Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh has become one of the most famous painters who ever lived, which is a strange fate for a man who sold almost nothing while he was alive. Born in the Netherlands in 1853, he came to art late and worked for only about a decade, yet in that short time he made roughly two thousand pieces, including some of the best known images in Western art. His thick, swirling brushstrokes and burning colors were his way of putting raw feeling straight onto the canvas.

Much of his story is bound up with struggle. He battled poverty, mental illness, and loneliness, and he leaned heavily on his brother Theo, who supported him and saved his letters, which now give us an unusually close look at his mind. He died in 1890 at just thirty seven, believed to be from a self inflicted gunshot, long before the world caught up with what he had done. His sunflowers, wheat fields, and star filled skies are now loved by millions.