Fun Facts About Vincent Van Gogh

Facts about Vincent van Gogh fascinate art fans now, but perhaps one of the most important things to know about this talent is that the public didn't find him particularly interesting during his actual lifetime. Vincent van Gogh was one of the great Dutch Post-Impressionist artists of the 19th century; it was only after van Gogh died at age 37 that his work began to generate acclaim.

• Vincent van Gogh never had much formal training in art. He attended an art school for just a few months in Antwerp, in 1885, just four years before his death.
• Vincent van Gogh produced nearly all of his work-some 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings in a ten-year period.
• The artist seriously questioned his own talent and ability, as evidenced throughout many of the hundreds of letters he wrote to his brother, Theo.
• Van Gogh attempted to attack his great friend Paul Gauguin with an open razor during an epileptic seizure, which ultimately resulted in the artist cutting off a piece of his own ear.
• He then gave the cut-off portion of his ear to a prostitute.
• Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime, "The Red Vineyard."
• Van Gogh spent several years as an evangelist, ministering to the working class. He was dismissed from ministry because he was overly enthusiastic to the point of being considered a zealot.
• Van Gogh was financially supported most of his life by his brother, Theo.
• Van Gogh began painting because of the Theo's encouragement.
• Van Gogh never found romantic love in his life, although he had two unhappy romances, one with a widowed cousin who rejected him.
• Theo's wife, Johanna, was the first to publish the artist's letters and was responsible for helping to bring his work to the public eye.
• Vincent van Gogh suffered from hallucinations and mental illness, which eventually led to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. He died from the wound two days later.
• His work began to shoot to fame 11 years after his death.