This is a chronology of the artist Vincent van Gogh. It is based as far as possible on Van Gogh's correspondence. However, it has only been possible to construct the chronology by drawing on additional sources. Most of his letters are not dated and it was only in 1973 that a sufficient dating was established by Jan Hulsker, subsequently revised by Ronald Pickvance and marginally corrected by others. Many other relevant dates in the chronology derive from the biographies of his brother Theo, his uncle and godfather Cent, his friends Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, and others.

Facts and dates which are undisputed (see Resources), remain unreferenced.

1850 1851 1852 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1862 1864 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891

Footnotes References External links __NOTOC__

1850

November 6: Vincent van Gogh (Uncle Cent) marries Cornelia Carbentus, in The Hague.

1851 May 21: Ds. Theodorus van Gogh, since 1849 pastor in Groot-Zundert,Hulsker, 6, 8 marries Anna Cornelia Carbentus, his brother Cent's sister-in-law, in The Hague.

1852 March 30: Theodorus and Anna Cornelia have their first child, a son, called Vincent; dies at birth.

1853

March 30: Vincent Willem van Gogh is born in Zundert.Vincent Van Gogh - Biography, Quotes & Paintings, retrieved June 14th 2007.

1855 February 17: sister Anna Cornelia van Gogh, (1855–1930), called Anna, is born.

1857 May 1: brother Theodorus van Gogh, called Theo, is born.

1859 May 16: sister , (1859–1936), called Lies, is born.

1861 March 26: Uncle Cent becomes partner of Goupil & Cie.Nonne 1988, p. 333, note 36

1862 March 16: sister Willemina Jacoba van Gogh, (1862–1941), called Wil, is born.

1864 October 1: in Zevenbergen to attend the school of Jan Provily.

1866 August: leaves Zevenbergen. September 3: enters secondary school at Tilburg: the Koning Willem II school.

1867 May 17: brother Cornelis Vincent van Gogh, (1867–1900), called Cor, is born.

1868 March: leaves Tilburg and returns to his family in Zundert.

1869 July 30: Vincent starts apprenticeship with Goupil & Cie, The Hague.

1871 January: Van Gogh's family moves to Helvoirt.

1872 January 29: Uncle Cent, until then one of three shareholders of Goupil & Cie., retires from business, but continues holding his share, now 6/30 (and formerly 1/3?); Adolphe and Albert Goupil hold 7/30 each, and Léon Goupil 10/30.Nonne 1988, p. 345, note 40

1873

January 1: Theo starts apprenticeship with Goupil & Cie, Brussels. February 19: the lot to serve in the army has fallen on Vincent, but his father bought him out (and therefore, according to Dutch law, his younger brothers Theo and Cor, too).Letter from father to Theo, 19 February 1873 May 12: Vincent leaves for Paris where he visits the Paris branches of Goupil & Cie, the annual Salon and the Musée du Luxembourg. a week later: takes up work at the London branch of Goupil & Cie; it is not known where he first lodged. August: moves to the house of Ursula Loyer and her daughter Eugenie in Brixton, 87 Hackford Road.

1874 June 27 - July 15: summer holiday with his family in Helvoirt. August: moves to Kennington (Ivy Cottage, 395 Kennington Road). November: on the demand of Uncle Cent, Vincent is transferred to Paris to get acquainted with the headquarters of Goupil & Cie.Letter from mother to Theo, 28 October 1874 November 26: Jet Carbentus, a cousin of Vincent, marries Anton Mauve. Christmas: with his family in Helvoirt.

1875 January 2: returns to London. May 24: Goupil's London opens its first exhibition. end of May: Vincent is re-transferred to Paris headquarters. October 18: Van Gogh's family moves to Etten. Christmas: with his family in Etten. December 30: visits Uncle C. M. in the Hague to talk about his future.Letter from mother and father to Theo, 31 December 1875 December 31: Vincent's father advises Vincent to resign from Goupil & Cie.

1876 January 4: back to Paris, a talk with Léon Boussod ends with Van Gogh's resignation from Goupil & Cie.Letter from father to Theo, 12 January 1876 February 19: sends a letter to Theo, stating, 'No news yet from Scarborough' after presumably applying for a teaching post. March 30: his last day at Goupil's. March 31: returns to Etten for a fortnight. April 7: Theo, too, is on a visit in Etten.Letter from father and mother to Theo, 31 March 1876 April 14: Vincent leaves for England.Letter from mother to Theo, 16 April 1876 April 16: arrives at Ramsgate to teach at the school of William Stokes, 6 Royal Road; he lodges nearby at 11 Spencer Square. June: Stokes transfers his school to Linkfield House, 183 Twickenham Road, Isleworth. July 3: Van Gogh moves to the school of Reverend Thomas Slade-Jones (1829–1883) at Holme Court, 158 Twickenham Road, Isleworth. September 26:Theo misses work because he has fallen seriously ill.Hulsker, J. 1990, page 34 October 23:Theo still ill; his mother travels to Etten. October 29: Vincent's first sermon at Richmond Methodist Church.Letter 79, includes the text of Vincent's sermon November 16:Theo finally well enough to leave Etten. Christmas: Vincent returns to Etten.

1877 January to May: works as a bookseller's assistant in Dordrecht. May 14: moves to Amsterdam to study for entrance into the university.Letter from father to Theo, 7 May 1877

1878 ?: Uncle Cent withdraws his shares from Goupil & Cie. March: Tersteeg has recommended Theo to assist Goupil & Cie in Paris during the World's Fair. July 5: Vincent abandons studies and returns to Etten. July 16–17: father introduces Vincent to the governors of the Evangelical College (Vlaamse opleidingsschool) in Laeken, a suburb of Brussels, accompanied by Reverend Jones.Letter from father to Theo, 22 July 1878 (One of six founders in 1875 was Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen). 24 August: having postponed his departure to assist at the wedding of his sister Anna (August 21), Vincent moves to Laeken.Letter from mother to Theo, 21 August 1878 October 27: C. M. Vos, husband of Kee Vos Stricker, dies. December: fails exams. December 26: turns to the Committee of the Evangelical College (Comité d'Evangélisation) and asks to be accepted for a post in the Borinage.

1879

January: for 6 months on trial, Vincent is accepted to do evangelical work in the Borinage.Letter from father to Theo, 20 January 1879 late June: Vincent learns his temporary contract will not be renewed; he is given three months to find something else.Letter from mother to Theo, 2 July 1879 July 31: his contract ends. August 1: next day, Vincent sets out on a first walk to find employment, all across the Borinage up to the North. Finally, in Tournai, he shifts to North-east to visit Reverend Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen in Maria-Hoorebeeke, but when he arrives on Sunday afternoon (August 3), Pieterszen is out for some days in Brussels, where they meet on Monday morning (August 4).Letter from father to Theo, 7 August 1879. Dates corrected according to the content of the letter. August 5: he is in Cuesmes "again," close to Mons; as Theo is expected to pass Mons by train soon, Vincent asks his brother to meet there.Letter 131 August ?: spends a day with Theo, leaves for Wasmes in the evening where he is lodged by J. B. Denis, Rue du Petit Wasmes à Wasmes (Hainaut).Letter 132 August 15 Vincent arrives back at Etten to stay with his parents.Letter from mother to Theo, 19 August 1879

1880 Spring ???: stays with family at EttenErickson, page 68. March 11: Vincent is still living with his parents. mid March ???: when his father tries to put him into an asylum (Gheel), he escapes to Cuesmes. end March ???: Vincent sets out on a second walk to find employment in the Borinage; in the end he walks to Courrières and goes to visit Jules Breton, but doesn't have the nerve to enter the property.Letter 136, dated 24 September 1880 from Cuesmes, describes this trip as occurring in winter; see also Martin Gayford, The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles, Fig Tree, Penguin, 2006. . See page 177. - March 1880 is also the date proposed by Jan Hulsker, Van Gogh in close-up, Amsterdam 1993 April 16: Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen dies in Maria-Horebeke. first days of July: a while after his return to Cuesmes, Vincent learns that money recently sent by his parents was in fact from Theo; thanking him for his support, Vincent tries to explain his present situation; he is staying with Ch. Decrucq, Rue du Pavillon 8, Cuesmes.Letter 133 Theo forwarded this letter to the parents who commented on July 5.Letter from the parents to Theo, July 5, 1880 August 20: takes up correspondence with Theo again.Letter 134 September: works after Charles Bargue's platework (Cours de dessin), which he got on loan from Tersteeg, head of Goupil & Cie in The Hague.Letter 135, September 7, 1880 October: moves to Brussels, takes the advice of Willem Roelofs and enrolls in a beginners' art course at the Academy; as suggested by Theo, he meets Anthon van Rappard.

1881 April: moves back to Etten and draws. April 17: meets Theo. Mid-June: Rappard on visit in Etten. Summer: Kee Vos Stricker spends some time in Etten with Vincent's parents. Vincent falls in love with her.Anne Stiles Wylie (1973) pointed out that Van Gogh already admired Kee in 1877, while he was in Amsterdam and they both watched her husband dying. August 23–26: trip to The Hague; he visits Anton Mauve and Théophile de Bock, sees some exhibitions and the recently opened Panorama Mesdag.Letter 149, including a post-script of his mother. Dating of Van Gogh's trip revised by Roland Dorn, Van Goghs Lehrzeit bei Mauve, in: Dorn, Schröder & Sillevis (1996), p. 59 and p. 63 note 1 late November: writes letter to Uncle Stricker,Letter 161 to Theo, 23 November 1881 and within a couple of days goes to Amsterdam in person himself.Letter 162 to Theo, 1–3 December 1881, saying he has already been to Amsterdam ?: arrives in Amsterdam and demands to see Kee but she avoids him; aunt and uncle Stricker accompany him to a good and cheap lodging, where he stays for some days.Letter 164 to Theo, 21 December 1881, giving more detail of visit, few days, last visit on a Sunday (presumably Sunday 27 November 1881). To be revised?! November 27 or December 4: "Sunday evening" at about 7 o'clock, he arrives in The Hague to stay with Anton Mauve for some time. Mauve encourages him to work in oils and watercolours. December 19: Vincent is still in The HagueLetter from mother to Theo, 19 December 1881 and unable to leave, as he is short of money.Letter 163 A few days later he is back to Etten, and confesses that recently—evidently for the first time in his life—he sought the ministrations of a back-street girl.Letter 164, c. December 21, 1881. No name is mentioned, but this may be the first reference to Sien. December 25: On Christmas Day, Vincent quarrels with his father, who had tried to force him to assist the Christmas service, and leaves for The Hague.Letter 166, 29 December 1881

1882

January: moves into a small studio, Schenkweg 138. mid to late January: meets Clasina Maria Hoornik ("Sien") and sets up a domestic relationship with her. June 7: admitted to municipal hospital to be treated for gonorrhea. July 1: leaves the hospital;Extract from the patients' register, illustrated in: Marc Edo Tralbaut (1969), p. 87 in the next days he moves next door into a larger studio, Schenkweg 136 (since 1884: Schenkstraat 13).Jan Hulsker (1970), p. 2-11 July 2: Sien gives birth to a baby boy, who is given the name Willem. August: following a visit of Theo who supplied money for colour, Van Gogh starts painting in oil at the sea coast in Scheveningen. November: has trial proofs of 6 lithographs printed.

1883 September: leaves Sien, and moves to Drenthe. September 11: arrives in Hoogeveen, late in the evening, and lodges with Albertus Hartsuiker, Groote KerkstraatDijk & Van der Sluis (2001), pp. 102-103