Van Gogh's Ear: The True Story

There is so much in to celebrate in this book - the artist's genius, his deep humanity, but above all, his fateful love affair with Arles and the South. Had he not moved to this sleepy Provençal town, it is difficult to imagine the global stature and the reverence which now surrounds his very name. Bernadette Murphy, resident for most of her life in the area, is uniquely qualified to uncover the hidden facts that underpin this book. A combination of superb linguistic skills, extraordinary investigative capabilities and incredible tenacity meant that apparently insignificant archival details, painstakingly amassed and sifted over long, long years, was pieced together to create a unique portrait of the artist as well as his environment 'in toto'. The scholarly lengths to which she has gone are awe-inspiring. This is art history of singular virtuosity, 99% perspiration, and 1% dazzling inspiration. Van Gogh is arguably the greatest and most popular artist of modern times - is anyone not enamoured? - and in this brilliant biographer he has at last found someone to do him justice. Murphy's irresistible tale illuminates how great art is created, and what drives the rare souls who live - and die - in its name.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and it was richly full of facts about Van Gogh and his life that I was previously unaware of, including something which should end for all time any speculation about exactly how much of his ear the poor man cut off. I won't spoil the book by saying exactly how that is revealed, but it is absolutely final and should end any further theories. However, there are a couple of areas which at the best are a little grey, and they are what have prevented me from giving the book five stars. The first area concerns the recipient of the ear - just who it was, and why Vincent gave her the rather sad remains of his ear. In my opinion the authors take on this is far too speculative and actually holds very little water. I am inclined to believe that it was the person whom the author suggests it was, but her theory as to just why he gave her the ear, I am sorry to say I found quite frankly a bit ridiculous. And the second slightly grey area concerns the fairly recent proposition that Van Gogh was shot by someone else - I won't say murdered because I don't think that he was, not exactly, but I think the author could have given the idea a little more credence than to dismiss it utterly in little more than a couple of sentences. But, and it is a huge, positive but, apart from those two things the book is excellent and brings Van Gogh and his life in Arles vividly to life, and the people and places in his paintings take on a whole new perspective after reading it. I thoroughly recommend the book not only to anyone who is interested in Vincent Van Gogh, but to anyone who is interested in art generally, as well as to those people who would like a very convincing insight into Vincents 'madness', and who perhaps have more than a passing interest in mental issues, and just how terrible and debilitating a place 'madness' can be. Altogether a wonderful, and actually quite inspiring and life-affirming little book.

Irrespective of the reason for a visit to the National Gallery, I always find myself in silent awe before two painters, two painters diametrically opposed and very different in style, life and painting - Canaletto and Van Gogh. Indeed, the parquet before the “Sunflowers” is the most worn section of the entire floor and any visit confirms why and how. Canaletto’s area has fewer visits but that only surprises me. Before vast Canaletto canvases taking in grand scenes of Venice, I find myself edging closer to look, yet again, at the minute and fine details create by a “lick” of paint. Van Gogh’s are usually more intimate and “limited in scale” but his energetic, emphatic and passionate “slashes” of paint capture life in quite another way but just as effectively.Murphy’s life near Arles seems to have inspired her interest in Van Gogh and driven her to become a highly determine, investigative “biographer”, so good, in fact, that other journalist, Jeremy Paxman, made a television programme with her but took the back seat in her travels to discover the truth ; although entitled “Van Gogh’s Ear”, it is the rest of him, his driven and riven life, his passions and his misunderstood, short, sad life she captures so effectively and in such well-researched and fine detail.She never quite answers the bigger question, “Why?” - no-one can - but she certainly creates the life in such a way as to be almost within touching distance of the answer. Of the six children born to Rev Van Gogh, two committed suicide, two died in asylum but there are aspects of Van Gogh’s death still in doubt.Murphy explores forensically all the elements which made up Van Gogh’s life from papers and letters from the time, to aerial photographs taken before and after WWII when large sections of Arles were destroyed, including the area in which he lived. Eventually she unearths a doctor’s note and drawing which illustrate unequivocally the true extent of the injury he inflicted on himself.The minute, pain-staking, clinical and detailed detection is in stark contrast to the passions about which she writes and which drove him but it goes a long way to explaining who he was, how he lived, who his friends were, his way of painting and why the parquet flooring in the National Gallery is so worn by his many modern admirers.

I have just finished reading this book..It took me longer than I expected to read; this was mainly due to the fact that the level of detail in the book was so intense and so powerful that I often had to pause to fully appreciate it.Until I bought this book I had never heard of Bernadette Murphy, but now have an overwhelming respect for her and her journey, frought with so many challenges, to deliver this book to us.The biggest challenge for any biographer is the ability to be objective; most biographies, from my experoence, are subjective; if one likes the subject matter, the subject will always be a hero or a victim. as in the case of Syd Barrett: A Very Peculiar Head, and if not, the villian, as with Lion Heart and Lackland: King Richard I and King John (with a hero AND a villain).Ms Murphy has developed and delivered a most intimate and humbling account of one of the finest and most widely recognised artists ever to have lived. Her book unravels myth and replaces them with truths that may otherwise have been lost to time. Not every fact can be guaranteed and there is still some conjecture; but what is a mystery story without a mystery.What Ms Murphy doesn't do is absolve Van Gogh of his faults; she does , however, provide some desperately needed context and turns the legend back into a fragile and desperately unwell man, a man who, in many respects couldn't cope with the world around him. He stole moments of time and captured them in oil and canvas for us all to enjoy; surely the very least we can do is try to understand him a little better.This is the most intimate and personal biography I have read and am grateful for the opportunity to have done so.

I heard this first on the radio which prompted the book purchase. It is an engrossing read, easy to lose time as the investigation and tangential tales rattle on - however I wish it contained all of the paintings and sketches by Van Gogh and Gaugin, etc. that are referred to in the text - I will have to buy art books or visit a gallery to see these, which is no problem, but a wasted opportunity in my opinion. An interesting point is made about a picture which is not there. The illustrations that are included, many in b&w in the text and in a colour section in the middle, are excellent. The sections on Arles' partial destruction in WW II (the Allies bombed the rail station ) and how the author has pieced together how it looked pre war via sketches and recon photographs are very interesting. Ditto the conclusions about the ear debate and how these were reached through letters and sketches.