Beyond the sunflowers, irises and the portrait of Doctor Gachet, there is a man, Van Gogh, signified by his fragility and his talent. From his birth in 1853 to his death in 1890, the Post-Impressionist Van Gogh shaped nineteenth-century concepts of painting with his creativity and technique over the course of several years. He became a forerunner of the Expressionists, the Fauves and Modern Art. Today, however, Van Gogh remains the symbol of the painter tortured by illness, by other people and, especially, by himself. In this work, the author follows Van Gogh's correspondence, as well as his paintings, which express a new approach to colour. The legend often rubs shoulders with the banal and great artistic genius is confronted with the petty realities of existence.