Vincent van Gogh is certainly one of the most well-known and celebrated artists in the world. His biography is notorious, being one of the most famous representatives of the “tormented artist” character. Did you know that van Gogh’s love life also wasn’t very successful? He proposed three times in his life and was turned down in all of them. In this article, we will uncover some of the failed love stories in the artist’s life.
Caroline
Van Gogh was born in the small city of Zundert on March 30, 1853, Netherlands, to a conservative, Protestant family.
The first accounted love of van Gogh’s life was possibly Caroline Haanebeek, his second cousin. His brother Theo, in turn, was in love with Annette, Caroline’s sister, who died young due to an illness. Caroline didn’t respond to Vincent’s advances and married another man. Nevertheless, the artist usually sent letters to her and her husband stating the happy times he had with their family.
Eugenie
In 1873, Vincent van Gogh went to London. There, he rented a room from Ursula and her daughter Eugenie Loyer, the principal of the school she ran. Eugenie and van Gogh had a good, friendly relationship, and soon, the artist would develop deeper feelings for her. However, as before, Vincent’s love was unrequited since Eugenie was already engaged to another man, the previous tenant from van Gogh’s rented room. At first, the artist seemed to accept the rejection well. Still, he was later heartbroken by the situation.
Kee
Soon, van Gogh went back to his family home in the Netherlands. During this time, the artist fell in love with another cousin, Cornelia (Kee) Vos-Stricker. Van Gogh revealed to both his and her family the love he felt for Kee. Both families were less than pleased, and Kee’s father urged the artist to forget his daughter. When sharing his feelings with Kee, she was very emphatic in her response. “No, nay, never,” she said. For van Gogh, Kee was not very convincing in her rejection, so he still felt he could win her over.
One could say that van Gogh was annoyingly insistent. At some point, the artist went to the Stricker home demanding to see Kee. He even put his hand on a lamp flame, asking to see her for as long as he could keep his hand there. This was to no avail; Kee’s family blew the candle and said he wouldn’t see her. Van Gogh was left heartbroken, with an unbearable void.
Sien
Van Gogh’s next love story is with Clasina Maria Hoornik, known as Sien. She was a sex worker, had a five-year-old child, and was also pregnant. Sien posed for several van Gogh paintings and drawings, and in exchange, the artist provided her and her family with food and a place to stay. She depicted her in domestic activities, caring for the home, her children, and sewing. Soon, he took the family to his own home. This would be the only speck of a family relationship van Gogh would have in his lifetime, even considering marrying the woman.
When van Gogh’s family discovered the relationship, they urged the artist to end it and abandon Sien and her children. The artist refused at first. However, after subsequent pleas from his brother Theo, van Gogh ultimately abandoned the family.
Margot
Van Gogh then returned to his family home in Neuen. He soon fell for Margot, his neighbor eight years his senior. In 1884, in a change of pace, compared to van Gogh’s last shots at relationships, Margot accepted the artist’s advances. They fell in love and seemed happy together, and he even proposed to her. However, things were not looking good for the couple, as both van Gogh’s and Margot’s families didn’t approve of their romance, and soon, gossip began to spread regarding the relationship. Anguished by the situation, Margot attempted suicide by poisoning herself. Although she survived, her relationship with Vincent van Gogh ended.
Gordina
Another possible relationship in the artist’s life was with Gordina de Groot, a peasant woman. When she got pregnant, people thought that van Gogh was the father, but that was not the case. She appears in many van Gogh pieces from his early career, including the famous “Potato Eaters.”
Agostina
In 1886, van Gogh moved to Paris, where he met several important artists of the time, such as Paul Signac, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Paul Gauguin. The latter with whom he developed a tumultuous friendship, ultimately leading to the notorious severing of his ear.
Also in Paris happened one of the most relevant love stories of Vincent van Gogh’s life, his relationship with Agostina Segatori. She was the owner of the Café du Tambourin, a place where van Gogh was a regular.
Segatori was also a famous model, having posed for many famous artists. Famous depictions of Agostina Segatori include Edouard Manet’s “L’italienne” from 1860; Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s “Agostina” and “Interrupted Reading”, from 1866 and 1870, respectively; also posing for Eugene Delacroix and Jean-Leon Gerome. There are two van Gogh pictures of Segatori, “The Italian” and “The Woman with the Tambourine.” In addition to these two portraits, van Gogh also created several oil nudes of her. She also organized an exhibition at her place, where the artist showed several masterpieces.
Accounts suggest they began their relationship by the spring of 1887. Soon, their relationship started to get turbulent, and they decided to separate only four months after the beginning of their affair.
After Segatori, there’s no account of another relationship or love interest in Vincent van Gogh’s life. From this moment on, his love life was the focus of art.
Conclusion
As we can see, sadly, Vincent van Gogh’s love life wasn’t any more successful than his artistic career. He went through periods of loneliness and isolation throughout his life and ultimately left with the sole company of his art. All van Gogh paintings reveal the mind of a very intense person. It’s possible that romantically, especially considering some of these accounts, the artist was also highly impassionate.
