Van Gogh: 900 Paintings in 10 Years, One Sale for 400 Francs, and Death at 37

Last updated: May 2026 · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Zundert, Netherlands, 30 March 1853 – Auvers-sur-Oise, France, 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose entire professional career lasted approximately 10 years (1880–1890) and produced approximately 900 paintings, 1,100 drawings, and 902 surviving letters to his brother Theo. He sold one painting during his lifetime. He died at 37. DeckArts Berlin reproduces Van Gogh's major works on Grade-A Canadian maple from approximately $140.

10 Years, 900 Paintings: The Geographic Periods

Van Gogh did not begin painting until age 27 (1880). Before that: art dealer for Goupil & Cie (1869–76), teacher and preacher in England, evangelical missionary in the Borinage coal-mining region of Belgium (dismissed 1879 for excessive zeal — he had given away his possessions to the miners). His painting career divides into distinct periods:

Netherlands (1880–85): Dark palette, social subjects (peasants, weavers). The Potato Eaters (1885, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam) is the culmination. Influenced by Millet and the Barbizon tradition.

Antwerp and Paris (1885–88): Introduction to Impressionism and Japanese printmaking. Meets Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Pissarro, Seurat. Absorbs Chevreul's complementary colour theory. Palette brightens dramatically.

Arles (February 1888 – May 1889): The most intensely productive 15 months in Western painting history. Approximately 200 paintings in 444 days (0.45/day). Sunflowers, Night Café, Bedroom in Arles, Café Terrace at Night, Starry Night on the Rhône. Invites Gauguin; the Arles period ends in December 1888 with the ear incident.

Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, Saint-Rémy (May 1889 – May 1890): Approximately 150 paintings in 12 months (0.41/day). Starry Night (MoMA), Irises (Getty), Almond Blossom, Cypress series, Olive Trees, self-portraits. The most sustained artistic achievement in 12 months by any painter in the Western tradition.

Auvers-sur-Oise (May – July 1890): Approximately 80 paintings in 70 days (1.1/day — highest sustained rate of his career). Wheatfield with Crows, Portrait of Dr Gachet, Auvers landscape series. Shot 27 July; died 29 July 1890.

The Red Vineyard: One Sale, 400 Francs

Van Gogh sold one painting during his lifetime: The Red Vineyard (1888, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Moscow, 75 × 93 cm), purchased by Belgian painter and collector Anna Boch at the Les XX exhibition in Brussels in February 1890 for 400 francs (approximately €1,500–2,000 in 2026 purchasing power). The identification is based on Theo van Gogh's financial records and correspondence. Van Gogh received news of the sale while at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole; he died five months later.

The gap between 400 francs (1890) and current auction prices ($80–150M) is the largest gap between lifetime and posthumous recognition in the history of the Western art market. The DeckArts Van Gogh works start at $140 — the biographical ambient: the person whose work hangs on your wall made approximately 900 paintings and sold one for the equivalent of €1,500.

902 Letters to Theo: The Primary Source

Van Gogh wrote 902 surviving letters to his brother Theo van Gogh (1857–1891), approximately every 3–5 days from 1872 until his death. The complete critical edition was published by the Van Gogh Museum in 2009 (six volumes, 3,000+ pages; available at vangoghletters.org). The letters are the primary source for almost everything known about Van Gogh's intentions, technique, palette choices, colour theory, and biographical facts.

Theo (1857–1891) supported Vincent financially throughout his career, sending approximately 150–250 francs monthly in exchange for paintings. Theo died six months after Vincent, in January 1891, aged 33, from syphilis complications. Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Theo's widow, then spent the following decades systematically promoting Vincent's work and organising exhibitions. The Van Gogh cultural phenomenon is substantially Jo's creation: without her sustained curatorial and promotional work in the 1890s–1910s, Van Gogh might have remained an obscure footnote rather than the most recognised painter in world history.

The Ear Incident: What the Evidence Shows

On the night of 23 December 1888, following a breakdown in his relationship with Gauguin, Van Gogh cut part of his left ear (the lower portion of the earlobe, as documented by treating physician Dr Felix Rey — not the full ear) and brought it to a woman named Rachel at the Maison de Tolerérance in Arles. He was found the following morning bleeding severely in his room at the Yellow House, hospitalised at the Hôtel-Dieu Arles.

The 2009 book by Martin Bailey and the 2011 book by Kaufmann and Wildegans proposed that Gauguin cut the ear. The Van Gogh Museum's scholarly consensus does not accept this hypothesis. The conventional account — Van Gogh's self-inflicted wound during a psychotic episode following the Gauguin breakdown — remains the most widely accepted reconstruction.

Saint-Paul-de-Mausole: The Most Productive Year

Van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy on 8 May 1889, following two further psychotic episodes in January and February 1889. He stayed for one year and eight days (left 16 May 1890), producing approximately 150 paintings in 12 months. The specific works: Starry Night (June 1889, MoMA New York), Irises (May 1889, J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles), Almond Blossom (February 1890, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam), multiple Cypress and Olive Trees series, and the Bedroom in Arles copy (September 1889, Art Institute of Chicago). Collectively insured for well over $1 billion. The therapeutic programme allowed patients to work; Van Gogh's therapy was painting.

Auvers: 70 Days, 80 Paintings, Death at 37

Van Gogh arrived in Auvers-sur-Oise on 20 May 1890, under the care of Dr Paul Gachet (1828–1909). He stayed at the Auberge Ravoux (still operating) and worked at 1.1 paintings per day — his highest sustained rate. On 27 July 1890 he went into the wheatfields and shot himself in the chest. He walked back to the Auberge Ravoux, was found in his room, and Dr Gachet was summoned. Theo arrived from Paris on 28 July. Van Gogh died on 29 July 1890 at approximately 1:30 AM, aged 37. Reported last words: "La tristesse durera toujours" ("The sadness will last forever") — reported by Theo in a letter to their mother. The Naifeh/White Smith (2011) hypothesis of accidental shooting by a local teenager is not accepted by Van Gogh Museum consensus.

Market Value: 400 Francs to $150 Million

Portrait of Dr Gachet ($82.5M, Christie's 1990) generated controversy: buyer Ryoei Saito stated he wished to be cremated with the painting. His estate has not confirmed the painting's current location; it has not appeared publicly since 1997.

Technique: Pigments, Colour Theory, Speed

Key pigments: Chrome yellow (lead chromate, PbCrO₄) — warm luminous yellow of Sunflowers and Starry Night stars, but chemically unstable (fades to pale blue-grey in some works; see Bedroom in Arles guide); Prussian blue (ferric ferrocyanide) — cool blues of the Starry Night sky and Almond Blossom; emerald green (chrome green); vermilion for reds.

Speed: Van Gogh typically completed one painting per day, wet-on-wet, with thick impasto from brush and palette knife. The physical texture of his mature works — visible brush marks frozen in fast-drying paint — is the direct result of this speed.

Colour theory: Based on Chevreul's De la loi du contraste simultané (1839) and Charles Blanc's Grammaire des arts du dessin (1867). Systematic complementary pairs: chrome yellow + Prussian blue (Starry Night), red + green (Night Café), orange + blue (Café Terrace at Night). Letter 605: "I have tried to express terrible human passions with red and green."

Key Works Reference Table

FAQ

How many paintings did Van Gogh sell during his lifetime?

One. The Red Vineyard (1888, Pushkin Museum Moscow) was purchased by Anna Boch at the Les XX exhibition in Brussels in February 1890 for 400 francs (approximately €1,500–2,000 in 2026 purchasing power). Van Gogh produced approximately 900 paintings in 10 years. Today his works sell for $50–150 million. The gap between 400 francs and current auction prices is the largest lifetime-posthumous recognition gap in art market history. DeckArts Van Gogh works from ~$140.

How many letters did Van Gogh write to Theo?

902 surviving letters, written approximately every 3–5 days from 1872 until Van Gogh's death in 1890. The complete critical edition was published by the Van Gogh Museum in 2009 (six volumes, 3,000+ pages; available at vangoghletters.org). The letters are the primary source for almost all factual knowledge about Van Gogh's technical methods, colour theory choices, and biographical circumstances. Theo van Gogh (1857–1891) also wrote back; approximately 40 of Theo's letters to Vincent survive. DeckArts from ~$140.

How old was Van Gogh when he died?

37 years old. Van Gogh was born 30 March 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands, and died 29 July 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, 36 hours after shooting himself on 27 July 1890. His brother Theo arrived from Paris on 28 July and was present at his death at approximately 1:30 AM on 29 July. Theo died six months later on 25 January 1891, aged 33. DeckArts from ~$140.

Article Summary

Van Gogh (Zundert 30 March 1853 – Auvers-sur-Oise 29 July 1890, age 37). Career 10 years (1880–1890): ~900 paintings, ~1,100 drawings, 902 letters to Theo. Periods: Netherlands dark (Potato Eaters 1885), Paris/Antwerp Impressionism (1885–88), Arles 200 paintings/444 days (1888–89), Saint-Paul-de-Mausole 150 paintings/12 months (1889–90), Auvers 80 paintings/70 days. One sale: Red Vineyard, 400 francs, Anna Boch, Les XX Brussels, February 1890 (~€1,500–2,000 in 2026). 902 letters: complete edition Van Gogh Museum 2009, vangoghletters.org. Ear: 23 December 1888, partial left earlobe (Dr Felix Rey documentation), brought to Rachel at brothel; Kaufmann/Wildegans Gauguin hypothesis not accepted by Van Gogh Museum. Died: 29 July 1890, age 37, shot 27 July, Theo present. Market: $82.5M Dr Gachet (Christie's 1990), $53.9M Irises (Sotheby's 1987), $39.9M Sunflowers (Christie's 1987). Technique: chrome yellow (PbCrO₄, unstable), Prussian blue, wet-on-wet speed, Chevreul complementary pairs. DeckArts from ~$140. Canadian maple. UV archival 100+ years. Berlin. 30-day return.

About the Author

Stanislav Arnautov is the founder of DeckArts and a creative director from Ukraine based in Berlin.