Vincent Van Gogh, educated genius
 Throughout the last century Vincent Van Gogh has constantly been regarded as a frustrated, troubled and misunderstood art genius. By considering his tormented, dense brushwork and his history as a mad man, one could argue he was nothing but a troubled, talented artist. However, a lot more can be said about the artist and the man that he was. The major source of details about his life is the vaste collection of the letters he wrote to his brother Theo, who worked as an art dealer and supported him throughout his life.  
 Vincent decided to become an artist at a late stage: he had tried many other occupations, but with no success. He had always been interested in art, but it was only in 1881 (at the age of 28) that he started practicing painting with the purpose of earning a living on it. He tried to attend many academic art schools, but since he was not happy with that kind of learning environment, he taught himself all the theories and techniques an artist could need in that time. To achieve the confidence he wanted to reach in painting, he practiced a lot, drawing copies of famous artworks of artists that inspired him. He also loved reading every literary genre; from the diaries of the great painters he admired, to contemporary writers, poems, philosophy books. It was thanks to his love for reading that he could build his own artistic culture. The main problem he had anyway, was to try to deal with his mind and anxiety, which often caused the people around him to refuse his presence.
 His "talent" was nothing but the result of his meticulous studies then, and his stay in Paris (1886) was also crucial to his style.1 What made him enlighten his palette was to get involved with the impressionist group and with all the artists that we now call post-impressionists. Further on, he would create a new kind of art, based on the work of the Barbizon group and of the realists. His art was aimed to express the truth but, at the same time, he was not afraid to show his own feelings, through his whirling brushwork, the bright colours and distortion.2