Van Gogh

The Life

By: Steven Naifeh, Gregory White Smith

Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith galvanized audiences with their astonishing Jackson Pollock: An American Saga, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography, a book acclaimed for its miraculous research and overwhelming narrative power. Now Naifeh and Smith have written another tour de force - an exquisitely detailed, compelling, and ultimately heartbreaking portrait of creative genius Vincent van Gogh.

Working with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Naifeh and Smith have accessed a wealth of previously untapped materials. While drawing liberally from the artist's famously eloquent letters, they have also delved into hundreds of unpublished family correspondences, illuminating with poignancy the wanderings of Van Gogh's troubled, restless soul. Naifeh and Smith bring a crucial understanding to the larger-than-life mythology of this great artist - his early struggles to find his place in the world; his intense relationship with his brother Theo; his impetus for turning to brush and canvas; and his move to Provence, where in a brief burst of incandescent productivity he painted some of the best-loved works in Western art.

The authors also shed new light on many unexplored aspects of Van Gogh's inner world: his deep immersion in literature and art; his erratic and tumultuous romantic life; and his bouts of depression and mental illness.

Though countless books have been written about Van Gogh, and though the broad outlines of his tragedy have long inhabited popular culture, no serious, ambitious examination of his life has been attempted in more than 70 years. Naifeh and Smith have re-created Van Gogh's life with an astounding vividness and psychological acuity that bring a completely new and sympathetic understanding to this unique artistic genius whose signature images of sunflowers and starry nights have won a permanent place in the human imagination.

©2011 Woodward/White, LLC (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A tour de force . . . an enormous achievement . . . [A] sweepingly authoritative, astonishingly textured book." (Los Angeles Times)

A very ambitious review of the man behind the canvas.

What I thought I knew from my years as a student in high school and college, doesn’t even make up a foot note.
These authors, and the narrator really brought Van Gogh alive here.

They take us from his childhood to his death, and then some more!
I’m glad I heard about this audio book.

Thank you!

Compelling biography, compellingly read!

Stays close to the evidence, especially as revealed in Van Gogh’s letters - but filled out and corroborated by other sources, where available.

A sad but wonderful story of an immortal painter who, partly because of his family’s and nation’s culture and partly because of his own uncompromising temperament, lived a life of frustration and perceived failure.

The postscript makes a compelling case that Van Gogh did not commit suicide, but, once he was accidentally shot, did not try to prolong his life, either. In particular, he protected the young boy or boys who shot him accidentally.

A final act of selflessness.

Yet his vision and vitality live on in his paintings.

This book gives the big picture as well as convincing details. Well worth the many hours of listening!!

historical accuracy

this was a GREAT listen! Good story telling. Vincent had a complex and tragic life with a compelling story of physical and mental and emotional illness alongside absolute genius struggling to get out. I believe the conclusion in the epilog to be accurate.

Amazing

The best biography I’ve read on any subject. Loved very minute of it. Well worth it.

Enjoyed the details.

Very detailed account of Van Gogh. His painting philosophy, his struggles. At times repetitive. Narrator was excellent.

Excellent account of his life

A very thorough account of his life. Excellent twist at the attend. What really happened?

Fascinating and Heartbreaking

I love Vincent’s paintings.
We all know that he had lived a life which always contained frustrations.
I knew that his life had been difficult because he attempted several different careers before he finally landed on drawing and painting.
I had even read an extensive reprinted collection of his letters to Theo to better understand his philosophy of art.
But only after listening to this incredible documentary has it become clear just how difficult Vincent’s life was for many reasons, and often simply because of choices he himself made. Even more clear after listening to this great history is just how much Vincent’s choices and his day-to-day existence would always exact a fairly dear price from his long-suffering beloved brother Theo.

This Audible book is for you if you care about Vincent’s paintings or are interested in knowing more about his life and times. 35 hours of listening was the perfect amount of time for me, and I’m grateful for all I’ve learned.

Fascinating!

Bits may be dry or not as interesting when not knowing specific artists that he knew or influenced him. But they are worth Goggling to learn more.
whether temporal lobe epilepsy (that is a thing still,, but not necessarily his issue) he did obviously have depression and some irrational mental issues.. Which syphilis could have exacerbated. He was a human male with a libido.
All the correspondence between him and his family really gives insight and factual details of his life.
Early on in the book before you see him descend into mental health with physical issues you feel like like yelling at him from the sidelines. Will you think about what you are doing or what others are saying!
He proves mental concerns aren't something you brush off and nove on.
Thankfully he was a prolific painter too. That he studied so many genres, methods, and so forth. His black and white stage. No colors! Passive-aggressively sent a letter to Theo with a wheelbarrow full of manure sketch. That made me chortle! He thus gives us so many different kinds of art and subjects. From people - the peasant farmers and miners, to portraits, to scenery. Both realistic as well as Impressionism.
I can relate and empathize with his desire for family and connections.
Lastly, excellent research on more accurate conclusions about his death. We will never know for sure, but suicide unlikely.
Sad though how insanity or whatever affected previous people in his family tree as well as siblings too.
Shows we all have lives and whether we are remembered or not is a question for time. He actually was able to read praise for his work, even if he didn't quite feel he deserved it. Age 37 he left us but if you read this his desire to be a minister and help others was there, even if he couldn't go about it well. Ie, living on a dirt floor when he didn't need to and other stories before painting he definitely had a full life of experiences!

Compelling and detailed (and long!)

The story drew me in and held me spellbound throughout - couldn’t put this down . The book is written in great detail and information supported by letters/correspondence, which was interesting but also lead to a redundancy - likely more noticeable in audio format.
The author made the courageous and challenging effort to get into the tormented mind of Vincent from the inner view, the family response and the response from the public and strangers. In this valiant attempt though, I sensed a bias from the author that flip flopped; Vincent was portrayed as obsessive, persistent, manipulative and aggressive toward those close to him - clearly mentally unstable and family portrayed as victim. Yet when describing reaction of strangers toward similar behavior he was portrayed more sympathetically as a victim being misjudged by society. A flip flop bias played out by most of us in todays world.
Vincent remains a fantastic mystery. Can’t believe after reading 40+ hours of this life story, I left wanting to know more.

Beyond Profound

The detailed accounts of the life of Vincent Van Gogh is amazing. The detailed compilation of explicit history is fascinating & remarkable. So much gratitude to the authors for allowing us to know the truth of the life of Vincent Van Gogh without romantic myths.