(had) produced paintings for ten years

[Ryovzx09]

Hi,

I saw a fill-in-the-blank question:
'For ten years, from 1880-1890, Van Gogh _____ (produce) his best paintings, until, sadly, he took his own life.'

The answer key is 'produced', I was wondering if 'had produced' is also possible, or even better?
Thanks.

 

[AnythingGoes]

It doesn't work with the rest of the sentence.