Curiosities about Van Gogh

Born in Zundert, Holland, in 1853, Vincent Willem Van Gogh is one of the most famous "cursed" artists in the world and the curiosities about the life of the Dutch painter are many, here are the most interesting ones:

Lighted candles on his hat

Several paintings by the artist testify that Van Gogh loves to paint at night, but considering the period, in order to get light and be able to realize his works, he apparently used to wear a straw hat with lighted candles placed on the entire surface of it. There is a great deal of evidence in this regard, both from the letters the artist sent to his brother where it was told, and from various written testimonies by strangers who saw the painter working with this hat studded with candles.

Cut-off lobe: self-mutilation or revenge?

For many, Van Gogh was a fool, and those who have this belief are certain that the artist's severed left ear lobe was his own work, a form of self-mutilation due to his madness, but according to some scholars, the missing lobe is actually the result of revenge by his roommate Paul Gauguin, during one of the frequent quarrels between the two.

The "Starry Night" was painted from a hospital window

In 1889 the painter was admitted to the hospital of Saint Paul de Mausole and during his stay in the structure he created some works that today are considered among the best. These include "Starry Night", a painting that Van Gogh did not like, "Olive grove" and "Iris".

He was named after his older brother, who was born dead

The name Vincent was actually given by the painter's parents to the artist's older brother, who was unfortunately born dead. When the painter was born, they decided to give the new-born the same name as the deceased son.

About 900 paintings and 1100 drawings made in 10 years

The Dutch artist's work as a painter lasted only 10 years, that is from 27 to 37 years, but despite this is a fairly short period of time, the artist has managed to create more than 900 works (about 2 per week) and before his death he has realized more than 1100 drawings as well.

His image was poorly taken care of

According to a lady who lived 122 years and met the painter in 1988, when he entered the woman's family shop, Vincent Van Gogh appeared poorly dressed, dirty, rude and even sick.

The use of an unstable pigment has transformed some paintings

In several paintings by Van Gogh there is the "yellow chrome", a colour which, according to some scholars, has taken on a brown hue due to the deterioration it has undergone over the years. In practice, since it is an unstable pigment, it seems that although it was very bright when it was laid on canvas, it has gradually darkened, an aspect that can be observed especially in the work "Sunflowers". According to the experts, it seems impossible to remedy this factor and restore the original brilliance, as the paintings could be irreversibly damaged.

Article by: Aurora Caraman