Vincent van Gogh - Facts for Kids

Early Life & Background

Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in a small village called Zundert in the Netherlands.

Vincent van Gogh’s full name was Vincent Willem van Gogh, but his family and friends simply called him Vincent.

Vincent van Gogh had five siblings: three sisters named Anna, Elisabeth, and Willemina, and two brothers named Theo and Cor.

Vincent van Gogh was actually born exactly one year after his parents had another baby boy (also named Vincent) who didn’t survive.

Vincent van Gogh loved taking long walks in nature as a child, collecting insects and wildflowers.

Vincent van Gogh grew up in a parsonage — a house near his father’s church in Zundert, Netherlands.

Vincent van Gogh spoke Dutch and also knew French and English, which he used in some of his letters.

Vincent van Gogh is often described in letters and portraits as having reddish hair and a freckled face, making him quite noticeable in his time.

Vincent van Gogh began drawing seriously around 1881 when he stayed in the countryside of Etten-Leur, and he used nature and rural life as his subjects.

Education & Development

Vincent van Gogh started his education at the village school in Zundert.

Vincent van Gogh was sent to a boarding school, Jan Provily’s boarding school in Zevenbergen, when he was 11 years old.

Vincent van Gogh studied at Willem II College in Tilburg, where he took his first formal drawing lessons from art teacher Constant Huijsmans.

Vincent van Gogh didn’t start painting until he was around 27 years old, much later than most famous artists.

Vincent van Gogh taught himself how to draw and paint by copying prints and studying drawing-lesson books and manuals before he started creating his own original works.

Vincent van Gogh took art lessons from his cousin-in-law Anton Mauve, who was already a famous painter.

Vincent van Gogh worked as an art dealer before becoming an artist himself.

Vincent van Gogh studied to become a minister like his father before choosing to be an artist.

Career & Achievements

Vincent van Gogh produced about 2,100 artworks in his lifetime — including roughly 860 oil-paintings and more than 1,100 drawings and sketches.

Vincent van Gogh painted his most famous work, “The Starry Night,” while staying at a hospital in France.

Vincent van Gogh sold very few paintings while he was alive — the most famous one he sold was called “The Red Vineyard.”

Vincent van Gogh painted about 37 self-portraits because he couldn’t afford to pay models to pose for him.

Vincent van Gogh painted his famous ‘Sunflowers’ series to help decorate the guest room of his home in Arles for his friend Paul Gauguin, as a welcoming gesture.

Vincent van Gogh painted The Potato Eaters in 1885, showing a peasant family eating dinner by lamplight. It’s often seen as his first great masterpiece.

Vincent van Gogh created most of his famous paintings in the last two years of his life.

Vincent van Gogh preferred to paint outdoors, which we call “painting en plein air.”

Vincent van Gogh used very thick paint on his canvases, making his artwork look three-dimensional.

Vincent van Gogh loved to use bright yellow paint because it reminded him of happiness and sunlight.

Personal Life

Vincent van Gogh was best friends with his younger brother Theo, who supported his art career.

Vincent van Gogh wrote over 800 letters in his lifetime, mostly to his brother Theo.

Vincent van Gogh once said he had to support himself with “mainly 23 cups of coffee, with bread that I still have to pay for” during a period of intense work.

Vincent van Gogh lived in many places, including the Netherlands, England, Belgium, and France.

Vincent van Gogh had a close friendship with Paul Gauguin, another famous painter.

Vincent van Gogh rented and lived in a small yellow house at 2 Place Lamartine in Arles (France), where he painted some of his most famous works.

Vincent van Gogh didn’t have much money, so he often stored his paintings under his bed or in cupboards instead of buying fancy frames.

Impact & Legacy

Vincent van Gogh’s paintings now sell for millions of dollars, though he was poor during his lifetime.

Vincent van Gogh inspired many other artists with his bold use of color and thick brush strokes.

Vincent van Gogh has a museum named after him in Amsterdam, which millions of people visit each year.

Vincent van Gogh’s style of painting helped start a new art movement called Post-Impressionism.

Vincent van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo have been published and help us understand his life better.

Vincent van Gogh’s bedroom painting has been recreated as a real room that people can stay in.

Fun and Unique Facts

Vincent van Gogh sometimes used a flat ‘carpenter’s pencil’ so he could press hard and draw thick lines in his sketches.

Vincent van Gogh loved Japanese art and collected colorful Japanese prints.

Vincent van Gogh painted many famous flower paintings and among his favourite subjects were sunflowers, irises, and roses.

Vincent van Gogh especially loved the colours yellow and blue, and he often used green too.

Vincent van Gogh sometimes swapped his paintings for art supplies or a meal, because he didn’t always have enough money.

Vincent van Gogh gave many of his paintings away as gifts to friends and family.

Before becoming an artist, Vincent van Gogh worked as an art dealer, a teacher in England, and even as a preacher in Belgium.

Vincent van Gogh often painted the same scene multiple times at different times of day.

Vincent van Gogh lived during a time when photography was just being invented.

Vincent van Gogh used a technique called impasto, where paint is laid on very thickly.