Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch painter whose vivid colors, energetic brushwork, and emotionally charged images helped define Post-Impressionism.

The Starry Night: An 1889 oil painting by Van Gogh depicting a swirling night sky above a village. Its turbulent sky makes visible the expressive movement associated with his mature style.
Impasto: A painting technique in which paint is applied thickly enough for its texture to remain visible. Van Gogh’s raised strokes make the painted surface carry as much force as its imagery.
Zundert: A village in the Dutch province of North Brabant where Van Gogh was born in 1853. His Dutch upbringing preceded the artistic career he began as an adult.
Theo van Gogh: Vincent van Gogh’s younger brother, an art dealer who supported him financially and emotionally. Their correspondence documents Vincent’s ideas, struggles, and dependence on continued support.
Expressionism: A modern art movement that distorts form and intensifies color to convey subjective experience. Van Gogh’s emotionally charged forms became a major precedent for Expressionist painters.
Sunflowers: A series of still-life paintings Van Gogh made in Arles, centered on sunflowers in a vase. The series shows how he used intense yellow and repeated motifs to shape a painting.
Complementary colors: Pairs of hues opposite each other on a color wheel, which intensify one another when placed together. He used contrasts such as blue and orange to heighten visual intensity.
The Hague School: A nineteenth-century Dutch art movement known for subdued colors and realistic depictions of everyday life. Early instruction and Dutch realist painting informed his first artistic direction.
Paul Gauguin: A French Post-Impressionist painter known for bold color and simplified forms. His stay with Van Gogh in Arles ended in conflict but left a mark on both artists.
Fauvism: An early twentieth-century art movement known for vivid, non-naturalistic color and energetic brushwork. His forceful color helped prepare the ground for the Fauves.

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