between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van gogh had two sad romances. he also had worked unsuccessfully in a bookstore, as an art salesman, and a preacher. he remained in belgium, where he had preached, to study art. the works of his early dutch period are sad, sharp, and one of the most famous pictures from here is "the potato eaters", painted in 1885. in that year, van gogh went to antwerp where he found the works of famous artists and bought a lot of japanese prints.