About the Artist

B. Schwarz 
Vincent van Gogh at the age of 13
9.7 x 5.9 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
b4783V1989

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in 1853 in the Netherlands. His father was a pastor in a rural town, where Vincent eagerly absorbed the natural world around him. Well-educated but shy, he worked in the art trade and studied painters of the past, while visiting several European cities and discovering modern art and literature. By 1881, he was already focusing on drawing and soon committed himself to painting. In 1886 Vincent moved to Paris and met artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin, transforming his own work and producing vividly colored pictures of flowers, parks, and undergrowth.

Impoverished and unwell, in 1888 Van Gogh left for Arles in southern France where the colors of fields, plants, and trees immediately thrilled him. Now more confident with his skills, he made powerful drawings and canvases of his new surroundings that celebrated their vitality. Supported by his brother Theo, Vincent suffered from epileptic episodes and in May 1889 entered the hospital at nearby Saint-Rémy. Despite his illness, he painted the local landscape more inventively than ever and felt well enough to travel north to Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. A final burst of creativity followed, but Van Gogh despaired of continuing and in July 1890 took his own life.

A fully illustrated catalogue that chronicles the artist’s ongoing relationship with nature throughout his entire career accompanies the exhibition. Vivid color photography and explanatory texts based on new research clarify this central theme of Van Gogh’s oeuvre. The catalogue is published by the Clark and distributed by Yale University Press. Call the Museum Store at 413 458 0520 to order. 

Van Gogh and Nature is made possible by the generous contributions of Denise Littlefield Sobel and Diane and Andreas Halvorsen. Major support is provided by Acquavella Galleries and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from Howard Bellin; the Consulate General of the Kingdom of The Netherlands; the Robert Lehman Foundation; and the Netherland-America Foundation. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.