Van Gogh's Ear by Bernadette Murphy

Van Gogh's Ear by Bernadette Murphy

The best-known and most sensational event in Vincent van Gogh's life is also the least understood. For more than a century, biographers and historians seeking definitive facts about what happened on a December night in Arles have unearthed more questions than answers. Why would an artist at the height of his powers commit such a brutal act? Who was the mysterious Rachel to whom he presented his macabre gift? Did he use a razor or a knife? Was it just a segment--or did Van Gogh really lop off his entire ear?

In Van Gogh's Ear, Bernadette Murphy reveals, for the first time, the true story of this long-misunderstood incident, sweeping away decades of myth and giving us a glimpse of a troubled but brilliant artist at his breaking point. Murphy's detective work takes her from Europe to the United States and back, from the holdings of major museums to the moldering contents of forgotten archives. She braids together her own thrilling journey of discovery with a narrative of Van Gogh's life in Arles, the sleepy Provencal town where he created his finest work, and vividly reconstructs the world in which he moved--the madams and prostitutes, cafe patrons and police inspectors, shepherds and bohemian artists. We encounter Van Gogh's brother and benefactor Theo, his guest and fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and many local subjects of Van Gogh's paintings, some of whom Murphy identifies for the first time. Strikingly, Murphy uncovers previously unknown information about Rachel--and uses it to propose a bold new hypothesis about what was occurring in Van Gogh's heart and mind as he made a mysterious delivery to her doorstep.

As it reopens one of art history's most famous cold cases, Van Gogh's Ear becomes a fascinating work of detection. It is also a study of a painter creating his most iconic and revolutionary work, pushing himself ever closer to greatness even as he edged toward madness--and one fateful sweep of the blade that would resonate through the ages.

Bernadette Murphy has published three books of creative nonfiction: The Tao Gals' Guide to Real Estate (with Michelle Huneven); The Knitter's Gift; and the bestselling Zen and the Art of Knitting (2002) in which she uses memoir and reportage to explore the connection between fiber arts, creativity, and spirituality. She served for six years as a weekly book critic for the Los Angeles Times. Her personal narratives and essays on literature have appeared in The Rumpus, The Nervous Breakdown, Manifest Station, BOOK Magazine, Ms. Magazine, LA Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times Magazine, and elsewhere. She currently serves as core faculty in creative nonfiction at the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA program. Learn more at bernadette-murphy.com.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780374279691
ISBN 10	0374279691
Title	Van Gogh's Ear
Author	Bernadette Murphy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Year published	2016-07-12
Number of pages	336
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.