Cornelis van Gogh (17 May 1867 - 14 April 1900) was a Dutch immigrant and draughtsman who fought and died in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

with the

Boer foreign volunteers Boer foreign volunteers were participants who volunteered their military services to the Boers in the Second Boer War. Origin Although there was much international sympathy for the Boer cause, there was little official support as governments pr ...

during the

Anglo Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. He was the youngest brother of the artist

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Youth

Cornelis van Gogh was born on 17 May 1867, to his

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

parents, Theodorus and Anna, who was 47 years old when he was born. He was the third boy and youngest brother of

and siblings

Theo Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root ''Theo-'' derive from the Ancient Greek word (), which means God, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, Theophano and The ...

, Anna, Elisabeth "Lies", and Wil. His more famous brother Vincent was 14 when Cor was born.van Meurs, M. (2019). "Cor van Gogh en de Boerenoorlog". ''Southern Journal for Contemporary History'', 25(2), 177–196. https://doi.org/10.38140/sjch.v25i2.4085 Over the years, Van Gogh and his sister Wil lived in

Zundert Zundert () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the south of the Netherlands bordering Belgium, in the province of North Brabant. Zundert is the birthplace of Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter Vincent va ...

Helvoirt Helvoirt () is a village and part of the municipality of Vught, Netherlands. History The village was first mentioned in 1192 as Hellevorth, and means "clear fordable place". Helvoirt developed in the Middle Ages on the road from Tilburg to 's- ...

, Etten and

Nuenen Nuenen () is a town in the municipality of Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten in the Netherlands. From 1883 to 1885, Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in Nuenen. In 1944, a battle was fought there during Operation Market Garden. The local dialect is c ...

. Unlike his eldest brother, Van Gogh followed a technical career path. In April 1885, just before he turned 18, Van Gogh began an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

at a factory in Helmond. In 1887, he moved to

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he honed his technical skills. In 1889, at the age of twenty-two, he emigrated to the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. By the time he arrived, the small gold diggers had been excluded by large mining magnates who united in 1889 to form the Chamber of Mines. Van Gogh worked on a mine in

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...

and then, in 1890, (in the same year as his brother's suicide), began working as a draftsman for the Dutch South African Railway Company (N.Z.A.S.M.), where for 10 years the railway line network was extended.

Anglo–Boer War and death

Van Gogh left the Netherlands for South Africa at the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899-1902). In

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, he was employed to make technical drawings for the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (''Nederlandsh-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg Maatschappij''). In Pretoria he married Anna Eva Catherina Fuchs, a German-born Roman Catholic, in February 1898. His wife abandoned the marriage eight months later, taking their possessions. Following the end of the marriage, Van Gogh joined the Foreigners Battalion to fight the British. Van Gogh and his fellow volunteers fared badly in combat. He was admitted to a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

hospital with a fever. The ill-supplied hospital lacked Dutch physicians and nurses, who had just been evacuated. Van Gogh was left in possession of his pistol and on 14 April 1900, he shot himself in his hospital bed, perhaps accidentally. He was 32 years old. His mother was under the impression that he had died in combat.Verlinden, Willem-Jan. ''The Van Gogh Sisters''. London: Thames and Hudson 2021, pp. 190-91

References

{{Vincent van Gogh, state=collapsed 1900 deaths 1867 births Vincent van Gogh Dutch emigrants to South Africa South African artists Foreign volunteers in the Second Boer War Boer military personnel killed in the Second Boer War

Youth

Anglo–Boer War and death

See also

References