WEBVTT - How Did One Woman Make Vincent van Gogh Famous?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bogelbaum here. Even knowing a little about Vincent van Gogh,

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<v Speaker 1>it's still astonishing that he sold only a few paintings

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<v Speaker 1>during his lifetime, and for small sums of money or

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<v Speaker 1>barters to keep himself afloat. Today there are traveling interactive

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<v Speaker 1>exhibits that promise to immerse you in his words and works.

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<v Speaker 1>The area where he grew up in the Netherlands is

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<v Speaker 1>a national park. There are many pieces of music and

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<v Speaker 1>films inspired by him. There's an episode of Doctor Who

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<v Speaker 1>about his struggle with mental health and aliens, and someone

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<v Speaker 1>once gave me a t shirt that features Yonkat riding

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<v Speaker 1>a pop tart through the starry night. When his works

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<v Speaker 1>do come up for auction today they fetch tens of

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<v Speaker 1>millions of dollars apiece, from famed paintings like Sunflowers and

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<v Speaker 1>Cafe Terrace at Night to a litany of self portraits.

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<v Speaker 1>Vincent Willem Vango's portfolio is overwhelming and brilliant, but fame

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<v Speaker 1>and success have always been fickle, and vengo had a

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<v Speaker 1>number of odds stacked against him. He experienced debilitatingly poor

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<v Speaker 1>mental and physical health. It's mostly impossible to make real

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<v Speaker 1>diagnoses today, but experts have extended hypotheses from epilepsy to

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<v Speaker 1>borderline personality disorder to lead poisoning. Whatever he faced, it

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<v Speaker 1>didn't make it easy for him to market himself. He

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<v Speaker 1>actually worked in the art scene for a time. He

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<v Speaker 1>had a day job as an art dealer, but that

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<v Speaker 1>might have been a mark against him too. For the

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<v Speaker 1>article this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke

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<v Speaker 1>by email with Nadine Granoff, a fine art appraiser. She said,

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<v Speaker 1>we get the impression that Vincent did not excel at sales.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a failure as an art dealer at Goupeel,

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<v Speaker 1>a fine art dealer. It is said Vincent was fired

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<v Speaker 1>from Goupeel for not being sufficiently cordial to clients. He

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<v Speaker 1>probably seemed a bit eccentric in the world of commerce,

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<v Speaker 1>so that could have burned bridges and turned potential buyers

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<v Speaker 1>off to his own works in the short term and

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<v Speaker 1>in the longer term. He may not have lived long

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<v Speaker 1>enough to see his career bloom. He died of what's

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<v Speaker 1>generally agreed to be suicide at age thirty seven at

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<v Speaker 1>the time in eighteen ninety. He was just a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of years into receiving some increased recognition amongst the avant garde,

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<v Speaker 1>an inclusion in some exhibits in Paris and Brussels. So

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<v Speaker 1>how did this now iconic painter become iconic enter His

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<v Speaker 1>sister in law, One Johanna Vango Bonger, better known as

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<v Speaker 1>Yo Yo, only became part of the Vango family in

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen eighty nine, shortly before Vincent's death. Born in eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty two, Yo worked as an English teacher at two

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<v Speaker 1>different girls schools before her marriage to Vincent's beloved brother Tayoh. Tragically,

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<v Speaker 1>Tao died just six months after Vincent. Tao had complications

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<v Speaker 1>from syphilis. Yo was left with their newborn son and

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<v Speaker 1>a sizable art collection from Vincent, and that is when

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<v Speaker 1>she decided to pursue Tao's wishes. Hastuffworks also spoke via

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<v Speaker 1>email with Hans Luton, a senior researcher at the Vango Museum.

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<v Speaker 1>He said Tao wanted nothing more than to raise the

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<v Speaker 1>profile of his brother's work. Yo assumed responsibility for Vango's

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<v Speaker 1>artistic legacy from eighteen ninety one up to her death.

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<v Speaker 1>She dedicated herself to raising awareness of Vincent's art and letters,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course she loved his work too. Yo worked

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<v Speaker 1>extensively to cultivate Vincent's name and interest in his style,

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<v Speaker 1>which was no small feat. His work was considered too

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<v Speaker 1>modern to be of interest to collectors and buyers, so

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<v Speaker 1>she selectively sold his works and inspired writers and art

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<v Speaker 1>critics to cover his paintings. She also lent pieces to

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<v Speaker 1>prestigious museums and organized countless exhibitions and sales. Latin said

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<v Speaker 1>one of Yo's major feats was the organization of a

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<v Speaker 1>magisterial exhibition at the Stedlick Museum, at Amsterdam's premier museum

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<v Speaker 1>for contemporary art, in nineteen oh five, where she united

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<v Speaker 1>no less than four hundred and eighty four of Ango's works.

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<v Speaker 1>A Vango exhibition of this magnitude would never again be matched.

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<v Speaker 1>All told, between eighteen ninety one and nineteen twenty five,

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<v Speaker 1>Yo sold at least one hundred and ninety two of

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<v Speaker 1>her brother in law's paintings and fifty five of his

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<v Speaker 1>works on paper. She also published Vincent's letters to Tao

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen fourteen. He had written hundreds, most of which

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<v Speaker 1>Taeo had kept. These eloquent letters made Vincent more relatable,

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<v Speaker 1>increasing his appeal and the public's appreciation for his art.

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<v Speaker 1>Experts do believe that Yo n credited out sexual and

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<v Speaker 1>family secrets, and unfortunately the conversation is pretty one sided.

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<v Speaker 1>Only about forty of Tao's letters to his brother survive.

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<v Speaker 1>Granoff said Vincent typically burned any letters he received after

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<v Speaker 1>reading them. Outside of promoting Vincent's work, Yeo also fought

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<v Speaker 1>for better working conditions for women and laborers as a

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<v Speaker 1>member of the Social Democratic Workers Party. Yo Vang Go

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<v Speaker 1>Bonger died in nineteen twenty five at the age of

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<v Speaker 1>sixty two from Parkinson's disease. All of the works still

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<v Speaker 1>in her possession passed to her son, whom they had

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<v Speaker 1>named Vincent Villain Vang Go after his uncle. He continued

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<v Speaker 1>his mother's life's work and eventually established the Vincent Vango

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<v Speaker 1>Foundation and the Vango Museum so that his uncle's pieces

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<v Speaker 1>could be accessible to everyone. Tao and Yo's great grandson,

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<v Speaker 1>Villain Vang Goh, is currently a board advisor to the museum.

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<v Speaker 1>A Latin said, Io Vang Bonger is perhaps not a

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<v Speaker 1>household name, but she was a force to be reckoned

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<v Speaker 1>with She acted decisively in a world dominated by men.

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<v Speaker 1>I am delighted that we are able to tell her

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<v Speaker 1>life story in such detail now. Luton wrote a biography

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<v Speaker 1>of Yo that was published in collaboration with the Vango

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<v Speaker 1>Museum back in twenty nineteen. It's English translation by Lynn

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<v Speaker 1>Richards dropped in twenty twenty two. It's called Yo Van

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<v Speaker 1>Go Bonger, The Woman who made Vincent Famous. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also read Yo's diaries for free online, annotated by Latin

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<v Speaker 1>and also translated into English by Richards at Bongerdiaries dot org.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article Meet the Woman

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<v Speaker 1>who made Vango Famous on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by

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<v Speaker 1>Leah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.

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<v Speaker 1>Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.