed. He didn't have the slightest idea what to do next. Although he had sketched a few illustrations, he seemed not to have thought seriously about becoming an artist.

It was at the age of 27, that Vincent decided to turn to art. He thought he could communicate to people through his art. Through his art, he could poor out his feelings. Van Gogh established his first studio

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