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Article: New book describes rational van Gogh: Artist was driven by deep spirituality.(Nation)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- November 2, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Vincent van Gogh was not a mad genius but a levelheaded painter who tried to merge a modern style with his religious beliefs, despite his bouts of epilepsy and a suicide to escape poverty.
While art historians have emphasized van Gogh's purported schizophrenia, reaction to strict religion or neurotic imagery, Christian history scholar Kathleen Powers Erickson argues that he was far more ordinary than that.
"There is this common impression that he is absolutely bonkers," she said in an interview. "Although you could argue that van Gogh had a melancholic nature, his artistic project is a result of his artistic choices, not his illness."
Her ...