Art lovers and collectors from all around the world know and appreciate the work of many great artists; that have influenced our lives. Mental instability, constant struggles, and a lifetime of sadness. Let’s look at the sad yet interesting lives of Van Gogh & Rembrandt, Great Dutch Artists.
Vincent Van Gogh
What would you do if more than one hundred and fifty psychiatrists; trying to diagnose the cause of your mental illnesses; diagnoses ranging from schizophrenia, syphilis, bipolar disorder, Temporal Lobe epilepsy, and ADHD. Would you give up? Stop pursuing your dreams? Feel like life is too hard? Or push on to be one of the greatest artists of all time?
Vincent Van Gogh was diagnosed with at least three of these mental illnesses; and yet he accomplished being at the top of the artist list without any issues; apart from everyone thinking he was crazy.
Vincent Van Gogh’s Early Years
Master Vincent Van Gogh was born on 30th March 1853 in the Netherlands; he was born to a master and his wife exactly one year to the day; of the death of his stillborn infant brother who was also named Vincent. The fact that his name and his birth date were already etched onto a tombstone; was believed to be a contributing factor to Van Gogh’s Mental Instability.
Little is known about Van Gogh’s early years; it is known that he had little to no official training in art, and it was all self-taught. He was forced due to economic struggles within his family; to leave school and get a job, he got into art dealing which he proved to be pretty good at. At age 20 after being rejected by the woman he loved he had his first mental breakdown.
At the age of 27, he decided to become an artist; which little did he know would change his life and the art world as we know it today. Encouraging and funding this endeavor was Theo his brother and his best friend. He had the support of his loving mother Anna Van Gogh; she encouraged him to keep going and to peruse his dream of becoming a famous artist.
Van Gogh’s Mental State Started decreasing
Over the years his mental stability was noticeably decreasing, so his brother organized and paid for Paul Gauguin to live with him. His personal life was in turmoil although his artwork was the one thing Van Gogh loved and continued with.
His mental health took a turn for the worst in 1888 during an epileptic seizure; Van Gogh attempted to attack Paul with an open razor. Understandably frightened Paul ran from the house, and this resulted in the Chopper Read style of Vincent cutting off a piece of his earlobe; – not the whole ear as many people are under the impression it was. It is said that he put the piece of the ear lobe in a lovely little box wrapped it up; and took it down to the local brothel; he then gave it to his favourite lady and went back home to bed. Paul returned the next day to find Vincent in a pool of blood; after the ordeal, Van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself to St Paul lunatic asylum on 8 May 1889.
The year of emotional art
During the year Van Gogh was at the asylum he produced an extensive amount of art. His artwork often reflected his current mood or state of mind. You will see in some of his paintings they are bright and happy, and others are extremely dark and gloomy when he was in a downstate of depression. This is evident in one particular piece Irises; it is a painting of dark purple flowers; he has said that the flower petals are dropping to represent all of his illnesses weighing him down. During this time Van Gogh’s most famous painting is the Starry Night completed. In this painting, the night sky filled with swirling clouds stars ablaze, and a bright crescent moon; Below the rolling hills of the horizon lies a small town.
It’s hard to imagine Starry Night has sold for over 1 million dollars today, but Van Gogh only managed to sell one painting in his whole lifetime. In a 10 year period, Van Gogh created approx. 900 paintings
Things got even worse from there, the death of a great man
Have you ever worked extremely hard on something only to have no one appreciate your efforts; have you made anything a craft, picture maybe even an exam paper; that no one else seems to know it’s worth to you. If so you can have a pretty good grasp of the kind of inner struggles; that Master Van Gogh lived with daily.
In 1890 Vincent Van Gogh ended his battle with sanity, and shot himself in a wheat field he was painting in France; he shot himself in the stomach and lost consciousness. The cool air of the night revived the young artists, and he made his way back to the Inn where he was staying; dying two days later. Theo his brother sat by his side he managed to decipher the final words of Vincent Van Gogh; “La tristesse durera toujours” (The sadness will last forever), Van Gogh was only 37 years of age.
Theo’s health deteriorated in the months after the death of his brother, he died 6 months later. The brothers have reunited again and buried side by side at Auvers-sur-Oise
The work of post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh has been widely celebrated in the time since his death. Due to his brother’s wife Johanna, she dedicated herself to the cause; ensuring that Van Gogh’s work received the recognition that it truly deserves. She played a key role in the growth of Vincent’s fame; by collecting all of his completed pieces of art and displaying them in local art galleries
If only he could see his Legacy now!!!
Vincent Van Gogh struggled in life he was convenience he had failed; a feeling that most of us have all felt either at work, at school, and in our personal life. This feeling coupled with his depression led him to ultimately take his own life and yet this man; with so much passion, drive, love, and warmth; would go on to become one of the greatest artists since Rembrandt. It is a shame that he did not get to see how much people adore his work today!
Today his priceless masterpieces are held in art galleries all over the world; and two Academy Award-winning films featured his work — “Lust for Life” and “Midnight in Paris”. Amsterdam is home to the Van Gogh Museum where you can see an extensive range of Van Gogh’s Artwork.
Rembrandt
Pickled herring and bread! Two of the great artist Rembrandt’s favorite foods! Rembrandt is considered one of the greatest artists in history. He is famous for his turn of the century ideas; Rembrandt was born in Leiden who had quite a good start to life; he knew he wanted to be a painter from a young age and perused his dreams. Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam and started expanding his business and became a professional painter.
Rembrandt met a beautiful lady named Saskia; they were married in a small local church ready and moved into their own house in a very desirable neighborhood. Unfortunately, the couple lived well beyond their means and got themselves into quite a bit of financial hardship.
The downward spiral begins
This was the start of their downward spiral in life; the couple’s firstborn child died 2 months after his birth in 1635; three years later they welcome their baby girl Cornelia into the world, but she died at three weeks of age in 1638. In 1640 the couple tried again they were blessed with another girl who they named Cornelia as well; she did not make it past a month of her life. This is a pretty devastating turn of events for a young couple to lose 3 children in 5 years; could you imagine the feelings that Rembrandt and Saskia were going through? The guilt and sadness of losing 3 children in such a short amount of time. They had a glimmer of hope in 1641; when their fourth child was born his name was Titus who amazingly survived right through into adulthood.
You thought their bad luck streak was over? What’s the old saying bad things come in three’s well not in Rembrandt’s case; in 1642 Saskia passed away and Rembrandt went into a state of shock and depression. He had lost 3 children and the love of his life; you can’t blame him for going a little bit loopy. He had a relationship with his maid; lost the entitlement to Saskia’s will, he started buying paintings, prints, and basically everything he could get his hands on.
The Nights Watch
He had been commissioned to paint a portrait for Captain Banning; of himself and his company. Rembrandt had nothing left to lose so he finished the painting his way; instead of a traditional portrait of
everyone facing forward, jawlines chizzled and perfect stance. Rembrandt brought them to life; he painted them in action holding swards; their faces were all at different angles giving the painting a sense of action and depth.
Rembrandt thought he was onto a winner the response wasn’t quite what he expected; people were a bit hesitant, to begin with; it was new, it was inventive something they had never seen before. This painting is called the; “Night Watch” You can see an amazing life-sized recreation of the painting in Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam; where you can stand next to the soldiers and be inside the painting. You can also see a smaller copy in the Rijksmuseum.
Rembrandt died a poor, lonely man
Rembrandt was forced to sell all of his personal belongings to avoid bankruptcy; unfortunately, his belongings did not prove to be worth much and he was forced to sell his house. As you can imagine this did not install faith in creditors or the banks; and Rembrandt was told he was not allowed to trade or paint any longer. This didn’t stop Rembrandt they created a dummy company for who he merely worked as an employee, sneaky sneaky. Titus Rembrandt’s son passed away and within a year Rembrandt died in Amsterdam.
Imagine that; struggling your entire life to make ends meet doing the thing you love; not having people’s acceptance or praise on your work; dying a poor man and being buried in an unmarked grave. How devastating and twisted is it that the value of someone’s artwork is not celebrated until after their death? No credit or sense of appreciation back then and almost priceless today. A little ironic if you ask me.
Art plays a huge role in telling the stories of history; the sadness and lack of worth to these great artists back then; allows us to appreciate not only the piece in front of us; but the struggle it took to get it there.
Museumplein
When in Amsterdam a must-visit for all travelers is to Museumplein which is a Museum park; here you will find a combination of ancient art and modern society. The complex is made up of different art galleries the most famous being the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. In the middle of those two buildings is a great big cobble-stoned area; with a lovely fountain and the iconic I Amsterdam sign.
IAmsterdam Sign
The I Amsterdam sign is a huge iconic statue that spells out Amsterdam; it is here you will get that Instagram photo and memory of the iconic city. A quick tip the sign is very long so you will struggle to get the whole thing in the photo; if you kneel down from either corner you can get it in the camera view, or wide-angle on a go pro will get the whole word as well. You can climb up into and around the letters intertwining yourself with the city of Amsterdam.
Van Gogh Museum
Open Daily from 9am -5pm
- It is best to book your tickets online which are €19 per person
- The Van Gogh Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of Vincent Van Gogh’s work; you will find over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 700 letters
Rijksmuseum
Open daily from 0900am 1700
- Again best to buy your tickets online they will set you back €19.00 per person
- This is where you will find a smaller copy of Rembrandts Nights Watch
- The Riksmuseum is the Dutch National Museum
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ From Museumplein there are a lot of great things to see and do within walking distance; you can check out the House of Bols; have some Dutch Pancakes, head to Leidlepelein.
