a self portrait of Vincent Van Gogh Photo sourced from Wikimedia

How Did Van Gogh Die: 10 Things you didn’t know about His Death


 

Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch artist who emerged as one of the most famous figures in the history of Western art after his death. He is one of the artists who drew more than 2000 paintings with most of his 1,100 drawings and works on paper and nearly 900 oil paintings produced during the last two years of his life. Van Gogh’s unique style of drawing landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits are characterized by vibrant contrasts of complementary colors and expressive brushwork, and his abstract, linear planes were inspired by the Japanese prints Van Gogh collected and admired.

Van Gogh did not achieve commercial success in his lifetime and relied on financial support from his brother, Theo van Gogh. His life was shaped by severe depression and episodes of acute psychological distress. Van Gogh committed suicide at the age of 37.His death came as a surprise to many during that time and has attracted a lot of different opinions in recent years. Let’s take a look at some of top thing you might not known about his death; 

1.There were no witnesses when he is believed to have shot himself

a self portrait of Vincent Van Gogh Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Van Gogh is thought to have shot himself probably in the barn or at local field where he was doing some painting in attempt to commit suicide. The bullet was deflected by a rib and passed through his chest without doing apparent damage to internal organs – probably stopped by his spine.

He was able to walk back to the Auberge Ravoux, where he was attended to by two doctors, but without a surgeon present the bullet could not be removed. The doctors tended to him as well as they could, then left him alone in his room, smoking his pip. He could later die from this, however the worst side of this story is that there were no witnesses when he is thought to have shot himself. 

2.Van Gogh had also attempted suicide before that fateful day

Van Gogh had also attempted suicide before the shooting when in April 1889, four months after mutilating his ear, he had written a letter to his brother Theo that: “If I was without your friendship I would be sent back without remorse to suicide, and however cowardly I am, I would end up going there.”

A few months later he also tried to poison himself by eating his paints and turpentine, but fortunately his doctor saved his life before he could lose it. A few days later after he recovered he reported saying “I’m trying to get better now like someone who, having wanted to commit suicide, finding the water too cold, tries to catch hold of the bank again”. He was undoubtedly a vulnerable individual.

3.During his funeral his body was set out in the painter’s room 

Vincent Van Gogh’s burial ground together with his brother Theo Photo sourced from Wikimedia

During his funeral which occured in the afternoon of 30 July 1890. Van Gogh’s body was set out in the painter’s room where it was surrounded by the “halo” of his last canvases and masses of yellow flowers including dahlias, and sunflowers. His easel, folding stool and brushes stood before the coffin. Among those who arrived in the room were artists Lucien Pissarro and Auguste Lauzet.

The coffin was carried to the hearse at three o’clock. The company climbed the hill outside Auvers in hot sunshine, his brother Theo and several other family friends sobbing pitifully and uncontrollably. The little cemetery with new tombstones was on a little hill above fields that were ripe for harvest. Dr Gachet, trying to suppress his tears, stammered out a few words of praise, expressing his admiration for Van Gogh, who had only two aims in life, art and humanity. 

4.Van Gogh himself wanted to die

Vincent Van Gogh Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Van Gogh himself had wanted to die during his last days, he even told those who were in his death bed that it was him who wanted to die after he came back home with a gunshot wound. After he was fatally wounded, van Gogh welcomed death and believed the boys had done him a favour.

Hence his widely quoted deathbed remark: “Do not accuse anyone… it is I who wanted to kill myself.”What transpired in the fields is still a mystery but Van Gogh himself felt that there was no need to look for anyone concerning his death after he came back to his hotel room with the wound. 

5.Van Gogh took his own life because he felt that he could not go on

Vincent van Gogh took his own life in July 1890 because he felt he couldn’t go on. The pressure and the immense demands he made of himself, his obsessive labour, his mental illness and, not least, his changing relationship with his brother had all become too much for him to bear. 

In a letter that Vincent wrote to his brother  Theo he said “I feel – a failure. I feel that that’s the fate I’m accepting, and which won’t change any more.”This was the his last message to his brother who was away in Paris at that time before Van Gogh shot himself. He could go on to die two days later with his brother by his death bedside. 

6.There is another alternative theory about his death

There is another alternative theory to Van Gogh’s death which states that Van Gogh must have been accidentally shot by a teenage boy who was known to have mocked Van Gogh, but the lonely painter said his wound was self-inflicted because he felt the teen (who was possibly accompanied by a sibling) was helping him out by pulling the trigger. 

Thereby putting an end to van Gogh’s unhappiness and ensuring he was no longer a financial burden to his brother Theo.The authors claimed their theory was supported by a variety of evidence, including the fact that the gun, along with the painting supplies van Gogh supposedly took with him to the wheat field, were never found.

7.The gun and painting supplies that he supposedly had were never found

What was even more surprising about his death was that though it was thought to be a suicide case and the story that he was painting in the fields when he shot himself is that the gun, along with the painting supplies van Gogh supposedly took with him to the wheat field, were never found.

This confuses the suicide story even more because he might not have been shot or shot himself in the ban because the distance between the field and his hotel was so far for someone with a gunshot wound to have reached, which makes the story of murder nearby a possibility. 

8.He left behind more than 800 letters which are the best source of information about his life 

Van Gogh wrote over 800 letters during his lifetime to his brother and close friend, Theo, his artist friends Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard, and many others. Many of the letters are undated, but historians have been able to place most of the letters in chronological order. These letters are the most comprehensive source of information available on the life of van Gogh and they provide a window into van Gogh’s world.

There were over 600 letters exchanged between van Gogh and his brother Theo. These letters tell the story of their lifelong friendship and van Gogh’s artistic views and theories. Theo kept all of van Gogh’s letters to him and van Gogh kept few of the letters he received. After both of them passed away, Theo’s widow Johanna van Gogh collated and edited letters. A majority of the letters were published in 1914.

9.Van Gogh’s last words were “La tristesse durera toujours”, meaning: “the sadness will last forever”

After he came to his hotel room with a gunshot wound the family who owned the hotel/inn where van Gogh was staying who  were concerned called his brother and he was attended to by two doctors, but without a surgeon present the bullet could not be removed. 

The following morning, Theo rushed to his brother’s side, finding him in good spirits. But within hours Vincent’s health began to fail, suffering from an untreated infection resulting from the wound. According to his brother Theo, his last words were “La tristesse durera toujours”, meaning: “the sadness will last forever”.

10.Vincent Van Gogh died a few moments after speaking his last words

a sculpture of Vincent Van Gogh Photo sourced from Wikimedia

The artist who came to be famous for his work after his demise finally died A few moments after he said those last words to his brother, he felt suffocated and within one minute he closed his eyes. A great rest came over him from which he did not come to life again.

Though his worlds continue dominating the art world he never really experienced the success of his works. His brother,Theo recorded the events of the death in a letter to their sister Elizabeth. He is one of the most renowned artists and has been recognized as one of the role model