when he was a young man, van gogh worked for a company of art dealers. he traveled between the hague, london and paris. after that, he taught in england. he then wanted to become a pastor and spread the gospel, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining place in belgium. he began drawing the people there, and in 1885, he painted his first important work, "the potato eaters". he usually painted in dark colors at this time. in march 1886, he moved to paris and found out about the french impressionists. later, he moved to the south of france, and the colors in his art became brighter. his special style of art was developed and later fully grown during the time he stayed in arles in 1888.