1. His most famous painting, the Starry Night was completed when he was residing in an asylum. He admitted himself in there and was recuperating from a nervous breakdown. He never thought the painting was any good.

2. He completed about 21,000 paintings in his lifetime.

3. He cut his ear lobe off when he was arguing with a fellow painter, Gaugin. It was rumored that he took the dismembered earlobe to a local brothel and offered it as a gift to a prostitute.

4. He was inspired by the East, particularly a Japanese woodblock prints. He even made a replica of one of these woodblock prints.

5. His first painting was when he was 27, a relatively late age. He is largely self-taught.

6. His life is docume=nted through the many letters he wrote. He wrote to his brother, his friend, Paul Gaugin. Some interesting quotes from his letters are ” if one were to say but few words, though ones with meanings, one would do better than to say many that were only empty sounds, and just as easy to utter as they were of little use” and “Well, then, what can I say; does what goes on inside show on the outside? Someone has a great fire in his soul and nobody ever comes to warm themselves at it, and passer-by see nothing but a little smoke at the top of the chimney and then go on their way. So now what are we to do, keep this fire alive inside, have salt in ourselves, wait patiently, but with how much patience, await the hour, I say, when whoever wants to, will come and sit down there, will stay there, for all I know?” . 

6. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. His mental health had deteriorated badly. After he shot himself, he managed to walk back to his residence where he was treated by 2 doctors. He died of infection two days later. His last words were “the sadness will last forever”. 

(Image credits: Google Images)