Loving Vincent, Story Of A Suicide (Vincent Van Gogh)

Its popularity is the reason why the movie Loving Vincent received so much success. Loving Vincent  (2007) is an animated feature film that deals with the painter’s mysterious life and death. Directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, each shot in the film is an individual oil painter. More than 125 worked tirelessly for years to make this grandiose work possible.

The film is primarily based on research conducted by art historians into the life of the painter. Thus, we can ask ourselves the following question. Who was Vincent Van Gogh?

Vincent, an unconventional painter

Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853, in a Protestant family. Some might say that by the time of his birth, Van Gogh was already associated with a bad omen. Vincent received the same name as that of his older brother: a dead child born exactly one year before. During her childhood, Van Gogh would have been a reserved and taciturn child, the eldest of six brothers.

After dropping out of school, Vincent started working in an art sales company. While he was an apprentice at Goupil & Co, one of the most important international traders of the time, he developed his love for painting.

Commercial then artist

Although he may have had great contact with art, commercial work was not for Van Gogh. In a few years, his lack of interest in the work was the reason for his dismissal. After his failure as a salesman, Van Gogh decided to dedicate his life to religion. 

While traveling between the Netherlands and Belgium preaching the gospel, Van Gogh developed his artistic vision. During this period he began to paint. In these first creations, we can already observe themes which will then become recurrent. In his artistic concerns, we find life in poverty, the countryside, autumn and winter nature. Above all, Van Gogh dedicated his painting to the working class: the life of a worker. These themes recall his training as a Protestant.

Van Gogh was an incredibly prolific painter: during his career he painted around 900 paintings. In addition, no less than 1,600 drawings have been attributed to him. Van Gogh belongs to the artistic movement called Post-Impressionism. In this movement, it is very important to capture movement and light. In Van Gogh’s paintings, he achieves loose lines filled with color.

Letters to Theo

Much of the information we have about Van Gogh has been noted in his correspondence. Vincent has always been an inveterate writer. Theo, Vincent’s little brother is the one who received most of the letters. We found more than 600 letters from Vincent to Theo who kept them in perfect condition.

Four years younger than Vincent, Theo was an unconditional support throughout his life. Since their childhood, Theo and Vincent have developed a close relationship of friendship. Theo deeply admired his older brother.

For this reason, when he was 15, he started working in the same company as an art dealer. Unlike Vincent, the young Théo remained in the company for his entire life. This work gave him the economic stability he needed to fund Vincent’s artistic ideas.

Very young, Theo began to send funds to Vincent who has never been able to enjoy economic ease. From his letters, we could observe the fact that Vincent constantly made requests to Theo. Théo was a friend and a patron and his relationship with Vincent was as professional as it was personal. Their friendship ran deeper and they both shared unconditional love.

Goodbye, Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh died in very suspicious and unusual circumstances. After taking a walk around the village, the painter returned home with a bullet in the abdomen. Although he survived for several days, Van Gogh died from blood loss and possible infection. Théo travels and has the opportunity to see his brother just before his death.

Although Vincent’s suicide theory has not been followed for years, recent research has suggested otherwise. Due to the angle of entry of the bullet, it is highly unlikely that Van Gogh shot himself. At the same time, two men were traveling in the village. The Secretan brothers were revolutionaries and they loved shooting animals in the countryside. It is very likely that a bullet could have hit the painter who did not want to denounce the young people.

After the painter’s death, the young Théo fell into a deep depression. It seems that the lives of these two brothers have been linked. Although he has a baby boy and a wife, Theo cannot overcome the grief. A year after the death of his brother, Théo Van Gogh also died.

Théo’s wife therefore dedicated herself to collecting letters from years after. She also knows the office of the art dealer. In this way, she was able to find and group together all the paintings and drawings made by Vincent.

Our thoughts

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