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At Eternity's Gate

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Erickson does van Gogh a considerable service by returning to the voluminous letters he wrote, in order to help the reader see the roots and meaning of his devotion. She views van Gogh as essentially a mystic inspired by the Gospels and by the writings of John Bunyan and Thomas a Kempis. Their words and images were internalized and remained with the artist in spite of his break with organized Christianity. . . . Erickson provides yet another corrective by carefully reconstructing the etiology of van Gogh's mental disturbances that resulted in an extended hospitalization after the celebrated event in which he severed a part of his own ear and presented it to a local prostitute. By returning to van Gogh's letters and utilizing a finely tuned clinical understanding, Erickson plausibly concludes that the artist suffered from epileptiform illness with attendant depression. She thus provides an alternative view to the varied and sometimes poorly researched conclusions that have led previous scholars and clinicians to arrive at a wide variety of diagnostic hypotheses. . . . Erickson offers a portrait of van Gogh as a visionary struggling to find the means to express his felt spiritual experience. In so doing, she provides us with an enlarged and richly nuanced understanding of the interdependence of suffering, faith, and the act of creation.

The conventional view of Vincent van Gogh is that he was a great painter who lost his faith and, finally, lost his sanity as well. . . . But now, thanks to Kathleen Powers Erickson, such interpretations are no longer tenable. Erickson has performed an invaluable service to the disciplines of art history and spiritual Vincent van Gogh corrects numerous misconceptions about this complex man and clarifies the nature of his artistic calling. . . . By illuminating van Gogh's life, Erickson has allowed it, in turn, to illuminate his canvases. Paintings which were formerly "works of art" now seem more like icons; Erickson has enabled us to see beyond their painterly surfaces and glimpse the spiritual forces that inspired them. The paintings become, in a sense, windows that are transparent to the divine reality behind them. More than just a series of magnificent paintings, the works of Vincent van Gogh, after Erickson, now appear as the artist had intended - a visual record of the human soul trying to understand its Creator, while struggling with its afflictions along the earthly road of trials, and making its way, at last, through eternity's gate and into the Celestial City. It is a magnificent trip, and Erickson is a worthy guide along its path

An absolutely outstanding work by Kathleen Erickson. This is a must read that sets aside the smoke and mirrors by other acclaimed historians. I was also fortunate to attend her talk at one of her book signings. The years of extensive research involved in bringing this new evidence to us is invaluable. Although the first chapter is a little tricky to follow, it sets the foundation for the rest of the book and is the appropriate passageway into it. This book should be added to college art history as well as theological courses so tomorrow's public is not mislead by past fables.

"At Eterntiy's Gate" opened my eyes to see the spiritual dimensions in van Gogh's life and art I didn't know existed. Also, the detatiled explanation of his illness helped put the myth of his insanity to rest. The writing was very clear and I especially enjoyed the last chapter in which the author explains the religious significance of "Starry Night."

Soundly informed and judiciously handled, notably with respect to van Gogh's formative religious background and its long-term effects on his life, thought,and motivation, including his artistic choices. Erickson also provides remarkable insight into van Gogh's legendary illness, showing his religious dimensions and demonstrating its impact on his art from a novel perspective. Prof. John Walford, Wheaton College

Kathleen Powers Erickson's At Eternity's Gate: The Spiritual Vision of Vincent Van Gogh is an examination of the spiritual journey of the often misunderstood artist, as well as Erickson's thoughts and analysis of Van Gogh's medical records. She points out that Van Gogh was not disillusioned with a Calvinist upbringing, since his Father and Uncle, both pastors and early spiritual influences on Van Gogh, were both from the Groningen school, a decidedly liberal and Arminian school of Dutch theology. Erickson also dismisses the idea of insanity providing a compelling case for the diagnosis of Van Gogh's personal doctors, that of a form of epileptic seizures.

However, it was the spiritual side of the biography that was truly intriguing. The medical information seemed out of place, as if Erickson was perhaps reaching at straws to vindicate a man she admires, however compelling the argument was, it might have been better left for another place. As Erickson points out, Van Gogh was a passionately religious man. He encountered the work of Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody while working as a tutor and was deeply impacted by them. But it seems to me that, however compelled he was by these evangelical influences, he could never rise above his Groningen upbringing.

He tried to, even working as a missionary in the coal mines, living in abject poverty and giving all he had to the poor. This, however, shamed his family who felt that ministers should be more respectable. This led to a fallout with his father and the rejection of his minister uncle as a viable candidate to marry his daughter led to a final abandonment of the institutional church. In many ways he was the forerunner of the modern spiritual seeker. Injured by the church of his youth but still plagued by notions of God he cannot root out, he searches for God in other ways. In Van Gogh's case, this is best exhibited in his art, which provides as tale of Jacob like wrestling with God. From inserting his own face as the one crucified in the Pieta in place of Christ to his startling beautiful rendition of The Good Samaritan to his angst at the church symbolized through dark, white walled church buildings, Van Gogh is a decidedly spiritual painter.

This is by no means a perfect book, but it does an excellent job describing the spiritual upbringing and journey of one of the greatest painters in history. Since this is an often overlooked subject in our modern world, it is an excellent resource for anyone interested in spiritual biography or the influences of Vincent Van Gogh.

I have always viewed Van Gogh's art with a feeling of sadness thinking he was a man driven insane and living a meager existence without much choice. I now enjoy his paintings so much more having read a new perspective about his life. I see his work as full of life and hope and believe he lived a life according to his convictions. He was a man who took his stand against a tide he didn't agree with. I am refreshed.

It is very hard to do biographies at all. Many other authors who write about Vincent Van Gogh are usually vauge, and you can't follow through. This book is the exact opposite.

This book was magnificent!I thought the first chapter was hard to go through but after that, Erickson repayed her debt.I've never read such an outstanding book.The reason why I liked this book is because I liked how she talked about every detail.This book should get an award!

A readable, accessible study that will reward the unquenchable interest among a broad reading public in an artist whose mythic proportions cry out for historical understanding and a "sane" view of religion in modern life. Erickson approaches her subject with sympathy and a willingness to go where the widely ignored evidence will take her. Prof. David Morgan, Valparaiso University