STARRY, STARRY NIGHT

Today is Vincent Van Gogh's 150th birthday, and his story is one of the most tragic of any artist.

He was by far one of the most talented artists to ever live, yet during his lifetime he was overlooked as a madman, was shunned by his local village and only sold a single painting during his lifetime. 

However, despite all of his troubles, he still continued painting, sometimes more than one painting per day, was a very compassionate person (he allowed a homeless pregnant prostitute to live with him) and up until the day he killed he maintained a close relationship with his brother through writing constant letters to each other (there's a really interesting documentary about it if you're interested - or if you want to see proof of what an excellent actor Benedict Cumberbatch can be) 

At the end of the day, all that can be said is that Van Gogh was an outstanding, misunderstood man whose life ended far too early.

Song of the day: Vincent by Don McLean

xxxx