Although almost wholly unknown during his brief lifetime, the painter Vincent Willem van Gogh, b. Mar.30, 1853 is today probably the most widely known and appreciated representative of POSTIMPRESSIONISM.  His work became an important bridge between the 19th and 20th centuries; it was particularly influential  in the evolution of both FAUVISM and German EXPRESSIONISM.

     Van Gogh clearly showed marked artistic talent even as a child, at the age of 16, he went to work for Goupil and Company, and was dismissed 1876.  Other false starts included a job in a Dordrecht bookstore, theological studies at the University of Amsterdam, and service as a lay missionary in a coal-mining district in Belgium, and finally Vincent chose art as a vocation and became dependent on his brother for money.

     Van Gogh's early period includes all his work from 1879 through 1885.  In Nuenen he painted The Potato Eaters.  His first important picture, which underscores his lifelong interest in peasant subjects.

     In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he lived with Theo.  The Paris period (March 1886- February 1888) is extremely important because it enabled Vincent to see and to hear discussed the work of virtually every major at there.  He left Paris and moved to Arles in February 1888.  His mature work and many of his most famous paintings date from the ensuing year.  For example,
blossoming orchards in the spring of 1888. The Night Cafe on the Place Lamartine, Arles of 1888.  Still life with Sunflowers (several versions), and The Bedroom at Arles of 1888.

     Late 1888, Vincent was attacked by dementia, in which he amputated his own earlobe.  Thereafter he was hospitalized intermittently until the spring of 1890, he was voluntarily confined in the Asylum of Saint-Paul in Saint-Remy from May 1889 until May 1890.  He continued to paint, and in June 1889 executed the Starry Night and extraordinary Self-Portrait.

     In the three months following his release from the hospital in May 1890, Vincent produced many notable works including the Portrait of  Dr. Gachet, Field under Thunderclouds, and the famous Crows in the Wheatfields.

     Vincent had finally begun to receive critical praise, but he shot himself on 27th 1890, and died two days later.