Vincent van Gogh was a leading postimpressionist painter of the late nineteenth century, known for his thick, swirling brushstrokes and radical use of color. Before he was an artist, though, he was a pastor to a village of destitute coal miners in Belgium, an experience that shaped him deeply. Vincent was full of compassion and wonder, anguish and hope. “Sorrowful yet always rejoicing” was one of his personal mottoes. His art—whether of sunflowers for his friend Paul Gauguin, a peasant family sitting down for dinner, or a starry sky outside his asylum window—highlights the numinous in the day-to-day.

This artist profile is guest-hosted by Victoria Emily Jones, a writer on Christianity and the arts. Visit her blog, Art & Theology, and follow her on Twitter @artandtheology or Instagram @art_and_theology.

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