Vincent van Gogh, whose obsessive devotion to his art engulfs, consumes, and finally destroys him. However, evidence now shows that he probably killed himself because he went mad from lead poisioning. Then, artists used to lick their brushes to wet them and the paints were full of lead..... they would become addicted to the sweet taste of the lead and their body would crave it. Vincent literally began to eat paint. To many he was battling mental illness, maybe now we know better. They locked him up in a mental asylum. From his cell, he painted his famous painting Starry Night from what he could see from his cell.
He was a sad man as well, he never found true love in his lifetime. He died at 37 and painted 442 paintings. Incredibly, he never managed to even sell any of his paintings till after he died.
Lust for Life (1956) is a biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter, based on the 1934 novel by Irvings Stone. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and stars Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for his performance as Van Gogh's fast friend and rival Paul Gauguin.
Now for a more sobering documentary on Van Gogh.
4 comments:
Hi Dali,
Thank you for the insightful on the life of Van Gogh & his paintings.
The brief documentary on his life is a reinforcement & reminder of the many state of affairs & life lessons for us.
A big thank you for digging up your old emails and discovering this real gem!
Listening to Don McLean's touching rendition of 'Starry Starry Night' gave me goose pimples...but it has also made me see and feel all the emotions Van Gogh must have gone thro. Prior to reading your latest reason for his madness, I used to think that his was a case of walking that thin line between being a genius and insanity.
Why must lead taste sweet?
And, just one question for u, Dali: Why do the good always die young?
By the way, Van Gogh did manage to 'sell' one of his art pieces, or so I've read.
He was flat broke and in dire financial straits and it was either his uncle or his brother [can't recall exactly which one] working as an art dealer who paid him some money for it just to help him out. Van Gogh must have been overjoyed to have his first painting 'sold'!
What an irony to know that his paintings are fetching millions today while he died a pauper...
After visiting van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, I realised the real thing is much much more brialliant than the colour we see on screen or prints. If you are Amsterdam, don't miss it.
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