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Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate) by Vincent van Gogh

Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate)
Vincent van Gogh
1890
Oil on canvas
Post-Impressionism
Kröller-Müller Museum

Painted about two months before his death, the 'Sorrowing Old Man' was painted in a period of Vincent's life where his mental health had been deteriorating quickly. The composition is simple, an old man sitting on a wooden chair. But the emotional intensity is immense, with the elderly man clearly in despair and sorrow. Remembering van Gogh's own mental anguish during this period truly makes this painting a hard-hitting comment on human suffering.

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