Vincent van Gogh's early paintings were dark and muddy instead of bright and colorful.

In 1885, Van Gogh lived in Nuenen, Netherlands. He spent months practicing by painting over 40 sketches of peasant faces. He used dark colors like brown and black to show the reality of poverty. In a letter to his brother Theo, he said he wanted the art to look like it was painted with soil.Van Gogh used thick brushes to create a rough texture on the canvas. He used a single oil lamp in his famous painting, The Potato Eaters, to create deep shadows. This lighting style is called chiaroscuro. He believed art should be honest rather than pretty. He even made the people's faces look rough and distorted to show the effects of hard physical labor.At the time, many people criticized his work for being ugly. Van Gogh did not mind because he felt he had captured the truth. He only started using bright yellows and blues after moving to Paris in 1886. There, he met artists called Impressionists who used much lighter colors. This change led to the famous style most people recognize today.