Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch painter, one of the most recognized in Western art history.

On March 30, 1853, Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, the Netherlands. His father was a minister and his mother an artist. Due to his family's financial hardship, he was forced to leave school at the age of 15 and go to work instead, and became an art dealer at his uncle's art firm, Goupil & Cie.

He was transferred to the art firm's London branch in 1873 and to Paris in 1875. After he was dismissed from Goupil, he became a teacher, preacher, and bookseller. He soon left these jobs to study theology.

Van Gogh maintained a long-term written correspondence with his younger brother, Theo. In his letters, he would often include observational sketches of his surroundings; it was Theo who suggested that Vincent dedicate his focus to creating more of his own art. Vincent agreed, and he left school and moved to Brussels in 1880 to pursue art, with Theo supporting him financially.

He was 27 when he created his first painting. Throughout his life, he would produce more than 2,000 paintings, among them such easily recognizable pieces as The Starry Night, Sunflowers, and The Potato Eaters. He painted scenes of peasant life, nature, and self-portraits; he was inspired by architecture and Japanese woodblock prints.

He moved to Arles in 1889, where he began using brighter colors in his art. He lived here with another artist, Paul Gauguin, with whom he often disagreed. Van Gogh reportedly chased him out of the house with a razor before cutting off his own ear the same afternoon. He was admitted first to a hospital in Arles; after his release, his mental health continued to deteriorate, and he admitted himself to a hospital in Saint-Rémy. Despite his fluctuating mental health, he produced many paintings during his stay at Saint-Rémy, painting as many as 150 pieces per year.

He moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, where he was fully endorsed in his work and completed one painting per day. He died on July 27, 1890 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Today, he is widely known for his use of color, texture, and shape. His legacy includes 85o paintings and 1,300 sketches. Theo's widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, published Vincent and Theo's letters to each other in 1914. In 1973, the Van Gogh Museum was opened in Amsterdam.