Sheaves of Wheat (July 1890)

🖼️ Artwork Title: Sheaves of Wheat (July 1890)

🆔 ID Code: VG09
👉 Derivative Type: High-quality canvas print
💥 Size (width x height): 1220 mm × 600 mm
🎯 Delivered Product: Canvas print (frame not included)

🎨 About the Artist: Vincent Willem van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who became one of the most influential figures in the history of Western art—ironically, only after his death. Over the span of a single decade, he produced approximately 2,100 artworks, including 860 oil paintings, the majority of which were created in the final two years of his life.

His works include landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, distinguished by bold colors, dramatic, impulsive brushwork, and emotive intensity that helped lay the groundwork for modern art. Van Gogh was commercially unsuccessful during his lifetime and took his own life at the age of 37 after years of struggling with mental illness, depression, and poverty.

📍 Early Life and Career

Born into a relatively affluent middle-class family, Van Gogh showed early talent in drawing and was known as a serious, quiet, and introspective child. As a young adult, he worked in the art dealing business and traveled frequently. However, after being transferred to London, he fell into depression. Seeking solace in faith, he briefly served as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium.

After several years of poor health and loneliness, he began painting in 1881 upon returning to live with his parents. His brother Theo van Gogh supported him financially, and the two maintained a close bond through an extensive correspondence.

Van Gogh’s early works, primarily still lifes and depictions of peasant labor, lacked the vivid color that would later define his style. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he encountered pioneering artists such as Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were pushing beyond Impressionism. As his style evolved, he began to experiment with brighter palettes and more expressive forms. His distinctive artistic voice fully emerged during his time in Arles, southern France, in 1888, where he expanded his subjects to include olive trees, wheat fields, and sunflowers—some of his most iconic series.

🧠 Mental Health and Final Years

Van Gogh suffered from frequent episodes of mental illness and hallucinations, and despite his concern for his mental stability, he often neglected his health, ate poorly, and drank excessively. His friendship with Gauguin ended in crisis when Van Gogh, during a severe episode, cut off part of his left ear.

He was treated in various psychiatric institutions, including a significant period at Saint-Rémy. After leaving the hospital, he moved to Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, under the care of Dr. Paul Gachet, a physician who practiced homeopathy.

Despite continued treatment, Van Gogh’s depression deepened, and on July 27, 1890, he shot himself in the chest with a Lefaucheux revolver. He died two days later from his injuries.

🎨 Legacy

During his lifetime, Van Gogh was seen as mad and unsuccessful. It was only after his suicide that his genius was gradually recognized. He came to be viewed as the quintessential “tortured artist,” where madness and creativity coexisted. His reputation rose in the early 20th century, particularly as his style was embraced by the Fauvists and German Expressionists.

Over the decades, Van Gogh achieved immense critical, commercial, and popular success, becoming a tragic icon whose tormented soul embodies the romantic ideal of the misunderstood genius. Today, his paintings rank among the most expensive ever sold, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam—which houses the world’s largest collection of his works—stands as a testament to his enduring impact on art history.