It was July of 1890. Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch artist living in the French village of Auvers, had created nearly eighty paintings in less than three months.
In recent weeks, he’d been attracted by the fields and plains not far from the inn where he lived that summer. At the height of his genius, the prolific artist was despondent. He was thirty-seven years old, financially supported by an ailing brother and had produced more than eight hundred paintings which no one wanted to buy. (It is believed during his entire career he sold only one - The Red Vineyard - which he painted in 1888 and Anna Boch - herself an artist - purchased in 1890.)
At dusk on Sunday, the 27th of July, Vincent walked to one of the fields in Auvers-sur-Oise. What happened there abruptly cut short the life of an artist whose paintings today are among the most sought-after - and valuable - in the world.
Who was Vincent? How did he develop his talent? What are we to make of his artistic drive which often propelled him to work at a maniacal pace?
Perhaps we can learn something about the man by examining his letters and paintings. Let’s take a look.
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