Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace

 Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western Art. At the age of 37, when he committed suicide, he was largely unknown despite having completed over 2,000 works of art that would later go on to become some of the most important and valued in the world.

This story is told from the point of view of Vincent’s personal physician, Dr. Gachet, who was a pioneer in the humane treatment of the mentally ill and a great lover of the arts.

Camille Pissarro recommends his friend-doctor to Theo van Gogh, who is looking for the right doctor for his brother Vincent.

Dr. Gachet, as a young student, “cared deeply about medical problems, but what he wanted to talk about was art. (…) And thus over the years he came to know them all – Courbet and Manet, Pissarro and Cezanne, Monet and Renior, Sisley and Guillaumin.”

Vincent comes under Dr. Gachet’s care already after the incident with slashing his ear. He seems to be lucid and Dr. Gachet believes he can help him.

The town of Auvers outside Paris is “accustomed to painters with their rucksacks and collapsible easels and stools, often settled where you least expect them, at a turn in the road or in the hollow of a meadow.”

The cultural life in Auvers is limited, so the presence of Vincent seems quite stimulating to the doctor.

As a Dutch painter, Vincent’s paintings are not finding recognition in French galleries, except recognition in a French magazine, pointing to his isolated style, not fitting any of the contemporary movements. As flattering as the article is, the worrisome situation is with his isolated personality. 

Vincent “is more or less self-taught. (…) none of the technical expertise taught at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. (…) he sees world as no one else does. Naturally this makes his paintings difficult to sell.”

When the doctor sees Vincent’s paintings for the first time he is “struck to the core by the beauty, the peacefulness, and the intricacy of what he had created.” He is “astonished at his mastery.”

Vincent the painter and the patient both come alive; vividly portrayed as a man of rare talent and a man who struggled with mental illness.

As the author explores the subject of mental illness, there are two chapters, which focus just on that and that’s the part when I felt disconnected from the story. But as soon as story goes back and focuses on Vincent again, the connection returns.

Besides the brief disconnection, the story is brilliantly written with richly textured layers revealing the lives of both characters.

Even doctor’s housekeeper turns out to be quite a character, disliking the painter from the moment she opens the door for him. “Vincent van what? She retorted. Van Goog? Dreadful name!” And communication without words is one of her trades. “Over the years she had become a master at communicating without resorting to words.”

This book reminded me of the world’s first fully painted feature film Loving Vincent (Polish-UK co-production, available in the US), both very touching and masterful. 

If you’d like to read more about Vincent van Gogh, another excellent novel: The Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick.

P.S. If you use Kindle, Leaving Van Gogh is on Amazon for $3.99

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