Beneath a starry night: Celebrating Van Gogh's 162nd birthday

[Photo/Xinhua]

As a world-renowned artist, Vincent Van Gogh had a far-reaching influence on 20th-century art, expressionism and fauvism in particular. Born into an upper middle class family, he spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers but was dismissed for being too honest. He later worked as a missionary in a mining region in Belgium where he began to sketch people from the local community from 1879. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and devoted himself entirely to painting.

He once said that "more and more, I believe, to create the good price is hard work, disappointment and perseverance." However, he suffered depression and frequent bouts of mental illness for years and ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 37. His untimely death may well vindicate the old adage, "Only the good die young".

March 30 marks the birthday of the great master. 162 years ago, a genius came into the world. 162 years later, let's take a stock of his great masterpieces.