Born into an upper-middle-class family, Van Gogh drew as a child, was thoughtful and intellectual but showed signs of mental instability. He worked as an art dealer as a young man; he became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion, spending time as a missionary in southern Belgium, and later drifting in ill-health and solitude. He was keenly aware of modernist trends in art, and …show more content…
He experienced loneliness, persecution, and ultimately the madness that led to suicide. His friendship with Gauguin came to an end after a violent encounter during which he supposedly threatened the Frenchman with a razor, and in a rage, cut off part of his own right ear. While he was in a psychiatric hospital in Saint-Remy his condition stabilized, leading to one of the more productive periods of his life. He then moved to the Aubree Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise under the care of the homeopathic doctor and artist, Paul Gachet. While he was there, Theo wrote that he could no longer support him financially. A few weeks later on July 27, in the year 1890, Van Gogh walked into a wheat field and shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He died from his injuries two days later. However, his death marked the beginning of realization for people seeing how brilliant he truly was with his