Wednesday 19 October 2011

Chic Reads: Van Gogh: A Life

I apologize for the lack of post yesterday.  Today for those of you who subscribe.  I started a post and then the day got away from me.  I was going to finish it this morning but then accidentally deleted the photos in the post.  While I work on redoing that one, I leave you with an amazing book recommendation Van Gogh: A Life.  

Some of you may have seen the story on CBS Sunday Morning about this monumental new book. The authors, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith spent more than 10 years researching the life of the legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh.  They worked closely with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and used special software to organize a trove of untapped materials including unpublished family correspondence and of course, Van Gogh's famous letters to his brother Theo. It was Theo who encouraged Vincent to paint and helped fund his career. 

One of the most fascinating revelations to come out of the book is the new theory that Van Gogh did not actually commit suicide but was perhaps shot accidentally, if not on purpose, by two young boys for whom he covered.  He was only 37 when he died and all I can think of is that even though he didn't know it, he achieved more in those years than most people do in a lifetime. It is said that Van Gogh only sold one painting in his life but he is now one of the most famous and most expensive artists of our time.  I hope he is smiling about this fact in the big art studio in the sky.

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