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deletedOct 20
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Your reply isn't showing. Is it me?

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

If he only knew

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Terribly sad life. I feel sorry for his brother as well.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

I am astounded - how does so much beauty come out of so much suffering 🤍

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I attempted to explained it on the post. I believe it was one of the few endeavours that appeased him.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

A wonderful short story of an amazing artist! Thank you 😊

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Thank you for your lovely comment. I'm glad it resonated with you. 🤗

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I believe art is essential to relieving

human suffering and that to a great extent , may have eased his. Had his fortunes been more substantial

he might have lived a more

satisfied life , as able to live from

his work he was not.✨

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Agree. I believe the man only found true solace in his art.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

Total angst!

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We saw the Vincent Van Gogh Immersion display in Raleigh, NC that was absolutely breath-taking from start to finish. We paid a little extra for the virtual ride through the French countryside. Incredible! It was also incredible to learn that he painted in such vivid colors because he was color blind!!

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Yes, I learned that just today from another comment. Also that he suffered from epilepsy. Have you heard that in Raleigh?

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I don't recall; there was so much to see and learn about him.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

Tragedy was part of the family.

But the man could paint and gave humanity a great gift.

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Indeed. And in the process, made many people rich.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

There is no definitive answer to whether Vincent van Gogh was color blind, but some believe he may have had a color vision deficiency: 

* Theory
Japanese medical scientist Kazunori Asada used a color-deficiency simulator to view Van Gogh's paintings under filtered light and concluded that the artist may have had protanopia, an inability to see reds. Asada's theory is that this could explain why Van Gogh's paintings often use blue, green, yellow, and black. 


Other theories

Some say that Van Gogh's use of deep blues in his paintings hints at color blindness, while others believe he was simply expressing his art in a bold way. Others suggest that Van Gogh's "halos" in paintings like The Night Café and The Starry Night could be due to subacute angle closure glaucoma

Test results

However, in 1889, Dr. Paul-Ferdinand Gachet tested Van Gogh's vision and found it to be normal. 

Van Gogh's partiality for yellow has indeed been the subject of much speculation. However, after close inspection and consideration it becomes clear that van Gogh's colour scheme was always deliberate and not linked to any visual impairment.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

Try this, take off your glasses and look at Monet paintings when he was young.

If all you need is magnification it is quite amazing what you will notice.

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Give me a hint. What did you notice?

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

That his later paintings, the later and most admired ones are actually blurred and you can’t see the contours of the objects/flowers. That showed me the effect of his losing vision. In other words, he painted what he saw. I hope you will be able to experience it.

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I posted a few pieces of his on Notes. One of them was “Houses of Parliament” or the like and yes, it was rather blurry. But it was also astounding.

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A Van Gogh fan.

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Oct 20Liked by René Volpi

Such a painful awareness of the dark and light in life!

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I love Vincent Van Gogh's artwork and creativity. I have no doubt that his suffering, his mental anguish, was poured into his painting. He did not make money as an artist, and yet now his paintings sell for a fortune.

It is the same with another of my favourite artists, Amedeo Modigliani, whose paintings are powerful representations of humanity, as portrayed in his portraits and paintings of the human form. Both died young: Modigliani at 35, Van Gogh at 37.

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Modigliani is definitely one of a kind. His portraits and sculptures are outstanding. Pity he didn't live long either. And his volume of work is less than 350 paintings.

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Wow! His painting “Nu Couché" sold for $157M.

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Beautiful - Thank you.

Perhaps more to the point, he was a man who suffered the same or similar fate of the people of today!

Truth is seldom told!

Blessings ~

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I hear you. Someone said he also suffered from epilepsy, the reason why he cut his ear. He was trying to stop the pain by any means.

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I suppose, we shall never truthfully understand or know.

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I thought it was from drinking Absinthe???

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No. Gunshot wound.

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Oct 21Liked by René Volpi

Who benefits from the creativity of the suffering creator? ( Rhetorical).

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Depends of what you imply by benefits.

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Firstly, I wonder whether his works were deemed worthy of recognition organically, or if his work was marketed for gain due to it's abundance and low cost. ( Or both)?

Secondly, I wonder why some artist are marketed and others (who may be as talented) are not. Not only is their work allowed to be taught about in schools and hung in national galleries, their personal history is as well?

Now, given that tragedy and suffering is an attractive subject to those that suffer not, the idea that hardship faciltates creative genius may encourage nefarious entities to recreate this specific creative environment for selected candidates. Or could it encourage young aspiring artists to self harm ( choose to be a poor artist to find inspiration in suffering)?

Do I like Van Gogh because I have been taught to like him/ his work? Or does his work dredge some unknown relatable mystery from my own life history or spirit?

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Interesting points, one and all. Perhaps you could get all the answers you seek about his talent if you visited his museum. North Carolina has an immersed gallery well worth visiting, according to a Substacker. On the other subjects, well, you know... We are constantly being manipulated and influenced. Don't overthink it. :)

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Oct 21Liked by René Volpi

Thankyou for your responce Rene!

I have studied Van Gogh to some degree.

I destroyed my art history matriculation examination paper results with such speculation.

I have seen his work in person and I do not doubt it's originality or genius.

One of his self portraits is my spitting image and another is scarily the same as my father.

Charles Bukowski -( is not my father)

" Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead"

" As my hands drop the last desperate pen, they will find me there and never know my name or the pleasure of my escape."

Their is pleasure and epiphanies to be found in self flagellating ( name your poison). I guess that's why it is so popular.

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I also read the man was epileptic and suffered from painful seizures. Some say he hallucinated as well. No one knows why he harmed himself.

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Vincent cannot have been the sixth of six children and also had a younger brother. In fact he was second of six.

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It's hard to continue living when I make mistakes of such caliber.

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Oct 22Liked by René Volpi

Hahaha 😂 ~ live!

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