Van Gogh's artistic style was characterized by his amazing use of color, which was based on a palette of thick and pure colors. The passionate emotionality, acutely dramatic perception of life, and social protest inherent in Van Gogh’s art were expressed by him in the first half of the 1880s in works designed in a gloomy palette, imbued with sympathy for ordinary people. Since 1888, he created tragic images in a painfully intense, extremely expressive manner, built on contrasts of color, impetuous rhythm, and the free dynamics of impasto strokes. During 10 years of hard work in art, he left the greatest legacy, but Van Gogh’s works never received recognition during the artist’s lifetime. Fame overtook the painter after his death, and today his paintings are sold at record high prices. Among the masters of post-impressionism, Van Gogh has a special place. His heightened emotional perception of the world was in tune with many artistic endeavors of the 20th century and opened up new ways to comprehend reality. Van Gogh's work had a huge influence not only on painting, but also on literature, theater and music.