1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff. 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: Lauren Bogelbaum here. Even knowing a little about Vincent van Gogh, 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: it's still astonishing that he sold only a few paintings 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,479 Speaker 1: during his lifetime, and for small sums of money or 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: barters to keep himself afloat. Today there are traveling interactive 6 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: exhibits that promise to immerse you in his words and works. 7 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: The area where he grew up in the Netherlands is 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: a national park. There are many pieces of music and 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 1: films inspired by him. There's an episode of Doctor Who 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: about his struggle with mental health and aliens, and someone 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: once gave me a t shirt that features Yonkat riding 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: a pop tart through the starry night. When his works 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: do come up for auction today they fetch tens of 14 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: millions of dollars apiece, from famed paintings like Sunflowers and 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: Cafe Terrace at Night to a litany of self portraits. 16 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: Vincent Willem Vango's portfolio is overwhelming and brilliant, but fame 17 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: and success have always been fickle, and vengo had a 18 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: number of odds stacked against him. He experienced debilitatingly poor 19 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: mental and physical health. It's mostly impossible to make real 20 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: diagnoses today, but experts have extended hypotheses from epilepsy to 21 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: borderline personality disorder to lead poisoning. Whatever he faced, it 22 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: didn't make it easy for him to market himself. He 23 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: actually worked in the art scene for a time. He 24 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: had a day job as an art dealer, but that 25 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: might have been a mark against him too. For the 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: article this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke 27 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: by email with Nadine Granoff, a fine art appraiser. She said, 28 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: we get the impression that Vincent did not excel at sales. 29 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: He was a failure as an art dealer at Goupeel, 30 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,279 Speaker 1: a fine art dealer. It is said Vincent was fired 31 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: from Goupeel for not being sufficiently cordial to clients. He 32 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: probably seemed a bit eccentric in the world of commerce, 33 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: so that could have burned bridges and turned potential buyers 34 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: off to his own works in the short term and 35 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: in the longer term. He may not have lived long 36 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: enough to see his career bloom. He died of what's 37 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: generally agreed to be suicide at age thirty seven at 38 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: the time in eighteen ninety. He was just a couple 39 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: of years into receiving some increased recognition amongst the avant garde, 40 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: an inclusion in some exhibits in Paris and Brussels. So 41 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: how did this now iconic painter become iconic enter His 42 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: sister in law, One Johanna Vango Bonger, better known as 43 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: Yo Yo, only became part of the Vango family in 44 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty nine, shortly before Vincent's death. Born in eighteen 45 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: sixty two, Yo worked as an English teacher at two 46 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: different girls schools before her marriage to Vincent's beloved brother Tayoh. Tragically, 47 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 1: Tao died just six months after Vincent. Tao had complications 48 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: from syphilis. Yo was left with their newborn son and 49 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: a sizable art collection from Vincent, and that is when 50 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: she decided to pursue Tao's wishes. Hastuffworks also spoke via 51 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: email with Hans Luton, a senior researcher at the Vango Museum. 52 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: He said Tao wanted nothing more than to raise the 53 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: profile of his brother's work. Yo assumed responsibility for Vango's 54 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: artistic legacy from eighteen ninety one up to her death. 55 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: She dedicated herself to raising awareness of Vincent's art and letters, 56 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: and of course she loved his work too. Yo worked 57 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: extensively to cultivate Vincent's name and interest in his style, 58 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: which was no small feat. His work was considered too 59 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: modern to be of interest to collectors and buyers, so 60 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: she selectively sold his works and inspired writers and art 61 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: critics to cover his paintings. She also lent pieces to 62 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: prestigious museums and organized countless exhibitions and sales. Latin said 63 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: one of Yo's major feats was the organization of a 64 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: magisterial exhibition at the Stedlick Museum, at Amsterdam's premier museum 65 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: for contemporary art, in nineteen oh five, where she united 66 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: no less than four hundred and eighty four of Ango's works. 67 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: A Vango exhibition of this magnitude would never again be matched. 68 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: All told, between eighteen ninety one and nineteen twenty five, 69 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: Yo sold at least one hundred and ninety two of 70 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: her brother in law's paintings and fifty five of his 71 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: works on paper. She also published Vincent's letters to Tao 72 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen fourteen. He had written hundreds, most of which 73 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: Taeo had kept. These eloquent letters made Vincent more relatable, 74 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: increasing his appeal and the public's appreciation for his art. 75 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: Experts do believe that Yo n credited out sexual and 76 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: family secrets, and unfortunately the conversation is pretty one sided. 77 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: Only about forty of Tao's letters to his brother survive. 78 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: Granoff said Vincent typically burned any letters he received after 79 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: reading them. Outside of promoting Vincent's work, Yeo also fought 80 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: for better working conditions for women and laborers as a 81 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: member of the Social Democratic Workers Party. Yo Vang Go 82 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: Bonger died in nineteen twenty five at the age of 83 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: sixty two from Parkinson's disease. All of the works still 84 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: in her possession passed to her son, whom they had 85 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: named Vincent Villain Vang Go after his uncle. He continued 86 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: his mother's life's work and eventually established the Vincent Vango 87 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: Foundation and the Vango Museum so that his uncle's pieces 88 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: could be accessible to everyone. Tao and Yo's great grandson, 89 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: Villain Vang Goh, is currently a board advisor to the museum. 90 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: A Latin said, Io Vang Bonger is perhaps not a 91 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,600 Speaker 1: household name, but she was a force to be reckoned 92 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: with She acted decisively in a world dominated by men. 93 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 1: I am delighted that we are able to tell her 94 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: life story in such detail now. Luton wrote a biography 95 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: of Yo that was published in collaboration with the Vango 96 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: Museum back in twenty nineteen. It's English translation by Lynn 97 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: Richards dropped in twenty twenty two. It's called Yo Van 98 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: Go Bonger, The Woman who made Vincent Famous. You can 99 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: also read Yo's diaries for free online, annotated by Latin 100 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: and also translated into English by Richards at Bongerdiaries dot org. 101 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,360 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article Meet the Woman 102 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: who made Vango Famous on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by 103 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: Leah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership 104 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. 105 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 106 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,239 Speaker 1: Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.