Piatnik Van Gogh Playing Cards - Single Deck Set

This set of artsy playing cards made by the Austrian game publisher and manufacturer of board games, playing cards and puzzles company Piatnik, established in 1824; features masterpieces by the Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent Willem Van Gogh was born on March 30th, 1853 in Groot-Zundert, in the southern Netherlands. He was the oldest surviving child of his family and was given the name of his grandfather, and of a brother who was born a stillborn. His brother and friend Theo was born four years later. The piece, according to art historian Meyer Shapiro, was created under the “pressure of feeling” and that the painting is “visionary…inspired by a religious mood.” Indeed, the solemn and meditative qualities of The Starry Night are considerable. Not only this, however, but the painting’s almost hallucinatory character are extremely expressive, and this blend of chaos and stillness is one of the most compelling aspects of the piece. It has also been described as a highly religious painting, involving van Gogh’s deeply spiritual and personal reflections on his religion as a whole. A continually troubled man, Vincent van Gogh shot himself in the chest on July 27, 1890. While he tried to get help, he was unable to be saved and died on the evening 29 hours after the gunshot. His last words are haunting: “The sadness will last forever.” He was only 37 years old. His influence wouldn’t fully emerge until the mid-1900’s, where he would forever after be considered one of the most significant artists of all time.