Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853; he was the older of two children. His work symbolized his moods and the lifestyle he lived. He often painted from the perspective of his life and those around him that were less fortunate. He was very close to his brother. He often admires the work of other well-known artists that described their way of life. At age sixteen he starts an apprenticeship at Goupil and Cie international art dealers. In 1873, his firm transferred him to London, then to Paris. He became increasingly interested in religion; in 1876 Goupil dismissed him for lack of motivation. He became a teaching assistant in Ramsgate near London, then returned to Amsterdam to study theology in 1877. He dropped out in 1878 and became a layman preacher in a poor mining region in Borinage, Belgium; during this time he started to produce charcoal sketches. In 1880, he began to take more interest in paintings with the help of his brother’s advice. For a brief period Vincent took painting lessons from Anton Mauve at The Hague, influences of The Hague School of painting remain in Vincent’s work, especially in the way he played with light and in the looseness of his brush strokes. However his usage of colors, favoring dark tones, set him apart from his teacher. In 1881 he declared his love to his cousin Kee Vos, who rejected him. Later he moved in with a prostitute and her children and considered marrying her; his father was strictly against this relationship and even his brother Theo advised against it. They later separated. In the winter of 1885-1886 Van Gogh attended the art academy of Antwerp, Belgium. It turned out to be a waste of time because within a few months he was dismissed by his professor. Van Gogh did however get in touch with Japanese art during this time, which he started to collect eagerly. He admired its bright colors, use of canvas space and the role lines played in the picture. These impressions influenced his work strongly. Also some of the...