Few painters have evoked such passion and enjoyed such popularity as the Dutch painter known as Vincent van Gogh. He earned his fame only after the end of his tragic life, but his paintings have been celebrated for their rough design and vibrant colors.

Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands halfway through the nineteenth century. As a young man, he originally aspired to become a priest and a Christian missionary, but his true passion and calling was art. Like so many artists before and after him, van Gogh came to Paris to develop his skill as a painter, associating himself with other celebrated artists like Paul Gauguin. However, despite all his hard work, the painter's work was rarely well-received and he himself suffered from poverty and terrible moods that ate away at his health. Over the course of his life, he would rely on his brother Theo, an art dealer, for help and consolation. Van Gogh moved to Arles and Saint-Remy, producing some of his most famous works like The Starry Night and The Yellow House. He eventually died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest in 1890. Only later, through the praise of art critics like Roger Fry and Clive Bell, did van Gogh's work become better-known and celebrated.

Van Gogh belonged to a circle of painters that was later dubbed the "Post-Impressionists." Their art was a reaction to the Impressionist school, which used short brush strokes to create the impression of a scene. The Post-Impressionists objected to the lack of structure they saw in such paintings.

Van Gogh worked with watercolor paints and bold, dramatic strokes. Just like Georges Seurat used tiny dots to create a cohesive image, van Gogh illustrated his sketches with strong brush strokes to suggest texture and depth. Because of his friendship with Gauguin, the Dutch painter would try to imitate his style, leading to paintings that grew more realistic. And while most of his subjects consist of still life and outdoor scenes, van Gogh also produced a large number of self-portraits, which reflect his lifelong sense of melancholy despite their lively colors.

To appreciate more of van Gogh's style, consider what's perhaps his most famous painting: The Starry Night. It was conceived from van Gogh's view of the village of Saint-Remy while looking out a sanitarium window in 1889. Rather than present us with a dark sky, van Gogh brings the night to life with swirling clouds, shining stars, and more vivid colors like blues and greens. On the right is a curving cypress tree and beyond it lies a peaceful village, but the real focus is the dramatic sky. And although The Starry Night was created at a time when van Gogh fought with depression, the painting is rich with hope and joy.

You can find some of Vincent van Gogh's paintings at places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Image Credit: rocor on Flickr