Soumya Bista
Grade: XII 'A'
Art is a universal language that transcends beyond the barriers of spoken words. It is unique, personal and remains as one of the finest forms of expressions of emotions. Art depicts the minds of the artists - their feelings, thoughts and the deepest emotions. And one artist who stands out by expressing the emotional turmoil through each precise brush stroke is, Vincent van Gogh.
Vincent van Gogh, was a Dutch painter who rose to prominence in the post-impressionist era of the 19th century. His arts still continue to find relevance in the realm of modern art.
Van Gogh was born on 20th February, 1853 in the Netherlands to a middle-class family. His father was a pastor while his mother came from a family of art setter. van Gogh was not very immersed in art in his early years. But he did give a shot at selling arts. It was not until his mid-twenties that he started painting of his own.
These paintings, however, were different from the van Gogh, we have and know today.
His art got progressively better when he moved to France, where he was moved by the work of French painters like Claude Monet, who indulges with bright colours on their canvases. This started his ‘Yellow Era’ where he used bright paints for his printings. One of the most notable paintings from this period was ‘Sunflowers’.
Even though van Gogh was making hard in his artistic career, his state was dwindling with each passing day. He was always under the constant stress and had severe turmoil of life. An incident in his apartment in Paris, where he cut off his ear shows his tumultuous state of mind. His art work, ‘The starry Night’ portrays his life when he had the blues. Even if he is not alive today, the remains immortalized in more than 2,100 artworks seem to give solace. They stand as a symbol for people struggling with mental health issues.