datasets.iitb.crawledDocs.13Oct08_ENT_file_41.txt Maven / Gradle / Ivy
Theo - The Guardian Angel of Vincent Van Gogh
By Annette Labedzki Platinum Quality Author
Annette Labedzki
Annette Labedzki
Level: Platinum
Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. ... ...
Great painter that he was, Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 - 29 July 1890) was nevertheless one of the most under confident artists, who forever doubted his own capabilities and resorted to almost suicidal acts like cutting off his ears to please a prostitute. Vincent had nearly regular nervous breakdowns, which sprung from his failed relationships and a constant struggle to communicate. The anti-social Vincent van Gogh shared a window to the society only through his younger brother Theodorus van Gogh, or simply Theo.
While Vincent was a study in total psychological hysteria and gave an impression of a man who never could find his way around the world, he had a perfect foil in his younger sibling; Theo. Theodorus was the exact opposite of the prodigal Vincent van Gogh. Although both of them started as art dealers with the art firm Goupil and Co, Vincent van Gogh fell out of favor due to his wild ways and an impractical idealistic streak (even though his family was a major stake holder in the firm). As Vincent van Gogh bounced around from Dutch countryside to London and Paris, Theo was a constant source of moral and financial support. Vincent dabbled disastrously in theology and Church while painting just for subsistence. The ever-sympathetic Theo always augmented Vincent van Gogh's sporadic commissions. His constant letters of support and warmth kept a deranged Vincent on the tether. Some, one thousand authenticated letters survive to this day, which speak of the genuine love and affection that Theo and Vincent felt for each other.
There was so to speak a role reversal in their relationship. Theo being younger played the role of a supporting elder sibling, while Vincent cavorted with unsuccessful careers one after another. Financially, Theo sought to help Vincent by arranging for the sale of his paintings even though the incomes were meager (Vincent sold only one painting in his entire lifetime). Vincent van Gogh lived on the edges of penury and Theo sent even his painting materials. There were times when out of sheer morbid depression, Vincent would contemplate suicide, only to be saved by Theo's words.
Theo perhaps had an inkling of Vincent's greatness but far from that, he had genuine love and affection for his brother, much beyond his art. He had no qualms about supporting his brother even though he was really not very well off. Vincent van Gogh was consciously forever in debt of his brother and acknowledged so on numerous occasions while Theo never ever made it apparent. In fact, Vincent van Gogh felt that the only one who could understand him was Theodorus van Gogh, and this dependence was so strong that he fell into severe depression on hearing of Theo's marriage. Vincent van Gogh was forever in Theo's debt and as Theo's health deteriorated, Vincent fell into morbid depression at his failure to contribute. At this time, when he was barely 37, he walked into the fields and shot himself, dying a painful death after two days of suffering the wound.
Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.labedzki-art.com