The Mind Creative MARCH 2015 | Page 9

Vincent Van Gogh Van Gogh’s iconic paintings are worth a fortune today and his style is widely recognized by art lovers across the world. Today his iconic paintings sell for tens of millions of dollars and his style is immediately recognizable to people all over the world. In fact, one of his paintings was reputedly sod for over USD $90 million in 1990. Yet, in his lifetime, van Gogh made only around $109 from the sale of his paintings. He was plagued with anxiety and mental illness for most of his life and the lack of appreciation for his art only increased his mental traumas. He cut off his earlobe in December 1888 and from then on his life spiralled out of control, culminating with his presumed suicide. He died penniless and sick; his last words that summed up his sad life were: "The sadness will last forever." 9