Vincent Van Gogh had a dream. He wanted to find a place where he could eat regularly, stay warm, and live a life filled with love. But all of this required money, and he wanted to achieve it through his paintings.
However, Vincent's painting skills, while better than those of the people around him, were not extraordinary. He realized he needed proper training and decided to head to Antwerp, Belgium.
The grote markt, Antwerp Belgium (1885)
At that time, the port city of Antwerp was one of the wealthiest places in Europe. It was a vibrant, dynamic city where the wealthy wanted to be immortalized in portraits, and there were plenty of painters and art academies to meet this demand.
But Vincent had no money and had to stretch the funds sent by his brother Theo. Most of it was spent on art supplies, leaving him without enough for proper meals. As a result, he often went hungry and survived on water. In a letter to Theo, Vincent wrote:
"Since May, I've had only six warm meals."
His teeth were falling out, and his health was rapidly deteriorating.
Yet nothing could dampen Vincent Van Gogh's passion for painting. He studied color expression while viewing Peter Paul Rubens' works in the museum. It was during this time that Vincent, who had previously painted in dark tones, began using cobalt blue, green, and shades of carmine red in his work.
Autumn landscape at dusk (1885)
Vincent knew that his artistic skills were lacking. He felt he needed to improve his sketching techniques and his use of color, so he enrolled in the art academy in Antwerp to learn these methods.
However, the more he learned at the academy, the more bored and uninterested he became. The teaching methods were too rigid and formulaic, focused only on reproducing existing models. Vincent found this stifling.
When a drawing instructor asked the students to sketch a plaster model of Venus, Vincent, in his rebellion, drew a topless woman digging potatoes instead. This led to conflicts with the academy, and eventually, he left. If he didn't like the institution, he reasoned, he had to leave.
The cottage (1885)
Unable to complete his education at the academy, Vincent decided to move to Paris, where his brother Theo was living.
At that time, Theo was busy working in Paris while also supporting Vincent. He was just starting to improve his own situation and was preparing to move to a better place.
But then he received news that his brother Vincent was coming. My goodness. Theo urged Vincent to stay a little longer in Antwerp and continue his studies, but Vincent was determined to leave.
Lane with poplars near Nuenen (1885)
He couldn't stand another moment at the academy.
So, after arriving in Paris, Vincent wrote to Theo:
"I'm in Paris. I'll be waiting at the Louvre. When you get this, come meet me. Please don't scold me for coming early. This is the right thing to do, and everything will work out. I'll be waiting for you..."
Quayside with ships in Antwerp (1885)
Supporting his brother Vincent was already draining Theo's finances, and now Vincent was coming to live with him. Theo was filled with anxiety. How would they manage together?
Skull with burning cigarette (1885)
