The life and death of Vincent van Gogh

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The "Lust for Life" version - with Douglas at his teeth-gnashing best - draws on a story that Adeline Ravoux told many years later: that Vincent had been bothered by crows as he painted, and borrowed a gun from her father to keep them away. But:

Naifeh: He loved birds. The idea that he would feel a need to scare away crows just never made any sense.

Did he have suicide in mind? The painting in the film does seem to carry a dark prophecy: the crows, harbingers of death.

For years, that painting - "Wheatfield with Crows" - was thought to be Vincent's last work, his own visual epitaph. But:

Naifeh: In fact it seems to have been painted about July 10th, which is more than two weeks before he died. And he painted a lot of very happy paintings after that.

In many of his letters, van Gogh did write of considering suicide, but always rejected it, concluding that such an act would be both sinful and immoral. What we only know for sure is that a gun was present on that day and Vincent was shot.

The gun and the painting supplies were never found. And the suicide story presented other problems, beginning with the distance from the wheat fields to the Ravoux Inn, about a mile or more. It would have been a long hike over rough terrain for a badly wounded man.

Naifeh: How did he climb through these vast wheat fields and down the escarpment into town? It's a rather difficult journey, and extremely difficult to imagine that in that physical condition he could have made that trip.

The authors believe he didn't. Their research turned up a story handed down through an Auvers family over the years - of a man who saw Vincent just before the shooting - not in the wheat fields, but here in town on the Rue Boucher, a street of small houses with enclosed farmyards.

Safer: Were there any witnesses or people who heard the shot?

Naifeh: Yes. The woman whose grandfather told her the story said that he heard the gunshot in one of these farmyards and later went back and could find no evidence of what had taken place. But he heard the gunshot take place in the farmyard.

And from here, it would have been easier for Vincent to get back to the Auberger Ravoux.

Safer: He would stagger down the street and then make what, a left turn?

Naifeh: A left turn toward the Auberge.

Safer: And how far is that, roughly?

Naifeh: About half a mile. So it would have been still a struggle, but less of a struggle than climbing down the rough ground of the wheat field.

To Naifeh and Smith, Auvers yielded more contradictions. In this house lived Paul Gachet, a doctor Vincent saw from time to time - and even painted. Doctor Gachet drew this sketch of the artist on his death bed after examining him. He found the bullet was lodged in Vincent's abdomen: a curious way, it would seem, to attempt suicide.

Smith: The doctors told the police that the trajectory of the bullet was from, was at a crazy angle. And that the gun was held at a distance from the body, and even perhaps too far from the body for Vincent to have actually been holding the gun.

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by trutwin October 25, 2011 1:36 AM EDT: Always a fan of Vincent's I thoroughly enjoyed the program.

Over the course of 120 years the facts about Van Gogh's life and death have had ample time to become distorted even when handed down through the families of people who actually knew him. And aside from Vincent's personal letters to Theo and others how much verified documentation about his life exists today? At the time of his death he wasn't the equivalent of a modern day film or rock star and almost no one knew of his existence thus his name wasn't on everyone's lips. And remember, when he died no one knew that he would one day be acknowledged as the world's most famous artist.; Reply to this comment

by dodger318 October 21, 2011 8:17 PM EDT

Please share with your audience the errors in this.
Vincent had friends. 265 of his letters contain he word friend, many of them preceeded by the word dear. "A Remarkable Friendship", book written about him and John Peter Russell. Toulouse-Lautrec challenged someone to a dual over his friendship with Vincent. Also, Theo looked nothing like Vincent. Theo, thin, handsome, brown-haired. Vincent, stout, red-haired, not handsome. The picture in Van Gogh: The Life labeled as Vincent at 13 is Theo, not Vincent. Just look at Vincent's photo at 18, which is correct. And, I've only been researching Vincent's life for 5 years, part-time. Please correct these errors. thanks

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by dodger318 October 21, 2011 8:29 PM EDT: Another error. One of the authors touches his right ear indicating that was the one that Vincent cut. It was actually his left ear. To paint a self portrait you have to use a mirror and mirrors reverse images left/right. Check it out.


by ludwig October 18, 2011 8:25 PM EDT: It is notable a similar story regarding the great Russian composer who supposedly commited suicide by water contaminated cholera. Tschaikovsky died November 6, 1893. Since then various claims have been made about his death--including (1)given a choice of being exposed as a gay man or committing suicide (2) being murdered by a St, Petersburg restaurant waiter by serving T. water with ice carrying cholera and a few others. IF only the rumors would stop --we would know the truth both about Vincent, who died on July 29,1890 and Tchaikovsky--both of whom had various so-called 'mental' problems and both died only three years, approximately apart. One recognizes as a great composer--the other an unsung painter.; Reply to this comment


by ludwig October 18, 2011 8:12 PM EDT: Modern forensics could do something to solve this puzzle through DNA investigation IF the gun exists and not too many people have handled it since. The guilt story of the boys could bear some truth--if we could get DNA analysis from their remains and compare with the DNA left on the gun. DNA from Vincent should be easy to obtain from the letters and other things that he handled.
The art professors at USCar.@Aiken need to be forgiven for their lack of scientific knowledge and should have included a forensic scientist on their team as do most archeologists worthy of their profession. IS the motivation for research a situation of publish of perish--we will not know.; Reply to this comment


by ggoski1 October 18, 2011 12:17 PM EDT: I enjoyed the program especially the art I hadn't seen before. I work with people with mental illness, and the one thing I didn't like was his new diagnosis of temporal lobe seizures. He seems classically schizophrenic to me and I don't think there should be any shame in saying that.; Reply to this comment


by Tralbaut October 17, 2011 9:20 PM EDT: The rumor that two young boys accidently shot Vincent has been around for some time -- see "Vincent van Gogh: chemicals, crises, and creativity" published in 1992, on page 259, and available at wilfredarnold44@gmail.com As described therein, the rumor was first recountered to me in 1988 by Professor John Rewald who professed no confidence in the rumor -- and I find noi evidence to support it.; Reply to this comment


by rwsmith29456 October 17, 2011 6:57 PM EDT: It's great to bring attention to Van Gogh but somebody is trying to sell the story about how he died. I'm not buying.; Reply to this comment


by sarchd280 October 17, 2011 2:50 PM EDT: I just have to say loved this story. I didn't realized that I liked van Gogh until my first year of college when my grandmother died. I coudn't make it to her funeral but my mom ask me what I wated from her house and I said the van Gogh print of his sunflowers. It wasn't that I even knew who painted the orginal all I knew was that I stared at it every time we went to her house. It know hangs in my bedroom. Also becuase I mentioned it the flowers my mom and her siblings choose for the service ended up being those sunflowers.; Reply to this comment


by workerdroid October 17, 2011 12:26 PM EDT: I went to an exhibit several years ago at the Belagio Hotel in Vegas. There was an Impressionist Artist exhibit. I stood in front of Van Gogh paintings for a long time. It was an incredibly moving experience.
Until you see one up close, you can't really appreciate them. It was a remarkable thing to see.; Reply to this comment


by wlhoppers October 17, 2011 12:17 PM EDT: Why is this a headline story? This is nothing but hype and promotion going into November ratings.

CBS - always after the dollar, not the news; Reply to this comment