Renowned US painter Thomas Kinkade had been "drinking all the night" when he died earlier this month, and his brother said the artist had relapsed into alcoholism.

"You can be doing real real well and suddenly, the bottle calls you and you fall off," Kinkade's brother Patrick, a professor at Texas Christian University, told NBC's "Today" show Monday.

More from GlobalPost: Popular painter Thomas Kinkade dead at 54

Kinkade's girlfriend, Amy Pinto, called for help after the painter, 54, had stopped breathing April 6 at his home south of San Francisco, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

"Apparently he's been drinking all night and not moving," a fire department dispatcher said in a recording made available by firescan.net.

Patrick Kinkade told the San Jose Mercury News that this brother had battled alcoholism for years, sobering up and then relapsing before his death. 

More from GlobalPost: Thomas Kinkade painting sales surge since death

He said a split from his wife, attacks on his works by art critics and financial troubles took a toll in recent years, according to Reuters.

"He would shoulder the world, pull the naysayers on his back and smile when he was doing it," Patrick Kinkade told the Mercury News.

"As much as he said it didn't bother him, in his heart deep down inside, it would sadden him that people would criticize so hatefully his work and his vision when people didn't understand him," Patrick Kinkade added.

Demand for Thomas Kinkade's paintings, which depict romantic visions of cottages, churches and gardens infused with light, has risen since his death, Reuters reported.

Autopsy results were pending, according to NBC.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy