"Прага да жыцця", 1934, Ірвінг Стоўн
- біяграфія фанцузскага мастака 🧑🏼‍🎨 галандскага паходжаня Вінцента ван Гога. Каб напісць кнгігу аўтар "прайшоў пешкі па поўдні Францыі, жыў у псіхіятрычным шпіталі, куды змясцілі Ван Гога, і, нарэшце, спаў у ты жа самым пакою і на тым жа ложку ў маленькай гасцініцы ў Аверы ў гадавіну яго смерці"… Асноўная крыніца атрымання інфармацыі для кнігі бала перапіска 📝 ван Гога з братам Тэо, з тым, хто адзіны верыў у выключнасць і геніальнасць мастака.
Усе дыялогі вымысел. Але Стоўн дакладна апісаў усе ключавыя здарэння ў жыцці генія: ранія годы, адносіны з жанчынамі, перажыванні з-за крытыкі яго талента, псіхічныя растройствы.
Гэта раман аб нястомным пераследу сваёй мэты.
Варта прачытаць тым, хто цікавіцца біяграфіямі знакамітасцяў, а таксама, раман дадасць матывацыі творчым людзям.

Irving stone is the best biographer I ever came across ( )

El libro narra la vida del extraordinario pintor Vincent Van Gogh, se basa en las cartas que compartió con su hermano Theo. Muestra como una persona es capaz de seguir su sueño aún dejando de lado su propio bienestar y salud. Nos ayuda a comprender con profundidad el sentido de su obra.

Jedno z najvýznamnejších diel svetovej literatúry vychádza v novom vydaní. Je výsledkom mohutného dojmu, akým na Irvinga Stona zapôsobili obrazy Vincenta van Gogha, s ktorým sa zoznámil v Paríži v 20. rokoch minulého storočia. Na základe štúdia zachovanej korešpondencie, autentických dokumentov a spomienok žijúcich súčasníkov veľkého maliara napísal príbeh, ktorý sa zaradil k najčítanejším dielam svojho žánru. Smäd po živote vraví nielen pravdu o živote geniálneho umelca, vyplnenom prácou a utrpením, ale zároveň odhaľuje základné skutočnosti o jednej z najvyšších ľudských činností – o umení.

Vincent Van Gogh was the son of a clergyman, though his extended family were quite prosperous art dealers. He was expected to go into the art business as well but grew frustrated by having to sell terrible art to wealthy clients who couldn't discern the difference between talent and rubbish. Accepting a ministerial position in an impoverished Belgian coal mining community, he was inspired by the rough and downtrodden faces surrounding him, and he eschewed his comfortable lodgings, nearly starving himself while giving most of his allowance to the locals he asked to model for him as he made his first forays into crude drawing. Becoming malnourished, weak and physically and mentally ill while chasing his passion but never realizing success would prove to be recurring circumstances for the rest of his life.

When I placed this book on my TBR I had no particular interest in Van Gogh, but I had just read the author's breathtaking and unforgettable biographical fiction book, The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michelangelo. This book echoes some of the same themes, including the fine line between genius and madness and an artist's willingness to starve themselves or live in squalor in pursuit of their craft. I referred frequently to online images of Van Gogh's drawings and paints as they were mentioned in the narrative. Vincent's brother Theo was astonishingly, almost mind-blowingly supportive. It was heartbreaking, though, as he, as well as Vincent's friends and acquaintances, continuously encouraged him for years upon years, but always cruelly regretting that, alas, they could not yet exhibit any of his work. Would his mental health ultimately have fared better if they had? This work being fiction, it naturally piqued my curiosity to learn how much was factual and how much speculative, so next I'll have to pick up Heiligman's biography, Vincent and Theo. ( )