Van Gogh was an 19th century impressionist painter who may have been manic-depressive. This is a guy who only had his brother, Theo, to write to, and who was institutionalized several times. In the course of an argument with Gaugain, he stalked off and mailed the other painter his ear several days later. In 1890, he painted his final picture, "Crows over the Wheatfield", that practically screams its agony. After painting that masterpiece, he took a shotgun and shot himself in the stomach.

Since then, Van Gogh has been immortalized in poetry and song. "Starry Night" is one of his most popular paintings. Probably because it's the most beautiful and the least fucked up.