ABSTRACT
The figure of Vincent van Gogh stands out in the history of art and human experience as one of the most enigmatic cases in which severe psychopathology and a powerful creative genius were conjoined. He has taken his place as one of the towering figures in the world of art, one of the greatest painters of the 19th century (whose works, along with his 20th-century successor, Picasso, command the highest prices paid by collectors). Yet van Gogh's life, which ended in suicide, was an almost uninterrupted saga of hurt, abandonment, isolation, depression, desperation, hopelessness, and frustration.
