Van Gogh ... or a gun without DNA tests ...

Jim McDougall · 21st June 2019, 02:52 PM

Well said. As with so much of 'history', it becomes embellished by the writers, novelists and of course 'fake news' (in todays parlance).
The true story of Van Gogh has been deeply clouded in the book "Lust for Life" (Irving Stone, 1934) which was made into a movie starring Kirk Douglas in 1956. This was apparently where the suicide notion developed and most of the other distorted or embellished perspectives evolved. The movie you mention is yet another version, and while like the others fascinating and entertaining, not necessarily historically accurate.

As with most such cases, there are grains of truth which grow into crops of rich lore, and the industry of related or key antiquities thrives with innovative dealers and their concocted descriptions.

Without irrefutable chain of custody or provenance, such items can only be presumed 'of the type' or illustrative dimensionally in portraying the elements used in historic events.

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21st June 2019, 02:52 PM	#5
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,371	Well said. As with so much of 'history', it becomes embellished by the writers, novelists and of course 'fake news' (in todays parlance). The true story of Van Gogh has been deeply clouded in the book "Lust for Life" (Irving Stone, 1934) which was made into a movie starring Kirk Douglas in 1956. This was apparently where the suicide notion developed and most of the other distorted or embellished perspectives evolved. The movie you mention is yet another version, and while like the others fascinating and entertaining, not necessarily historically accurate. As with most such cases, there are grains of truth which grow into crops of rich lore, and the industry of related or key antiquities thrives with innovative dealers and their concocted descriptions. Without irrefutable chain of custody or provenance, such items can only be presumed 'of the type' or illustrative dimensionally in portraying the elements used in historic events.