Jury out on Van Gogh death story
Source: Agencies |
October 18, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A DUTCH expert on Vincent Van Gogh has reserved judgement on a theory advanced in a new biography that the Dutch painter did not kill himself but was shot accidentally.
"Van Gogh: The Life," by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, was published yesterday. Media coverage has centered on its claim that Van Gogh, then 37, may have been shot accidentally by two boys he then tried to protect.
The painter, who suffered from depression, is believed to have taken his own life in 1890. He died two days after being shot in the chest. The gun was never found.
Leo Jansen, curator at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, said: "Naifeh and Smith re-evaluate the known facts and present the hypothesis that two boys were involved in a mysterious incident that led to the fatal shot."
He called the theory "intriguing" but inconclusive, adding: "The museum believes it would be premature to rule out suicide as the cause of death."
"Van Gogh: The Life," by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, was published yesterday. Media coverage has centered on its claim that Van Gogh, then 37, may have been shot accidentally by two boys he then tried to protect.
The painter, who suffered from depression, is believed to have taken his own life in 1890. He died two days after being shot in the chest. The gun was never found.
Leo Jansen, curator at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, said: "Naifeh and Smith re-evaluate the known facts and present the hypothesis that two boys were involved in a mysterious incident that led to the fatal shot."
He called the theory "intriguing" but inconclusive, adding: "The museum believes it would be premature to rule out suicide as the cause of death."
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