1. Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh famously only sold one painting during his entire career. The work sold for the equivalent of approximately £70. Although the artist is now gobally recognised as one of the most important painters in history, he was crippled with self-doubt and battled mental illness most of his life. Unfortunately the artist finally lost this battle and cut his ear off in 1888, committing suicide shortly after that by shooting himself in the chest. His last words were, “The sadness will last forever.” He died penniless and destitute believing himself to be an artistic failure.