Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers

I read this book in 4 days. It completely gripped me. The story between the 2 brothers, garnered from their letters was so compelling. I recently visited Arles and Vincent Van Gogh’s asylum in St Remy de Provence, so the story really resonated with me. Beautifully written and a great insight into an amazing relationship between two creative souls.

It is a great insight into the family life of Van Gogh and how his life + unfortunate events affected his brother

Excellent read for first timer , nothing new to learn here ! Are the hats on the front cover allotted to the wrong brother?

What a perfect portrait of Vincent and his brother! I thought the simplicity of the text struck just the right tone- direct, honest, and original, much like Vincent's own paintings. I had read so much about this artist in the past, including his letters to Theo, that I didn't expect to learn much more. What a surprise to find I came away from this book with a deeper understanding of Vincent and his art and the love the Van Gogh brothers had for each other. My daughter-in-law is a high school art teacher and I ordered her a copy for her classroom. I would give her mine, but I've already loaned it out. It's that kind of book, one that you want to share with everyone you know. (I rarely give five stars, but when I thought of all the books on Vincent that I've come across, I do believe that this one would be his favorite.

I bought this book for my 13-year-old daughter for Christmas. She is an avid reader who enjoys everything from Isabelle Allende to Frank McCourt. She especially is interested in well-written memoirs and biographies and I thought Vincent and Theo would be a hit. However, the writing style is so disconcerting that it renders this book nearly unreadable. The author uses short, simple sentences which lends a choppy feel to the text and never allows the reader below the waves to a deeper meaning or insight. She also employs present tense, which is understandable for younger readers, but not what was expected from a book marketed to young adults. Additionally, the liberal use of the second person point of view also gives this book a primer-like feel to it. In short, if you have an emerging reader who needs an easy read to break their teeth in on, this might be for you. Skip it if you enjoy a book rich with complex thoughts that will leave you re-reading sentences simply to savor their cadence and artistry. You will not find that in Vincent and Theo.

I was not sure what to expect, but to my surprise, this book hooked me almost immediately. It's a biography of Vincent Van Gogh, but the focus is on the relationship between Vincent and his brother Theo, who pretty much supported him financially his entire adult life, as well as encouraging, showing, and critiquing his art. The writing style was kind of interesting - a combination of standard biography, mixed with little vignettes, which at times kind of had the staccato feel of a stop-action movie. I went through the Van Gogh museum last summer, and all I could think was how much more interesting the museum would have been if I had read this book first. An opportunity lost. The Museum was actually the inspiration for this book, as the author was intrigued to find out more about the relationship between the two brothers. One interesting note at the end of the book is that we have Theo's wife Johanna to thank for our ability to see and appreciate the works of Vincent. She was encouraged by some to just get rid of Vincent's paintings after Theo's death, which was only 2 years after Vincent. Had she done that, he might have just faded away. But she believed in Theo and Vincent, promoting Vincent's work, even after remarrying. Her son Vincent eventually founded the museum I visited last summer. Even if you have no plans to visit the museum in Amsterdam, I would still highly recommend this book.

I couldn’t wait to purchase this book as well as the audible part. First there’s not a lot in here I didn’t know from my past readings on Vincent Van Gogh..but I really didn’t know Theo was as sickly as he was?! For 3 nights I read & listened and literally when I fell asleep, my inside alarm clock kept waking me to finish..this went on for about 3 nights! I thought I’d go crazy! I’m thrilled with all the paintings, drawings and info on when each one was done! At the end we get to see a selection of his paintings and since I’m an artist I was thrilled! It just makes me want to purchase the hardcover NOW...At times I felt I was comparing it to Kirk Douglas, well how can you not? The movie was good but there’s nothing like his real life!My next plan is to finish another Van Gogh book and then re read “The Brothers” becuz listening takes a lot away..I’m thrilled it’s mine & NOT borrowed 👊👊 Excellent research by the author too with pages of when each drawing was done while he was dead broke and when each painting was done, more or less very depressed..you’ll have to find out the controversy re: his ear...that I never heard.A BIG 5 ⭐️ ON THIS & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE 👊👊👊 Excellent writing ❤️❤️

All that I knew about Vincent Van Gogh was that he was “a mentally ill painter who cut off his ear”. I now know how much more there was to him and the wonderful up and down relationship he had with his brother, Theo. The author’s writing style so perfectly fits this incredible story of how a loving Theo helped guide his extraordinarily talented brother to become one of the great painters of this rich period that gave the world so many great Dutch painters. The author's knowledge of painting helped me to a greater appreciation of not just Van Gogh, but the wider world of art. I thought great artists were born, which is true in a limited way, but like gifted musicians, they still must spend hours a day for years in order to develop that talent. This book was a gift to my soul!