"Lust for Life"; By Iriving Stone: Fictional Van Gogh Autobiography Review

Lust for Life (1934) is Irving Stone's best-known novel. Early on in Stone's career, he decided that biographies of famous people should be just as gripping as dime-store novels. There are few people that have had a more interesting (if tragic) life than the highly influential Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890).

Although this is a biography, it's usually found under "fiction" in bookstores and libraries. This is because Stone had to take some poetic license in order to make a coherent and interesting novel. After the book ends, Stone has a section called "Notes", where he admits to the reader that a couple of the scenes (such as Van Gogh's meeting with Paul Cezanne) were clearly a product of his imagination.

Reading Recommendations for Van Gogh Fans

Van Gogh left a substantial body of personal papers behind him, kept by his loving younger brother Theo. But Van Gogh was not a person to let truth get in the way of a good story. Modern art historians (and psychiatrists) think that Van Gogh suffered not only from epilepsy, but several kinds of mental illness. Perhaps Van Gogh was not the best person to figure out what was going on around him.

Read Lust for Life with a large grain of salt and a book of Van Gogh's artworks within reach. This will help illustrate many of the great works of art described in the book. Although Stone does a good job describing them, words can't accurately portray Van Gogh's art. The very last paragraph is particularly haunting, describing Van Gogh's grave.

If you really want to read a more factual biography of Van Gogh that's still in print, try Van Gogh: His Life and Works in 500 Images (Lorenz Books; 2009) by Matthew Howard.

Contrasts with the Historical Van Gogh

The Van Gogh portrayed in Lust for Life is an interesting character the reader can sympathize with and root for. Lust for Life (and the 1956 film adaptation starring Kirk Douglas) helped to create and solidify the Van Gogh mystique. Here was a man who felt so passionately for his favorite prostitute that he cut off his own ear as a gift. The official Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam still claims that Van Gogh cut off his own ear in order to express his love.

However, modern art historians doubt that Van Gogh was merely a misunderstood and tortured genius. He was an alcoholic and probably beat up more than one woman in his life. The town of Arles, France, demanded that Van Gogh leave. Lust for Life claims it was because of the ear incident, but some art historians think it was because he was a dangerous drunk.

They also doubt that Van Gogh cut off his own ear. Many think that fellow artist Paul Gauguin cut it off while both artists were in a drunken rage. British art historian Martin Bailey claims that Van Gogh did cut it off in order to gain attention and sympathy from his brother Theo, who had just announced his engagement.