Vincent van Gogh. Questions of Identity.
Mercator Fund| N° d'inventaire | 23325 |
| Format | 19 x 25 |
| Détails | 160 p., paperback with flaps. |
| Publication | Brussels, 2020 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9789462302631 |
During a press conference at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in November 2018, the author of this book revealed that one of only two known photographs of the painter Vincent van Gogh was actually that of his brother Theo. The investigation that led to this unexpected discovery is full of previously unpublished anecdotes, fascinating encounters, and twists worthy of a thriller. Following this initial discovery, Yves Vasseur was able to contact the descendants of Samuel Delsaut, who discovered in 1958, in his attic near Mons, two drawings attributed to Van Gogh, now housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Delsaut family archives have revealed a romantic imbroglio to the point of casting doubt on the authenticity of these drawings, as well as abundant correspondence between Carlo Delsaut, son of Samuel, and Paul Gachet, son of Doctor Gachet who treated Vincent van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. These exchanges have in turn allowed the author to retrace both the history of a non-existent Van Gogh painting and that of a missing Paul Gachet painting... A true and amusing lesson in historical criticism, at a time of growing concern about fake news, this book is intended as a basis for discussion to learn to distinguish between information and rumors, between journalistic work and a propaganda strategy, between the fabrication of truth and the passive acceptance of falsehood.
During a press conference at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in November 2018, the author of this book revealed that one of only two known photographs of the painter Vincent van Gogh was actually that of his brother Theo. The investigation that led to this unexpected discovery is full of previously unpublished anecdotes, fascinating encounters, and twists worthy of a thriller. Following this initial discovery, Yves Vasseur was able to contact the descendants of Samuel Delsaut, who discovered in 1958, in his attic near Mons, two drawings attributed to Van Gogh, now housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Delsaut family archives have revealed a romantic imbroglio to the point of casting doubt on the authenticity of these drawings, as well as abundant correspondence between Carlo Delsaut, son of Samuel, and Paul Gachet, son of Doctor Gachet who treated Vincent van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. These exchanges have in turn allowed the author to retrace both the history of a non-existent Van Gogh painting and that of a missing Paul Gachet painting... A true and amusing lesson in historical criticism, at a time of growing concern about fake news, this book is intended as a basis for discussion to learn to distinguish between information and rumors, between journalistic work and a propaganda strategy, between the fabrication of truth and the passive acceptance of falsehood.