Van Gogh Read online

  (Illustration credit fm1.1)

  Copyright © 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc.

  Maps copyright © 2011 by David Lindroth, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House,

  an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group,

  a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are

  registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Published in the United Kingdom by Profile Books, London.

  Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material:

  Ton de Brouwer: Excerpts from Van Gogh en Nuenen, 2nd edition, by

  Ton de Brouwer (Venio, Netherlands: Van Spijk, 1998). Reprinted by permission of Ton de Brouwer, founder of Vincente at Nuenen, www.vgvn.nl.

  Fuller Technical Publications: Excerpts from Vincent and Theo van Gogh: A Dual Biography by Jan Hulsker, edited by James M. Miller (Ann Arbor, MI: Fuller Technical Publications, 1990). Reprinted by permission of Fuller Technical Publications.

  Hachette Book Group: Excerpts from The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, translated by Johanna Bonger, originally published by The New York Graphic Society and subsequently published by Little, Brown & Co. (second edition, 1978, third printing, 1988). Reprinted by permission of Hachette Book Group.

  Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.: Excerpts from Van Gogh: A Retrospective, edited by Susan A. Stein (New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1986). Reprinted by permission of Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 300 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010, www.rizzoliusa.com.

  Thames and Hudson Ltd.: Excerpts from Taine’s Notes on England by Hippolyte Taine, translated by Edward Hyams (London: Thames and Hudson, 1957). Reprinted by permission of Thames and Hudson Ltd., London.

  Ken Wilkie: Excerpts from In Search of Van Gogh by Ken Wilkie (Roseville, CA: Prima Books, 1991). Quotes within the text attributed by Enid Dove-Meadows, Piet van Hoorn, Baroness Bonger, and Madame Baize were made to Ken Wilkie. Reprinted by permission of Ken Wilkie.

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Naifeh, Steven (Steven W.)

  Van Gogh: The Life/Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith.

  pages cm

  eISBN: 978-1-58836-047-2

  1. Gogh, Vincent van, 1853–1890. 2. Artists—Netherlands—Biography. 3. Gogh, Vincent van, 1853–1890.—Psychology.

  I. Smith, Gregory White. II. Title.

  N6953.G3N35 2011

  759.9492—dc22

  [B] 2010053005

  www.atrandom.com

  Frontispiece: John Peter Russell, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1886

  Endpapers: Vincent’s Bedroom, October 17, 1888, letter sketch

  v3.1_r1

  To our mothers,

  Marion Naifeh and Kathryn White Smith,

  who first showed us the joy of art,

  and to all the artists of THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL,

  who have since brought so much joy into our lives,

  this book is gratefully dedicated.

  S. N.

  G. W. S.

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  FAMILY TREE

  MAPS

  PROLOGUE: A Fanatic Heart

  PART ONE The Early Years, 1853–1880

  CHAPTER 1 DAMS AND DIKES

  CHAPTER 2 AN OUTPOST ON THE HEATH

  CHAPTER 3 A STRANGE BOY

  CHAPTER 4 GOD AND MONEY

  CHAPTER 5 THE ROAD TO RIJSWIJK

  CHAPTER 6 THE EXILE

  CHAPTER 7 IMITATION OF CHRIST

  CHAPTER 8 PILGRIM’S PROGRESS

  CHAPTER 9 O JERUSALEM, O ZUNDERT

  CHAPTER 10 HEAD TO THE WIND

  CHAPTER 11 “DAT IS HET”

  CHAPTER 12 THE BLACK COUNTRY

  CHAPTER 13 THE LAND OF PICTURES

  PART TWO The Dutch Years, 1880–1886

  CHAPTER 14 HEARTS OF ICE

  CHAPTER 15 AIMER ENCORE

  CHAPTER 16 A DRAFTSMAN’S FIST

  CHAPTER 17 MY LITTLE WINDOW

  CHAPTER 18 ORPHAN MAN

  CHAPTER 19 JACOB AND ESAU

  CHAPTER 20 CASTLES IN THE AIR

  CHAPTER 21 THE PRISONER

  CHAPTER 22 LA JOIE DE VIVRE

  CHAPTER 23 THE WATERNIX

  CHAPTER 24 A GRAIN OF MADNESS

  CHAPTER 25 IN ONE RUSH

  CHAPTER 26 LOST ILLUSIONS

  PART THREE The French Years, 1886–1890

  CHAPTER 27 AGAINST THE GRAIN

  CHAPTER 28 THE ZEMGANNO BROTHERS

  CHAPTER 29 CATCH AND RELEASE

  CHAPTER 30 A MERCENARY FRENZY

  CHAPTER 31 LE PARADOU

  CHAPTER 32 THE SUNFLOWER AND THE OLEANDER

  CHAPTER 33 THE POET’S GARDEN

  CHAPTER 34 IMAGINARY SAVAGE

  CHAPTER 35 LA LUTTE

  CHAPTER 36 THE STRANGER

  CHAPTER 37 TWO ROADS

  CHAPTER 38 THE REAL SOUTH

  CHAPTER 39 STARRY NIGHT

  CHAPTER 40 THE ISOLATED ONE

  CHAPTER 41 “A DEGENERATE CHILD”

  CHAPTER 42 THE GARDEN AND THE WHEAT FIELD

  CHAPTER 43 ILLUSIONS FADE; THE SUBLIME REMAINS

  EPILOGUE Ici Repose

  APPENDIX: A NOTE ON VINCENT’S FATAL WOUNDING

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Photo Insert

  A NOTE ON SOURCES

  SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

  IMAGE CREDITS

  About the Authors

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  Click on the illustration numbers below to navigate to each illustration. You can then click the illustration number beneath the image to navigate back to this section.

  fm1.1 John Peter Russell, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1886

  fm5.1 Self-Portraits, 1887

  prl.1 Garden of a Bathhouse, August 1888

  col1.1 Vincent van Gogh, age 13

  1.1 Anna Carbentus

  2.1 The Markt in Zundert

  2.2 Vincent’s sisters and brothers: Anna, Theo, Lies, Cor, and Wil

  3.1 Barn and Farmhouse, February 1864

  3.2 Theo van Gogh, age 13

  3.3 Vincent van Gogh on the steps of the Tilburg School

  4.1 Theodorus (Dorus) van Gogh

  4.2 Uncle Cent van Gogh

  4.3 The Zundert Church

  5.1 H. G. Tersteeg

  5.2 Goupil Gallery, The Hague

  6.1 Ursula and Eugenie Loyer

  7.1 Vicarage and Church at Etten, April 1876

  8.1 Ary Scheffer, Christus Consolator, 1836–37

  8.2 Churches at Petersham and Turnham Green, November 1876

  9.1 Scheffersplein, the market square in Dordrecht

  10.1 Rear Admiral Johannes van Gogh (Uncle Jan)

  11.1 The Cave of Machpelah, May 1877

  11.2 The “Au Charbonnage” Café, November 1878

  12.1 Marcasse Coal Mine, Pit #7

  13.1 Miners in the Snow at Dawn, August 1880

  col2.1 Vincent van Gogh, age 18

  14.1 Anthon Ridder van Rappard

  14.2 Sower (after Millet), April 1881

  14.3 Anthon van Rappard, The Passievaart Near Seppe (Landscape Near Seppe), June 1881

  14.4 Marsh with Water Lillies, June 1881

  15.1 Kee Vos-Stricker and son Jan, c. 1881

  15.2 Windmills Near Dordrecht, August 1881

  15.3 Donkey and Cart, October 1881

  16.1 Anton Mauve, 1878

  16.2 Torn-Up Street with Diggers, April 1882

  16.3 Woman Sitting on a Basket with Head in Hands, March 1883

  17.1 Sorrow, Apri
l 1882

  17.2 Carpenter’s Yard and Laundry, May 1882

  17.3 Cradle, July 1882

  18.1 Luke Fildes, Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, 1874

  18.2 Hubert von Herkomer, The Last Muster: Sunday at Chelsea Hospital (detail), 1871

  18.3 Old Man with a Stick, September–November 1882, and Old Man in a Tail-Coat, September–December 1882

  18.4 Worn Out, November 1882

  18.5 Women Miners, November 1882

  18.6 Soup Distribution in a Public Soup Kitchen, March 1883

  19.1 Path to the Beach, July 1883

  20.1 Landscape with Bog-Oak Trunks, October 1883

  20.2 Landscape in Drenthe, September–October 1883

  20.3 Man Pulling a Harrow, October 1883

  21.1 Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Prisoner, 1861

  21.2 The parsonage in Nuenen

  21.3 Weaver, 1884

  21.4 The Kingfisher, March 1883

  21.5 Pollard Birches, March 1883

  22.1 Margot Begemann

  24.1 Jozef Israëls, Peasant Family at Table, 1882

  24.2 Head of a Woman, 1884–85

  24.3 The Potato Eaters, April 1885

  24.4 Léon Lhermitte, La moisson (The Harvest), 1883

  24.5 Head of a Woman, March 1885

  25.1 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, soon after completion in 1885

  25.2 The Old Church Tower at Nuenen, June–July 1885

  25.3 Still Life with Bible, October 1885

  26.1 Couple Dancing, December 1885

  26.2 Plaster room at the Antwerp Academy

  26.3 Standing Female Nude (Seen from the Side), January 1886

  26.4 Head of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette, January–February 1886

  col3.1 Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887

  27.1 Self-Portrait, 1887; Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, 1886–87; and Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887

  27.2 Atelier of Fernand Cormon (c. 1885)

  27.3 John Peter Russell, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1886

  27.4 Jean-Baptiste Corot, Agostina, 1866

  28.1 Johanna Bonger, 1888

  29.1 Lucien Pissarro, Vincent and Theo van Gogh, 1887

  29.2 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait of Émile Bernard, 1886

  29.3 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1887

  29.4 Tracing of the Cover of Paris Illustré, July–December 1887 and Courtesan: After Eisen, October–November 1887

  30.1 The Road to Tarascon, July 1888

  30.2 Drawbridge with Lady with Parasol, May 1888

  31.1 The Yellow House, Arles

  31.2 Place Lamartine, Arles

  31.3 Street in Saintes-Maries, June 1888

  31.4 Landscape Near Montmajour with Train, July 1888

  31.5 Zouave Sitting, June 1888

  31.6 Wheat Harvest at Arles, 1888

  31.7 Sower with Setting Sun, August 1888

  32.1 Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, August 1888

  33.1 Public Garden with Fence, April 1888

  33.2 Portrait of Milliet, Second Lieutenant of the Zouaves, September 1888

  34.1 Paul Gauguin, 1891

  35.1 Les Alyscamps, Arles

  35.2 Paul Gauguin, Madame Ginoux (Study for “Night Café”), 1888

  35.3 The Baby Marcelle Roulin, December 1888

  35.4 Luke Fildes, The Empty Chair (“Gad’s Hill, Ninth of June 1870”), 1870

  35.5 Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh Painting Sunflowers, November 1888

  37.1 Portrait of Doctor Félix Rey, January 1889

  37.2 Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, January 1889

  37.3 Meijer de Haan, Sketch of Theo van Gogh, 1888

  38.1 Isolation cell, Arles hospital

  38.2 The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles, April 1889

  38.3 Ward in the Hospital at Arles, April 1889

  39.1 Asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, Saint-Rémy

  39.2 Baths, asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole

  39.3 Olive Trees in a Mountain Landscape, June 1889

  39.4 Cypresses, June 1889

  39.5 Starry Night, June 1889

  40.1 Adrien Lavielle after Jean-François Millet, The Siesta, 1873

  40.2 Olive Grove, June 1889

  40.3 The Garden of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, November 1889

  40.4 Jo with son Vincent, 1890

  42.1 Dr. Paul Gachet

  42.2 Marguerite Gachet at the Piano, June 1890

  42.3 The Ravoux family in front of the Ravoux Inn

  42.4 Head of a Boy with Broad-Brimmed Hat (probably René Secrétan), June–July 1890

  42.5 Tree Roots, July 1890

  42.6 Daubigny’s Garden, July 1890

  43.1 Vincent’s bedroom at the Ravoux Inn

  epl.1 Theo van Gogh, 1890

  epl.2 Graves of Vincent and Theo van Gogh, Auvers

  COLOR PLATES

  i1.1 View of the Sea at Scheveningen, August 1882

  i1.2 Two Women in the Moor, October 1883

  i1.3 Head of a Woman, March 1885

  i1.4 The Potato Eaters, April–May 1885

  i1.5 The Old Church Tower at Nuenen (“The Peasants’ Churchyard”), May–June 1885

  i1.6 Basket of Potatoes, September 1885

  i1.7 Still Life with Bible, October 1885

  i1.8 A Pair of Shoes, Early 1887

  i1.9 Torso of Venus, June 1886

  i1.10 In the Café: Agostina Segatori in Le Tambourin, January–March 1887

  i1.11 Caraf and Dish with Citrus Fruit, February–March 1887

  i1.12 View from Theo’s Apartment, March–April 1887

  i1.13 Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre: La butte Montmartre, June–July 1887

  i1.14 Interior of a Restaurant, June–July 1887

  i1.15 Fritillaries in a Copper Vase, April–May 1887

  i1.16 Self-Portrait, spring 1887

  i1.17 Wheatfield with Partridge, June–July 1887

  i1.18 Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, August–September 1887

  i1.19 Flowering Plum Tree: after Hiroshige, October–November 1887

  i1.20 Portrait of Père Tanguy, 1887

  i1.21 Self-Portrait as a Painter, December 1887–February 1888

  i1.22 Pink Peach Tree in Blossom (Reminiscence of Mauve), March 1888

  i1.23 The Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing, March 1888

  i1.24 The Harvest, June 1888

  i1.25 Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, late June 1888

  i1.26 The Zouave, June 1888

  i1.27 La mousmé, Sitting, July 1888

  i1.28 Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, early August 1888

  i1.29 Portrait of Patience Escalier, August 1888

  i1.30 Still Life: Vase with Oleanders and Books, August 1888

  i1.31 The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, September 1888

  i1.32 The Night Café in the Place Lamartine in Arles, September 1888

  i1.33 The Yellow House (“The Street”), September 1888

  i1.34 Starry Night over the Rhône, September 1888

  i1.35 Self-Portrait (Dedicated to Paul Gauguin), September 1888

  i1.36 Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, October 1888

  i1.37 Public Garden with Couple and Blue Fir Tree: The Poet’s Garden III, October 1888

  i1.38 Tarascon Diligence, October 1888

  i1.39 L’arlésienne: Madame Ginoux with Books, November 1888 (or May 1889)

  i1.40 Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle (La Berceuse), January 1889

  i1.41 Vincent’s Chair with His Pipe, December 1888

  i1.42 Gauguin’s Chair, December 1888

  i1.43 Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, January 1889

  i1.44 Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, August 1888

  i1.45 Irises, May 1889

  i1.46 Starry Night, June 1889

  i1.47 Cypresses, 1889

  i1.48 Tree Trunks with Ivy (Undergrowth), July 1889

  i1.49 Self-Portrait, September 1889


  i1.50 The Bedroom, early September 1889

  i1.51 The Sower, November 1888

  i1.52 Wheat Fields with a Reaper, early September 1889

  i1.53 Portrait of Trabuc, an Attendant at Saint-Paul Hospital, September 1889

  i1.54 Trees in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital, October 1889

  i1.55 Olive Picking, December 1889

  i1.56 Noon: Rest from Work (after Millet), January 1890

  i1.57 Les Peiroulets Ravine, October 1889

  i1.58 Almond Blossom, February 1890

  i1.59 Irises, May 1890

  i1.60 The Church at Auvers, June 1890

  i1.61 Portrait of Doctor Gachet, June 1890

  i1.62 Daubigny’s Garden, July 1890

  i1.63 Tree Roots, July 1890

  i1.64 Wheat Field with Crows, July 1890

  Click here to view a larger image.

  Click here to view a larger image.

  Click here to view a larger image.

  Self-Portraits, PENCIL AND INK ON PAPER, 1887, 12⅛ × 9⅝ in. (Illustration credit fm5.1)

  PROLOGUE

  A Fanatic Heart

  THEO IMAGINED THE WORST. THE MESSAGE SAID ONLY THAT VINCENT HAD “wounded himself.” As Theo rushed to the station to catch the next train to Auvers, his mind raced both backward and forward. The last time he received a dire message like this one, it was a telegram from Paul Gauguin informing him that Vincent was “gravely ill.” Theo had arrived in the southern city of Arles to find his brother in the fever ward of a hospital, his head swathed in bandages and his mind completely unmoored.

  What would he find at the end of this train ride?

  At times like these—and there had been many of them—Theo’s mind wandered to the Vincent he had known once: an older brother of passion and restlessness, but also of boisterous jokes, infinite sympathy, and indefatigable wonder. On their childhood hikes in the fields and woods around the Dutch town of Zundert, where they were born, Vincent had introduced him to the beauties and mysteries of nature. In the winter, Vincent tutored him in skating and sledding. In summer, he showed him how to build castles in the sandy paths. In church on Sundays and at home by the parlor piano, he sang with a clear, confident voice. In the attic room that they shared, he talked until late at night, inspiring in his younger brother a bond that their siblings teasingly called “worship,” but Theo proudly acknowledged, even decades later, as “adoration.”