Tormented Genius : The Struggles of Vincent van Gogh

212 Pages·1967·24.414 MB·English

by  Alan Honour

TDRMENTED EENIU5
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THE STRUGGLES DP
VINCENT VAN BDCH
ALAN HDNDUR
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$4.95
TORMENTED GENIUS
THE STRUGGLES DP
VINCENT VAN BDBH
BY ALAN HONOUR
With six full-color plates
Of all the artists caught up in the ferment
of the last half of the nineteenth century,
perhaps none is more widely known today
than Vincent van Gogh. Certainly none en-
dured such incredible suffering. In a com-
passionatebiography, Alan Honour tells his
dramatic story and gives the reader a star-
tling and intimate picture of this tragic
individual.
From childhood on, van Gogh's in-
tensely emotional personality and unattrac-
tive physical appearance repulsed people.
In time, he became unable to communicate
with others, except for his beloved brother
Theo. Out of this relationship came the fa-
mous van Gogh correspondence, which the
author draws upon frequently to re-create
the artist's thoughts and feelings. In these
pages one shares his torment as he sacri-
fices all comforts to follow his genius, his
exuberance when his painting goes well,
and his despair as his disappointments
drive him ever closer to madness.
The book includes full-color reproduc-
tions, printed in Holland, of six van Gogh
paintingsrepresentativeofdifferentperiods
in his development. The moving, powerful
narrative makes clear at what cost this
beauty was achieved.
Jacket: SELF-PORTRAIT,
Saint-Remy, 1890; Louvre, Paris
MORROW JUNIOR BOOKS
0012-0016

TORMENTED
GENIUS the
.
STRUGGLES OF
VINCENT VAN GOGH

TORMENTED
GENIUS THE
STRUGGLES OF
VINCENT VAN GOGH
BY ALAN HONOUR
WITH SIX FULL-COLOR PLATES
WILLIAM MORROW AND COMPANY NEW YORK 1967
A
SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTY FREE LIBRARY
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.
Copyright © 1967 by Alan Honour
All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by
any information storage and retrieval sys-
tem, without permission in writing from
the Publisher. Inquiries should be ad-
dressed to William Morrow and Company,
Inc., 425 Park Avenue South, New York,
N.Y. 10016.
Published simultaneously in Canada by
George J. McLeod Limited, Toronto.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 67-19687
The author wishes to express his deep appreciation to
Dr. V. \Y. van Gogh (nephew of the artist) of Rozen-
laantje, The Netherlands, for his interest in this book,
for his prompt and courteous assistance, and for his
permission to quote from Vincent van Gogh's cor-
respondence.
The author is also grateful to Doubleday & Com-
pany, Inc. for permission to quote from Dear Theo,
The Autobiography of Vincent van Gogh, edited by
Irving Stone, copyright 1937 by Irving Stone; to Har-
court, Brace & World, Inc. for permission to quote
from Vincent van Gogh by Julius Meier-Graefe; to the
New York Graphic Society for permission to quote
from The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh; to
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, for permis-
sion to quote from Vincent van Gogh, Letters to
Emile Bernard, edited and translated by Douglas Lord;
and to Random House, Inc. for permission to quote
from Passionate Pilgrim, The Life of Vincent van
Gogh by Lawrence and Elisabeth Hanson.