From Poverty to Priceless - Van Gogh

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Vincent van Gogh, a name synonymous with passionate colors and expressive brushstrokes, lived a life marked by extreme poverty. While creating his iconic paintings, he struggled to make ends meet. His art, barely recognized in his time, brought him little financial reward.
Van Gogh was an artist far ahead of his time. His works, now celebrated as masterpieces, were dismissed as eccentric and unsalable during his lifetime. He painted out of passion, but this passion brought him little bread. To survive, he relied on the financial support of his brother Theo.
In Van Gogh's time, one could have purchased a small pile of coal with the money that his paintings, now worth millions, would have fetched. That was just enough to fuel a stove for a few days. Or, one could have afforded a few loaves of bread and some cheese - enough to survive for a few days. A painting celebrated as a masterpiece today was often worth no more than a few days' worth of food.
There are, however, a few exceptions. Van Gogh did sell a few of his works during his lifetime, albeit at very modest prices. He managed to sell one of his paintings for 400 francs - a sum that provided him with a small financial relief at the time, but is negligible compared to today's record prices.
One could argue that Van Gogh could have taken a simple job as a dishwasher or factory worker during his lifetime. While these jobs would not have made him a fortune, they would have at least provided a regular income. Perhaps he could have led a slightly more comfortable life. But Van Gogh was an artist through and through. Painting was his passion, his life. He could never have imagined giving up his art.
Today, over a century after his death, the perception of Van Gogh's art has changed radically. His works fetch astronomical sums at auctions.
Vincent van Gogh's "Wheatfield with a Ploughing Peasant," painted in 1889, is one of the artist's most iconic works. This masterpiece was sold at Christie's New York in November 2017 for a staggering $81.313 million to an undisclosed buyer, acquired from the original owners, Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass. This iconic work is a prime example of Van Gogh's later, expressive, and colorful phase. The vast expanse of the wheat field, disrupted by the laborious work of the peasant, conveys a sense of endless expanse and the connection between humanity and nature. The vigorous brushstrokes and vibrant colors lend the painting an almost tangible energy. Van Gogh's interest in ordinary people and their work is clearly reflected in this piece...