Van Gogh was not born a genius. His early works were all sketches in black and white, and then he discovered color! It must have been like entering heaven for him. His mental illness grew more and more acute, and the works got better and better. He didn't not many friends, and those in life were not loyal to him. I have 3 reproduced prints of his in my house, and my favorite is the sanatorium where he was doing well, and quite possibly should have stayed, but he had strong yearning to be out in the fields. Van Gogh shot himself in the heart and died about two days later, a terrible agonizing death.