星空下的梵高

Vincent Van Gogh （1853—1890） was a wellknown Dutch Post-Impressionist（后印象派）painter who is among the most famous and influential1 artists in the world. In just over a decade2 he created about 2，100 artworks， including around 860 oil paintings（油畫）， most of them in the last two years of his life. They include landscapes3， still lifes， portraits4 and self-portraits. Van Goghs works are now among the worlds most expensive paintings.

文森特·梵高（1853—1890），荷兰著名后印象派画家。作为世界上最有影响力的艺术家，在短短10余年时间里，他创作了2100多幅作品，包括860多幅油画。其中大部分是在他生命的最后两年创作的。作品包括风景画、静物画、肖像画和自画像。梵高的作品是世界上最昂贵的画作之一。

Early Life

Van Gogh was born in an upper middle class family. As a young man he worked as an art dealer5， often traveling. But he became depressed6 after he relocated（迁移） to London. In order to find peace， he turned to religion7 and spent time as a missionary（传教士）in southern Belgium where he started to sketch8 people from the local community， and in 1885， he painted his first major work The Potato Eaters.

France

The experience in France was especially important for Van Gogh. In March 1886， he moved to Paris. He met many artists and he was able to learn a lot from them. Later， he chose to live in Arles， a city in south France and was influenced by the strong sunlight there. His paintings grew brighter in color， and he developed the unique and highly recognizable style.

Van Gogh invited his friend Paul Gauguin， also known as the famous painter， to work with him in Arles. Van Gogh admired9 Gauguin and wanted to be treated equally， but Gauguin was arrogant10 and bossy11. Their relationship soured. They quarreled a lot about art during that period. Gauguin left Arles after serious fights， and they never saw each other for the rest of their lives.

Mental Illness

This incident12 was the first serious sign of the mental health problems that were to influence Van Gogh for the remaining days of his life. He fought hard between depression and artistic activity. On May 9， 1889， he asked to be admitted13 to a hospital for the mentally ill. During the year Van Gogh spent at the hospital he worked as much as he had in Arles， producing 150 paintings and hundreds of drawings. His work reflected14 the intense15 colors and strong light of the countryside around him.

His Brother Theo

The most comprehensive16 source for understanding Van Gogh is the collection of letters between him and his younger brother， and， art dealer Theo Van Gogh. Theo provided17 his brother with financial and emotional support. The brothers lifelong friendship， and most of what is known of Vincents thoughts and theories of art， are recorded in the hundreds of letters exchanged between 1872 and 1890. There are more than 600 from Vincent to Theo， and 40 from Theo to Vincent.

Genius Fall

Van Gogh went to Paris on May 17， 1890， to visit his brother， Theo. At first， Van Gogh enjoyed the life there， but toward the end of June he started to lose his temper18. On July 27， he shot himself in a lonely field and died two days later. At the age of 37， following years of mental illness and poverty19， Van Gogh finally found his peace.

As we all know， Van Gogh was not commercially20 successful during his lifetime. He remained poor and unknown and was considered a madman and a failure. After his death， his reputation began to grow and his paintings started to gain value. Van Gogh is now viewed as one of the most influential artists in the development of modern art. The Starry Night he once drew with his passion and love is now the enlightened star toward the mysterious world of art for endless artists.

早期生活

梵高出生在一個中产阶级家庭。年轻时，他做过画行经纪人，经常出差。被调到伦敦工作后，新环境让他变得抑郁。为了找寻内心的平和，他投身宗教信仰，并在比利时南部的小镇做了一名传教士。也就是从那时起，他开始以本地居民为原型，创作平凡人的故事。1885年，他绘制了第一部重要作品《吃马铃薯的人》 。

法国经历

在法国的经历对梵高来说，弥足珍贵。1886年3月，梵高搬到巴黎，在那认识了很多艺术家，从他们身上学到不少东西。 后来，他选择在法国南部的阿尔勒定居。这个阳光明媚的城市给梵高带来很多新鲜的灵感。他的作品色调越来越明亮，并衍生出被广泛认可的独特画风。

梵高邀请他的朋友保罗·高更到阿尔勒和他一起创作。和梵高一样，高更也是一位知名画家。梵高一直崇拜高更，渴望能够在高更这里受到平等的尊重，但高更向来高傲、自负。合作期间，他们在创作理念上存在分歧，经常吵架，关系恶化。在无数次争吵之后，高更离开了阿尔勒。两位从此再也没见过面。

精神疾病

这段不愉快的经历是梵高患上严重精神疾病的导火索。疾病困扰着梵高，使他每日都在抑郁和创作之间痛苦周旋。1889年5月9日，梵高因精神病入院。即便是在医院，梵高的创作灵感也不输于他在阿尔勒的时期。他创作了150幅油画和数百幅素描作品。他的作品折射出乡村风光明亮的颜色和强烈的光线。

弟弟提奥

世人对梵高的了解大多来源于他和弟弟提奥·梵高之间的书信。提奥是一名画行经纪人，一直是梵高的经济和精神支柱。梵高兄弟之间一生的友情，以及梵高对艺术的想法和理解，都被收录在1872年至1890年期间的数百封书信中。其中600多封是梵高写给提奥的，40封是提奥写给梵高的。

天才陨落

1890年5月17日，梵高去巴黎拜访他的弟弟提奥。起初，梵高很喜欢那里的生活，但进入6月下旬，他的情绪越来越不稳定。7月27日，他在一片孤寂的田野开枪自杀，两天后离世。年仅37岁的梵高，在被疾病和贫穷困扰数年后，终于找到了内心的平和。

众所周知，梵高这一生在商业上并未取得什么成就。他一生清贫，默默无闻，还被外界视为疯子和失败者。在他死后，他的名气才逐渐扩大，作品的艺术价值开始被世人认可。如今，梵高被认为是现代艺术发展中最有影响力的艺术家之一。那幅他曾用热情与爱勾勒的油画《星空夜》，也为无数怀揣梦想的艺术家点亮了通往神秘艺术国度的启明星。