Niezwykłe życie Vincenta van Gogha
The extraordinary life of Vincent van Gogh

Summary/Abstract: In this article the author tries to analyze extraordinary life of famous painter Vincent van Gogh. The article consists of eight parts. The author stars with the general characteristic of Vincent’s childhood, which was the product of a strict Calvinist upbringing, and his first apprenticeship with the international art dealers, Goupil. The second part concentrates on Vincent’s attempts to follow in his father’s footsteps, his preoccupation with religion and study of the Bible, which led him to missionary work as a lay-preacher in the Borinage, a coal-mining district in Belgium. In the third part the author tries to show the beginnings of van Gogh’s art work, but the author notes that Vincent wasn’t really interested in following any traditional art education. In another part of the article the author concentrates on stormy relationship with Clasina Maria Hoornik, better known as Sien, a woman older than Vincent. In the fifth part author notes that Vincent finally understood that to be taken seriously as an artist, he had to come to Paris, where he befriended many of the aspiring artists of the day. The six part concentrates on van Gogh’s staying on the south to Arles, in Provence and his unsuccessful attempt to realize the biggest dream of his life, establish an artists’ colony, a “Studio in the South”, as he called it, where artists could work together in a collegiate culture. In another part of the article the author focuses on tragic consequences of Paul Gauguin’s stays in Arles – Vincent suffered repeated episodes of mental instability and madness. At the end of the article the author concentrates on van Gogh’s stays in Auvers and the mystery of his tragic death.

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