Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh came to painting late, at twenty-seven, after false starts that included teaching and preaching. His Dutch pictures are dark and earthy, as in The Potato Eaters (1885). Two years in Paris, from 1886, lightened his palette under the influence of the Impressionists and of Japanese prints.

In Arles in 1888 he painted orchards, wheat fields, the Sunflowers and The Night Café in thick, directional strokes of strong colour. After a breakdown he entered the asylum at Saint-Rémy, where he painted The Starry Night (1889), and he died at Auvers-sur-Oise in July 1890, aged thirty-seven. He left about 860 paintings and more than a thousand drawings. Landscapes are the largest group, with portraits and still lifes close behind. His letters to his brother Theo describe his work and aims in detail.