The unknown Van Gogh : the life of Cornelis van Gogh, from the Netherlands to South Africa / Chris Schoeman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schoeman, Chris, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gogh, Cornelius van, 1867-1900.

Gogh, Cornelius van.

Gogh family.

Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij--Biography.

Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij.

Dutch--South Africa--Biography.

Dutch.

Railroad construction workers--South Africa--Biography.

Railroad construction workers.

South African War, 1899-1902--Biography.

South African War, 1899-1902.

History.

South Africa--History--19th century.

South Africa.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xviii, 217 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits (some colored) ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Life of Cornelis van Gogh, from the Netherlands to South Africa

Place of Publication:

Cape Town, South Africa : Zebra Press, 2015.

Summary:

Much has been written about Vincent van Gogh and his tempestuous relationship with his brother Theo. But few people know that there was a third Van Gogh brother, Cornelis, who was raised in the Netherlands, but worked, married and died in South Africa. The son of a Protestant minister, Cor spent his youth in a series of small Dutch towns, with idyllic holidays walking in the countryside with his artist brother, before troubles and tragedies beset the Van Gogh family. In 1889, the twenty-two-year-old Cor sailed to South Africa, where he worked as an engineer on the gold mines and on the railways. In the Anglo-Boer War he joined the Boers, first as a railway engineer and later on commando in the Free State, where in 1900 he suffered a fate that echoed his famous brother's tragic end. The Unknown Van Gogh recreates South Africa in the tumultuous last decade of the nineteenth century; reconstructs the personal story of a young immigrant from letters and other archival documents; and explores his relationship with his famous brother Vincent. With new insights based on original research, this book uncovers a figure who has been forgotten by history. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Country roots / Zundert 1

2 Sermons and fairy tales / Helvoirt 17

3 The artist's brother / Etten-Leur 23

4 Family turmoil / Nuenen 37

5 An industrial city / Lincoln 49

6 The call of Africa 59

7 Across the veld: Cape to Transvaal 69

8 On the goldfields / Johannesburg 79

9 Vincent and Theo 89

10 A railway engineer / Elandsfontein 97

11 Peace under threat / Pretoria 111

12 An unhappy marriage / Pretoria 121

13 Clouds of war / Transvaal 129

14 A soldier on the front / Transvaal, Orange Free State State, Orange Free 137

15 A feverish end / Brandfort 149

16 Cor's legacy and those he left behind 161

17 The end of the tracks 171.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-209) and index.

ISBN:

9781770227910

1770227911

OCLC:

918565483

Publisher Number:

99967920609