SYNOPSIS
Was he a madman, an epileptic, or simply a profound lonely man, desperate to be understood
and loved? Irving Stone's 1956 account of Vincent Van Gogh leaves that question open in his
sympathetic portrayal of the artist. But while his mental state is left for debate, Stone
leaves no doubt about Van GoghÕs artistic brilliance.
Lust for Life opens with a scene that becomes a pattern in Vincent's life. As a youth, he
shows zeal for a religious calling, but the hierarchy of the church believes he will fail.
One cleric allows him to try his calling in a small Belgian coal-mining province. In his
zeal, Van Gogh identifies with the villagers, taking on their poverty and lifestyle. The
clergy see this as disrespect for the church, and he is banished from his duties.
Desire, fervor, and rejection are repeated as Vincent takes up sketching and painting, and
as he longs for companionship. Back at his family home, he encounters humiliation after
fervently and clumsily begging for his cousin's hand in marriage. Though he has some success
in a relationship with a street woman, Sien Hoornik and her toddler daughter, his greater
desire for his art ultimately destroys that human intimacy as well, and she leaves him. He
then hopes for a deep friendship with painter Paul Gauguin, but their differences in lifestyle
and artistic theory sever the relationship between the demanding Gauguin and the emotional Van
Gogh. Vincent's truest friend is his brother and lifelong benefactor, Theo, who supports him
throughout his bouts with mania and depression. In spite of his unfading belief in his brother,
art seller Theo is only able to sell one of VincentÕs paintings while he is alive.
Art overrides Van Gogh's desperation for human intimacy, and when he sketches and paints, Vincent
often forgets to eat or sleep. We see him catching the colors of water reflections at night by
painting with candles on his hat brim. He paints outside in the wind and rain, believing that
the best way to capture the emotion of the scene is to be in it. Vincent meets the impressionists
in Paris and develops friendships with Toulouse-Latrec, Seurat, and others. He studies pointillism.
His palette moves away from the subdued and chiaroscuro colors of the Renaissance into the vibrant
colors of impressionism and expressionism.
Failure and despair ultimately destroy Van GoghÕs lust for life. In Arles, Gauguin and he have a
last fight over artistic theory. Vincent insists on panting the natural world, and illuminating
his painting with emotion ("When I paint the sun, I want people to feel it"). Gauguin defies
emotion, paints with anti-realist colors and seeks control. Vincent, desperate that he has been
unable to convince Paul to stay after their argument, rises to an emotional frenzy and cuts off
his left ear.
Van Gogh commits himself to St. Remy's mental institution, where his doctor documents that his
painting is necessary to his well being. He leaves to live at Auvers-sur-Oise. His mood is melancholy
in his last paintings of Bundled Wheat and Wheatfield with Crows. On Sunday, July 27, 1890, Vincent
shoots himself with a pistol he borrowed a few days before to ward off crows while he painted. In the
final scene, Vincent tells his brother, "I want to go home," reflecting the weariness that his
struggles have brought to him.
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Biographical Footprints
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
One of the major artists representing Impressionist art.
Impressionism - a 19th century art movement, influenced by the development of photography,
in which the artist creates "an impression" of the subject, light and colors blend, and the
hard lines of realism dissolve. Artists of this school include many of Van GoghÕs contemporaries:
Lautrec, Degas, Monet, Manet, and Renoir.
Expressionism - an off-shoot of Impressionism, in which artists explore and create works revolving
around emotions. Paul Cezanne was an expressionist.
Pointillism - a form of Impressionism using precise dots rather than strokes of color. The movie
showcases Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884), one of the best-known examples of
this style.
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