Vincent Van Gogh was a man in a hurry, an artist of tremendous energy and prodigious output. He killed himself when he was only 37, but he left behind him more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, which established his reputation in a way he would never have considered possible.  

文森特·凡高是个闲不住的人，是位精力超凡而又多产的艺术家。尽管他在年仅三十七岁时就自杀身亡，但留下的绘画作品却超过了两千幅，这使他名声鹊起，如果还在世，这也会令他始料不及。

Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1835 at Groot Zundert in the Dutch province of Noord Brabant. He was the son of a clergyman. His first artistic impressions were formed as a boy, from his uncle who was an art dealer. The motivation bore early fruit and from the age of 12 the young Vincent was drawing. The interest led to an apprenticeship in an art dealer’s firm, Groupil’s, in the Hague. When he was only 20, he was transferred to the firm’s London office.

凡高1853年3月30日出生于荷兰北布拉班特省的格鲁特·宗德尔特，是位牧师的儿子。孩提时代，由于受到做画商的叔叔的影响，他就对艺术已有了初步的印象。这种动力在他十二岁时就初见成果，年幼的文森特开始作画了。对绘画的兴趣使他在海牙的古比尔画店开始了学徒生涯。当他刚满二十岁，就被调到画店的伦敦分店。

In London Van Gogh faced his first major crisis, when he was rejected in love. After that, he turned to religion, expressed disapproval with art-dealing and neglected his work, Groupil transferred him from London to Paris but, when his work was still unsatisfactory, dismissed him in 1876.

在伦敦凡高面临着他的头一个重大危机：他失恋了。自打那时起，他皈依宗教，表现出对绘画交易的不满以及对工作玩忽职守的态度。古比尔把他从伦敦调到巴黎，可看到他的工作还是不尽人意时，就在1876年将他解雇了。

The young Van Gogh made religion a consuming interest and during the next few years traveled in Britain, Belgium and Holland, trying to establish himself as a preacher, but without success. He developed strong opinions on social morality, customs and church life and alienated those he mixed with by an uncompromising attitude.

年轻的凡高对宗教痴迷不悔并在随后的几年中遍游英国，比利时和荷兰，试图使自己成为传教士，然而未能如愿。他对社会道德、习俗及宗教生活产生了强烈的想法并且态度坚定地疏远那些与他交往的人。

In 1880, at the age of 27, he found himself drawn back to art. He had a job as an assistant evangelist in the mining village of Borinage in Belgium but realized an artistic drive which was to motivate him unceasingly until his death 10 years later.

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