Women Van Gogh

• Van Gogh Women

"The love of art destroys genuine love," - wrote the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh to his younger brother Theo. The brothers Van Gogi been close since childhood, and when life is scattered them to different cities and countries and then, between them a correspondence that lasted for eighteen years. The brothers Van Gogi were frank with each other, discussing current affairs, work and creative plans, and they shared their love experiences.

In a letter to Theo, Vincent Van Gogh often mentions's relentless thirst for love and peace, "I want a woman, I no longer want and can not live without love", "... better to procreate children, rather than painting." Alas, this dream of the family hearth and home comfort and was not to be: the woman met on the life of the artist, but none of these meetings did not bring him to a quiet family happiness.

In the spring of 1873 twenty Vincent van Gogh arrived in London, where he found work as a salesman in one of artistic salons of the city. In London Vincent captures powerful experience: he fell in love with the daughter of his landlady - Ursula Loyer. Mother and daughter kept private kindergarten, so Vincent often seen his beloved surrounded by children, and called her "an angel with babies." Van Gogh wanted to marry Ursula, but the marriage did not take place. The reasons for this failure is still not too clear. The remaining letters of the time there is no mention of this moment, and in correspondence of Van Gogh brothers semi gaping failure. (In the photo - Ursula Loyer.)

There is an "official version" of the first London love Van Gogh, coming from the family of the artist: Ursula resolutely refused Vincent since before his meeting was secretly engaged to him. But it may be and so that the marriage was upset because Van Gogh's father, who, as a Protestant minister, did not want his son to marry a Catholic. Confirmation of this hypothesis may be one of the more recent Van Gogh's letters in which, recalling his first love, the artist says: "I gave up a girl, and she married another; I had gone out of her life, but in his mind remained faithful to her. Sad. " (In the photo - Vincent Van Gogh's father, pastor Theodore Van Gogh.)

In the spring of 1881 Vincent Van Gogh arrived at his parents' home in the Dutch Etten. Every day, the artist met his cousin Katherine Foz (Kee), also guests from his parents. When Vincent was the last time I saw my cousin, she was married now Kee widowed, and her son was five years old. She was sad, but always cordial. Imprint experienced grief - something that has always attracted Vincent to people - Kee made his eyes even more charming, the artist passionately in love with her. About her feelings Vincent Van Gogh told his brother Theo in a letter: "there's something in my heart, what I have to tell you, even though you may already know all this is not news to you. I want to inform you that this summer I very much liked K. When I told her about it, she said that for her the past and the future are one, and that she would never be able to answer my feeling. " (In the photo - Catherine Vos with her son.)

But Vincent is not so easily discouraged, he believed in the power of his love, is able to melt the icy heart of the beloved. Disclaimer Kee, he explained that it is "in a state of resignation," "I have seen that it is always immersed in the past and selflessly buries himself in it." Vincent was ready to wait patiently until the spiritual crisis Kee pass, he was not going to insist on an immediate marriage. However, what kind of marriage could we talk, when the beloved repeatedly rejected the advances of the artist? Kee hurried back home to Amsterdam, where her parents have taken all necessary measures in order to protect her daughter from the dissolute husband.

Vincent sent letter after letter, but did not get an answer, then he went to Amsterdam, where he spent three fruitless and embarrassing day. Every day he went to Kee house, but never found his cousin, and her parents patiently explained that Van Gogh perseverance inappropriate and tactless. In his perseverance artist even resorted to self-mutilation, "I put his hand to a lighted lamp, and said:" Let me see her as much as I can hold out his hand in the fire. " But they put out the fire and said, "You will not see it. '" When Vincent first thought that it is only in the resistance of parents Kee, but now he began to understand that his girlfriend does not want to have anything to do with him.

I must say that in this situation feel embarrassed and parents Vincent. They decried the passion and obsession that son showed toward his cousin and her family. artist quarrel on this ground with his father and went to where the next time he came back only two years later, his parents' home. (In the photo - the parents of Vincent Van Gogh.)

After leaving his father's house with the scandal, Vincent settled in The Hague, where he decided to start a new independent life under the same roof with a prostitute Christine nicknamed Sin. About his acquaintance with it the artist wrote to his brother Theo in May 1882: "This winter I met a pregnant woman who has left the father of her unborn child. She wandered through the streets, trying to earn a living in a known manner. I hired her as a model and worked with her all winter. " (In the photo - a portrait of Christine's work of Vincent Van Gogh.)

Shin seemed to Vincent's sister in misfortune - life cost even more cool with her than with him, so Van Gogh helped as best he could, and after the birth took her to him with a baby and the eldest daughter. "I feel it is not the passionate feeling which I cherished in the past year to K .; but such love as I love Sin - is the only thing that I can do after the disappointment in his first passion. "

Vincent Van Gogh for the first (and last) time began to live a family life. The poor little room with a table and stools of unpainted wood was pure (he brought purity), the windows hung white muslin curtains, on the walls - sketches, and the window was the cradle over which inclined young mother. "I can not look at her without emotion: a large and a strong sense of covering a man when he is sitting next to the woman he loved, and beside them lies in the cradle of the child." Alas, in the cradle lay not a child of Vincent, the young mother was a professional prostitute, and the Ban Gogh recently discharged from the hospital where was treated for a not too serious but very unpleasant disease, which has awarded him "the beloved." All this he knew, of course, but at the same time as if he did not know, watching this picture, full of eternal poetry.

As time went on, the relationship with Shin loss of former romantic haze and become quite painful routine. Christina was not Van Gogh's assistant, obereganiya hearth instinct she was completely missing. It was a capricious, lazy and slovenly woman addicted to alcohol. To keep her children and does not cut spending on the model and drawing supplies, Vincent saved on its own power, in the end, his health began to fail, there were signs of a hungry exhaustion, weakness and fatigue.

Fortunately for Vincent, Xing soon tired of the harsh life of a poor artist and she, partly under the influence of his mother, began to wonder if her brothel not get where the situation is more securely. Especially Vincent and married her, and her mother Christina assured that he took it just for the sake of free and posing with time will certainly throw.

In his relation to Christine Vincent to the end remained generous: preparing to leave from The Hague to the village, where life is much cheaper, he invited her to go with him, but after a frank discussion it was decided that they would part - "temporarily or permanently, how much will come out. " Vincent promised that as long as he has a roof over his head and a piece of bread, Christina can always count on them. I asked the same one: that she did not return to his former profession, and by giving children to relatives, tried to work and "get on the right track."

At the end of 1883 by Vincent Van Gogh returned to his parents again settled at Etten, where friends with the daughter of a neighbor Margot Begemann, and wrote Theo that he feels towards her "sense of friendship and respect." Fragile and dreamy Margot drew uneasy peace warehouse artist who many frightened. Vincent reciprocal feeling was not as strong, however, touched by her love, he made a marriage proposal. Margot's family was horrified by the alleged marriage, but usually submissive woman showed surprising persistence. (In the photo - Margot Begemann in his youth.)

Van Gogh began to notice "warning signs" in the behavior of Margot and warned her brother that "should fear an attack of depression," but "all this does not lead to anything", "These people have asked me to wait for two years; I categorically refused, saying that when it comes to marriage, then either it will take place immediately, or never. " After this conversation with the nouveau fiance sisters Margo descended on her with such a barrage of accusations and reproaches, that she had taken poison. A woman was saved, but, according to the attending physician, Margot's health did not allow in the near future to think about marriage, though a sharp break in relations with Vincent was dangerous for her. Van Gogh harshly accused the family Margot by despotism and cruelty, but for a particular fault is not felt, even said that "break the peace women, as it is called people, petrified under the influence of theology, sometimes means putting an end to her mental stagnation and melancholia, worse, than death itself. " (In the photo - Margot Begemann in his mature years.)

Since then, his personal successes and failures Vincent van Gogh did not attach much importance to and longed for family life: art took possession of them as the most overbearing wife.

In March 1886, Van Gogh moved to Paris, where it began to chase the bitter thought, no longer had Vincent not to leave: the modern artist is doomed to isolation from the "real life", he had not seen the family hearth, a measured and orderly everyday life, moral and physical health.

The life of man in the street, and the artist's life in art - like two bowls: as one is filled, emptied another. And it happened to Vincent Van Gogh. Instead of love, he had to settle for, in his words, "ridiculous and not very plausible amours", who do not become the event of the inner life, and come short of the fullness of the human as it was in his previous love stories.

No, and former health: "I quickly turn into a old man - wrinkled, bearded, toothless" - and it's 34 years. Coerced by mental health, but now the hand started with a magic act docile, Van Gogh is able to write the joyful radiant paintings, experiencing the deepest of his life mental confusion.

The last two months of the life of Vincent van Gogh spent in Auvers-sur-Oise (a small village near Paris) under the supervision of Dr. Gachet (see photo).

in Auvers-sur-Oise artist stayed in a family hotel Ravoux, the daughter of the innkeeper posed Adeline Van Gogh, however, as Margarita - the daughter of Dr. Gachet. Adelina, a close friend of Margaret, later expressed a guess that the artist and the model of love with each other, and Dr. Gachet banned Vincent to come to their house. Margaret's brother subsequently confirmed this version in an interview with a journalist, changing, however, important detail: it is claimed that this love is not different in kind, and his sister was not in love with the artist.

A few days before his suicide, Vincent van Gogh in mysterious terms summed up his whole life: "From those to whom I was most attached, I have not received anything, they seemed to look at me through the glass, darkly."

The global fame of Van Gogh grew steadily after his death. "In essence, we must speak of our pictures ..." - he wrote in one of his last letters to his brother Theo. And they are really talking when stopped their creator - a year-on-year louder, louder, traveling across countries and continents.

Sometimes it seems that the story of the life of Vincent Van Gogh if someone purposely conceived as a dramatic parable of the thorny path of the artist, overstrained in an unequal struggle with hostile circumstances, but in the end to win in the defeat.