“I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.” —Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent stuck with his desire to help people’ and even followed in the footsteps of his father being a clergyman. Vincent’s religious career lasted until 1880 and during that time he worked as a preacher in the Belgian Borinage mining district. Vincent became almost obsessed with how hard the miners had to work’ and how difficult their jobs were’ despite lacking pay. Vincent Van Gogh went over board in his attempts to help other people’ even giving the clothes off his own back to the miners. This odd behavior didn’t go unnoticed by the clergy’ and he was finally dismissed from his post in July of 1879. It was after Vincent was dismissed from his post that he began to draw and sketch the miners in their day-to-day work. This was a period of artistic realism for Van Gogh’ as he tried to depict the beauty in a world that was far from perfect for the desperate and over worked miners and weavers from this area.

In late 1880′ with the financial backing from Theo’ Vincent truly began his art studies. Theo and Vincent had always been close’ and Theo desperately wanted to see Vincent succeed. The two corresponded’ and in the letters Vincent revealed much about his life and desire to focus on art. Vincent briefly attended an art Academy in Brussels’ but left soon afterward sighting that he didn’t need the instruction’ that practical working was much more suitable. Vincent continued his art studies’ taking examples from books and other things that met his fancy along the way. It was Theo’s love for his brother that inspired him to help support his art schooling’ and though the formal schooling didn’t last long’ his support of Vincent was just beginning’ and was something that would continue until Vincent’s death.