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 The early years of Vincent van Gogh
1881 Etten
Vincent van Gogh lived a troublesome life trying several occupations. In 1881 he returns
to his parents house in the village of Etten at the age of 28. It is there where he
seriously started his career as an artist.
Painting isn't in the picture yet, he focuses on drawing and wants to
become a draftsman so he might find work as an illustrator somewhere.
The subjects he draws are mainly people at labour and landscapes.
His fascination for 'human nests', housing the very poorest, already shows from this early period.
At Christmas 1881 the growing tensions of living with his parents come to a climax.
His father ejects him from the house.
December 1881 The Hague
Vincent moves to The Hague, rents a small house, and concentrates almost entirely on drawing.
Only now and then he makes a painted study or aquarel.
His deeply felt compassion forces him to take care of a poor pregnant prostitute Sien and her young child. Being without a job, he relies
fully on financial gifts from his brother Theo, who lives in Paris as an art dealer.
1882 The Hague
It's here in The Hague where during a period of six weeks around August Vincent paints
his first series of oil paintings, eleven of them have survived.
He himself calls them studies and not paintings. He sees his studies for analysing a certain part
of nature whereas a painting reflects a personal view of the painter.
Lack of money forces him to stop painting and returning to drawing.
His drawings concentrate on figure studies, using Sien and her child as model. He also travels
into the open to draw farmers at work and landscapes.
Summer 1883 The Hague
During the summer of 1883 Vincent again finds some financial room to make a second series of oil paintings,
fourteen paintings have survived. At this time his plans of leaving The Hague and move to the isolated province
of Drenthe are growing. In August he decides to leave Sien and her child and go for Drenthe alone.
On Tuesday September 11th 1883, Vincent travels to Drenthe by train.
September - December 1883 Drenthe
Vincent arrives in the small village named Hoogeveen where he will stay for a few weeks.
Early October Vincent travels to the most isolated part of Drenthe by small boat. He arrives
in the village Nieuw-Amsterdam / Veenoord.
There the isolation, the unfriendly people, the lack of money and painting materials forces
him to give up and return to his parents. December 4th he walks back to Hoogeveen to pick up his stuff
and travels to Nuenen where his parents lived by then.
In Drenthe he painted several studies, the third series,
see Drenthe paintings.
December 1883 Nuenen - France
From December 1883 Vincent stays with his parents in Nuenen. During this period he paints a lot
and the famous painting "The potato eaters" is from this period.
From Nuenen he leaves in 1885 for Belgium and finally France. He was never to see his home country again.
The above described period in the Netherlands is often referred to as his 'early period'.
Cottage with sticks & Vincent van Gogh - by Carl & Ans 2003-2005.
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Click the images for larger ones.
Barn with moss-grown roof
Drawing
Etten, 1881
F842, JH5
Girl in white in the woods
Oil on canvas
The Hague, August 1882
F8, JH182
Edge of a wood
Oil on canvas on panel
The Hague, August 1882
F192, JH184
Cottages
Oil on canvas
Drenthe, Sep - Nov 1883
F17, JH395
Farm with stacks of peat
Oil on canvas
Drenthe, Nov 1883
F22, JH421
paintings overview
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