Van Gogh

(
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.

R
ANDOM
H
OUSE
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
T
HE
J
UILLIARD
S
CHOOL
,

who have since brought so much joy into our lives
,

this book is gratefully dedicated
.

S. N
.

G. W. S
.

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
, April 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