\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri195 \f1 \b Van Gogh\par
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\b0 Though of Dutch origin - he was born in Brabant in 1853 - van Gogh found a natural outlet for his
artistic talents in France, where he worked in Paris, Arles, and Auvers-sur-Oise. Although he had had a gift for drawing ever since his childhood, he did not dream of making it his vocation until after a series of setbacks, in particular with the Church
(he was the son of a pastor and wanted to become one himself). Little by little, he developed a totally original style of great expressive intensity and freedom of composition, combining planes of saturated color, large areas of flat tint, and sinuous a
nd jerky brush strokes. But, suffering from more and more frequent bouts of mental illness, he had to be treated in an asylum in Provence and then at the mental home run by Dr Gachet in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he shot himself in 1890.\par
