LOVE AND MURDER

THE LAST DAYS OF VINCENT VAN GOGH

by Irv Arenberg Irv Arenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2023

Arenberg offers a comprehensive look at the last days of the brilliant artist Vincent VanGogh’s life, with new insights into the possibility that he was murdered.

The author, a retired surgeon, returns to his passion project in the second volume of a trilogy that began with Killing Vincent: The Man, the Myth, and the Murder(2019). He again tackles the untimely 1890 death of Van Gogh at age 37, bringing a physician’s exacting standards to his unified theory of the artist’s death by gunshot (generally accepted as a suicide). The work is far from a biography, although the early chapters are devoted to various phases of the artist’s life before shifting to its main focus: his last 70 days. Readers of narrative-based true crime will find pleasure in the early chapters, where the author takes ample time to settle into the geography and history of his subject matter, but the book really gains momentum when the author sits down with the “accepted facts” of Van Gogh’s death and works to dismantle any scientific basis for the notion of suicide, beginning with the artist’s state of mind; he makes his arguments with sound forensics. Such an assertion is a significant one on its own; some in the art world, he notes repeatedly, consider it “blasphemy.” The author pushes forward nonetheless, setting the stage for his theory that Van Gogh was shot and killed by a man he once trusted. He provides a list of suspects before delving into their relationships to the artist, their potential motives, and their alibis (or lack thereof).

The book has some fun contextual detours along the way, such as an account of how the alleged murder weapon was found decades after the crime, just as a major motion picture about Van Gogh—Lust for Life(1956)—was coming out. After a thorough examination of several competing theories, the author follows with a blow-by-blow account of the day of the alleged crime. The book follows a traditional academic structure, which is comforting, if sometimes a bit staid. Arenberg’s commitment to this research-based style is admirable and engaging, though occasionally repetitive. A few surprising sources of intrigue, such as the complicated relationship between Van Gogh and his personal doctor, may remind readers of the fabled rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The book’s portrayal of the heart-wrenching love between Vincent and his equally ill-fated brother, Theo, is also compelling. As the author works to refute several theories of Van Gogh’s death, however, one may wonder about such exclamatory, single-minded sentences as “Suicide… No! Murder… YES!” Nevertheless, the case he presents is deeply researched, utterly compelling, and often convincing. Some wonderfully cinematic passages depict the beauty of rural France decades before the Great War, an illicit love affair, and, of course, Van Gogh’s inimitable artistic genius. It all makes for a deeper, richer read than many other research-based texts offer.

A feast of analysis to satiate fans of the artist and others who enjoy true crime and fine art.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023

ISBN: 979-8860572386

Page Count: 550

Publisher: Independently Published

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2023

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | ART & PHOTOGRAPHY | HISTORICAL & MILITARY