Vincent Van Gogh: The Ambiguity of Insanity

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About the Book

Title: Vincent Van Gogh: The Ambiguity of Insanity Author: Giuseppe Cafiero An abrasive itinerary of the presence of women, the landscape and obsession. Such are the internal paradigms that went through the compelling life of the Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Not flesh and blood women, but the woman as a guide: Mrs. Jones, the woman as a mother; Kee Vos; Christine Hoornik of Siena; Margot Begemann. The Portrait-women such as Augustine Roulin and Madame Ginoux. And then the backgrounds, endless, unforgettable in this genius's works: Isleworth, Amsterdam, le Borinage, Arles, St. Remy, Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent van Gogh spent his life trying to capture the colors, the atmosphere, the light. The pain of finitude and his obsession with achieving redemption through art, with intimate and stormy religiosity, with brotherly love, with the French noon sun and, in short, with death. A hard-working and unwavering life where art interacted, in a painful gesture, with the iron will of a hand that never lost its way. The life of a beloved and devoted man, silenced by the anguish and despair of creation, who could only find peacefulness when he found his own death. Vincent Van Gogh: the Ambiguity of Insanity is a fictionalized biography and gripping novel of the life of the Nineteenth-Century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The author, Giuseppe Cafiero, draws a psychological portrait of the Post-Impressionist painter through the women that marked his life and the cities in which he lived.  

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A Brush with Madness: Three Famous van Gogh Paintings Which Reflect his Mental Health

Vincent van Gogh is among a string of creative trailblazers who are known or believed to have suffered from mental illness. Those visionaries shared an important trait: the power to channel their suffering into their work, writes the acclaimed Italian author and historian, Giuseppe Cafiero.

By Giuseppe Cafiero

Vincent van Gogh’s paintings revolutionized artistic practice and styles and had a profound influence on the art of the 20^th century. But his masterpieces also reflect his own, tortured soul. Three of his greatest works, in particular, highlight the artist’s failing mental health, all of which were painted during his stay at the Saint-Rémy asylum where he was recovering from a breakdown and his ear amputation.

1.      ‘Sorrowing Old Man’ (‘At Eternity’s Gate’), 1890

Van Gogh created this fascinating oil painting just two months before his death. It reflects, in my view, a heartbreaking fragility and melancholy that plagued van Gogh for most of his adult life. The painting was based on an earlier lithograph, which was itself based on a pencil drawing of a pensioner and war veteran made in the early 1880s.

The painting – an oil on canvas – expresses van Gogh’s anguish, pain and sadness. But it also highlights his reclusive nature and inability to function like the rest of society.

2.      ‘The Starry Night’, (1889)

The view from van Gogh’s east-facing window in the asylum ranks among his most famous works. It depicts the various times of day and night and different weather conditions but, tellingly, not the bars on the window of his room. Observers have linked the symbolism of the stylized cypress tree in the painting’s foreground to van Gogh’s (presumed) suicide. Analysts also believe the cypress represents immortality. In an earlier letter to his brother, van Gogh describes death as a train that travels to the stars.

In my view, the painting – which van Gogh dismissed as a failure – also reflects his periods of mental agitation; the swirls and the vivid dark colours highlight his turbulent mental health.

3.      ‘The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt)’, (1890)

This haunting painting was created from part of a Rembrandt etching and appears to show Lazarus’ face with a ginger beard. Some observers, myself included, believe this is a self-portrait. Others think van Gogh may have seen a parallel between Lazarus’ return from the dead and his struggle towards recovery from mental illness. In any event, it is clearly a painting that reflects a call for help and, perhaps, the inevitability of death.

Vincent Van Gogh: the Ambiguity of Insanity by Giuseppe Cafiero is out now as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible.com and iTunes

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