  |
|
|
|
Vincent van Gogh, the PreacherDutch Evangelist Prior to Becoming a Famous Painter
An insight to Vincent van Gogh's life as a preacher before he became an artist.
Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh seemed to have failed in everything he tried, and yet, to this day, his paintings are one of the most popular and most expensive works of art. He is famous for "The Starry Night," "Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers" and "The Potato Eaters." This article highlights his life and times primarily as a preacher in Borinage before he became an artist. Early LifeVincent van Gogh, (1853-1890), Dutch Post-Impressionist painter, was born in Groot-Zundert, Brabant, the son of a Dutch Calvinist minister. He grew into a homely blue-eyed, red-haired man who loved people yet repelled them with his inner intensity. At the age of nine, Van Gogh already showed a talent for drawing, but it was in 1880, after a series of emotional and religious crises, that he became aware of his vocation as an artist. It occurred after his return from the coal-mining district of Borinage in Belgium where he became a preacher. Art Dealers' AssistantAt 16, Van Gogh became an assistant with an international company of art dealers in their shops in The Hague, London and Paris. An unrequited love affair with an English schoolmistress accentuated his inferiority complex and religious passion. He then became an assistant master at Ramsgate and Isleworth. In his own time, Van Gogh set himself to perfect his drawing, studying the wood-engravings and lithographs in the copies of the Graphic and the Illustrated London News that he had brought back from his stay in London in 1873-1875. He also worked with watercolour, and later with oil-painting. The Practicing PreacherAt the age of 22, in 1875, he had the burning desire to carry the message of God. He trained to become a Methodist preacher but was unsuccessful. Despite it, three years later, aged 25, he served as a preacher for a religious society at the Belgian coal-mining of Borinage for about two years, in daily contact with material and moral wretchedness. At first, he was a resident, and later, he became an itinerant preacher who practiced Christian virtues with great steadfastness and dedication. Van Gogh is famous for his paintings but not for his sermons in this tumble-down place of Borinage where there was so much poverty and suffering going on. As a young preacher in this coal miners' town, he attempted to bring the people consolation and comfort through religion. He tended the sick, visited homes, and conducted Sunday services. His sermons were as intense and passionate. He used biblical text and compared people's presence on earth as a pilgrimage. He preached to the weary miners that everyone on earth is a stranger passing by, on the way "home" to a better place. Van Gogh slept on the floor of a derelict hut with the miners, gave away his possessions, and suffered with them. Sadly, they turned away from him and dismissed him. Brokenhearted, Van Gogh struggled to make his way, but he was always rejected and forsaken. He felt lost. Turning Point as a PainterAt the age of 27, Vincent Van Gogh focused on painting. In April 1881, he set off for Brussels to study art. Van Gogh's intense need for communication with his fellow human beings would have fallen on deaf ears had it not been for the moral and financial support of his younger brother, Theo, who anchored him throughout his life. Sources:Larousse Dictionary of Painters, Hamlyn Publishing Group, London, 1989 Life as We Would Want It…Life as We Are Given It by Ken Gire, Tennessee, 2006 Masters of Art, Samm Sinclair Baker and Natalie Baker, Galahad Books, New York, 1987
The copyright of the article Vincent van Gogh, the Preacher in Protestantism is owned by Tel Asiado. Permission to republish Vincent van Gogh, the Preacher in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
