Van Gogh's Ear: The True Story - Softcover

Murphy, Bernadette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784702226 ISBN 13: 9781784702229

Publisher: Vintage, 2017

Synopsis

In December 1888, Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear. It is the most famous story about any artist in history. But what really happened on that dark winter night?In Van Gogh's Ear, Bernadette Murphy reveals the truth., She takes us on an extraordinary journey from major museums to forgotten archives, vividly reconstructing Van Gogh's world. We meet police inspectors and cafe patrons, prostitutes and madams, his beloved brother Theo and fellow painter Paul Gauguin. Why did Van Gogh commit such a brutal act? Who was the mysterious 'Rachel' to whom he presented his macabre gift? Did he really remove his entire ear? Murphy answers these important questions with her groundbreaking discoveries, offering a stunning portrait of an artist edging towards madness in his pursuit of excellence.,

About this title

Review:

"This book has the pace of a detective novel, sending fresh blood pulsing through an old tale as Murphy recreates the heartbreaking drama of Van Gogh’s loosening grip on reality." (Daily Mail)

"Murphy’s revelations are fascinating and add intriguing details to the great crisis of Van Gogh’s life." (Michael Prodger The Times)

"Murphy’s book rescues the real Van Gogh from the lazy clichés of tea towel memorabilia by painting an electric, nuanced portrait of a man who achieved artistic brilliance despite his mental health issues and not because of them. In doing so, she allows for a version of his history in which her subject’s passion for life, art and humanity blooms like the sunflowers he painted." (Daily Mail)

"She knows Provence with an intimacy that’s rare in the ear genre. Her descriptions of the people, their landscape, their customs are unusually detailed... Her second stand-out quality is a doggedness that goes beyond the usual art-historical drives. Relentlessly she wrestles with the book’s central mystery." (Waldemar Januszczak Sunday Times)

"No one before has built up such a detailed picture of the people who surrounded the great artist." (Martin Gayford Daily Telegraph)

Book Description:

Why did Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear? This compelling detective story reveals the truth about the art world's greatest mystery

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1784702226
• ISBN 13: 9781784702229
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336