Van Gogh was born in Holland in 1853. He enjoyed drawing as a child. His first connection with paintings came in 1869. He worked for an art dealer (&28-4) in London and Paris for four years before he became a teacher in England. He moved back to France in 1877 and soon began to paint. He didn't stay long in Paris. The colors of the countryside attracted him and, in 1888, he moved to Ales, a small town in the south of France. There he painted his most famous paintings.
He enjoyed painting people, farms, flowers and other natural things. Some of his most famous paintings are the Potato Eaters, the Starry Night and several different sunflower paintings. The Starry Night is now kept in the Museum of Modem Art in New York. There is a quiet village and a tall black tree under an angry sky. Some people say that it shows a war in Van Gogh's mind between peace and anger. It was finished on June 19th, 1889. Scientists say that it is a true picture on that day.
He was poor most of his life. He made hundreds of paintings, but only sold one of them while he lived. He was a lonely, unhappy man and died at an early age of 37.
Today, people love Van Gogh's use of colour and the emotional power of his works. Van
Gogh's paintings are world famous and worth millions of dollars. Museums around the world proud show paintings by the great artist.
