4.35/5
Author: Steven Naifeh, Gregory White Smith
Publication Date: Dec 4, 2012
Formats: PDF,Paperback,Hardcover,Kindle,Audible Audiobook
Rating: 4.35/5 out of 16439
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Fan Club Reviews of best titles on art fashion, artists, history, photography. Check out our top reviews and see what others have to say about the best art and photography books of the year. Check out Van Gogh: The Life Community Reviews - Find out where to download Van Gogh: The Life available in multiple formats:Paperback,Hardcover,Kindle,Audible Audiobook Van Gogh: The Life Author:Steven Naifeh,Gregory White Smith Formats:Paperback,Hardcover,Kindle,Audible Audiobook Publication Date:Dec 4, 2012
Jan 05, 2013
I've never read a book so thoroughly detailed. At times it felt like a day-by-day account of his 37 years. The book establishes early on that Van Gogh was at best "quirky" and at worst had a few disorders, but hey, who doesn't. I'm not a psychologist, but when you are sleeping with your walking stick in your bed to punish yourself, I don't know, that's probably a red flag for later developments. For the first 600 or 700 pages, I developed a dislike for Van Gogh; he's an unlikeable loser. But by I've never read a book so thoroughly detailed. At times it felt like a day-by-day account of his 37 years. The book establishes early on that Van Gogh was at best "quirky" and at worst had a few disorders, but hey, who doesn't. I'm not a psychologist, but when you are sleeping with your walking stick in your bed to punish yourself, I don't know, that's probably a red flag for later developments. For the first 600 or 700 pages, I developed a dislike for Van Gogh; he's an unlikeable loser. But by the end there is empathy and compassion for all that he went through. Of course, he could have just gotten a job at some point, but then the world would be the lesser for not having his art. He taught himself, researched, studied, applied new techniques, which all lead to him 'becoming' Van Gogh. The book doesn't really spell out exactly why Van Gogh and his art became a worldwide phenomenom. It doesn't critique the art; the book just details the life. Most people are familiar with the art from Van Gogh's final two years, the fact that he cut off his ear and killed himself. Obviously, those few items don't tell the whole story, and the whole story which at times is repetitious is ultimately fascinating. He lived in interesting times in Europe and in art. Everyone wrote letters, kept family histories. Van Gogh exists at this crossroads between the old ways of society of manual labor and a new era. He was a craftman who appreciated the working man. He was relentless. You have to appreciate that.Jun 23, 2019
A social pariah's life: stalking shades and hues, skirting the cliffs of sanity, into the forever's starry night.Jul 31, 2014
By far the saddest biography I have ever read, VAN GOGH is also one of the most stirring and superbly detailed biographies I have ever read. That Vincent van Gogh's life was such a brutally painful and difficult one should not deter readers from embarking on this massive journey, yet the fact that a 951-page book reaches page 750 before the subject has what could genuinely be called a period of happiness is a testament to the skill with which the book is written, for despite the utterly By far the saddest biography I have ever read, VAN GOGH is also one of the most stirring and superbly detailed biographies I have ever read. That Vincent van Gogh's life was such a brutally painful and difficult one should not deter readers from embarking on this massive journey, yet the fact that a 951-page book reaches page 750 before the subject has what could genuinely be called a period of happiness is a testament to the skill with which the book is written, for despite the utterly depressing nature of Van Gogh's life, the authors make it a terrifically compelling one to read about. The amount of detail, in no small part but not entirely due to the prodigious correspondence that exists between Vincent and his brother Theo, is as complete as any biography could (or should) aspire to, and by the end of the book, one feels as though as though one has lived alongside Vincent through almost his entire life. The book approaches yet manages to skirt oppressiveness of detail, a superb feat given the consistency of the arc of Van Gogh's tortured life, and while the repetitious nature of Van Gogh's behavior and follies becomes almost as tiresome as it must have for his family, there is nothing in the book that should have been left out. The authors, too, have a splendid sense of art and how Van Gogh's mind was reflected in his art, and all this is described with clarity and, and at the same time, poetry. I wept as I reached the end of Vincent's life, in part because it was such a sad and unhappy life, but also because by the book's end, I felt as though I knew and understood the man behind some of the greatest art in history. Such should be the goal of every biography. ...moreDec 06, 2014
He expressed his truth in letters, and on canvas, immortalized a complex and beautiful soul.*Aug 05, 2014
I don't usually write such lengthy, or such scathing reviews but this time I feel compelled to. First of all I will say that once I picked up this book, I really couldn't put it down. It was an incredibly intriguing, detailed, and fascinating story of a man we all know and some of us love despite his "issues". The authors spent ten years researching and writing this tome and in the end, I think they used their Harvard Law credentials to convict the subject of the crime of mental illness and of I don't usually write such lengthy, or such scathing reviews but this time I feel compelled to. First of all I will say that once I picked up this book, I really couldn't put it down. It was an incredibly intriguing, detailed, and fascinating story of a man we all know and some of us love despite his "issues". The authors spent ten years researching and writing this tome and in the end, I think they used their Harvard Law credentials to convict the subject of the crime of mental illness and of being a person no one else could tolerate. Clearly they'd done their research, but the way they chose to portray Vincent from the very beginning of his life, and of this book, was inexcusable. Like slimebag lawyers using other people's perceptions and recollections to make their case, they manipulated the “evidence†to support their claims.Dec 04, 2019
During this summer I had the chance to visit Van Goghs museum in Amsterdam and after my return home I just had to find out more. Before my trip I looked up interesting locations to visit up on TripAdvisor and of course this museum was in top 5. Seeing this my thoughts were:Jun 16, 2012
I am finally finished and spent a lot time skimming through chapters to avoid repeats, overblown accounts of everything, and dull negativity.May 06, 2015
A very comprehensive biography of an intense and passionate man that provides a deep insight into his mind and creative process. A thoroughly researched portrait of Vincent's tragic life. Vincent initially comes off as an arrogant and self-destructive man. But he was as much a victim of the society that rejected him for being different. Vincent would start his career as an art dealer. But he was neither smooth talking nor good with people, which would mean an end to his career as an art dealer. A very comprehensive biography of an intense and passionate man that provides a deep insight into his mind and creative process. A thoroughly researched portrait of Vincent's tragic life. Vincent initially comes off as an arrogant and self-destructive man. But he was as much a victim of the society that rejected him for being different. Vincent would start his career as an art dealer. But he was neither smooth talking nor good with people, which would mean an end to his career as an art dealer. Faced with his failure and rejection from his family, he would try to find solace in religion. But his later foray into a career as a missionary would also end in a similar failure. The intensity and passion that he brought to his attempted career as a missionary or a preacher, and his constant search for meaning would alienate most of his peers.Nov 22, 2018
En este curso me matriculé de dos asignaturas de estética, entendiéndose estética como la rama de la filosofÃa aplicada al arte, no la estética corporal, aunque curiosamente también tengo la titulación (y nunca ejercà porque no pude encontrar trabajo en ello). Para estas asignaturas tengo que realizar un trabajo/ensayo de investigación, con la ventaja de que la elección del tema corre a cargo del los propios alumnos. Yo elegà un tema relacionado con Vincent van Gogh para el que necesitaba En este curso me matriculé de dos asignaturas de estética, entendiéndose estética como la rama de la filosofÃa aplicada al arte, no la estética corporal, aunque curiosamente también tengo la titulación (y nunca ejercà porque no pude encontrar trabajo en ello). Para estas asignaturas tengo que realizar un trabajo/ensayo de investigación, con la ventaja de que la elección del tema corre a cargo del los propios alumnos. Yo elegà un tema relacionado con Vincent van Gogh para el que necesitaba conocer muy bien su biografÃa, asà que decidà documentarme con, entre otras cosas, este tochaco que tardó en investigarse y escribirse diez años. El resultado: un documento completÃsimo, con mucha información, no solo sobre Van Gogh, sino también de allegados, contexto histórico y social de la época, láminas, fotos nunca antes publicadas (cedidas por el Museo Van Gogh de Amsterdam)... En fin, lo que viene a ser, me atrevo a decir, la biografÃa definitiva del pintor. Se nota el esmero y la implicación de los autores, aunque en algunos momentos no me gustó que incluyeran cliffhangers, lo vi innecesario y un poco sensacionalista, pero bueno, es un pequeño "pero".Jul 06, 2018
This was by far the most incredibly detailed biography I have ever read but also one of the most fascinating books in general I’ve ever picked up. I have always been drawn to van Gogh’s art and also him as a person, but admittedly didn’t know much despite having gone to the museum dedicated to him twice. He is such a legendary figure but the real story, meticulously researched and written here, is absolutely tragic. I find myself wanting to reach out to anyone I’ve ever been mean to in my life This was by far the most incredibly detailed biography I have ever read but also one of the most fascinating books in general I’ve ever picked up. I have always been drawn to van Gogh’s art and also him as a person, but admittedly didn’t know much despite having gone to the museum dedicated to him twice. He is such a legendary figure but the real story, meticulously researched and written here, is absolutely tragic. I find myself wanting to reach out to anyone I’ve ever been mean to in my life to apologize and afford them the courtesy that was denied to Vincent. He was a social outcast, had zero employability, and depended on his brother Theo in every aspect of life (especially financially). He tried so, so hard—that’s my main takeaway. Vincent tried. He tried to please his family, he tried to get a job to support himself, he tried to make beautiful art, he tried to find a wife, he always tried. The authors’ note on his death is incredibly interesting; they suggest that it was the result of an accidental shooting by a local teenager who regularly tormented Vincent. While Vincent was certainly depressed, the authors argue that he never truly was suicidal and his death occurred because he merely welcomed it as it happened and told authorities he shot himself in order to protect the boy. If this is the truth (I believe it, but we’ll never truly know) I’m even more impressed and devastated by Vincent. I’m reminded of the Doctor Who episode in which a museum curator calls him the best painter of all time, a man who took his debilitating pain and created ecstatic beauty—I absolutely agree. ...moreNov 21, 2019
“Trust in God who sees everything and knows everything,†said Vincent Van Gogh’s mother, Anna, “though His solution may be deeply sad.†This is a fitting summary of one of the saddest family chronicles imaginable. Nearly everyone in Vincent’s family ended life at least disappointed, if not depressed or insane. The glorious French sunlight that Vincent left us in his paintings covers a shadowy lifetime of seemingly unanswered prayers for harmony and wholeness in his family. The massive biography “Trust in God who sees everything and knows everything,†said Vincent Van Gogh’s mother, Anna, “though His solution may be deeply sad.†This is a fitting summary of one of the saddest family chronicles imaginable. Nearly everyone in Vincent’s family ended life at least disappointed, if not depressed or insane. The glorious French sunlight that Vincent left us in his paintings covers a shadowy lifetime of seemingly unanswered prayers for harmony and wholeness in his family. The massive biography by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith portrays Vincent’s life as a long plea for reconciliation—with his pastor father especially, but also with his stoic mother, his enabling brother, and with fellow artists and the Paris art scene that didn’t understand him or accept him. It’s hard to see exactly where and why this breakdown of the family occurred—the biographers endeavor to present the bare facts, without interpretation of what was “really†happening (though of course any biography is an interpretation, not just the facts). The authors put a negative spin on some aspects of Vincent’s growing-up years that seems to me based more on knowing the tragic outcome than on a neutral view on what was really said and done.Nov 15, 2011
It's no wonder to me now that these truly gifted biographers won the Pulitzer Prize for their life of Jackson Pollock, assuming, of course, that their prose is as "intense" as the writing in their most recent collaboration.Feb 17, 2012
This biography was certainly a massive undertaking by award-winning authors. It's well-researched and well-written all right. But the underlying view of Vincent as a man with basically a horrible personality who created his own problems seems short-sighted and unfair. Are the authors re-doing the Jackson Pollack book? This book made me go back to read Vincent's incomparable letters to Theo. There are other books that are superior in contemplating Vincent's mental and physical health This biography was certainly a massive undertaking by award-winning authors. It's well-researched and well-written all right. But the underlying view of Vincent as a man with basically a horrible personality who created his own problems seems short-sighted and unfair. Are the authors re-doing the Jackson Pollack book? This book made me go back to read Vincent's incomparable letters to Theo. There are other books that are superior in contemplating Vincent's mental and physical health issues/disabilities from a distance. These authors don't care; to them he was a spoiled (!) brat who took advantage of his friends and family. ...moreJun 24, 2015
"Nós, que vivemos de pão, não somos em boa medida como o trigo, não somos, quando menos, obrigados a nos submeter a crescer como uma planta sem poder se mover, quero dizer, no rumo a que nos impele nossa imaginação, e a ser colhidos quando estamos maduros, como o próprio trigo?"Jun 02, 2016
EXTREMELY DETAILED !Nov 20, 2011
This is a massive and wonderful book about an amazing person. I've read several books about Vincent, both fiction and non-fiction and I thought I knew a lot about Vincent's life, but Naifeh and Smith provide a lot more information than any of the others I've read and do it well.Jan 31, 2015
This is a compelling, tragic biography of the great 19th century Dutch artist whose life was deeply troubled, despite his creative gifts and intellectual power. It is to the writers' deep credit that despite the unbending pattern of extreme behavior and inevitable disappointment and failure that dominates the life recounted here over 800 pages, the telling firmly holds your attention.Apr 13, 2012
ask me anythin about vincent van gogh. go ahead, ask me. after reading 800 plus pages of this amazing biography, I feel like a world expert. Meticulously researched, from his birth, childhood, and adult life, and yet written in a very readable style that doesn't bog you down as many biographies can do, this is truly an amazing book. so much of what I thought I knew about van gogh was totally wrong. he exhibited signs of mental illness from a very young age, perhaps aspergers, compulsive ask me anythin about vincent van gogh. go ahead, ask me. after reading 800 plus pages of this amazing biography, I feel like a world expert. Meticulously researched, from his birth, childhood, and adult life, and yet written in a very readable style that doesn't bog you down as many biographies can do, this is truly an amazing book. so much of what I thought I knew about van gogh was totally wrong. he exhibited signs of mental illness from a very young age, perhaps aspergers, compulsive obsessive, lots of anger management issues, and schitzophrenia(sp)as he grew into manhood. they didn't say as much, but reading the descriptions of his behavior, it sounded textbook. add to that an obsession with prostitutes that lead to a horrible case of syphyllis for which there really wasn't an effective treatment at that time, and his progressive madness was guarenteed. I've always love his paintings, but I know now that if I had ever met him I would have punched him in the nose at the very least. He was a very unpleasent man, outspoken and arguementative, with bizarre behavior, delusions and totally unable to deal with life in any normal way. his poor brother theo supported him his whole life, and also had a horrible case of syphyllis, which attacked his body with even more ferocity than vincent. he died 6 months after vincents death, insane and raving in an asylum. the rest of the family didn't fare much better. a brother commited suicide, and a sister also died in an asylum , no sexual disease there though. I think being raised in a rigid christion home-his father was a pastor and his mother was more concerned with family appearances and reputation than the emotional needs of a very delicate son-was just more fuel for his breakdown. but I think he was doomed from the start, no amount of nurturing could have helped. maybe with some of todays medicines, but then would his painting have blossomed? we can only guess. I really enjoyed this book, but it takes some time to get through it. ...moreDec 01, 2011
I've read a good amount of books regarding van Gogh, including a condensed book of his prolific correspondence, and a few regarding his time in Arles with and without Gauguin.Sep 23, 2016
I was blown away by this book. Not only for its deeply researched detail, but because it does what a superior biography should do, it humanizes it's subject and makes the reader care about them.Sep 30, 2018
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I had to read this long, tortuously researched book slowly, bolstering it between lighter works. The strange, haunted genius that Naifeh and Smith paint in their 950 pages aroused in me empathy, pain, sometimes disgust, sometimes wonder. My mind wandered, perhaps with more understanding, to others I have known in life and in books who had in some slight way some of the characteristics of Vincent and his brother Theo. This is a book to be remembered, a life to weep over, a spark to add new I had to read this long, tortuously researched book slowly, bolstering it between lighter works. The strange, haunted genius that Naifeh and Smith paint in their 950 pages aroused in me empathy, pain, sometimes disgust, sometimes wonder. My mind wandered, perhaps with more understanding, to others I have known in life and in books who had in some slight way some of the characteristics of Vincent and his brother Theo. This is a book to be remembered, a life to weep over, a spark to add new dimensions to the art. It would be hard to come away from it unchanged. ...moreFeb 07, 2015
"Vincent was 'a dreamer, a fanatical believer, a devourer of beautiful utopias, living on ideas and dreams.'" -- from "Van Gogh: The Life"Aug 17, 2016
The writers had a wealth of materials to draw from for this comprehensive biography, including the years of correspondence between Vincent and his brother Theo and numerous interviews with people who were knew or were aware of Vincent. This book is a commitment at 893 pages and it took me a couple of weeks of careful reading to finish it. An additional 6,000 pages worth of footnotes and source materials are available on the authors' website: http://vangoghbiography.com/Jan 02, 2012
Van Gogh: The Life by Stephen Naifeh and Grogory White Smith was well written and moved along quite rapidly for such an exhaustive study. I was impressed with the voluminous correspondence between Van Gogh and his family in general and his brother, Theo,in particular. Because I am a nature lover and hiker, Van Gogh's love of nature and devotion to taking his easal into the heath attracted me to his paintings and I have since been studying and enjoying them. In addition, while many artists did Van Gogh: The Life by Stephen Naifeh and Grogory White Smith was well written and moved along quite rapidly for such an exhaustive study. I was impressed with the voluminous correspondence between Van Gogh and his family in general and his brother, Theo,in particular. Because I am a nature lover and hiker, Van Gogh's love of nature and devotion to taking his easal into the heath attracted me to his paintings and I have since been studying and enjoying them. In addition, while many artists did their works in studio with the help of assistnts, Vincent went out- of- doors alone to capture the reality of nature and used real live models of poor people to capture their essence. Two of my favorites are: Peach Tree in Blossom and The Potato Eaters and the story behind each. Finally, it is fascinating how much of his tortured life was put into his paintings of th very poor.There was nothing phony about his works and he paid the price for his great contributions to all of us. ...moreTake your time and choose the perfect book.
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