9 Fascinating Facts About Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous artists in history. He's so well known, we can recognize his paintings instantly. Today, his life is often portrayed as a story of success and triumph over adversity—but this was not always the case for Van Gogh. In fact, many people today don't know that he struggled with mental illness throughout most of his life and only sold one painting during his lifetime. Here are some fascinating facts about Vincent van Gogh:

1. Van Gogh was not widely known during his life.

You may not have heard of Van Gogh as a kid, but his work has become increasingly popular over the past century. Before his death in 1890, however, he was virtually unknown by the general public and even disliked by some critics.

Van Gogh was born in 1853 in Zundert, Holland to Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus. His father was a pastor who hoped Vincent would follow him into ministry when he grew up; however, Vincent's artistic tendencies were evident at an early age. After graduating high school at age 16, he decided to pursue art instead of going on to university like his older brother Theo did.

Vincent began training as an artist with local painter Johan Barthold Jongkind—later known for paintings featuring dramatic skies (known as "Jongkind Skies")—and then attended The Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels from 1873 through 1880 under teachers Fernand Quignon and Charles Verlat when he wasn't working on commissions from local churches or painting landscapes around Belgium and France for wealthy patrons who wanted their homes decorated with pieces from famous artists' studios like those at L'Art Nouveau movement or Barbizon School artists Gustave Courbet

2. He dyed his hair yellow before he died.

You might think Vincent van Gogh's bright yellow hair was a fashion statement, but it actually served a larger purpose. In 1886, the Dutch artist wrote to his brother Theo from Arles: "I'm trying to become a blond beast."

He died at 37 years old and was buried in Auvers-sur-Oise, France alongside his paintings. His funeral was attended by Theo van Gogh and Paul Gauguin—two of his closest friends.

3. He had many careers before he became an artist.

You might be surprised to learn that Vincent van Gogh was not always an artist. He was a teacher, a preacher, and even worked as a postman. It wasn’t until he was 26 years old that he considered becoming an artist after being inspired by the work of Paul Gauguin.

He became a lay preacher and minister in various local churches before coming to believe that his calling was to help the poor and sick people in their communities.

In 1876, he decided to become a missionary for these people and traveled to southern France where he lived off of donations from family members who supported his mission until 1880 when they were no longer able to support him financially due to financial difficulties caused by inflation during this period of time

4. Despite popular belief, he did not cut off his ear to impress a woman

Vincent van Gogh did not cut off his ear to impress a woman. This misconception is so widespread that many people still believe it today. In fact, there is no evidence that he had any relationship with this woman at all; she was merely a witness to the incident and was never identified by name in any of Van Gogh's letters or writings. The true cause of Van Gogh's madness was likely schizophrenia, which may have been inherited from his father (who also suffered from mental illness).

The story goes like this: In 1888 when he was 27 years old and an art student in Brussels, Belgium, he got into a fight with another painter named Rene Secrétan over some money that Secrétan owed him for renting studio space from him. Their disagreement escalated into physical violence until finally Secrétan called for help from two other men who held down Van Gogh while he slashed off one earlobe with a pocket knife (he almost completely severed it). Though they were friends after this incident ended peacefully enough without anyone else getting hurt badly enough to need medical attention either physically or emotionally even though both parties were still upset about what happened between them earlier before coming face-to-face again later on too soon maybe?

5. He did not sell any of his paintings in his lifetime.

One of the most surprising facts about Van Gogh is that he never sold a painting in his lifetime, except once to a friend. He died penniless and was buried in an unmarked grave with his brother's family at Auvers-sur-Oise. But after his death, many of his paintings were sold to museums and private collectors -- eventually fetching high prices at auctions (for example, one of his works sold for $82 million).

Van Gogh did not become well known during his lifetime because he had trouble selling any paintings at all. Throughout most of his life as an artist, he struggled financially; he lived most of this time in poverty despite having at least some success selling drawings and prints from time to time. The reason for this is simple: people simply didn't want to buy expensive paintings from someone who wasn't already famous or well established as a painter.

6. He suffered from mental illness throughout his life.

Van Gogh’s mental illness is well-documented, but what exactly was it? According to Dr. Steven G. Jones, a researcher at the University of Exeter and author of The Art of Psychiatry Research: A Guide for Artists and Scientists Working Together in Collaboration, Van Gogh had epilepsy and bipolar disorder. He also suffered from depression, which ran in his family; his brother Theo was committed to an asylum for a period of time after suffering from mental illness as well.

To make matters worse for the artist, he had a turbulent relationship with Theo—who was both his art dealer and caretaker—and ended up being committed against his will at least once during his lifetime (though it's hard to say whether or not this was justified).

7. His family thought about him as a failure for most of his life.

As a young man, Van Gogh's family was not supportive of his career in art. His father wanted him to become a minister, and he was often made fun of by others because of his passion for painting. Even after he became successful, Van Gogh's brother Theo continued to think of him as a failure who never amounted to anything until after his death when he realized how talented and influential Vincent really was.

8. He only painted for the last 10 years of his life.

Vincent van Gogh was not a good student. He failed his exams to become a pastor five times. He also did poorly at drawing and painting, even though he loved art. In fact, in one of his letters he said that he wanted to be an artist but couldn’t do it because he was “useless” at both drawing and painting. At the age of 27, he decided to start working as an art dealer for Goupil & Cie Art Gallery in Paris so that he could support himself and his family. But after just over two years, Vincent left the gallery because they weren't paying him enough money (his salary had been cut by 50%). One year later, Vincent decided it was time for him to pursue his dream of becoming an artist—even if it meant living off charity from family members!

He started painting when he was 27 years old but only lived until 37 years old due to complications from mental illness such as depression or bipolar disorder (or both).

9. Van Gogh's life was very different than he is perceived today

While Van Gogh is now considered an artistic genius, he was not well-known during his lifetime. In fact, he died penniless and often felt misunderstood in his time.

His hair also aroused curiosity after he died. It turned out that he had been dyeing it yellow with ochre since 1884 (or earlier) so it would be more like the color of gold than brown—the color associated with farmers and peasants in those days. This practice may have been a way for him to try to feel more like an artist and less like a farmer; artists were respected members of society at that time while farmers were viewed as commoners who lived simple lives without much education or culture. It's possible that van Gogh believed that having blond hair made him look more respectable than having brown hair did.

Conclusion

Vincent van Gogh’s life was very different than he is perceived today. He did not cut off his ear to impress a woman and was actually successful in many careers before becoming an artist. He suffered from mental illness throughout his life but still managed to create some of the most famous paintings in history. Although he only painted for the last 10 years of his life, Van Gogh’s legacy continues to live on through museums around the world which continue showing off pieces from his collection