![]() ![]() Before trying out a career as a preacher (his father was a Protestant pastor), he spent years working for art dealers in a company where his uncle was a partner. ![]() Van Gogh didn’t start out his life as a human being driven by only one career choice (I might as well say “occupation” since he did not support himself through painting). (According to one article I read subsequently, Vincent might have committed suicide because his brother Theo was going mad and dying of syphillis.) The extracts from letters to Theo appeared on the walls, causing me (as surely everyone else) to think about the strength of the fraternal bond. Theo, his brother, was his confidant and financial support. As flowers cascaded down the walls, birds flew, boats shrank into the horizon and portraits blinked at me, I absorbed the information that Van Gogh was driven by certainty of the need to make something of his talent. The exhibition was well worth the visit: the force of tormented genius generously mingled with pure joy is what sweeps over the visitor. ![]() How did his life quest impact the rest of the family? ![]() Yesterday, my son Yousef and I visited the Van Gogh immersive experience that, in our town, was titled “Beyond Van Gogh.” Because it was probably the last outing I will have with Yousef before he leaves for the other side of the country and because his younger brother has already moved out of state, my thoughts went beyond Vincent to his entire family. ![]()
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