If it were not for Johanna van-Gogh Bonger, the
world would never have known The Starry Night. Or even heard of Vincent van Gogh, or rather, van “gogh”, though I’m definitely
butchering the Dutch pronunciation. While Vincent was alive, hardly anyone knew
his work beyond a small circle of artists. Tired of the hustle and bustle of Paris,
where he tried to make a name for himself, he left for the south of France where he
dreamt of building an artist’s community at his home in Arles and coaxed fellow
painter Paul Gauguin to live with him. Gauguin didn’t want to be
in Arles, calling it “the dirtiest hole in the South”.
Vincent’s dreams were dashed. Two days before Christmas in
1888, they had a huge fight. And in a fit of rage, Vincent turned
on himself and cut off his left ear. We don’t the exact nature
of Vincent’s mental illness, but doctors and historians today believe
he may have suffered from bipolar disorder. When he voluntarily checked himself into a
psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, painting seemed to calm him,
but his deep anguish remained. Two months after leaving the hospital,
he shot himself in the chest. His brother Théo rushed to be by his
side, where he died on July 29, 1890. Vincent van Gogh was just 37 years old. As Théo put it in a letter to their
mother: “Life weighed so heavily on him.” Vincent’s death also weighed
heavily on his brother. Théo’s already weakened health deteriorated,
and six months after Vincent took his own life, Théo died of the effects of
syphilis. He was 33 years old. The medical file noted that the
cause of Théo’s decline was: “heredity, chronic illness,
excessive strain and grief.” Théo left behind an infant
son and a devastated wife. When Johanna, or Jo as she was commonly called,
married Théo, a new life opened up for her. The Dutch woman was whisked away to Paris, the
center of the art world, where Théo worked as an art dealer, tirelessly promoting his brother’s
extensive collection of nearly 900 paintings. Théo spent his life trying to raise awareness
of his brother’s work but struggled. Van Gogh’s post-Impressionism style,
characterized by loose brushwork, even bolder colors than Impressionism, and
great emotional depth, was in stark contrast to traditional art, which emphasized finely detailed
brushwork, precise lines, and a polished finish. Despite the lack of enthusiasm for Vincent's
art, Théo believed in his brother’s genius, writing to Jo: “...one day he will be understood.” After Théo’s death, Jo made it her mission for
the world to understand and appreciate Vincent van Gogh’s art, declaring, “It is the only thing
I can do in memory of my husband and for Vincent. This is the story of how she
made Vincent van Gogh famous. When Théo died unexpectedly two years after
marrying Jo, she left Paris and moved to Bussum, southeast of Amsterdam, a village home
to writers, artists, and intellectuals. Because Théo didn’t leave a will, half of
Vincent's hundreds of works went to Jo, and the other half to her son
Vincent, named after his uncle. Van Gogh dedicated Almond Blossom to his nephew. Jo looked after the boy’s share for
the time being since he wasn’t of age. She converted her large home into
a boarding house and stored many of Vincent’s paintings that didn’t
fit on her walls in the attic. She then hatched a plan to
achieve recognition for Vincent. As described in the book about
her life by Hans Luijten, “...Jo began knocking on doors
like a traveling salesman.” She tapped into her late husband
Théo’s contacts in the art world to approach art dealers, galleries, and
critics, seeking opportunities for sales, exhibitions, and publicity
for Vincent’s paintings. She gave museums discounts on works
they were interested in acquiring, or even donated them, recognizing that
this would increase public exposure. It also aligned with her belief that
art should be accessible to everyone, not just the privileged,
reflecting her socialist values. She organized exhibitions in
Paris, The Hague, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, and later London and New York. She managed everything: coordinating with shipping
companies for the careful transport of Vincent’s paintings, handling payments for florists, and
overseeing the provision of coffee, to name a few. She thanked her artist friends who helped
her out by generously gifting them van Goghs. This not only showed her appreciation
for their support but also ensured that Vincent's work was appreciated
within the broader art community. Vincent's reputation began to build 15 years after his death with a pivotal exhibition at
Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum in 1905. No known photos exist of the exhibition exist so
we used AI and a bit of our own editing to imagine what it looked like as 484 paintings and drawings
were displayed, the largest van Gogh exhibit ever. Jo smartly asked a number of
people who owned van Goghs to lend them for the exhibition
as proof of his popularity. Her son Vincent helped arrange and hang the
paintings while her second husband Johan, an artist, stayed in touch with potential buyers. When the public first saw van
Gogh’s art, some were shocked by the bold colors and dramatic brush strokes. An art critic wrote: “...daring to
exhibit such shoddy work is scandalous.” He suggested The Starry
Night looked like doughnuts. Whereas another art critic took the opposite view, writing, “The work will grip
you and never let you go.” Love him or hate him, they talked about him
which drove up the price of Vincent’s art. Gone were the days of selling a van Gogh
painting like the Interior of a Restaurant for only 180 francs or the equivalent of around
$35 USD based on the gold standard of the time. After the exhibition, a Parisian gallery purchased
the painting The Bedroom, which depicts van Gogh’s own bedroom, for 3,000 Dutch guilders or
around $1,205.88 USD, whereas five years before, Jo turned down an offer for the same painting
of only 500 guilders, or $200 dollars. She believed it was better to sell
a few works for good prices than more works for low prices in order
to preserve the value of the art. She also always made sure not to
flood the market with van Goghs, understanding that scarcity
could increase their value. The surge in van Gogh’s popularity was
further fueled by a new generation of collectors who were increasingly drawn to
the expressive qualities of modern art. Despite her success, Jo faced another
tragedy when her second husband, Johan, died of pleurisy, an inflammation of the
lining of the lungs, in 1912 at the age of 38. Jo lamented, “Here I am, alone again, and the only
thing that sustains me and gives me the courage to continue is the love for my dear son and the duty
to look after the interests of Vincent’s work.” She buried herself deeper into her work, including publishing all of Vincent’s
letters so that the public could get to know him as a human being, hoping it would
foster a deeper appreciation for his art. She organized, edited, and arranged the
820 surviving letters sent by Vincent, 658 of which were to his best friend
and most loyal supporter, Théo. The letters were all the more special because they contained sketches to give Théo
an idea of what he was working on. Théo treasured and preserved
his letters from Vincent. When they were published in 1914, first in Dutch, readers were struck by the
intensity of Vincent’s writing. “Success is sometimes the outcome
of a whole string of failures.” “Find things beautiful as much as you can,
most people find too little beautiful.” “The sight of the stars always makes me dream.” Jo often wept as she pored through the letters. She worked tirelessly to translate them into
English, drawing on her earlier experience working as an English teacher, and also her time
spent living in New York during World War I. Even as Parkinson's disease caused her hands to
tremble, she persisted in her translation work, eventually relying on others to dictate letters. She managed to translate two-thirds
of the letters into English before she passed away peacefully in
her sleep on September 2, 1925. As she neared the end of her life, she could
see the fruits of her lifelong dedication; Vincent's art, once confined to an attic, now
graced museums in Europe and the United States. Among them were masterpieces she
had promised to hold onto forever, yet made the difficult decision to let them go. When she sold one of the beloved 'Sunflower'
paintings to the National Gallery in London, she explained to the museum director, “It is
a sacrifice for the sake of Vincent’s glory.” Reflecting on the dramatic change in the
perception of van Gogh’s work, Jo confided to an art critic: “It is so good, after so many
years of public indifference, even hostility towards Vincent and his work, to feel towards
the end of my life that the battle is won.” Following Jo’s death, her son Vincent
took over the van Gogh collection and was dedicated to ensuring it would
stay accessible for future generations. He helped establish the Vincent
van Gogh Foundation leading to the creation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Vincent van Gogh once wrote: “It’s a rather sad prospect to
have to say to myself that the painting I do will perhaps never have any value.” How wrong he was. If only he could 'see' the
admiration the world holds for him today. Dr. Who, the time traveler doctor
brings van Gogh to the future, where he’s taking in an exhibit of his own work. To meet, van Gogh is the finest
painter in the world. Certainly, the most popular, great painter of all time. The value of his legacy is not measured in mere
emotional impact but also in astounding prices. In 2022, Orchard with Cypresses was purchased
at Christie’s auction house for $117.2 million, the most expensive van Gogh painting ever sold. Underscoring the profound influence
he continues to have on the art world. An influence that Jo van Gogh-Bonger
spent 35 years cultivating. As one headline aptly put it, “Without
Jo, there would have been no van Gogh. Did you know that The Starry Night
actually mirrors a scientific concept not fully grasped until years
after its creation: turbulent flow. Van Gogh’s ability to visually
represent this phenomenon, possibly intuitively, is a testament to
his deep observation of the natural world. If you’d like to foster a deep understanding
of the world by improving your skills in math, science, computer science, and data science, I highly recommend Brilliant.org, a website
and app to help you learn interactively. And it’s FREE for you to try out. Just as van Gogh intuitively touched upon
scientific principles in his art, Brilliant offers courses designed to enhance your scientific
thinking through engaging, hands-on puzzles. I like to spend 10 minutes a day on Brilliant’s
logic puzzles to improve my analytical thinking. Brilliant’s courses are designed
to let you start at your own pace and gradually build up to more advanced topics. And if you find yourself stuck on a problem, you can view the explanation to
understand the right approach. You can try out Brilliant for FREE
for 30 days by visiting my custom link in the description: brilliant.org/newsthink. Plus, if you’re one of the first 200
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giving you full access to a world of knowledge. Thanks for watching. For Newsthink, I’m Cindy Pom.
