Van Gogh

I've just been listening to the "Book of the Week: Vincent van Gogh - the Letters" on BBC Radio 4. It's the second episode I've heard. I missed yesterday's somehow.I also listened to "Van Gogh: Seeing Red" which was on Radio 4 yesterday. Both I'm really enjoying & would recommend catching up with through the BBC iPlayer if you can.

When I think of Van Gogh, I naturally think of his paintings. My knowledge of his life is limited. I knew about, & can feel his mental health disturbance looking at his paintings. I knew he died in poverty. He had been financially & emotionally supported by his brother Theo throughout his life, as his paintings rarely sold. I knew a little about his background in Holland. And, of course, I knew about his relationship with Gauguin & his cutting his ear off. I've seen Kirk Douglas play him in the film "Lust for Life" after all!

However, I didn't realise he was so well educated, that he lived for several years in England, that he spoke English fluently. I didn't know he loved the arts in all media, that he adored the works of Shakespeare & Dostoyevsky. I didn't realise he only painted for less than 10 years &, when he started, he could barely draw. Above all, I didn't realise how articulate he was in writing. He uses words every bit as colourfully as he used paints.

Today he moved to Arles, in the south of France for some sun & warmth to find it covered in snow. In one of his letters to Theo he describes a starlit night sky he is endeavouring to capture in paint. He concludes it isn't sufficient to paint white dots for stars as the stars come in all sorts of colours, in pinks & yellows as well.

I find myself turning away from the radio & seeing the world in so many more colours. Well worth a listen.