Vincent van Gogh chronology

Self-Portrait, August 1889, Oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (F626, JH1770) ^[1]

This is a chronology of the artist Vincent van Gogh. It is based as far as possible on Van Gogh's correspondence.^[2] However, it has only been possible to construct the chronology by drawing on additional sources. Most of his letters are not dated, and it was only in 1973 that a sufficient dating was established by Jan Hulsker, subsequently revised by Ronald Pickvance and marginally corrected by others. Many other relevant dates in the chronology derive from the biographies of his brother Theo, his uncle and godfather Cent, his friends Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, and others.

Facts and dates which are undisputed (see Resources), remain unreferenced.

Contents:

1850 1851 1852 1853 1855 1857 1859
1861 1862 1864 1866 1867 1868 1869
1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879
1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890 1891

Footnotes
References
External links

1850

The Van Gogh family: On top Theodorus van Gogh (1822-1885) and Anna Cornelia van Gogh-Carbentus (1819-1907), below left to right Vincent Willem (1853-1890), Anna Cornelia (1855-1930), Theo (1857-1891), Elisabetha Huberta (1859-1936), Willemina Jacoba (1862-1941) and Cornelis Vincent (1867-1900)

• November 6: Vincent van Gogh (Uncle Cent) married Cornelia Carbentus, in The Hague.

1851

• May 21: Ds. Theodorus van Gogh, since 1849 pastore in Groot-Zundert,^[3] married Anna Cornelia Carbentus, his brother Cent's sister-in-law, in The Hague.

1852

• March 30: a first son, called Vincent, died at birth.^[4]

1853

Van Gogh's birthplace in Zundert

• March 30: Vincent Willem van Gogh is born in Groot-Zundert.^[5]

1855

• February 17: sister Anna Cornelia van Gogh, (1855-1930), called Anna, is born.

1857

• May 1: brother Theodorus van Gogh, called Theo, is born.

1859

• May 16: sister Elisabeth Huberta van Gogh, (1859-1936), called Lies, is born.

1861

• March 26: Uncle Cent becomes partner of Goupil & Cie.^[6]

1862

• March 16: sister Willemina Jacoba van Gogh, (1862-1941), called Wil, is born.

1864

• October 1: in Zevenbergen to attend the school of Jan Provily.

1866

• August: leaves Zevenbergen.
• September 3: enters secondary school at Tilburg. The Koning Willem II school.

1867

• May 17: brother Cornelis Vincent van Gogh, (1867-1900), called Cor, is born.

1868

• March: leaves Tilburg and returns to his family in Zundert.

1869

• July 30: Vincent starts apprenticeship with Goupil & Cie, The Hague.

1871

• January: Van Gogh's family moves to Helvoirt.

1872

• January 29: Uncle Cent, until then one of three shareholders of Goupil & Cie., retires from business, but continues holding his share, now 6/30 (and formerly 1/3?); Adolphe and Albert Goupil hold 7/30 each, and Léon Goupil 10/30.^[7]

1873

Van Gogh's drawing of 87 Hackford Road

• January 1: Theo starts apprenticeship with Goupil & Cie, Brussels.
• February 19: the lot to serve in the army has fallen on Vincent, but father bought him out (and therefore, according to Dutch law, his younger brothers Theo and Cor, too).^[8]
• May 12: Vincent leaves for Paris where he visits the Paris branches of Goupil & Cie, the annual Salon and the Musée du Luxembourg.
• a week later: takes up work at the London branch of Goupil & Cie; it is not known where he first lodged.
• August: moves to the house of Ursula Loyer and her daughter Eugenie in Brixton, 87 Hackford Road.

1874

• June 27 - July 15: summer holiday with his family in Helvoirt.
• August: moves to Kennington (Ivy Cottage, 395 Kennington Road).
• November: on the demand of Uncle Cent, Vincent is transferred to Paris to get acquainted with the headquarters of Goupil & Cie.^[9]
• November 26: Jet Carbentus, a cousin of Vincent, marries Anton Mauve.
• Christmas: with his family in Helvoirt.

1875

• January 2: returns to London.
• May 24: Goupil's London opens its first exhibition.
• end of May: Vincent is re-transferred to Paris headquarters.
• October 18: Van Gogh's family moves to Etten.
• Christmas: with his family in Etten.
• December 30: visits Uncle C. M. in the Hague to talk about his future.^[10]
• December 31: father thinks he has to advise Vincent to resign.^[10]

1876

• January 4: back to Paris, a talk with Léon Boussod ends with Van Gogh's resignation.^[11]
• March 30: his last day at Goupil's.
• March 31: returns to Etten for a fortnight.
• April 7: Theo, too, is on visit in Etten.^[12]
• April 14: Vincent leaves for England.^[13]
• April 16: arrives at Ramsgate to teach at the school of William Stokes, 6 Royal Road; he lodges nearby at 11 Spencer Square.
• June: Stokes transfers his school to Linkfield House, 183 Twickenham Road, Isleworth.
• July 3: Van Gogh moves to the school of Reverend Thomas Slade-Jones (1829–1883) at Holme Court, 158 Twickenham Road, Isleworth.
• September 26:Theo misses work because he has fallen seriously ill.^[14]
• October 23:Theo, still ill, and his mother travel to Etten.^[14]
• October 29: Vincent's first sermon at Richmond Methodist Church.^[15]
• November 16:Theo finally well enough to leave Etten.^[14]
• Christmas: Vincent returns to Etten.

1877

• January to May: works as a bookseller's assistant in Dordrecht.
• May 14: moves to Amsterdam to study for entrance into the university.^[16]

1878

• ?: Uncle Cent withdraws his shares from Goupil & Cie.
• March: Tersteeg has recommended Theo to assist Goupil & Cie in Paris during the World Fair.
• July 5: Vincent abandons studies and returns to Etten.
• July 16–17: father introduces Vincent to the governors of the Evangelical College (Vlaamse opleidingsschool) in Laeken, near Brussels, accompanied by Reverend Jones.^[17] (One of six founders in 1875 was Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen).
• 24 August: having postponed his departure to assist at the wedding of his sister Anna (August 21), Vincent moves to Laeken.^[18]
• October 27: C. M. Vos, husband of Kee Vos Stricker, dies.
• December: fails exams.
• December 26: turns to the Committee (Comité d'Evangélisation) and asks to be accepted for the Borinage.

1879

The house where Van Gogh stayed in Cuesmes in 1879

• January: for 6 months on trial, Vincent is accepted to do evangelical work in the Borinage.^[19]
• late June: Vincent learns his temporary contract will not be renewed; he is given three months to find something else.^[20]
• July 31: his contract ends.
• August 1: next day, Vincent sets out on a first walk to find employment, all across the Borinage up to the North. Finally, in Tournai, he shifts to North-east to visit Reverend Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen in Maria-Hoorebeeke, but when he arrives on Sunday afternoon (August 3), Pieterszen is out for some days in Brussels, where they meet on Monday morning (August 4).^[21]
• August 5: he is in Cuesmes "again," close to Mons; as Theo is expected to pass Mons by train soon, Vincent asks his brother to meet there.^[22]
• August ?: spends a day with Theo, leaves for Wasmes in the evening where he is lodged by J. B. Denis, Rue du Petit Wasmes à Wasmes (Hainaut).^[23]
• August 15 Vincent arrives back at Etten to stay with his parents.^[24]

1880

• Spring ???: stays with family at Etten^[25]
• March 11: Vincent is still with his parents.
• mid March ???: when father tries to put him to an asylum (Gheel), he escapes to Cuesmes.
• end March ???: Vincent sets out on a second walk to find employment in the Borinage; in the end he walks to Courrières and goes to visit Jules Breton, but doesn't have the nerve to enter the property.^[26]
• April 16: Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen dies in Maria-Horebeke.
• first days of July: a while after his return to Cuesmes, Vincent learns that money recently sent by his parents was in fact from Theo; thanking him for his support, Vincent tries to explain his present situation; he is staying with Ch. Decrucq, Rue du Pavillon 8, Cuesmes.^[27] Theo forwarded this letter to the parents who commented on July 5.^[28]
• August 20: takes up correspondence with Theo again.^[29]
• September: works after Charles Bargue's platework (Cours de dessin), which he got on loan from Tersteeg, head of Goupil & Cie in The Hague.^[30]
• October: moves to Brussels, takes the advice of Willem Roelofs and enrolls in a beginners art course at the Academy; as suggested by Theo, he meets Rappard.

1881

• April: moves back to Etten and draws.
• April 17: meets Theo.
• Mid-June: Rappard on visit in Etten.
• Summer: Kee Vos Stricker spends some time in Etten with Vincent's parents, who falls in love with her.^[31][32]
• August 23–26: trip to The Hague; he visits Anton Mauve and Théophile de Bock, sees some exhibitions and the recently opened Panorama Mesdag.^[33]
• late November: writes letter to Uncle Stricker,^[34] and within a couple of days goes to Amsterdam in person himself.^[35]
• ?: arrives in Amsterdam and demands to see Kee but does not see her; aunt and uncle Stricker accompany him to a good and cheap lodging, where he stays for some days.^[36]
• November 27 or December 4: "Sunday evening" at about 7 o'clock, he arrives in The Hague to stay with Anton Mauve for some time. Mauve encourages him to work in oils and watercolours.
• December 19: Vincent is still in The Hague^[37] and unable to leave, as he is short of money.^[38] A few days later he is back to Etten, and confesses that recently—evidently for the first time in his life—he sought the administrations of a back-street girl.^[39][40]
• December 25: On Christmas Day, Vincent quarrels with his father who had tried to force him to assist the Christmas service, and leaves for The Hague.^[41][42]

1882

Vincent van Gogh, Sien Nursing Baby, drawing, 1882, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands (F1063, JH218)

• January: moves into a small studio, Schenkweg 138.^[43]
• mid to late January: meets Clasina Maria Hoornik ("Sien") and sets up a domestic relationship with her.
• June 7: admitted to municipal hospital to be treated for gonorrhea.
• July 1: leaves the hospital;^[44] in the next days he moves next door into a larger studio, Schenkweg 136 (since 1884: Schenkstraat 13).^[45]
• July 2: Sien gives birth to a baby boy, who is given the name Willem.
• August: following a visit of Theo who supplied money for colour, Van Gogh starts painting in oil at the sea coast in Scheveningen.
• November: has trial proofs of 6 lithographs printed.

1883

• September: leaves Sien, and moves to Drenthe.
• September 11: arrives in Hoogeveen, late in the evening, and lodges with Albertus Hartsuiker, Groote Kerkstraat^[46]
• October 2: leaves Hoogeveen on the tow boat for Nieuw-Amsterdam/Veenoord: Van Gogh wrote his brother that he is staying in the first place, while his lodgings with Hendrik Scholte were indeed part of the latter village close-by.
• November 1: visits Zweeloo
• December 4: walks down from Veenoord to Hoogeveen to catch the train for Nuenen.
• December 5: Vincent arrives in Nuenen to stay with his parents.
• December 7: date of the postmark on the back of a pen drawing (F.1237) that signalized Theo his arrival in Nuenen.

1884

• ? : the Goupil family retires, the firm is again transformed and renamed in Boussod, Valadon & Cie, successeurs de Goupil & Cie.
• January 17: descending from a train, Van Gogh's mother breaks her leg; Vincent is caring for her.
• end March: Theo starts buying and selling Impressionists, beginning with a painting by Pissarro.^[47]
• August ???: Margot Begemann attempts suicide.

1885

View from the rear window of Van Gogh's room, Antwerp

• March 26: Vincent's father dies.
• March 27: Theo travels to Nuenen for the funeral.
• March 30: father 's funeral.
• May: Vincent leaves his mother's house.
• July: on their way back to the Netherlands to spend their holidays with their parents, Theo and Andries Bonger visit the museums in Lille, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp.
• c. July 28 - August 7: Theo stays in Nuenen.
• August 7: Theo visits Bonger in Amsterdam and meets his sister Jo for the first time.
• August: first public display of works by Van Gogh, in windows of the art dealer Leurs in The Hague.
• October 6–8: visit to Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum.
• November 24: leaves for Antwerp.

1886

Vincent van Gogh - Self-portrait with pipe, September 1886

• January 18: enrolls in Antwerp Academy of Art (Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten) for the winter term 1885-1886 in the Antique class.^[48]
• mid March: arrives in Paris and asks Theo to see him in the Louvre.^[49]
• March - June (?): studies for three months at studio of Fernand Cormon.^[50]
• April 3: relegated by the council of the Antwerp Academy to the entrance course;^[51] by this time Van Gogh is already in Paris.
• May 15: Opening of the 8th Impressionist exhibition; running through June 15.

The house where Vincent and Theo van Gogh lived: 54, Rue Lepic in Paris

• June: the Van Gogh brothers move from Rue de Laval to a larger apartment, Rue Lepic 54.^[52]
• August: Theo is on vacation in the Netherlands, discusses with family and uncles his plan to establish an art gallery of his own. Meanwhile, Vincent falls ill, and for some time Andries Bonger shares the apartment to care for Vincent and "S.," Theo's mistress.^[53]
• August 19 or 26: Theo is back to Paris.^[54]
• August 21: Opening of the 2nd exhibition of the Artistes Indépendants; running through September 21.
• October 25: Van Gogh proposes an exchange of works with Charles Angrand.^[55]

1887

• January: Vincent signs his first portrait of "Père" Tanguy, and later this year portraits of "Mère" Tanguy and one of their friends.^[56]
• March 11: Theo states that it is impossible to get on with Vincent.^[57]
• March 26: Opening of the 3rd exhibition of the Artistes Indépendants; running through June 8.
• April 26: Vincent and Theo have made peace.^[58]
• Spring: Vincent campaigns in Asnières
• November 14: Paul Gauguin arrives in Paris, just back from Martinique.
• December: Gauguin consigns paintings to Theo van Gogh.
• December 26: Theo's first sale of a painting by Gauguin ^[59]
• December/January (?): Vincent arranges an exhibition of paintings by himself, Bernard, Anquetin, and (probably) Toulouse-Lautrec in the Restaurant du Chalet, 43 Avenue de Clichy, on Montmartre. Bernard and Anquetin sell their first painting, Vincent exchanges work with Gauguin.^[60]

1888

• January 1: Theo, accompanied by a second person (probably Manzi, not Vincent?), visits Gauguin in his atelier and acquires 3 paintings for Boussod & Valadon.
• January 4: Theo acquires, privately, Gauguin's Negresses, and Manzi a seascape
• January 12: Theo acquires, privately, Toulouse-Lautrec's "Poudre de riz."
• February 5: Anton Mauve dies.
• February 19: Vincent departs from Paris.
• February 20: arrives in Arles.
• March 22: Opening of the 4th exhibition of the Artistes Indépendants; Van Gogh contributes 3 paintings.
• May 1: takes lease on the Yellow House.
• June: works for a week in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
• September 8: buys two beds for the Yellow House.^[61]
• September 17: spends first night in the Yellow House.
• October 23: Paul Gauguin arrives to stay with Vincent.
• November: Gauguin receives the invitation to exhibit with Les XX in spring 1889.
• December: Gauguin and Van Gogh on a trip to Montpellier visit the Musée Fabre to see the Bruyas collection.^[62]
• December 23: Van Gogh cuts off part of his ear after arguing with Gauguin.
• December 24: Van Gogh is found "lying in his bed, giving almost no sign of life", and taken to the Old Hospital in Arles.^[63]
• December 25: Theo visits Vincent in hospital; that evening Theo and Gauguin leave for Paris.

1889

Poster of the 1889 Exhibition of Paintings by the Impressionist and Synthetist Group, at Café des Arts, known as The Volpini Exhibition, 1889.

• January 5: Theo goes to Amsterdam.
• January 8: Vincent leaves hospital.
• January 9: engagement party of Theo and Jo in Amsterdam.
• January 14: Theo is back to Paris.
• February 7: Vincent is again taken to hospital after a second attack.
• February 17: he leaves hospital again.
• February 18: citizens' petition against Van Gogh.
• February 26: he is confined to hospital on police orders.
• March 23–24: Paul Signac, on the request of Theo, visits Vincent in the hospital.
• March 31: Theo departs for Amsterdam.
• April 18: Theo marries Johanna Gesina Bonger.
• May 8: Vincent admits himself to the asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence; the only other option was to be transferred to a maison de santé elsewhere.
• June ?: Gauguin and friends organize an exhibition of their works in the Café Volpini (Exposition des Peintures du Groupe impressioniste et synthétiste, faite dans le local de M. Volpini au Champ-de-Mars 1889); Vincent is invited to participate, but Theo thinks it is inappropriate.^[64]
• July 8: visit to Arles.
• July 15: last batch of paintings from Arles sent to Paris.
• July 18: crisis, lasting to midth end of August.
• September: Van Gogh takes up work again.
• September 3: Opening of the 5th exhibition of the Artistes Indépendants, running through October 4; Van Gogh contributes 2 paintings.
• November 15: Octave Maus, secretary of Les XX, invites Van Gogh to participate in their forthcoming 7th annual exhibition in February 1890; Van Gogh accepts.

1890

Auberge Ravoux in Auvers

L’Auberge Ravoux, in Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent van Gogh spent his final months and where he died. It is now a French listed historic building and a tourist attraction incorporating a restaurant.

• January 18: Opening of the 7th annual exhibition of Les XX, Brussels, running through February 23; Van Gogh contributes 6 paintings, one of them is sold to Anna Boch. At the dinner, Henry de Groux insults van Gogh's paintings and refuses to allow his work to be displayed alongside Van Gogh's; Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec challenges de Groux to a duel in Van Gogh's defense, and Paul Signac declares that he would continue in Van Gogh's defense if Lautrec should be killed. De Groux is subsequently expelled from les XX.^[65]
• January 31: Theo's son Vincent is born.
• February 22–23: while on a visit to Arles, Van Gogh falls ill and has to be brought back to Saint-Rémy on a carriage. This crisis, lasting about nine weeks until the last days of April, is the longest recorded.
• March 20: Opening of the 6th exhibition of the Artistes Indépendants, running through April 27; Van Gogh contributes 10 paintings, 5 of which have already been shown at Les XX in Brussels. Gauguin, Guillaumin and other colleagues propose to exchange works;^[66] Monet sends his congratulations.^[67]
• May 1: recovered, he has taken up work again.^[68]
• May 16: Vincent is discharged from Saint Rémy, he travels to Paris, arrives May 17, at 10 in the morning.
• May 17–20: stays with Theo in Paris.
• May 20: moves to Auvers-sur-Oise.
• June 8: Theo and family visit.
• July 6: visits Theo in Paris.
• July 15: Theo accompanies his wife and son to the Netherlands; travelling via Antwerp.
• July 19: he is back in Paris.
• July 23: business forces Theo out for a day in Antwerp. Vincent conceives his last letter.
• July 27: Sunday evening, Vincent injures himself with a gun; Dr. Gachet is summoned at 9 p.m.^[69]
• July 29: Vincent dies, at 1.30 in the morning.^[70] Among his last words: "I wanted it to end like this."^[71]
• July 30: funeral, assisted by Theo, Gachet, Tanguy, Bernard, Laval, Lucien Pissarro, Lauzet and others.^[72]
• August 7: L'Echo Pontoisien, a weekly published every Thursday, reports Van Gogh's attempt to commit suicide and his death.^[73]
• September 14: Theo and his young family move nextdoor.
• September 20: Theo, assisted by Émile Bernard, mounts an improvised retrospective exhibition of his brother's works in Theo's former appartement.
• October 9: Theo collapses mentally and physically, and is admitted to the Maison Dubois hospital, Faubourg St. Denis, later to a clinic in Passy.
• November 18: Theo is transferred to the Willem Arntzkliniek in Utrecht.

1891

• January 25: Theo dies and is buried in De Built. In 1914, Theo's body was exhumed and reburied with his brother at Auvers-sur-Oise.^[74]

Footnotes

References

• Anonymous (initialled "H.H.H." and "W.F.d.C.H."): Van Gogh, 's-Gravenhage, Nederland's Patriciaat 50, 1964, p. 171-183
• Cooper, Douglas (ed.): Paul Gauguin: 45 Letters, The Hague 1983, p. 304-311 ISBN 90-12-03899-5
• Dijk, Wout J., & van der Sluis, Meent W.: De Drentse tijd van Vincent van Gogh, Boon uitgeverij, Groningen 2001 ISBN 90-75913-18-4
• Dorn, Roland, Schröder, Klaus Albrecht & Sillevis, John (ed.): Van Gogh und die Haager Schule (exh. cat. Kunstforum, Vienna), Skira, Milan 1996 ISBN 88-8118-072-3 (also available in Italian)
• Hulsker, Jan: The houses where Van Gogh lived in The Hague, Vincent I/1 (1970), p. 2-11
• Hulsker, Jan: The elusive van Gogh, and what his parents really thought of him, Simiolus 19/4, 1989, p. 243-270 ISSN 0037-5411
• Hulsker, Jan: Vincent and Theo van Gogh: A Dual Biography, Ann Arbor, Fuller Publications, 1990. ISBN 0-940537-05-2
• Jansen, Leo, and Jan Robert: Kort geluk. De briefwisseling tussen Theo van Gogh en Jo Bonger, Waanders, Zwolle 1999 ISBN 90-400-9353-9 (also available in English)
• Nonne, Monique: Les marchands de van Gogh, in: Van Gogh à Paris, ed. Françoise Cachin & Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov, Paris: RMN 1988, Annexe I, p. 330-338 ISBN 2-7118-2159-5
• Pickvance, Ronald: "A great artist is dead": Letters of Condolence on Vincent van Gogh's death, Waanders, Zwolle 1992 ISBN 90-6630-215-1
• Rewald, John: Theo van Gogh, Goupil, and the Impressionists, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, January & February 1973, p. 1-107; reprinted in Rewald, John: Studies in Post-Impressionism, Thames and Hudson, 1986, p. 7-115 (no ISBN)
• Rewald, John: Post-Impressionism, revised edition: Secker & Warburg, London 1978
• Stolwijk, Chris, and Thomson, Richard: Theo van Gogh 1857-1891: Art dealer, collector and brother of Vincent, Waanders, Zwolle 1999 ISBN 90-400-9363-6
• Stolwijk, Chris, and Veenenbos, Han: The account book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Primavera Pers, Leiden 2002 ISBN 90-74310-82-6
• Tralbaut, Marc Edo: Vincent van Gogh, Macmillan, London 1969
• Van Tilborgh, Louis: Van Gogh in Cormon's studio: A chronological puzzle, Van Gogh Studies I: Current Issues in 19th-Century Art, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam & Waanders, Zwolle 2007, pp. 53–71 ISBN 978-90-400-8350-1
• Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila: The early work of Charles Angrand and his contact with Vincent van Gogh, Editions Victorine, Utrecht & The Hague 1971
• Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila: Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers, Hugh Lauter Levine Associates, 1999 ISBN 0-88363-341-8
• Wylie, Anne Stiles: Vincent & Kee and the municipal archives in Amsterdam, Vincent IV/2, 1973, p. 2-7

External links

• Another chronology based on Susan Alyson Stein Van Gogh: A Retrospective, ISBN 0-88363-310-8.