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nicolaburton's review against another edition
5.0
Having carried this hefty tome with me everywhere for two months, from hospitals to family holidays, I now feel utterly bereft. Bereft of Vincent as daily companion, bereft of the biographers’ incredible insight, and bereft of Vincent as artist. As a reader and artist with bipolar myself, Vincent’s words as preserved in his letters resonate more deeply with me than I can begin to describe. As a lifelong reader, this biography has to sit in my top three books of all time. I am so thankful I chose to spend two months in the company of this book, and although I rarely revisit books, this will be a companion for many years to come.
dapplezee's review against another edition
5.0
A very long read, but an excellent and detailed biography of the famous painter. Lots of info about his life and passions, meticulously sourced. The story of his mental illness and death is heartbreaking.
ominouslilraven's review against another edition
5.0
I had quite a few opposing feelings whilst reading this.
There was so much about Vincents life that I did not know, had not heard or read about, and while it didn’t lessen my fondness for him it definitely has changed the way I view him.
This biography of his life is so vividly detailed at times that it’s painful. I love the fact that it is so well researched and they were pulling from historical documents.
I did have some problems with the way some things were written. For instance, near the end of the book, when Vincent and Theo we’re exchanging letters after Theo’s marriage, the authors write as if they knew Theo’s intentions with his words and made him sound like he was simply being callous. I get that the relationship between the brothers was not rainbows and unicorns like popular media has proposed. However, I don’t think he was ever intentionally callous to his brothers emotions as proposed in this book.
So why five stars?
Because at the end of the day regardless of my opinion this book is magnificent! It it’s absolutely beautiful and the sources can’t be rivaled.
In addition, I also very much appreciate the stance they took on Vincent’s death. It’s so thorough and so well researched and so well explained. The authors did a marvelous job shedding light on one of the least popular theories.
If you are a fan of Vincent and wish to know more or if you love Vincent and you think you know about his life, I highly suggest this book.
There was so much about Vincents life that I did not know, had not heard or read about, and while it didn’t lessen my fondness for him it definitely has changed the way I view him.
This biography of his life is so vividly detailed at times that it’s painful. I love the fact that it is so well researched and they were pulling from historical documents.
I did have some problems with the way some things were written. For instance, near the end of the book, when Vincent and Theo we’re exchanging letters after Theo’s marriage, the authors write as if they knew Theo’s intentions with his words and made him sound like he was simply being callous. I get that the relationship between the brothers was not rainbows and unicorns like popular media has proposed. However, I don’t think he was ever intentionally callous to his brothers emotions as proposed in this book.
So why five stars?
Because at the end of the day regardless of my opinion this book is magnificent! It it’s absolutely beautiful and the sources can’t be rivaled.
In addition, I also very much appreciate the stance they took on Vincent’s death. It’s so thorough and so well researched and so well explained. The authors did a marvelous job shedding light on one of the least popular theories.
If you are a fan of Vincent and wish to know more or if you love Vincent and you think you know about his life, I highly suggest this book.
ravenreadstoomuch's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
jaredpence's review against another edition
2.0
Reading history books, even biographies, can be hard. This one was. It was so long and difficult to listen to because it was so thorough. It wasn't trying to a craft a narrative but just include all the information. Which often made it seem random and disorganized--like a person's life. That's no doubt useful, but not terribly enjoyable to read casually. I found myself really disliking Van Gogh for being selfish, manipulative, and contradictory, but many of his colleagues and family were just as bad if not worse, so sometimes I did feel bad for him.
lindseysparks's review
3.0
Well researched and thorough but almost overly so. Writing suffered in places and dragged in the middle. Learned a lot though and was surprised that his suicide may not have been a suicide after all.
wescovington's review
5.0
Naifeh and White, who have specialized in very long and thorough biographies of famous artists (Jackson Pollock was another subject), have produced a weighty (860 or so pages) volume on the life (and controversial death) of one of the art world's most fascinating and most tragic figures in Vincent Van Gogh. With unprecedented access to Van Gogh's correspondence, dutifully kept by his devoted brother Theo, Naifeh and White complete a portrait of a man who was troubled all his life, and yet somehow managed to create some of the most brilliant paintings of all time, most of it in a brief burst of creativity at the end of his life.
The standard work on Van Gogh's life has been Irving Stone's 1934 book "Lust for Life" which later was turned into a film starring Kirk Douglas. Since that time, scholars have learned much more about Van Gogh.
To begin with, Van Gogh showed signs of mental instability from a very young age. He was prone to going on long, solitary walks from his childhood home in the Netherlands. When he failed in his initial career choice as a minister, his parents attempted to have him hospitalized for mental illness, something Van Gogh managed to avoid.
Naifeh and White don't believe that Van Gogh suffered from what would be described as a mental illness, such as depression or mania, but rather from a form of epilepsy, known as temporal lobe epilepsy, a disease that can often seem like a form of mania interrupted by periods of very placid behavior. Van Gogh's chronic malnutrition likely did not help him.
What Van Gogh wanted in life was to have a family that was warm and accepting of him. However, he was extraordinarily difficult to live with because of his illness. Calling his parents unsympathetic would be an understatement. Feelings of abandonment often set Van Gogh off to destructive behavior, such as his mutilation of his ear after Paul Gauguin left Van Gogh's home in Arles. Of course, Van Gogh did not make his dream artists' commune any more likely to take hold after he pulled a knife on Gauguin.
This book does take a while to get through. It is extraordinarily thorough. Van Gogh's life was rarely happy. His most famous work, Starry Night, was painted from his memory of looking out an asylum window. The shadows of death, depression, and abandonment abound. Did these feeling help or hurt his art? They likely did not as Van Gogh produced his best paintings in a very short period of time while working very quickly. Some of his greatest works were created in a period of a day or two.
The book concludes with an appendix about Van Gogh's death, which is commonly considered to be a suicide. Naifeh and White present compelling evidence (as compelling as 120 year old evidence can be) that Van Gogh likely died as the result of an accidental shooting by two French boys who liked to tease the eccentric Dutch painter who lived near them.
The standard work on Van Gogh's life has been Irving Stone's 1934 book "Lust for Life" which later was turned into a film starring Kirk Douglas. Since that time, scholars have learned much more about Van Gogh.
To begin with, Van Gogh showed signs of mental instability from a very young age. He was prone to going on long, solitary walks from his childhood home in the Netherlands. When he failed in his initial career choice as a minister, his parents attempted to have him hospitalized for mental illness, something Van Gogh managed to avoid.
Naifeh and White don't believe that Van Gogh suffered from what would be described as a mental illness, such as depression or mania, but rather from a form of epilepsy, known as temporal lobe epilepsy, a disease that can often seem like a form of mania interrupted by periods of very placid behavior. Van Gogh's chronic malnutrition likely did not help him.
What Van Gogh wanted in life was to have a family that was warm and accepting of him. However, he was extraordinarily difficult to live with because of his illness. Calling his parents unsympathetic would be an understatement. Feelings of abandonment often set Van Gogh off to destructive behavior, such as his mutilation of his ear after Paul Gauguin left Van Gogh's home in Arles. Of course, Van Gogh did not make his dream artists' commune any more likely to take hold after he pulled a knife on Gauguin.
This book does take a while to get through. It is extraordinarily thorough. Van Gogh's life was rarely happy. His most famous work, Starry Night, was painted from his memory of looking out an asylum window. The shadows of death, depression, and abandonment abound. Did these feeling help or hurt his art? They likely did not as Van Gogh produced his best paintings in a very short period of time while working very quickly. Some of his greatest works were created in a period of a day or two.
The book concludes with an appendix about Van Gogh's death, which is commonly considered to be a suicide. Naifeh and White present compelling evidence (as compelling as 120 year old evidence can be) that Van Gogh likely died as the result of an accidental shooting by two French boys who liked to tease the eccentric Dutch painter who lived near them.
kristineneeley's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve never read so exhaustive (and exhausting, at times) an account of a person’s life. That could be because I’ve maybe never read a true biography that followed the life of one person from birth to death, especially someone as complex as Van Gogh.
This book is undoubtedly detailed and offers insight into the Van Gogh narrative that you absolutely cannot find elsewhere. It’s practically an encyclopedia. It is one of the more dense books I have read, possibly ever, and it took me MUCH longer than I anticipated to finish it.
I have learned more than I could’ve dared hope about a man whose work and life has made a deep impression on me, this year. I have been on a journey with Vincent that continues, despite having finally (FINALLY!!!!!) finished the book.
This book is undoubtedly detailed and offers insight into the Van Gogh narrative that you absolutely cannot find elsewhere. It’s practically an encyclopedia. It is one of the more dense books I have read, possibly ever, and it took me MUCH longer than I anticipated to finish it.
I have learned more than I could’ve dared hope about a man whose work and life has made a deep impression on me, this year. I have been on a journey with Vincent that continues, despite having finally (FINALLY!!!!!) finished the book.