Vincent Van Gogh was never close to his mother. I believe she struggled with the loss of her first son (also named Vincent) and maybe never formed that crucial mother-child bond with the moody, withdrawn child that was Vincent.
 
When Vincent died, he left all his unsold artwork to his mother. She used some of the large canvases to repair holes in her chicken coop.
 
That little fact always broke my heart a little. Even in death, Vincent's work meant so little to the woman that never gave him the love he needed as a child.