A widowed first cousin,Kee;a prostitute named Sien;shy,spinsterish Margot Bergemann;the seventeen-year-old peasant girl Stien de Groot—to all of them Vincent van Gogh would declare his love.In none of them would he find the wife to seal the emotional bond that he so perfectly imagined and ardently desired.He described it,too,in his correspondence,not only in the remarkable,justly famous letters exchanged with his brother Theo,but also in heartfelt missives to his aggrieved mother,his loyal sister Wil,and his devoted sister-in-law Johanna...

A widowed first cousin,Kee;a prostitute named Sien;shy,spinsterish Margot Bergemann;the seventeen-year-old peasant girl Stien de Groot—to all of them Vincent van Gogh would declare his love.In none of them would he find the wife to seal the emotional bond that he so perfectly imagined and ardently desired.He described it,too,in his correspondence,not only in the remarkable,justly famous letters exchanged with his brother Theo,but also in heartfelt missives to his aggrieved mother,his loyal sister Wil,and his devoted sister-in-law Johanna.Focusing especially on van Gogh's letters to these three steadfast women he called his sisters,award-winning author Derek Fell examines Vincent's interior life and poignantly documents his emotional decline.Indeed,the blows that Vincent's psyche suffered—like his rejection by Kee and a dramatic showdown with her father in which the devastated Vincent held his hand in a lantern's flame—continually undermined his self-worth.In a sensitive reading and astute interpretation of van Gogh's own written words,Fell illuminates the passions that at once commanded Vincent's genius and tormented his heart.Many illustrations are included in this revealing life of the artist,as seen through the lens of his loves and losses.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

AUTHOR'S NOTE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER One THE REPLACEMENT CHILD

Etten,Holland,November-December 1881

CHAPTER Two A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR

The Hague,Holland,December-November 1881-1883

CHAPTER Three FALSE ACCUSATIONS

Neunen,Holland,December 1883-1885

CHAPTER Four MONTMARTRE: EXOTIC DELIGHTS

Pari,France,March-February 1886-1888

CHAPTER Five HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Arle,France,March-September 1888

CHAPTER Six DESCENT INTO MADNESS

Arle,France,October 1888-May 1889

CHAPTER Seven DEAR SISTER

St.Remy,France,May 1889-June 1890

CHAPTER Eight FINAL REJECTION

Auver,France,May-July 1890

POSTSCRIPT VINCENT'S VICTORY

APPENDIX

CHRONOLOGY

WHERE TO VIEW VINCENT'S ART

COPYRIGHTS:

BIBLIOGRAPTHY:

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR