BONE DEAD, AND RISING

Here is a vivid, poetic, and evocative story of the painter Vincent van Goghs struggle to become his true self. The author listens in on Vincents most intimate, frequently startling thoughts on a host of topics, drawn from three volumes of his correspondence and his 900 extant paintings. What emerges is the portrait of an artist whose spiritual vision was borne of an agonizingly prolonged experience of the dark night of the soul through which his art dared to envision the triumph of joy over sorrow, of resurrection over suffering and death. Readers will discover that in many ways Vincents story is as much about us as about him. Tracing van Goghs pilgrimage from being an apprentice art dealer to being called to minister, in self-renunciation and misery, among destitute coal miners, the narrative follows his winding, tortuous path into adulthood as he struggles with family, associates, lovers--and with himself. Constantly evidenced in Vincents own eloquent words and paintings is his tussle with the mysterious presence and maddening absence of God. Vocation unveils as a process of summoning and birthing his own self, through an attempt to imitate Christ, calling forth van Goghs extraordinary creative powers from deep within. Adding choice supplies from other observers, Davidson here weaves his own exact, artful tapestry of interpretation, producing a suspenseful excursion into the life of van Gogh that offers profound meaning at every turn. This richly detailed and deeply felt account of van Goghs tormented and self-tormenting life, together with many telling quotations from his correspondence with his faithful brother Theo, will be essential reading for all who see him as one of the geniuses of the nineteenth century. --Frederick Buechner author of Secrets in the Dark and The Yellow Leaves Charles Davidsons book viewing Vincent van Goghs life and work is an excellent contribution to ways we might best understand the artists struggle and spirituality. The flow