Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was only in our world for 37 years, and yet the prolific Dutch artist created over 2000 works of art. Interestingly enough, most of his 800+ oil paintings were created during the last two years of his life. One of them, "Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate)", was painted in May of 1890:
Journalist and teacher Jozef P. Astley has a great article on the background and inspiration for this Van Gogh painting, and cites art historian Kathleen P. Erickson's analysis of this work:
“Bent over with his fists clenched against a face hidden in utter frustration, the subject appears engulfed in grief. Certainly, the work would convey an image of total despair had it not been for the English title van Gogh gave it, At Eternity’s Gate. It demonstrates that even in his deepest moments of sorrow and pain, van Gogh clung to a faith in God and eternity, which he tried to express in his work.”
Van Gogh would commit suicide a little over two months later.
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