Vincent Van Gogh was a man in hurry， an artist of tremendous energy and prodigious① output. He killed himself when he was only 37， but he left behind him more than 2，000 paintings and drawings， which established his reputation in a way he would never have considered possible.
Van Gogh was born on March 30， 1835 at Groot Zundert in the Dutch province of Noord Brabant. He was the son of a clergyman. His first artistic impressions were formed as a boy， from his uncle who was an art dealer. The motivation bore early fruit and from the age of 12 the young Vincent was drawing. The interest led to an apprenticeship② in an art dealer’s firm， Groupil’s， in the Hague. When he was only 20， he was transferred to the firm’s London office.
In London Van Gogh faced his first major crisis， when he was rejected in love. After that， he turned to religion， expressed disapproval with art dealing and neglected his work， Groupil transferred him from London to Paris but， when his work was still unsatisfactory， dismissed him in 1876.
The young Van Gogh made religion a consuming interest and during the next few years traveled in Britain， Belgium and Holland， trying to establish himself as a preacher， but without success. He developed strong opinions on social morality， customs and church life and alienated③ those he mixed with by an uncompromising④ attitude.
In 1880， at the age of 27， he found himself drawn back to art. He had a job as an assistant evangelist in the mining village of Borinage in Belgium but realized an artistic drive， which was to motivate him unceasingly until his death 10 years later.
Although he returned to Noord Brabant and his family early in 1881， his first recognized works were set in Borinage and reflected the rural culture in which he was living and his belief in order and symmetry in both society and art. The period resulted in what became known as the Brabant canvases.
At this time he was becoming increasingly obses-sed with artistic development. Although he was limited in practical experience， his work showed confidence and maturity from the start， no doubt influenced by the strength of his personal convictions. It was not an easy time， however， emotionally. There were tensions within the family， now that he was living back with his parents in Brabant. He was short of money and rebelling against social and academic standards.
Late in 1881 he moved to the Hague and established a relationship with a woman， Christine Hoornik， with whom he lived for a time. He broke with her in 1883， however， and never again established a significant intimate relationship with a woman.
Between 1883 and 1886， at Noord Brahant again， his painting developed into characteristic dark landscapes and scenes of country life. He stressed character and expression rather than perspective and physical accuracy； he was already experimenting with impressionism.
In 1886 Van Gogh left Holland forever and traveled via Antwerp to Paris， and to major changes in artistic style. Van Gogh’s work became more youthful in Paris. He lived with his brother， Theo， who managed the modern department of an art dealer’s. A new， more animated⑤， painting style emerged and the impressionist tendencies of earlier work weakened somewhat.
Van Gogh developed a taste for personalized brushwork and brilliant， unmixed colors. Among his most prominent experiments with color were a series of some 30-flower paintings， a fascination that stayed with him until his death.
① prodigiousadj. 巨大的，庞大的
② apprenticeshipn. 学徒身份，学徒资格
③ alienatev. 使疏远，离间
④ uncompromisingadj. 不妥协的，不让步的，坚定的
⑤ animatedadj. 活生生的，栩栩如生的
文森特·凡高
文森特·凡高是一个总在奔忙的人，是一位精力旺盛而又多产的艺术家。在年仅37岁之时，他自杀而亡，但是，他却留下了2，000多幅绘画作品，这使他名声鹊起，如果他仍旧在世的话，也不会想到会有今天。
凡高1853年3月30日，在荷兰北布拉班特省的格鲁特·宗德尔特出生。他是位牧师的儿子。他对艺术的最初印象是形成于孩提时代，这是受到了做画画生意的叔叔的影响。这种动力在很早之时，就在其心中开花结果了，自12岁起，文森特就开始作画了。这一兴趣使他在海牙的古比尔画店开始了学徒生涯。20岁之时，他被调到画店的伦敦分店。
在伦敦，凡高在爱情之路上遭遇了拒绝，他面临了人生中第一个巨大的危机。从那以后，他转向皈依宗教，对绘画交易表现出了不满，而且还对工作玩忽职守，因此，古比尔将其从伦敦调到了巴黎，但是，看到他的工作仍旧不尽如人意后，就在1876年解雇了他。
年轻的凡高痴迷于宗教，在以后的几年中，他遍游了英国、比利时和荷兰，试图使自己成为一名传教士，但是却失败了。对于社会道德、习俗及宗教生活，他产生了强烈的想法，而且坚定地疏远了那些与之交往的人。
1880年，即27岁时，他发现自己的兴趣又转向了绘画。他有一份工作，是在比利时的波里纳日的采煤村做一名福音传道者助手，但是他意识到在自己的胸中，激荡着一股艺术的冲动，这种冲动持续不断地激励着他，直至10年以后他离开人世。
1881年初，虽然他回到了北布拉萨市班省家人的身边，但是，他最初被认可的作品却是以波里纳日为背景的，其中反映了他长期生活于其中的乡村文化，以及对社会与艺术秩序和对称的理念。这段时期产生了以后所谓的布拉班特的绘画作品。
这个时候，他对艺术的发展日渐痴迷。虽然他受到实际经验的限制，但是他的作品自起初之时，就显示出了一种信心与成熟，毫无疑问，这些是受到了他个人信仰力量的影响。但是，在情感方面，这是一段极其难熬的时期。因为他回到布拉班特后与父母住在一起，家庭关系有些紧张。他手头拮据，但却又反对当时的社会和学术准则。
1881年末，他搬到了海牙，与一名叫克里斯廷·胡尔尼克的女人在一起。但是，在1883年，他们的关系破裂了，自此之后，他再没有与其他女人有过明显的亲密关系。
在1883年至1886年期间，仍然是在北布拉班特省，他的画风发展成独特而晦涩的风景画和乡村生活画。他将性格与表现作为重点，而不是透视与精确。这时他已经在开始尝试印象派风格了。
1886年，凡高永远地离开了荷兰，他取道安特卫普到了巴黎，同时，在艺术风格上也发生了巨大变化。凡高的作品在巴黎变得更加充满活力。他与其弟弟西奥——一位管理着一家现代画店的艺术商——住在一起。一种新的、更加充满活力的画风出现了，而且早期作品中那种印象派的倾向在某种程度上，有所削弱了。
凡高发展了个性化的笔法以及鲜明、不含杂质颜色的品位。他对色彩最著名的实验，就是那一系列大约有30幅花卉的绘画作品，对这种创作的痴迷一直陪伴他左右，直至其生命的最后一刻。