Van Gogh's Untold Journey: Revelations of faith, family, & Artistic Inspiration

by William J. Havlicek

William J. Havlicek’s revealing book is based largely on Vincent van Gogh’s astonishing letters of which over 900 exist. This important work—the result of over 15 years of research—provides new insight into the artist’s true character nurtured from his abiding faith, the influence of family, and the tender solicitude he felt for mankind. Havlicek’s book holds some compelling revelations, among them the role played by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, his sister-in-law, without whom little of the inimitable Vincent would ever have been known; and the artist’s vicarious relationship with Charles Dickens. But perhaps most revealing is Havlicek’s discovery of how the inspired words of Victor Hugo, embodied in one of his characters in Les Misérables, gave Van Gogh the idea for one of his most celebrated paintings of all The Starry Night. This particular revelation is sure to astound the art world. The book also dispels much of the myth that has come to surround Vincent’s tumultuous life. In the words of the author, the book illuminates instead “…an unknown, adventurous, deeply compassionate man whose essence seems to have been lost in the dramatic and often apocryphal stories surrounding his illness and early death. My effort is to resurrect an unknown aspect of Vincent—one that is even heroic and certainly praiseworthy…”.

Genres: Biography, Art

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Katy Betz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Havlicek offers an intimate perspective on the life of Van Gogh through an examination of Vincent's personal letters to his family. I enjoyed learning about Vincent's faith, his struggles in relationships with others and with God, and how he translated life's issues into his artwork. The book itself is gorgeous, full of large color plates that accompany the text. Holding this book in your hands feels like holding something of top quality. Open the book to any passage, and the sense of quality is reinforced through the content. Dr. Havlicek writes with passion, intelligence, and clarity, creating a book with provocative insights, interesting connections, and lessons about the preciousness of life. It will inspire you!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an intimate, loving look at Vincent Van Gogh, the person as well as the artist. I loved learning about the literary connections to his art (Hugo, Dickens), his compassion for the downtrodden and his spiritual journey. I was fortunate to go to the MOMA and see Starry Night while reading the book. It was wonderful to bring the insights gleaned from this book to my experience of this masterpiece.

[Lukas MacAllan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have been many books written about Vincent van Gogh but Van Gogh's Untold Journey is to me the finest and most accurate portrayal of the celebrated artist to date. William Havlicek's in-depth look at the inimitable Vincent is gleaned from over 15 years of research and a doctoral thesis based on over 900 letters Vincent wrote to his brother Theo, his sister-in-law Johanna, and others. But more than this, Havlicek has revealed some hitherto unknown aspects of Van Gogh's life including an admiration and for the work of Charles Dickens whose stories of the poor Vincent identified with, and the inspiration for the famous Starry Night painting in the words of Victor Hugo.

The most profound revelation, however, is how Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent's sister-in-law and Theo's wife, was to inherit all that was Van Gogh, from sketches and drawings, to letters, and well over 2,000 paintings, and how this remarkable woman defied tradition in the early part of the 20th Century and promoted Vincent's work in the salons of Paris and abroad. Without Johanna, the world would probably have never known of the genius that was Vincent van Gogh.

Furthermore, the book is beautifully illustrated, laid out, and printed on high quality paper. If there is one book on Van Gogh you should read, it's this one.

[Luke Hanes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! Intimate, moving and honest. The links to Hugo and Dickens were especially fascinating. I loved the layout and production of this book. The art comes through very well, and the author does a tremendous job of helping me like Vincent more. After reading Steven Naifeh's book (which is incredible!) I was rocked to the core at Vincent's depravity. Havlicek's book seems to bring balance to my feelings toward Vincent. Like millions of others, I love Van Gogh's work and am fascinated by his life... the author helped me lean more into understanding his heart and intentions... almost like Orson Scott Card's Speaker For The Dead. In fact, if you're only going to read two books about Van Gogh, I'd go for those two (Naifeh & Havlicek). Granted, I've only read 5-6 books about Vincent so far, but that's my take on it as of now.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read just about every book and published paper written about van Gogh. Dr. Havlicek's book is one of the best. After reading Van Gogh: The Life and subsequently Van Gogh's Untold Journey, I was reminded how difficult it is to summarize a person's life by the opening title card from the 1982 film Gandhi:

"No man's life can be encompassed in one telling. There is no way to give each year its allotted weight, to include each event, each person who helped to shape a lifetime. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record and try to find one's way to the heart of the man..."

Dr. Havlicek paints a much different, and I believe truer portrait of van Gogh than did Naifeh and Smith who seem more concerned to prove that Vincent was delusional. He may have been delusional but only sublimely so. All the success his letters, sketches, drawings and paintings have enjoyed the past 100 years prove he was right about his artistic endeavors. It has been those who never shared Vincent's vision who have been delusional.

Van Gogh's Untold Journey grabs you from the beginning as Dr. Havlicek explains the historical context of van Gogh's seemingly meteoric rise to fame. It didn't happen the day after he was buried in Auvers. It took a long time to germinate and by the time he was receiving critical acclaim, World War I was ravaging the European countryside, ushering in an age of pessimism. Those critics charged with surmising European thought and art of the fin de siecle allowed their own prejudices to cloud their judgement.

Van Gogh was deeply religious and remained so his entire life. You wouldn't know this if you only read Van Gogh: The Life. Van Gogh's Untold Journey stands among the great works that fully examine Vincent's spiritual side, including: Van Gogh and God, Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Search for Sacred Art, The Pursuit of Spiritual Wisdom and The Spiritual Vision of Vincent van Gogh.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from my sister, this book presents a somewhat hard to follow theological and emotional treatise on the inner workings of Vincent's mind and how this resulted in the expression of his paintings. In comparison to my art history books, the narrative skips back and forth in time and is difficult to follow in linear fashion. I also think the author takes some liberties with Vincent's motivations, making him out to be almost saintly when it is well documented he was an eccentric, albeit talented, artistic misfit with undiagnosed mental illness.

[Rena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not an easy read for me. I think a true artist (and not someone mostly interested in Van Gogh's life and heart, such as myself) would have understood more than I did. That said, though, it was still a very beneficial book for me to read.