Retired Morrison Junior High Art Instructor Ned J. Nesti, Jr. will give a two-night presentation on 19th-century painter Vincent van Gogh on Monday, March 2, and Tuesday, March 3, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. at Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL. The event, “Dispelling the Myths Surrounding Vincent van Gogh,” is free of charge. It is part of the Life-Long Learning series presented by the Odell Public Library Friends.
Reservations are appreciated and can be made by calling the library at 772-7323.
Through film and discussion, Nesti will enlighten attendees not only on van Gogh’s many paintings, but also the myths surrounding his personal life, mental health, and untimely death. Nearly 125 years after van Gogh’s death, researchers have new theories about how the artist lived and died. Though his artistic brilliance cannot be debated, many scholars and medical professionals have drawn new conclusions about van Gogh’s supposed madness.
Was van Gogh really crazy, or could an inner ear imbalance be to blame? It seems van Gogh suspected madness, admitting himself to an asylum in France, where he would create some of his finest paintings, including “Starry Night.”
As Nesti put it, “Everyone told him he was crazy. If everyone told you that you were crazy, you’d believe it, too!”
Another recent theory, that has some van Gogh aficionados up in arms, has to do with the circumstances of his death. First, it is widely accepted knowledge that in 1890, at age of 37, Vincent van Gogh took his own life, with a single gunshot to the abdomen. However, in 2011 two Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers published a new theory: murder!
How did they reach this bold conclusion? We hope you will join us to find out! These sessions are sure to educate and delight.
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