The turbulent life of Vincent van Gogh continues to serve as a source of inspiration for many people. In this graphic novel, artist and writer Barbara Stok takes the reader on a journey to the brief and intense period of time that the painter spent in the south of France.
Vincent dreams of setting up an artists' house in Arles for himself and his friends. However, his attacks of mental illness confuse and disorient him, culminating in the notorious incident with his ear and leaving his dreams shattered. Throughout all of this, Vincent's brother Theo stands by him, offering constant and unconditional support.
Van Gogh was passionate about his art. His ideas about success, setbacks and how to create a meaningful life provide an interesting counterpoint to our age of individualism and commercialism. Stok has succeeded in turning the experiences of this 19th-century artist into a story that is relevant to our own times.
Vincent dreams of setting up an artists' house in Arles for himself and his friends. However, his attacks of mental illness confuse and disorient him, culminating in the notorious incident with his ear and leaving his dreams shattered. Throughout all of this, Vincent's brother Theo stands by him, offering constant and unconditional support.
Van Gogh was passionate about his art. His ideas about success, setbacks and how to create a meaningful life provide an interesting counterpoint to our age of individualism and commercialism. Stok has succeeded in turning the experiences of this 19th-century artist into a story that is relevant to our own times.
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Barbara Stok
Barbara Stok is an award-winning comic artist from The Netherlands. She briefly studied at the Fotoacademie school of photography in The Hague and worked as a journalist before becoming a cartoonist and illustrator, working for newspapers and for a children’s TV show. Her early work was autobiographical in nature, constantly questioning the meaning of life and right and wrong, always with a light touch. She has spent the last few years studying the classical philosophers and taking philosophy classes at university. Her critically acclaimed graphic novel Vincent (SelfMadeHero, 2012), about the life of Vincent van Gogh, has been published in more than 20 countries. Stok’s fascination with philosophy led her to write The Philosopher, the Dog and the Wedding, the result of five years of research.
Reviews
"Stok does a brilliant, sympathetic job of picturing the artist, whether jagged with madness or sitting amid the wheat fields and sunflowers of Arles, the landscape at once gentle and alien, the man propelled by a desperate, radical passion."
— The Guardian
"Stok has drawn an emotional, informative and inspirational biography for artists and art lovers everywhere. Fantastic."
— Library Journal
"Stylistically, Stok is almost faultless... [Vincent] leaves us aware of a small breath of fresh air blown into the worlds of art history."
— The Times Literary Supplement
"Beautiful and vivid"
— Daily Art Magazine