This is a lovely coffee table book, large in size with stunningly beautiful paintings, some of which I never saw before. The first 23 pages are filled with well-written descriptions of Van Gogh's troubled life. There are two patterns that emerge. One is that he was indeed a very troubled soul. Wherever he was, trouble followed.

Unable to relate to society or to people, his volatility irrupted throughout his life. Though little exists of his childhood, a few reports state he was troublesome and disagreeable.

There are varying ideas of why he was so out of touch with a "normal" reality. Some believe that syphilis overtook his brain, others note that there was a strong history of mental illness and suicide in his family.

Another pattern that emerges is one that I also read in a wonderful book titled Johanna by Claire Cooperstein which praised Vincent's sister in law, married to his brother Theo, for the fact that we have Van Gogh's art work today. She tirelessly saved and placed his paintings into the right hands to be shown to the world.

In both this current book and that one, there is strong evidence that points to the fact that Vincent was indeed a very jealous, selfish man who simply could not stand that his brother had a wife, a child, and happiness that was so elusive to Vincent.

There is a strong link between events in Theo's life that were life changing and greatly disturbed Vincent which may have led to his mental breakdowns and institutionalization.

No matter the illness, his art work is beloved by many and is priceless. ( )