Vincent van Gogh: Art and Religion

By Lida Prypchan
Vincent van Gogh was born into a clan that were adept at two things – religion and art. Traditionally, the male members of the family were expected to enter the art world or follow a calling into religious ministry. Vincent’s paternal grandfather, also named Vincent, obtained a degree of theology,...

“No More Rushing” and Juan David García Bacca

By Lida Prypchan
In most books about how to improve memory the authors depict memory as a file with many drawers where we can classify and select what will go in each. We memorize something in a better or worse way, depending on the favorable or unfavorable impression that it produces in us. How can we not be interested...

Vincent van Gogh: Skulls, Skeletons, and Cigarettes

By Lida Prypchan
Followed by controversy, Vincent van Gogh’s time in Paris with his brother in 1886, Theo, was preceded by a stay in Antwerp. After being accused of improper behavior with a village woman in Nuenen, van Gogh headed to Antwerp and made an effort to study art formally – specifically the study of color...

Vincent van Gogh: The Maturing of an Artist (1886)

By Lida Prypchan
Living with his brother, Theo, in Paris beginning March 1886, Vincent van Gogh seemed to have a positive effect on Vincent’s work. Perhaps this was because, in Paris, he was exposed to artists on a professional, rather than a student, level. Although Vincent still had little respect for art that he...