The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch painter of the post-impressionist period, best known for works such as The Starry Night, Sunflowers, and numerous self-portraits. He was born on March 30th, 1853, in the Netherlands, and died on July 29th, 1890, in France. His style is characterized by chunky brushstrokes and fluid forms, and he alternated between use of vibrant and muted color palettes throughout his career. Though he never attained widespread acclaim during his lifetime, he is widely regarded today as one of the most influential painters of all time.

In the popular imagination, Van Gogh has often been presented as a cartoonishly moody, temperamental man who embodies the “mad genius” archetype. This image emerged from portrayals of his mental illness, self-affliction, and presumed death by suicide. As De Leeuw writes, “Although Van Gogh himself realized that ‘it is difficult to know oneself—but it isn’t easy to paint oneself either’, the picture that emerges from his letters has proved infinitely more subtle and hence more powerful than those his contemporaries have left us” (17). 

The Van Gogh of the letters is fiercely principled and at times combative, but also deeply sensitive to the opinions of others (not least those of his family), and saddened by his struggles with both health and romance.