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Book Review: Van Gogh's Ear: The True Story

VAN GOGH'S EAR by Bernadette Murphy

What if nearly everything you know about the great artist Vincent Van Gogh is based not on truth but gossip, rumour, and hearsay? After a personal tragedy, Murphy, living in the South of France, took up the task of discovering the truth behind Van Gogh's infamous self-mutilation. The book, detailed and meticulous, follows her journey, and yet it is never boresome. I was gripped throughout, a testament to Murphy's skill as a writer, but also her passion for art and history.

The book itself reveals not only the answers to these mysteries - what may have happened that eventful day, the identity of the woman Van Gogh handed over his ear to, and why. (No spoilers!) The discoveries are groundbreaking, and the level of research simply remarkable. But this book goes much further, vividly painting a whole picture: the life Van Gogh created in the town of Arles, the Gaugin partnership, his local friends, the tender relationship with his brother and his devastating battles with his mental health. I didn't expect to be emotionally moved, but how can you not when you begin to truly know the artist and not just the legend?

Vincent's friend, Emile Bernard, describing his funeral: "The coffin was covered with a surrounded by masses of flowers, the sunflowers that he loved so much, yellow dahlias, yellow flowers everywhere. It was, you will remember, his favourite colour, the symbol of the light that he dreamed of as being in people's hearts as well as in works of art."

ESSENTIAL book for all fans of Van Gogh's art. 5 stars.

   

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