Britannica
Sources used in this answer
When did Vincent van Gogh decide to become an artist?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Vincent van Gogh
Self-Portrait, oil on artist's board on cradled panel by Vincent van Gogh, 1887; in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Vincent van Gogh discovered his vocation as an artist in 1880.1
Following a period of deep personal and spiritual crisis while working as a missionary in the Borinage coal-mining region, van Gogh felt his faith had been destroyed and sank into despair. During this time of withdrawal, he began to draw seriously, eventually deciding that his new mission in life would be to provide consolation to humanity through his art. He expressed this commitment to his brother, Theo van Gogh, stating his desire to offer a brotherly message to the wretched through his work.1