Breaking van Gogh: Saint-Rémy, Forgery, and the $95 Million Fake at the Met
Written by James Ottar Grundvig
Narrated by Jeff Cummings
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
In Breaking van Gogh, James Grundvig investigates the history and authenticity of van Gogh’s iconic Wheat Field with Cypresses, currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Relying on a vast array of techniques from the study of the painter’s biography and personal correspondence to the examination of the painting’s style and technical characteristics, Grundvig proves that the “most expensive purchase” housed in the Met is a fake.
The Wheat Field with Cypresses is traditionally considered to date to the time of van Gogh’s stay in the Saint-Rémy mental asylum, where the artist produced many of his masterpieces. After his suicide, these paintings languished for a decade, until his sister-in-law took them to a family friend for restoration. The restorer had other ideas.
In the course of his investigation, Grundvig traces the incredible story of this piece from the artist’s brushstrokes in sunlit southern France to a forger’s den in Paris, the art collections of a prominent Jewish banking family and a Nazi-sympathizing Swiss arms dealer, and finally the walls of the Met. The riveting narrative weaves its way through the turbulent history of twentieth-century Europe, as the painting’s fate is intimately bound with some of its major players.
Related to Breaking van Gogh
Related audiobooks
The Lives of the Artists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Van Gogh: A Power Seething Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hot, Cold, Heavy, Light: 100 Art Writings 1988‒2018 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Last Light: How Six Great Artists Made Old Age a Time of Triumph Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rogues' Gallery: The Rise (And Occasional Fall) of Art Dealers, the Hidden Players in the History of Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica, and the Masterpiece That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Painters: Background and History of Michelangelo and Vincent van Gogh Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Caravaggio: Painter of Miracles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/533 Artists in 3 Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vincent van Gogh: His Life, His Death, and His Paintings Summarized Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Devil in the Gallery: How Scandal, Shock, and Rivalry Shaped the Art World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Modern Man: The Life of Le Corbusier, Architect of Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Van Gogh: The Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Imaginary Museum: A Personal Tour of Contemporary Art featuring ghosts, nudity and disagreements Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hitler's Art Thief: Hildebrand Gurlitt, the Nazis, and the Looting of Europe's Treasures Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Auctioneer: Adventures in the Art Trade Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Modern: Genius, Madness, and One Tumultuous Decade That Changed Art Forever Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYoung Rembrandt: A Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Göring's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Becomes a Legend Most: A Biography of Richard Avedon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecret Lives of Great Artists: What Your Teachers Never Told You About Master Painters and Sculptors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistorical Painters: The Legacy of the Artists from Europe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Art For You
Summary: The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Included Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIkigai: The Japanese Life Philosophy to Finding Happiness and Peacefulness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cinema Speculation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heroin Diaries: Ten Year Anniversary Edition: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: The Creative Act: A Way of Being By Rick Rubin: Key Takeaways, Summary and Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Giving Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Faith, Hope and Carnage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention (A 6-Week Artist's Way Program) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art and Faith: A Theology of Making Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World Travel: An Irreverent Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unlocking Your Creativity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Philosophy of Modern Song Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of the Con: The Most Notorious Fakes, Frauds, and Forgeries in the Art World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wok: Recipes and Techniques Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Notes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Breaking van Gogh
12 ratings0 reviews