Vincent van Gogh

A Biography

By: Julius Meier-Graefe

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

The lives of many famous artists have been shrouded in mystery and conjecture, but none have been more controversial than the life of Vincent van Gogh.

Remembered for his swirling brushstrokes and burning colors, Vincent van Gogh is today one of the best-known painters. Though his career as a painter spanned less than ten years, he produced a body of work that remains one of the most enduring in all of modern art. In his lifetime, however, he received little recognition. Today his paintings sell for countless millions, yet during his lifetime, van Gogh managed to sell just one painting.

Van Gogh’s road to be becoming a painter took a circuitous, often troublesome path. In his twenties, van Gogh served as a lay minister in a Belgian mining district. He practiced Christian virtues with such outward zeal that he found himself ostracized from society, which prompted him to set off for Brussels to study art. His religious zeal, his belief in the unimpeachable nature of man and his struggle, and his many tumultuous inner-turmoil’s all resonate through his extraordinary body of paintings.

Public Domain (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Mostly a fictional fantasy

Basically a work of historical fiction - - a novel based loosely on Van Gogh's life experiences.

Overlayed on a thin framework of actual events and dates, the majority of the writing consists of imagined situations, hypothetical conversations, and imputed ideas and thoughts. There is some occasional analysis by the art critic author that adds value, though it appears but rarely.

Most of this book is how the author imagined the details of Van Gogh's daily interactions and thoughts without apparent basis for the greatest part of it. The conversations, outbursts, and trains of thought are simply extrapolated from minor events or created from the author's imagination. And the suicide scene is simply historically incorrect.

I don't much care for the narrator, but that's probably just a personal preference. She does alright - - I just didn't care for the quality of her voice.

Thanks to Audible for making this volume available free of charge.

Vincent

I enjoyed this book as it was first published in 1936. This gave the author the opportunity to investigate the story much closer to the time of death of Vincent Van Gogh. As an artist I have read
many books regarding Vincent Van Gogh and now have added this to my collection. It is a noteworthy read and anyone interested in the life of this man should take it into consideration. The narration is very good and will keep the listeners interest.

Energy & Light, Genius & Labor of Love

Vincent Van Gogh has been hashed over and reworked from every view point but this biography is a riveting accurate detailed day by day account of what Vincent experienced. If you are an artist or are interested in art this book will charm and fulfill you. It served as my companion as I painted several of Van Gogh's originals (in acrylic) to get a sense of what his genius entailed. It is beyond comprehension. His 900 canvasses (about 2 a week for ten years) each stop me in my tracks and challenge every artistic fiber in me. I am in awe of the man and his overe. I read this, followed by his letters to his brother Theo, and that combo really worked to inspire me to learn as much as I could about his craft, and artistry. Color, paint, brush stokes, vision, energy, inspiration, sorrow and ordeals.....what a blend of man in his most elevated self-expression. I loved the book, the narration and have re-listened to many sections. I supplemented it with a reading of the several thousand pages of VAN GOGH the Complete Works, so exhilarating.

Dramatic Narrative

There's a conscious effort to make this more of a dramatic narrative than a biography, but that's probably not a bad way to go considering most of what we know of Van Gogh is drawn from letters between him and his brother Theo. I won't say it's 100% accurate, but the very nature of the book allows you to crawl inside the man's head. Even if you don't agree or even sympathize with him, it's the kind of perspective that allows one to better appreciate the mind behind the artwork.

van gogh in story form

this author and narrator has done the research to seem to truly know the story of van Gogh. she reads the book like a professor lecturing a class and nit a storyteller reading a story. pleasant voice and intonation. the primary reason this book bothered me is it read like a storybook by telling details of van goghs encounters with other people and life events as though the author witnessed the actual event. I read books like this knowing there is a large amount of opinion stated as fact mixed in with the actual facts

Discovery

As an artist, I was distracted by the early pessimism in the tone of the narrator’s voice. I stayed with the book. Although I’ve read a few different books of Vincent’s life, I realized my perception of Europe in the 1850s, 1870s and later 1800s was lacking. After a couple chapters, I took the time to visit the actual historical events, societal expectations, and religious and financial limitations taking place in Europe.

Vincent is described as having uncontrolled and unreasonable outbursts when he was in his late teens and earlier twenties. Puberty in Europe for persons at that age could easily be at that age. In modern day, puberty is earlier by about 5 to 8 years. I had to consider, was Vincent acting out as many young pubescent boys and girls might do. Furthermore, the expectations of a young male in the 1870s and years later were quite dependent on a family’s perspective and often didn’t adjust to economical times. In 1873 Vincent was trying to establish himself during the Panic of 1873 which, along with religious intrusions common for the times, certainly would have had an effect on Vincent’s career wanderings. The book provides good examples of Vincent’s life path that were reflective of his times. Even his illnesses had times of great clarity demonstrating a far reaching goal and deep awareness. Yes, he demonstrated an illness that included fits and delirious symptoms which today, is likely a controllable. What would the cost of controlling the illness have had on Vincent’s Art?

This book has been enlightening in a different way than I’ve experienced before. Quite surprisingly, the results of Vincent’s approach to art and revelations of his process and lifelong struggles, resonates loudly with me. I leave this book with a new awakening of Vincent’s perspectives and a realization that the deep-seated path he struggled through to accomplish his purpose as a painter could only have happened as it did. Vincent’s perseverance was his salvation.

Behind the legend

Van Gogh is a legend. But you don’t need the book to know that. The book tells the story of the person behind the legend.
The book is beautiful. Even though it is not an easy listen I found myself drawn to it again and again.
Unfortunately the narration is not great. It is not clear who speaks when and foreign language is mixed up from time to time without any indication to what the translation is. It’s although the narrator forgot to read the footnotes and in general feels rushed.
Nonetheless the pronunciation is clear and easy to understand.

loved the narrator

She sounded remarkably like Judy Dench. very easy to listen to.
I did enjoy this. But I understand what the fellow who gave 3 stars was saying.

Good story

Good book but the narrator’s voice was a bit hard to listen to. Sort of grating on my nerves. Not particularly calm and relaxing. But overall decent book.

A Beautiful Story of a Sad Life

Equal parts poetry, history and art appreciation, this biography gives compelling insight into the pain and the passion that composed the genius of Van Gogh.