Art Born from Struggle: Van Gogh

Vincent  Willem Van Gogh, known as a mad artist for cutting his own ear, was born in 1853. He faced many mental difficulties throughout his life. His experiences are reflected in his paintings such as Starry Night, Sunflowers, and the Potato Eaters. The Dutch painter contributed to the art world as a pioneer of the Post-Impressionist movement.

Van Gogh was silent, serious, and respectful when he was a child. He had a passion for art since childhood, and worked as an art dealer in his youth. He became depressed after being sent to London. Due to his mental health problems, he started working in southern Belgium as a Protestant missionary. He had difficulty connecting with people during his time there. He was alone, not because he was “mad”, but because he deeply felt that people couldn’t understand him. He moved back to his parents and started painting in 1881. He was poor for his entire life, and sold almost no paintings during his lifetime. He had a younger brother, Theo Van Gogh, who financially supported him. This situation instilled in him feelings of inadequacy and failure.

His style, which we admire today, was not accepted in the past. He had a different artistic vision for his time. Others found his style too strange and extreme. His surroundings caused him to experience anxiety, despair, and confusion. It was known that his emotional state often changed dramatically. The accumulation of all these events led to a psychological breakdown in 1888. This incident resulted as him cutting his own ear.  After that, people thought he needed to be somewhere safe. He chose to enter a mental hospital in Saint-Rémy on his own. The intention was protection and medical care rather than punishment.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. During the time he spent in the hospital, he did not stop painting as people thought he would. Instead, he made most of his famous paintings, like the Starry Night, there. He worked in a controlled environment by observing nature. The Starry Night painting was painted in June 1889. Gogh depicted the village of Saint-Rémy just before sunrise, as seen from the window of his sanatorium room.

His time in the mental hospital was not the end of his creativity, but a turning point. Because his art did not align with the artistic standards of his time, Gogh did not receive the recognition he deserved during his lifetime. However, after his death, his works transformed the art world. On 27 July 1890, in a field near Auvers, he shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He died two days later, with his brother Theo at his bedside. He ended his life because he was exhausted from working hard,  and the high standards that were established at that time.

In conclusion, Vincent Willem Van Gogh’s life shows how deeply societal judgements and pressures can affect an individual. Constantly being misunderstood and unappreciated caused him an emotional breakdown. Although his life ended too early, his story teaches us that constant pressure can have serious consequences, and human values should be prioritized.