Vincent Van Gogh Art Prints

Vincent van Gogh said, 'If I work hard, don't I deserve bread?' The world obviously thought not, and played the cruel trick of waiting until he was dead before inundating him with dough. Vincent's whole life was a high-pressure endurance course for the self-esteem, punctuated by an ever more painful series of 'Pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and start again' exercises.

He was born near Brabant in Holland, the eldest of a brood of eight (or youngest of a brood of none). When he was 16, uncle fixed him up with a job at art dealers Goupil and Co. His employers decided he didn't have what it takes to move the merchandise and gave him the brush off. He then decided to emulate a lion-taming lamb and went into teaching but failed to achieve his attainment target (i.e. keep the kids in the classroom?).

Next he returned to Holland to be a minister but that didn't work so he began his artistic career, supported by art-dealer brother Theo.Theo attempted to flog Vince's pics but the perceptive art-buying public wouldn't touch them, variously describing them as 'disgusting' and 'monstrosities'.

After meeting Gauguin, Vincent attempted to set up an ideal little artistic community but fell out with his new pal and cut off a chunk of his own ear. All these little traumas took their toll and in 1889 he became a voluntary patient at a hospital for damaged minds. After his discharge he went into artistic overdrive (as if he knew he hadn't long) then shot himself in the wedding tackle and died. In between all these crises he managed to paint 800 pictures, but only ever sold one (...or was it none?)