Each of Russo’s celebrated feminine influences on van Gogh’s life boasts a distinct identity and unique conflicts that add depth to the narrative. The women appear chronologically, allowing readers an organic glimpse of their development alongside van Gogh’s deterioration—and its subsequent effects on his artform. Johanna powers the narrative with evocative recollections of van Gogh’s mother, Anna, who struggled with “melancholia”; van Gogh’s first love, Eugenie Loyer; Marguerite Gachet, the daughter of van Gogh’s doctor; and more. The women each offer extraordinary viewpoints on the many facets of van Gogh’s life, gifting readers a well-rounded, engrossing study of his character.
Russo takes on van Gogh’s struggle with mental health as well, masterfully steering through the weight of his crumbling life and delivering a nuanced portrayal of his complexities as both a man and an artist, as when Anna van Gogh reflects that “[Vincent] came into the world under a cloud. He chose to live under it.” The narrative is built from a wealth of primary sources, including letters exchanged between van Gogh and his brother, Theo, and Russo closes the book with brief summaries of the central females’ lives after van Gogh’s death. The result is a provocative and compelling look at one of history’s most enigmatic artists.
Takeaway: Fresh take on van Gogh through the women central to his life.
Comparable Titles: Marta Molnar’s The Secret Life of Sunflowers, Debby Beece’s The Van Gogh Woman.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Editorial Feature
Donna Russo explores the life of Vincent van Gogh through fresh, feminine eyes in her novel Vincent’s Women.
An outcast since birth, Vincent grows from a lonely, sullen, and inquisitive child into an intense, restless adult whose poor interpersonal skills cost him close relationships. Only his art and his mental illness accompany him through the entirety of his brief life—the former serving as solace from, and an expression of, the latter.
The first woman in Vincent van Gogh’s life was Anna, his cold and unhappy mother. The last was Marguerite, the doctor’s daughter whose innocent affection could not save him from a violent, mysterious end. In between came a long line of women—among them a struggling sex worker, a headstrong nun, and his loving but harried sister-in-law. Each played a distinct role in shaping Vincent as an artist and a man, seeing and interacting with him differently. Some wished to nurture his kind spirit or spark of genius; others ran from his possessiveness and instability; and some did both. Clipped prose relays the swirl of worry, beauty, joy, and regret that the women brought to Vincent, and he to them.
But in the artist’s heartbreaking final moments, it is his loyal brother Theo who provides comfort and words of affection. The women in his life are left to make sense of the tragedy on their own or to brush his memory aside like so much dust. And of all Vincent’s women, it is his sister-in-law—driven by guilt as much as affection—who plays the largest role in ensuring his legacy is preserved and appreciated.
Vincent’s Women moves beyond the myths to explore how love and the unsuccessful search for it dominated the life of one of the world’s most beloved artists.
“You think you know him. You don’t. You think you know what happened to him. You do not.”
Vincent's Women: The Untold Story of the Loves of Vincent van Gogh represents historical fiction at its best by melding the myths and facts of the artist's life with a dramatic biographical inspection that explores underlying truths about the pivotal moments of Vincent's life.
Narrated by Johanna van Gogh Bonger (Vincent's sister-in-law), it translates to fiction the hundreds (out of nearly thousands) of letters between Vincent and his brother Theo, adding the value of Johanna van Gogh-Bonger’s diaries and correspondence with Theo van Gogh, along with the journals and memoir of Paul Gauguin. This triangle of factual writings results in a dialogue of discoveries and insights which will prove especially attractive to art collections that include fictional representations of artists alongside nonfiction surveys.
General-interest readers who have some basic familiarity with von Gogh's mystique and legends will also find Vincent's Women compelling. The story addresses many questions about his life, from his missing ear to his madness and suicide.
The opening, however, comes in 1924 from a narrator who confesses, on her deathbed, facts about her life that affected its course, art, and insights. Perhaps this is an unfair time to reveal such truths to her son—but it also is likely the last and perfect time, creating a completely compelling confessional tone that draws readers into the questions and answers not just about von Gogh's life, but the motivations of those around him.
Her evocative voice drives a series of events that conclude in revelations and surprises driven by an article published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology in Dec. 2020 that postulated the logic in this story and about Vincent's death.
Donna Russo excels in vivid descriptions of these pivotal points in Vincent's life. These drive the fact-based story in a manner that explains, explores, and provides powerful insights into the artist's self-destructive impulses and actions and how they were perceived and interpreted by those around him.
The result is a multifaceted exploration of von Gogh's artistry, insanity, and relationships that examines personal perspectives in a unique manner designed to attract both arts readers and those who hold only a cursory knowledge of the times and von Gogh's life and creations.
Backed by solid research and driven by the devices of fictional drama and dialogue, Vincent's Women is especially highly recommended for art libraries that may not usually contain fictional works, but which will find Russo's scholarship and the marriage between it and embellished drama to be astute, thought-provoking, and revealing.”
--Midwest Book Review (D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer)
5-Stars
Vincent's Women: The Untold Story of the Loves of Vincent van Gogh by Donna Russo is a historical fiction novel narrated by Johanna Bonger van Gogh, sister-in-law of Vincent van Gogh, to her son, Willem. Johanna describes London from 1873 to 1874, when Vincent admired housemate Eugenie Loyer, sparking his passion for art. Johanna reflects on Vincent's life, his unrequited love, different professions, and inner struggles. In various episodes, Johanna describes Vincent's relationships with Kee Stricker Vos, Sien, and Margot Begemann as emotional drivers on his artistic journey. She explores his time in Paris, his partnership with Gauguin, and the pivotal ear-severing incident. Sister Epiphany at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum is a crucial support, after which his connection with Marguerite Gachet in Auvers-sur-Oise provides respite from his mental anguish until his tragic suicide.
Living in Europe, I have seen plenty of Vincent van Gogh's work, although I admit that aside from the ear severing and suicide, there was nothing more I knew of his actual life. As a feminist, I love books that dig deeper into eras when men wrote their own history and largely left women out of it. Donna Russo does an exceptional job in sussing out the women who had a significant impact on the artist's famous work in Vincent's Women. I think it is important to clarify that love is not just romantic, and romantic love is not always the most transformative. In this regard, the woman who stood out to me in Russo's exhaustively researched and wonderfully written book is Sister Epiphany. If I had to pick one woman from the line-up to spend time with, she would be the one. It's hard not to feel sorry for the women Vincent, for lack of a better term, abandoned. That said, Russo breathes life back into their roles in van Gogh's evolution. The writing and dialogue are all so well done, and the use of a fictional narrative makes it all feel authentic. Very highly recommended.
