阅读理解

　　Today, the paintings by Vincent van Gogh(梵高)are world-famous and worth millions of dollars but while he was alive, Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting．He was a lonely, unhappy man suffering from mental illness, and he died at 37．

　　Vincent van Gogh was born in Holland in 1853．His first connection with paintings came in 1869, when he got a job in the Goupil Gallery．He worked for this art dealer(经销商)in London and Paris for four years before he became a teacher in England for a short time．He moved back to France in 1877 and soon began to paint．

　　Gogh was influenced by the famous artists that he met in Paris, where he returned to live in 1886．He did not stay long in the French capital．He was attracted by the vivid(鲜艳的)colors of the countryside and, in 1888, he moved to Aries, a small town in the south of France．There, he painted his most famous paintings, using strong brush strokes(画笔的笔触)and bright colors．Vincent van Gogh mainly painted landscapes(风景画), but he also produced portraits(肖像)of local people, such as the doctor and the postman．

　　It was around this time that Vincent van Gogh began to show signs of mental illness．In 1889, following an argument with another artist, he cut off his own ear．For a time, he lived in a mental hospital in Saint Remy．In 1890, Vincent van Gogh moved to a town called Auvers．For two months, he painted feverishly(狂热地)．Then, one day, he went into the fields with a revolver(左轮手枪)and shot himself．He died from his wounds the next day．