"In 1879, Van Gogh was as alone as he could be -- and without the help of his brother Theo, he probably would've died earlier than he did...'' Michel Dupre, a visiting professor from the Sorbonne in Paris, had a chance to educate residents about one of Europe's most famous -- and troubled -- artists.

Dr. Dupre gave a lecture entitled "Failures and Successes of Van Gogh'' to an audience at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute last Sunday, and a group of about 45 students and professors attended a midday lecture at Bermuda College last Monday.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette interpreted by La Maison Francaise des Bermudes founder Riquette Bonne Smith, Dr. Dupre explained that the majority of Van Gogh's successes were commercial and posthumous, since he was considered a failure by his society while alive.

"It is amazing that while alive, he only sold one piece, and after his death he sold many more,'' he noted.

"The `Portrait of Dr. Gachet', who was his psychiatric doctor at the end of his life, sold for $82 million in 1990 -- and in 1998, his self-portrait sold for $72.5 million.

"That's the paradox, because his life is a series of misfortunes. He first wanted to be an evangelist at a Dutch Protestant church, but he was refused.

"He never had true friends, or women friends, and he was excluded from all associations such as art societies that he wanted to be a part of.

"Van Gogh was from Holland so he was a foreigner, he had reddish hair which was also strange, he was a painter, an alcoholic, and mentally unbalanced.

"He painted about 2,000 paintings in five years and then committed suicide at the age of 37.'' Dr. Dupre, who is an artist in his own right, was born, coincidentally, in the town of Arles in the South of France where Van Gogh started his career.

Although Dr. Dupre said his art was not specifically influenced by Van Gogh, he noted that Van Gogh emerged at a critical point in the history of painting along with Gauguin and Lautrec who contributed to the development of modern art.

"It represented a different type of painting than the traditional.. . the painting was more expressive of life.'' ON THE GOGH -- Sorbonne professor Michel Dupre (left) is pictured with La Maison Francaise des Bermudes founder Riquette Bonne Smith at the Bermuda College. Dr. Dupre is an expert on French art and gave a lecture on troubled artist Vincent Van Gogh.