It’s thought that he walked into the field and shot himself in the stomach. He then struggled back to his lodgings and lay on his bed till he was found in a pool of blood. ibid.
He has become a cultural legend. ibid.
Their edginess, their delicacy, and precariousness, surfaces which still seem fresh, radiating light and energy and feeling. ibid.
Recently, a hugely popular exhibition began in Japan and made its way to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. And it covered a story that perhaps is not that well known. Arguably, the world’s favourite artist Vincent van Gogh can’t be understood unless one explores and comprehends the impact and influence of Japanese art. Tim Marlow, Great Art s4e1: Van Gogh & Japan, ITV 2020
Van Gogh started to copy Japanese prints, and he imitated the Japanese motifs in the beginning, and slowly he went on to assimilate Japanese styles and Japanese devices. ibid. Professor Tsukasa Kodera
While in Paris, Vincent refined his technique and absorbed the many artistic influences that city had to offer. He actively involved himself with other artists and experimented with materials, colour, perspective and composition. His passion and intensity sometimes overwhelmed him … He began embittered with life in the city. ibid.
Vincent van Gogh is probably the most famous artist who ever lived. But the reality of the man and his art tends to get lost in a kind of maze of myth and melodrama. The new exhibition here at the Royal Academy, the first major Van Gogh show in Britain for over forty-years, seeks to create a new picture of the modern Master. Tim Marlow on the Real Van Gogh
Van Gogh’s decision around 1880 to become an artist has something of a religious convert. ibid.
Van Gogh was at Saint-Remy for a year. But eventually he was let out of the confines of the asylum. And in a sense the escape or liberation is reflected in his paintings. ibid.
At this point in western art history in 1890 no-one had painted a work like this, and no-one seemed capable of doing so. ibid.
Self-portrait [Van Gogh] ... That sense of creative intensity. Tim Marlow at the Courtauld 3/3
That’s more like it – Mad Dutch Alchie Bastard. Rab C Nesbitt, Bulbs, BBC 1997
You’re too late – Van Gogh has left the building. ibid.
Vincent – who gave us the sunflowers and the starry night is no longer. One of the greatest artists of all time is no longer ... His art now makes him immortal. Vincent – The Untold Story of Our Uncle I, 2011
The church was a large part of Vincent’s life. ibid.
670 of his letters have survived. ibid.
London England May 1973: when Vincent arrived at Victoria Station London it was an overwhelming sight. ibid.
Art became Vincent’s religion. ibid.
He painted the things of life. ibid.
After turbulent years wrestling between art and religion, Vincent heads for Paris and the bohemian lifestyle of the Impressionist artist. Vincent – The Untold Story of Our Uncle II, caption
Absinthe ... banned in 1915, it was the drug of the day – the cocaine of the nineteenth century. ibid. caption
The Japanese influence is evident in the strong outlines and clear areas of colour. ibid.
The constant loneliness which had plagued Vincent all his life. ibid.
He immortalised the night cafe. ibid. caption
He was now a prisoner in a frightening and unfamiliar world. ibid.
Vincent was left to his own despair. ibid.
A shot rang out. Vincent fainted and staggered to the ground. He regained consciousness and managed to stumble back to the inn ... He died in Theo’s arms ... Vincent was aged thirty-seven. ibid.
As if he was being buried within one of his own paintings. ibid. caption
Why was the gun never found? Why was each person involved have a different version of events? Why would he commit suicide when he was finally receiving recognition for his work and being noticed in the art world? Why shoot yourself in the stomach? ibid.
His acquisition of an amazing art collection. ibid.
The hospital was only six kilometres away. ibid.
Vincent’s paintings have attracted three of the highest prices ever paid in the history of art. ibid.
He was a genius in spite of his illness. ibid.
I want nothing but to work. Lust for Life 1956 starring Kirk Douglas & Anthony Quinn & James Donald & Pamela Brown & Everett Sloane & Niall MacGinnis & Noel Purcell & Henry Daniell & Madge Kennedy & Jill Bennett & Jeanette Sterke & Lionel Jeffries & Laurence Naismith et al, director Vincente Minnelli, Vincent to Theo
Impressionism is not a joke, it’s a cancer, and must be cut out. ibid. bloke at Impressionists’ exhibition
Inside that tormented head of his there’s something wonderful. ibid. Theo
I have a power of colour in me that I never had before. ibid. Vincent
In the red light district on the northern edge of town a foreigner arrived at the door of a brothel. He handed a package to one of the girls. That package contained a blooded piece of his own flesh. Jeremy Paxman, The Mystery of van Gogh’s Ear, BBC 2016
We can’t even be sure he cut off his own ear. ibid.
Vincent’s dreams of artistic fraternity were turning into nightmares, and he was losing control of his fragile mental health. ibid.
Not only was Gabby a cleaner at the brothel ... she wasn’t his prostitute. She must have been a friend he saw every day. ibid.
Docteur Felix Rey: 6 Rampe Du Pont, Arles-sur-Rhone: ‘It’s a before and after drawing.’ ibid.
Most people including many experts believe that Vincent van Gogh was mad: his brother didn’t. And I have evidence that he was right. In Search of s4e16 … Vincent Van Gogh, 1980
He turned out 1,800 pieces of work. ibid.
He studied his art logically, precisely; he was well-read; he knew five languages; his work was not accidental. ibid.
More than 500 beautiful letters to Theo. ibid.
In the hospital records I found a diagnosis of his illness … epilepsy. ibid.
National Gallery, London: So many are attracted to just one image … This is The Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh … a deceptively simple image. Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr s1e2: Sunflower, Channel 5 2020
One of the brightest pictures you will ever see. ibid.
One that Van Gogh was most proud of … The story behind it is somewhat harrowing. ibid.
Created in 1888 it still dazzles us. ibid.
The life and legacy of a man who has become the very embodiment of the tortured artist – Vincent van Gogh. Art on the BBC: Van Gogh – Life and Art, Kate Bryan reporting, BBC 2022
Vincent was born in Holland in 1853 the son of a cleric, and spent most of his career in France. But he has become so famous that over the decades BBC filmmakers have wanted to remind us of Britain’s own claim to Vincent as a result of his time in London as a trainee art dealer. ibid.
It’s the route to another world; it’s consciousness explored. Matthew Collings, Hello Culture: Madness, Channel 4 2001
Mad art on the other hand is always outside of history … You can’t really take the madness out of Nan Gogh. ibid.
Gallery geezer #1: Must be a very late one. I’ve never come across it before.
Gallery geezer #2: Well it’s been out of circulation. Play for Today: Under the Hammer, BBC 1984
Gallery geezer #3: However much I look at it I don’t like it. ibid.
Plundered … stolen pictures … I thought it was interesting … ibid. porter’ talk
American geezer was here – reckons it was a fake. ibid.
I wish you’d kicked McClaren … If only you’d done it half an hour earlier … Absolute discretion, you understand? ibid. gallery geezer
We should go into the possibility of a discreet repair. ibid.
Looks genuine enough for me. ibid. painting repair man
I think you know what I have to say. ibid. gallery geezer to head porter