March
30th was Vincent Van Gogh’s 159th birthday. Happy (belated) birthday, Vincent! Today Van Gogh is
the most famous artist of the Impressionist period, his paintings sell for
millions at auction, but he died alone and penniless in Arles, France in 1890 at age 37. But did he, in fact, kill himself as has always been the theory? Perhaps not.
Bedroom in Arles
A new book published in Oct 2011, "Van Gogh, The Life," presents an intriguing counter theory that Van Gogh did not kill himself but was accidentally murdered by a teenage French punk visiting the scenic town of Arles with his friends, who thought it great sport to tease the eccentric painter. The teenager was playing with a gun, teasingly pointing it at Van Gogh, then bang...Van Gogh was fatally shot and the kid fled the scene! Fascinating, huh?
Still Life with Sunflowers
This sensational theory is not just wishful thinking (or a ploy for book sales and a movie deal!). The authors, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, previous Pulitzer Prize winners for a biography they wrote on the painter, Jackson Pollack, spent years researching Van Gogh. They uncovered notes by the physician treating Van Gogh suggesting that the fatal wound could not have been self-inflicted, and references to the teenagers (sons of well-to-do parents...hmm...) visiting the town and harassing Van Gogh as he painted. And here's a fact not widely known: although Van Gogh's gunshot wound was thought to be self-inflicted, no gun was ever found near his body. What, was Van Gogh a magician as well as an artist?! How does someone fatally shoot himself and then lose the gun? Smells fishy to me.
Wheatfield with Crows
I won't do an entire book review here but check it out if you're interested. At 953 pages (whew, heavy reading!), the book covers Van Gogh's life, not just his death. It has excerpts from letters he wrote and lovely color photos. And really, how can you have a book on Van Gogh without lots of color?!
The Night Cafe
Although Vincent Van Gogh never
made a dime in his life, and he may or may not have actually killed himself in a moment of tortured passion, he sure left us some beautiful paintings! Seems that many talented
artists are right on the edge of sanity/insanity. Perhaps that’s what makes
them so brilliant.
Wheatfield with Cypresses
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity, how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how,
Perhaps they'll listen now.” ~Vincent (Starry Starry Night) by Don McLean
Starry Night
Vincent, I understand!
Video of Don McLean’s song with a slideshow of Van
Gogh’s work done for patients at Mississippi State Hospital. Complied by artist
Anthony DiFatta, who teaches art to adults suffering from mental illness.
