Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, 1853-1890 Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 ?C 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art. Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief spell as a teacher, he became a missionary worker in a very poor mining region. He did not embark upon a career as an artist until 1880. Initially, Van Gogh worked only with sombre colours, until he encountered Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris. He incorporated their brighter colours and style of painting into a uniquely recognizable style, which was fully developed during the time he spent at Arles, France. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide. The central figure in Van Gogh's life was his brother Theo, who continually and selflessly provided financial support. Their lifelong friendship is documented in numerous letters they exchanged from August 1872 onwards. Van Gogh is a pioneer of what came to be known as Expressionism. He had an enormous influence on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists.  Related Paintings of Vincent Van Gogh :. | Portrait of Doctor Gachet (nn04) | Still life wtih Basket of Apples (nn04) | Fishing in the Spring, Pont de Clichy | A Field of Yellow Flowers (nn04) | Le Moulin de la Galette (nn04) |
Related Artists:
Rudolf Wiegmann
painted Rom, Colosseum and the Roman Forum in 1835
Maxime Maufra
was a French landscape and marine painter, etcher and lithographer. Maufra first began painting at 18. He was encouraged to do so by two artists from Nantes: the brothers Leduc. However, he didnet fully embrace his painting career right away. Being a businessman, he only painted on his spare time from 1884 to 1890. During this time, Maufra discovered the work of the Impressionists and was able to display his works at the Paris Salon of 1886. In 1890, Maufra decided to give up commerce and to become a full-time painter. He left Nantes for Brittany, where he was able to meet Paul Gauguin and Paul Serusier. Maufra had his first solo exhibition in Paris in 1894, at Le Barc de Toutteville. Returning from Brittany, Maufra was the first painter to take up residence in The Bateau-Lavoir, a famous Parisian residence for artists. In his paintings, Maufra sometimes quoted the pointillisit technique of Pissarro or Sisley, and also took from the strong colors and powerful drawing of the Pont Aven school. However, Maufra stayed an independent artist his all life through, and dedicated his art to recording the beauty of nature.
Adolphe Yvon
Adolphe Yvon (1817-1893) was a French painter known for his paintings from the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher. Shortly after the end of the Crimean War in September 1855, Yvon was commissioned by the French government to paint a large picture of the capture of the Malakoff at Sevastopol. He sailed for the Crimea on February 19, 1856 where he spent six weeks compiling a portfolio of sketches, as well as visiting the battlefield of Inkerman. In 1857, the finished painting La Prise de la tour de Malakoff 8 septembre 1855 was shown at the Paris Salon, and two years later came La Gorge de Malakoff, and La courtine de Malakoff. La Prise was a massive piece measuring 6 metres by 9 metres and represented the moment when the fortification was captured around midday. In the succeeding years, Emperor Napoleon III began to admire his battle scenes; naturally he glorified the carnage of Napoleon I's campaigns. Yvon became an officer of the Legion d'Honneur in 1867, and painted Napoleon III's portrait the following year (unlocated). Yvon was known as the leading teacher of drawing at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1863-83). A few Americans received instruction from him, including Christian Schussele, Alfred Wordsworth Thompson, William Sartain, and J. Alden Weir. The latter took Yvon's afternoon life-drawing class starting in the fall of 1874. Yvon provided the subject for compositional sketches for his students, for example, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, for which he specified how it should be done: Caesar covers his head with his toga.