Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh was a famous Dutch painter of the late 19th century. Though born in Holland, he lived most of his life in France and was especially associated with Provence. He lived in the Parisian neighborhood of Montmartre for a period of time. Van Gogh suffered from intense mental illness, including bipolar disorder and bouts of anxiety. He died at the age of 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although largely unknown at the time of his death, he went on to be regarded as one of the greatest painters of all time.
Biography
Early life
Vincent van Gogh was sent to France by his brother Theo in order to gain experience by possibly meeting other painters of his time. However, he eventually ended up alone, and gained a reputation among the locals of Auvers-sur-Oise as a madman and drunkard. He tried to sell his paintings, without success, in order to buy drink.
Meeting the Doctor
Van Gogh encountered the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond in 1890. He commented on Amy's beauty before accepting her offer to share a bottle of wine. They were interrupted by several villagers; a young girl had been found dead. When the Doctor, van Gogh and Amy attempted to help the girl, one of the villagers blamed Vincent for the accident and drove him away, throwing rocks. Vincent allowed the Doctor and Amy to stay in his home which was cluttered with paintings he considered worthless. Later, when Amy was attacked by the Krafayis, a seemingly invisible creature, it was revealed to the Doctor and Amy that Vincent could see it, allowing him to save both Amy and the Doctor.
With some persuasion from Amy and the Doctor, Vincent agreed to help them stop the Krafayis from killing anyone else. However, before they left for the church, Vincent had a breakdown, upset because, like everyone else before, both Amy and the Doctor would leave and he would be forgotten and alone. When the Doctor attempted to empathise, he became angry and ordered him out. After calming down, Vincent once again decided to help the Doctor, stating that if Amy Pond could soldier on, so could he. As he walked with the Doctor and Amy he revealed to Amy that he could tell Amy was heartbroken, though she herself could not.
When they reached the church, he began to paint, despite several interruptions from the Doctor he continued, after several hours he spotted the creature in one of the church's windows. As the Doctor leaves to confront the Krafayis, Vincent sees the beast noticing him and follows, allowing the Doctor, Amy and himself to hide. Whilst hiding from the Krafayis, the Doctor works out that it is blind and was scared being all alone on Earth.
When the Krafayis charged for the attack on the group Vincent attempted to ward off the creature but it ended up impaling itself and dying, for which he showed great remorse. He genuinely sympathised with the creature's plight, as both were mistreated by their peers due to their different forms of vision.
When the Doctor and Amy prepared to leave, Vincent admitted to the Doctor that without them, his life would take a downwards turn. Before a tearful farewell, the Doctor took Vincent to 2010 to the van Gogh Museum Exhibit. At the Doctor's request, Dr. Black then described him as the greatest artist of all time, a man who turned the sad aspects of life into the most beautiful art the world had ever seen. Black's description of him as not only the greatest artist but also one of the greatest men of all time reduced Vincent to tears. He thanked Dr. Black, who for a moment realised whom he had just met. Once returned to his own time, after he thanked the Doctor and unsuccessfully proposed marriage to Amy, he stated that he had a new found respect for life. (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)
Later life
Soon afterwards, however, Vincent came under the care of Dr. Gachet as his fears were realised: his mental health further deteriorated. During his final year of life, he was affected by the transmission of the warning signal of Stonehenge about the Pandorica and was plagued with visions of the Doctor's TARDIS exploding. He painted the subject in The Pandorica Opens, which was ferried for thousands of years, ending up in River Song's possession. (DW: The Pandorica Opens) Due to the Doctor's intervention, the TARDIS never exploded, and the source of the transmission never came to exist, stopping the visions from ever coming to Vincent in the first place. (DW: The Big Bang)
After having returned Vincent to his own time, the Doctor and Amy returned to the exhibit in 2010. They discovered that, despite their best efforts, Vincent still killed himself the following year. Amy was distraught at having failed to change Vincent's life, but the Doctor assured her that they had made some difference. At the museum, they saw that the Sunflowers inspired by Amy in 1890, had been changed and dedicated "for Amy". (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)
Works
- The Doctor was given a sketch of the Krafayis by van Gogh to identify the creature. It is presumably still in his TARDIS.
- Craig Owens had a postcard for the van Gogh exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay on his fridge. (DW: The Lodger)
- Peri Brown was able to identify his works. (DWM: Changes)
- Harry Sullivan attended an exhibition of van Gogh's work and met a young woman named Samantha there. Sullivan was later linked to the van Gogh Appreciation Society (a front for the European Anarchist Revolution) and its leader, Zbigniew Brodsky. (TC: Harry Sullivan's War)
- At some point, Van Gogh met the Sixth Doctor and painted a portrait of him. (DWM: Changes)
