Jo van Gogh-Bonger

[Luijten] presents a fascinating and detailed account of [Jo van Gogh-Bonger’s] astonishing life … [A] magnificent tribute.

[Luijten] presents a fascinating and detailed account of [Jo van Gogh-Bonger’s] astonishing life … [A] magnificent tribute.

Magisterial . . . . Luijten has produced the most significant addition to the Van Gogh literature in nearly forty years.

Thorough … from which [Jo van Gogh-Bonger] emerges as both formidable and fascinating in her own right.

Art historians say Luijten’s biography is a major step in what will be an ongoing reappraisal — not only of the source of van Gogh’s fame but also of the modern notion of what an artist is. For that, too, is something Jo helped to invent.

Compelling … The book brings a remarkable woman to wider notice … The van Gogh brothers were inseparable, in life and death, but thanks to this author’s diligence, Jo now has her place alongside them.

[A] superb biography of the … extraordinary Jo van Gogh-Bonger. So much has been written on Vincent van Gogh that you wonder what more can be said. It turns out much more on the woman who was the early driving force behind the Dutch artist’s legacy.

[An] important biography.

This revelatory new biography portrays [Jo van Gogh Bonger] as a visionary woman, driven to shake the art world to the core, who took charge of van Gogh’s artistic legacy after the brothers’ deaths. It also sheds new light on the complex history of how public appreciation for the work of van Gogh the artist originated and grew.

An accessible, immensely researched and vital record of van Gogh-Bonger’s remarkable life … [Jo] ensured that Vincent’s talent and pieces lived on; now her own extraordinary work and legacy are highlighted in this essential book from Luijten.

A fascinating and copiously illustrated biography of van Gogh’s remarkable sister in law.

More than a literary biography... Jo’s life and her experiences in the international art world fascinate and enthral.

This incredibly granular account of the life of Jo van Gogh-Bonger finally gives her the credit she deserves. . . . Inspiring.

All for Vincent captivates you. It is as if you are a personal witness to the story of a girl from Amsterdam who breaks free from her protective environment and grows into a strong and dedicated woman in a world that is dominated by men.

The book provides an ideal compliment to the letters and diaries, fleshing out what is, in the latter case for Jo, a rather fragmentary record, largely preoccupied with what she describes as, 'the mirror of my inner life'. Armed with all the archive material at his disposal, Mr Luijten expertly fills in the gaps using sources that include not only Jo's diaries, but [from] her son, Vincent Willum ... this reader can only recommend [the author's] book.

It’s massively important. [...] It shows that without Jo there would have been no van Gogh.

Hans Luijten is Senior Researcher at the Van Gogh Museum. He is the author of Van Gogh and Love (2007) and Alles voor Vincent (2019). Luijten also edited Vincent van Gogh, Painted with Words: The Letters to Emile Bernard (2007), the six-volume Vincent van Gogh – The Letters: The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition (2009, vangoghletters.org) and Jo Bonger’s previously unpublished diaries (bongerdiaries.org). His books have been published in various languages, including English, Dutch, French and Chinese.

Lynne Richards is a professional translator and Dutch-English editor specializing in art history, general history and the humanities. Her recent translations include A History of the Netherlands (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Jo Bonger's diaries (2019), a four-volume bi-lingual publication available digitally at bongerdiaries.org. Since 1998, she has been a partner of Lynne & Paul Richards Translations.