Collection: Art prints by Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch painter and is one of the most influential artists of modernism. He came from a Protestant pastor's family and did not initially pursue an artistic career. In his younger years, van Gogh worked as an art dealer, teacher and lay preacher, among other things. It was only relatively late, at around the age of 27, that he made a conscious decision to pursue art and began to devote himself intensively to drawing and painting.

His early works were mainly created in the Netherlands and are characterized by dark, earthy tones. During this phase, Van Gogh focused on the lives of ordinary people, particularly farmers and workers. The best-known example of this period is The Potato Eaters, a painting that shows his social empathy and his striving for an honest, uncluttered depiction of human existence. Drawing and form were more important than color at the time.

Van Gogh's move to Paris in 1886, where he lived with his brother Theo, marked a decisive turning point. There he came into contact with Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism and became acquainted with artists such as Monet, Pissarro, Seurat and Gauguin. His color palette brightened considerably and he began to experiment with bold colors and short, animated brushstrokes. His interest in Japanese woodblock prints also influenced his compositions and compositional details.

In 1888, van Gogh moved to Arles in the south of France, where he created some of his most famous works. The southern landscape, the intense light and the vibrant colors inspired him to create a large number of paintings, including sunflowers, orchards, cafés and depictions of bedrooms. During this time, he dreamed of a community of artists and lived together with Paul Gauguin for a time, but their life together ended in serious conflict and a mental crisis.

Van Gogh's mental health increasingly deteriorated in the following years. Stays in psychiatric institutions, including in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, interrupted his work, but at the same time led to a new intensity in his artistic expression. His painting style became more expressive, the colors more symbolic, and the brushstrokes gained an almost rhythmic dynamic. Landscapes, cypresses and night skies became carriers of inner states and emotional tensions.

In 1890, van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, where he was under the care of Dr. Gachet. In the last months of his life, he produced an impressively extensive late work of great emotional density. Despite increasing recognition in artistic circles, he was denied commercial success during his lifetime and Vincent van Gogh died at the age of just 37.

Today, van Gogh is regarded as one of the central figures in art history. His radical expressiveness, subjective use of color and the emotional intensity of his paintings had a decisive influence on Expressionism and modern painting. His works are among the best-known and most valuable paintings in the world and continue to have an unbroken impact on viewers to this day.