Vincent van Gogh was born in 1853 in Zundert, in the south of Holland. He was unlucky enough to live only 37 years old and discover his passion for art at the age of 27. Therefore, he worked as an artist only for 10 years of his life. This article investigates why his artistic works were neglected and underestimated even though he lived in the age of the Enlightenment, which means that he lived at the time when the art movement was at its peak.

During the Enlightenment era, the emphasis on literature, philosophy, science, fine arts, and music became widespread, especially with the growing middle class. This means that Vincent van Gogh had lived in a revived and flourishing art movement, which was supposed to help him prosper as an artist and get rich. On the contrary, he did not take advantage of the time of the Enlightenment and earned a reputation as an artist. Although Vincent painted 900 paintings and more than 1,100 drawings, his works remained unknown and unsold and his brother Theo supported him financially throughout his life.

Perhaps one of the reasons for his inability to assert himself as a renowned artist is his clumsy behavior when he suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions. Another reason that added insult to injury is his short-tempered nature and the rudeness that most of the time brought him bloody confrontations most prominently his fight with his partner Gauguin which ended up cutting off Vincent’s earlobe. In addition, he was always dirty and badly dressed, which made people avoid dealing with him or buying his artistic works. In addition, the deterioration of his health and economic situation caused him more pain in his life and caused the premature death of an artist as great as Vincent, but now, in our time, his magnificent painting (Portrait of Dr. Gachet) is sold around of 150 million dollars in auctions.

What we learn from Vincent’s experience is that the seed that is planted in the dark can later bloom in the light. This means that if you work on something you may not see its fruits or its fruits may be predestined for the next generations. What is most important as a moral lesson is that we should not judge talented people by their outward appearance, but by their abilities, talents, and essence.

Vincent van Gogh is just one example of the talented people who failed in their quest for glory.