Many are fascinated with the life and works of the legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh and it’s not difficult to see why when you look at his brilliant use of colour. He captures nature and landscapes exquisitely which has attracted the curiosity of art enthusiasts for many, many years.
Born in The Netherlands in March 1853, Van Gogh was named after his grandfather and was the eldest of six children. He led a fairly solitary life and didn’t paint his first piece of work until he was 27 years old. To begin with he would paint peasants but because he could not afford to pay the models, he moved on to painting flowers, landscapes and even himself.
Everyone knows that he cut off his own ear. Unfortunately Van Gogh suffered from a type of epilepsy that caused recurring seizures, he was not of sound mind. During one of these seizures he snapped and attacked his friend Paul Gauguin, chasing him with a razor blade. This then resulted in cutting off his own lower, left earlobe. After this event, he was sanctioned. During his time in the asylum he painted his most famous piece, The Starry Night, which led to a successful period of production.
In the space of just 10 years, he produced approximately nine hundred paintings. Once released from the asylum, he was enthusiastic about getting to work, however he never fully recovered from the feeling of loneliness and after living with his brother for a short time, he shot himself. He died two days later with his brother at his side to whom he spoke his final words which were translated to ‘the sadness will last forever’.
Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime and it wasn’t until after his death that he became famous. The last few years of his works became his legacy and he is now considered as one of the greatest Dutch painters of all time. Even today his art has a significant impact on the development of many contemporary artists.
Here are just some of his most famous pieces that have been carefully executed on to the beautiful vases and giftware that we have available:
Originally an oil painting on canvas, Van Gogh painted the view from his window which featured in this artwork many times, at different times of day and under different weather conditions. He settled for this nocturnal version which went on to become his most famous piece. The Starry Night shows a village lit up by the moonlight with a swirly, starry sky.
This bright and sunny artwork is amongst his most famous. Vincent created five large canvases of sunflowers in a vase during his time in the South of France. He used just 3 shades of yellow to paint these flowers. To Van Gogh, sunflowers represented gratitude.
Vincent Van Gogh had a love and passion for blossoming Almond Trees. He loved to look at them and very much enjoyed painting them. After the birth of his nephew, he saw that new life was to be celebrated and began painting the blossoming trees for the baby. For him they represented awakening, the beginning of spring and gave him hope.
We are proud to offer a collection of different gifts and ceramic wear that beautifully display the colourful works of this artist. Not only would they make a special gift for someone, but they would make a great addition to your own personal collection too. Please feel free to browse the entire Van Gogh Collection here.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh/The-productive-decade
https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/03/30/10-facts-you-should-know-about-vincent-van-gogh/
https://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/blossoming-almond-tree.html
