Vincent Van Gogh was a PK (a pastor’s kid). For a time, he himself was an itinerant preacher. His faith was genuine and conflicted. He had eyes that knew the dark night of the soul. Still, he knew the joy of life intimately. Van Gogh fought for some kind of personal equilibrium, and lost the battle. What were you trying to tell us, Vincent? This video, featuring a song by Don McLean, is moving - here is how the song ends:
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How
you suffered for your sanity, how you tried to set them free
They
would not listen they’re not listening still
Perhaps they never will.
What do you know about Van Gogh, his faith,
his reading of the Bible? If I were in Rome this March and April, I would
attend these
lectures. Full disclosure: Fulvio Ferrario and I go way back. He will never
forget the grief I gave him when I was his Hebrew teacher. I will never forget everything
he taught me, and continues to teach me, about doing theology.
Below, an image of van Gogh’s Bible,
originally owned by Vincent's father, the Reverend Theodorus van Gogh. It is a
nineteenth-century reprint of the States Bible, or Dutch Authorized Bible,
published in 1714 by Jacob and Pieter Keur.
In 1885 Van Gogh painted this volume in his Still Life with Bible. A crack in the spine still causes the book to fall open at Isaiah 53, precisely the page at which the Bible lies open in the painting. The painting renders the Bible more truthfully, shall we say, than the jpg below.
During the 1980s the Bible was found on the premises of the
Remonstrant Congregation in Leiden. Its provenance was established by a
handwritten note in it: “Ths. van Gogh latterly minister at Nuenen 1885.”
By his stripes we are healed.
John,
I would be really interested in that myself; if your associate publishes these lectures, let us know. It is a curious phenomenon that persons with bipolar disorder (which van Gogh certainly had, possibly schizoaffective disorder) generally become more religious and at the same time, have a deep struggle with faith and life. The consolation for his mental illness is that he left the world with beautiful art.
-JAK
Posted by: Justin (koavf) | February 17, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Hi Justin,
Thanks for an insightful comment. I'll work on getting a copy of Fulvio's lectures. Knowing Fulvio, it would be worth translating into English and making into a book.
Posted by: JohnFH | February 17, 2009 at 07:34 PM
Was Van Gogh Jewish?
Posted by: Kelly Clarkston | April 10, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Hi Kelly,
No, he was a conflicted evangelical Christian.
Posted by: JohnFH | April 10, 2009 at 12:15 PM
If you are interested in knowing how conflicted Van Gogh's religious interpetrations were, please view: www.VanGoghControversy.com
Vincent carried his failed Biblical Ministry on by placing "Hidden Religious Imagery" into his paintings.
Posted by: Ilona Covert | August 08, 2009 at 10:46 PM