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The dream of Van Gogh is one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of modern art. His life as well as his art offer an intriguing object of study for the psychoanalyst interested in the ever mysterious problem of artistic creation and in the relationship between genius and pathology. Moreover, what makes Van Gogh such a valuable object of psychoanalytic study, is the highly personal style of his creation and the revealing character of his correspondence. Hardly any of the harbingers of the modern artistic revolution has left a legacy of such psychological poignancy and, one feels tempted to say, tragic transparence.
The author of this study used most successfully all the data available. He goes through all the stages of Van Gogh's tormented existence and illuminates them with psychoanalytic insight. Nor does he shun the arduous but for the psychoanalytic reader most tempting task of correlating the master's creation with his inner conflicts and his entire existence.
However, the writing is somewhat uneven. Some chapters are done beautifully and with insight such as the chapters on the empty chairs, on connection between art and sexuality and on the conflict between the fear of success and the fear of failure. Some other chapters read more like a rather pedestrian biographical chronicle.
I think that the author dismisses in a somewhat cavalier fashion the problem of clinical diagnosis. Even if our major interest may lie in the exploration of the unconscious dynamics, the clinical aspect of this uniquely fascinating case history is by no means negligible.
The book lacks both an index and even an elementary bibliography. And yet there exists a sizeable psychiatric literature on Van Gogh starting with the valuable study by Jaspers