21 Facts about Vincent Van Gogh

Knowing the legend and his legacy

Photo by Marina Montoya on Unsplash

This is not a eulogy, it’s a fact sheet, it’s supposed to be informative, witty, quirky, all the adjectives that make you sound cool, or, maybe that’s just me.

But here we go…

1. Van Gogh is born in 1853 in The Netherlands, to father Theodorus van Gogh, a country minister, and to mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus, an artist who carried the creative gene.

2. Despite van Gogh’s fame today, his professional success was limited to one. He sold only one painting being the Red Vineyards Near Arles, seven months before his death, for a mere 400 francs. Which in my books makes him the most interesting artist in history.

3. Now, this fact sends European chills down my spine. He was named after his paternal grandfather, a name already recycled, and was given to his older brother who died at childbirth. He would have seen his brother’s tombstone with his name on it. Awks!!!