Van Gogh in Popular Culture

<p> Vincent van Gogh continues to fascinate more than a century after his death in 1890. Yet how much of what is commonly known about this world-renowned artist is accurate? Though he left thousands of works and a trove of letters the definitive Van Gogh remains elusive. Was he a madman who painted his greatest pieces in a passionate fury or a lifelong student of art literature and science who carefully planned each composition? Was he a loner dedicated only to his craft or an active collaborator with his contemporaries? Why is he best known for self-mutilation and The Starry Night?</p><p> This book has biographers scriptwriters lyricists actors museum curators and tour guides among others presenting diverse interpretations of his life and work creating a mythic persona that may in fact help us in the search for the real Van Gogh.</p>