Vincent van Gogh Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Netherlands

Vincent was the eldest son of Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus, but was actually their second child. Exactly one year earlier, Anna's first child was stillborn, and had also borne the name Vincent. In all, Vincent had five younger siblings; three sisters and two brothers. They were (in birth order) Anna, Theo, Elisabeth, Willemien, and Cor.

Zundert (also called Groot-Zundert to differentiate from nearby Klein-Zundert) is found in the south of the Netherlands, less than five kilometers from the Belgian border.

Answer: Art dealership

It was Vincent's uncle (coincidentally also named Vincent van Gogh) that helped young Vincent land a job as a clerk at Goupil & Cie, an art dealership which had various galleries around Europe. His first position was in the Hague, but he was tranferred to their London, England branch in 1873.

Around the same time that Vincent was relocating to London, his younger brother Theo also began working for Goupil & Cie at the company's branch in Brussels, Belgium. Vincent was transferred once again by the company in 1875, this time to Paris. But by then, he wasn't really enjoying the work anymore, and Goupil and Cie concurred, releasing him from his employment in 1876.

Answer: Coal miner

Vincent was in Paris when he ended his career with Goupil & Cie, but he decided to return to England, where he began working as a teacher, first as an unpaid assistant teacher at a boys' boarding school in Ramsgate, and then in a paid position at a private school in Isleworth near London. This endeavour was short-lived, and by Christmas of 1876 he was back in the Netherlands.

His next effort was a job in a bookshop in Dordrecht, near Rotterdam, which he began in January of 1877, but again this was not for long and within a few months, Vincent chose to pursue studies in theology, following in the footsteps of his father. He spent a year in Amsterdam, preparing for his entrance examination (he had dropped out of school at 16), but proved to be an underwhelming student, and failed the exam. Regardless, Vincent ended up working as a lay preacher in the Borinage mining region of Belgium for a time.

Answer: False

Anton Mauve was a Dutch realist painter and part of the Hague School from the early 1870s. In 1874, he married Ariëtte (Jet) Carbentus, who was Vincent van Gogh's first cousin (his mother's brother's daughter). Vincent studied with his cousin-in-law from late 1881 into 1882, but soon alienated his teacher. By May of that year, Mauve told van Gogh that he was over and done with him, due to his vicious character (as told by Vincent to his brother Theo in a letter). At the time, Vincent had become involved with a pregnant prostitute, and in that same letter, defended the relationship to his brother.

The earliest known paintings by van Gogh were produced during this time. Vincent had begun with drawings before moving to the Hague to learn from Anton, and his cousin-in-law introduced him to painting. "The Potato Eaters" was not painted until April of 1885 after he had returned to live with his parents. While not his earliest work, the Dutch tradition and earthy tones of the painting are in stark contrast with his later works.

Answer: Paris

Vincent van Gogh left his parents' home in 1885 and enrolled in the academy of art in Antwerp (Belgium), and never returned to the Netherlands. His time in Belgium did not last long before he relocated once again in early 1886, this time to Paris, where he moved in with his Brother Theo.

Exposure to the impressionist works of Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, and Edouard Manet inspired Vincent to experiment with brighter styles of impressionist and postimpressionist techniques. Over the two years he stayed in Paris, van Gogh came to know fellow artists Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard, Paul Signac, and Georges Seurat.

The painting depicted here was created in late summer of 1886, and is entitled "View of Paris to Meudon."

Answer: Paul Gauguin

After two years of refining his skills and his style, Vincent moved to Arles in Provence, which inspired him with its beautiful landscape. It was his hope that other artists would join him in his endeavour, and when Paul Gauguin joined him in October, things looked hopeful. (Some of Gauguin's success had come from art dealer Theo van Gogh's promotion of his paintings, and Theo had also promised to fund the Arles studio.)

For a short time, Gauguin and van Gogh got on well, but just a couple of months later, Vincent experienced the first signs of his illness, which was described as a type of epilepsy that took the form of delusions and psychotic attacks.
During their nine weeks together, van Gogh painted 36 canvases and Gauguin completed 21. This included portraits that the artists painted of each other, such as the one depicted here of Paul Gauguin.

Answer: Left

Yes, it was his LEFT ear... the painting was a self-portrait, done with van Gogh looking at his reflection in a mirror.

As Vincent's illness presented itself, Paul Gauguin found it more difficult to share the yellow house with his artist counterpart. According to vangoghgallery.com, "on December 23rd, Vincent asked Gauguin if he was planning to leave. When Gauguin said yes, Vincent was devastated. He tore out a sentence from a newspaper, stating simply "The Murderer took flight" and handed it to Gauguin. After supper Gauguin left the house to go for a walk. Barely out of the yellow house, he heard the footsteps of Vincent approaching. When he turned to look, he saw Vincent walking towards him with a razor in his hand."

"The details of the rest of the evening are sparse, as van Gogh often awoke after his times of "madness" with little recollection of the previous events. From what we can gather from accounts from Gauguin, the police, and his brother Theo, Vincent returned home while Gauguin stayed in a hotel. Later that night, after 10:00 P.M., Vincent took a razor and cut off a portion of his left ear."

Gauguin, predictably, left to return to Paris the next morning, and while their friendship was understandably strained, they did continue to write to each other.

Answer: An insane asylum

A few months after the 'incident' with his left ear, Vincent voluntarily admitted himself to Saint-Paul de Mausole psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (on May 8th, 1889). It proved to be a good move, and he was able to continue his paintings, becoming very productive with over 150 paintings in the year he was there, including "The Starry Night" (June, 1889).

In May of 1890, van Gogh moved once again, leaving the asylum and settling in an artist's community outside of Paris in Auvers-sur-Oise.

Answer: Paul van Ryssel

Dr. Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a homeopathic doctor who treated Vincent van Gogh in the last months of his life. Gachet had lived and worked in Auvers-sur-Oise since 1872, and had become connected with many artists. As he was known to the art community, Theo van Gogh thought that Dr. Gachet could be of help to his brother after Vincent was discharged from the asylum. Dr. Gachet's artistic pseudonym was based on his place of origin.

He was born and raised in Lille (in French Flanders), and the Dutch name for the town was Rijsel.

Answer: Gunshot

The events surrounding Vincent's death are not clear, historically. The widely accepted story is that Vincent walked into a wheatfield near his residence in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he shot himself in the stomach. The shot did not kill him outright, and he managed to make it back to his room at the Auberge Ravoux. His brother Theo received the news and was there by his side when Vincent passed away in the early hours of July 29th.

Another theory has been proposed that van Gogh was actually a victim of manslaughter, and that it was not suicide, in spite of the mental health issues that he had been experiencing. One reason supporting the theory was that the angle of the bullet was not consistent with someone who would have shot himself was one reason for the theory. Another factor was Vincent's strong religious beliefs, which would have made the idea of suicide almost unthinkable. Whatever the truth behind his death, Vincent van Gogh's artistic legacy was incredible, as he left behind over 850 paintings and almost 1,300 works on paper.