Bits may be dry or not as interesting when not knowing specific artists that he knew or influenced him. But they are worth Goggling to learn more.
whether temporal lobe epilepsy (that is a thing still,, but not necessarily his issue) he did obviously have depression and some irrational mental issues.. Which syphilis could have exacerbated. He was a human male with a libido.
All the correspondence between him and his family really gives insight and factual details of his life.
Early on in the book before you see him descend into mental health with physical issues you feel like like yelling at him from the sidelines. Will you think about what you are doing or what others are saying!
He proves mental concerns aren’t something you brush off and nove on.
Thankfully he was a prolific painter too. That he studied so many genres, methods, and so forth. His black and white stage. No colors! Passive-aggressively sent a letter to Theo with a wheelbarrow full of manure sketch. That made me chortle! He thus gives us so many different kinds of art and subjects. From people – the peasant farmers and miners, to portraits, to scenery. Both realistic as well as Impressionism.
I can relate and empathize with his desire for family and connections.
Lastly, excellent research on more accurate conclusions about his death. We will never know for sure, but suicide unlikely.
Sad though how insanity or whatever affected previous people in his family tree as well as siblings too.
Shows we all have lives and whether we are remembered or not is a question for time. He actually was able to read praise for his work, even if he didn’t quite feel he deserved it. Age 37 he left us but if you read this his desire to be a minister and help others was there, even if he couldn’t go about it well. Ie, living on a dirt floor when he didn’t need to and other stories before painting he definitely had a full life of experiences!