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Vincent van Gogh and the Good Samaritan: The Wounded Painter's Journey
In this remarkable book, Henry Martin invites us to study in close detail van Gogh’s painting ‘The Good Samaritan’, and the famous parable told by Jesus of Nazareth. He asks what lessons we can learn from meditation upon the imagery and each of the characters portrayed.
Questions for discussion and reflection on each chapter help us to relate the themes and challenges of the parable to our lives and the world we live in today. The book is also an engaging, personal study of van Gogh, the tragic genius of his life, and the struggles he faced which may have informed both his process and his spirituality. Martin has translated many of van Gogh’s letters, and, as an artist himself, brings a unique perspective to our understanding of both the painter and the parable.
Questions for discussion and reflection on each chapter help us to relate the themes and challenges of the parable to our lives and the world we live in today. The book is also an engaging, personal study of van Gogh, the tragic genius of his life, and the struggles he faced which may have informed both his process and his spirituality. Martin has translated many of van Gogh’s letters, and, as an artist himself, brings a unique perspective to our understanding of both the painter and the parable.
190 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 6, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 20, 2023
Interesting speculation on Van Gogh’s perspective on the various characters in the Good Samaritan story, the subject of one of the last pictures he painted. While this book did a great deal to fill in the details of Van Gogh’s life, the last chapter was very insightful about Jesus’ impossible-to-fulfill command, “Go and do likewise.”
August 30, 2023
This book was bought very quickly after falling down a Van Gogh rabbit hole, and seeing that the design and themes were very similar to Henri Nouwen's 'The Return of the Prodigal Son' which was a favourite read last year. Sadly, the similarities do not help Martin's writing as I spent a lot of my reading time thinking about just how special Nouwen's work is.
Henry Martin seems to follow the same structure of Nouwen's book- a famous artist/artwork and parable of Jesus, but leaves out what I believe was the key part of 'The Prodigal Son'- the honest and vulnerable autobiographical writing.
That said, Henry Martin has clearly done some fantastic research in writing this book, pulling together key moments of Van Gogh's life through his hundreds of preserved letters and journals. The applications to the parable of the Good Samaritan is at times interesting, and at others contrived. Again, I think this comes through trying to force this book into a series that was never intended by Henri Nouwen.
Henry Martin seems to follow the same structure of Nouwen's book- a famous artist/artwork and parable of Jesus, but leaves out what I believe was the key part of 'The Prodigal Son'- the honest and vulnerable autobiographical writing.
That said, Henry Martin has clearly done some fantastic research in writing this book, pulling together key moments of Van Gogh's life through his hundreds of preserved letters and journals. The applications to the parable of the Good Samaritan is at times interesting, and at others contrived. Again, I think this comes through trying to force this book into a series that was never intended by Henri Nouwen.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews