Berwick Art Appreciation - Thursday 16th Jan '25

Loving Vincent - Part II

At the last meeting, we followed Vincent’s chaotic beginning to adult life, from art dealership in The Hague, London and Paris, followed by teaching and preaching in London, to extreme deprivation as an Evangelist preacher in the Borinage coalmines and a brief period of family life with a prostitute in The Hague. It was only in 1883, now a thirty-year-old man, that Vincent commenced what would be an extraordinary artistic career, producing 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings, all made possible by the unique artistic partnership with his younger brother Theo, who provided financial and loving support throughout. We conclude with the arrival of Paul Gauguin to join Vincent in his rented Yellow House, otherwise known as the Atelier du Midi in Arles. On the 23rd October 1888, began a meeting of contrasting temperaments, styles and ambitions, that within 2 months would conclude disastrously for Vincent on the 23rd December, but would ultimately result in some of the most renowned and loved works of Modern Art.