Some of the women that we talk about on La Vie Creative - Paris History Avec A Hemingway podcast I get really attached to, Johanna Bonger van-Gogh is one of them that I adore so much and her amazing story that everyone should know.
Johanna Bonger was born on October 4, 1862 in Amsterdam to a musical family. The fifth of seven children, she showed a keen mind at a very early age. While her older sister stayed at home, Johanna’s parents let her pursue her studies focusing on English which would lead her to the British Museum in London working in the library.
Returning to Utrecht she began teaching at a girls boarding school when one day her brother Andries asked her to meet some of his friends.. Andries had been living in Paris and met many artists including Vincent and Theo van Gogh. For Theo it was love at first site, but Johanna didn’t have the same feelings. Months later Theo paid her a visit in Utrecht and let Johanna know he was in love with her. Johanna was taken back by such a pledge of love by a man that she didn’t even know.
Theo must have worn her down and on April 17, 1889 the two were married. Johanna would move to Paris with Theo and nine months later on January 31, 1890 their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh was born, named after his uncle.
Theo, the champion of his older brother Vincent and his art was also a great art dealer in Paris. He had started working in the Hague for Paris art dealer Goupil & Cie when they asked him in 1884 to work in the Paris gallery. With any money that Theo made he purchased paint and art supplies and sent to his brother. In 1886, Vincent moved to Paris sharing Theo’s very tiny Parisian apartment and through Theo would meet many of the greatest artists of the time. Pissarro, Seurat, Cézanne, Rousseau, Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin.
In 1888, Theo convinced Gauguin to visit Vincent in the south of France. Vincent wanted to set up an artist colony like the Japanese artists had, but Gauguin wasn’t so sure of the idea. Theo paid for all of his travel expenses while Gauguin sent Theo letters letting him know how Vincent was doing. The two brothers would also write to each other every day. Vincent's letters also include sketches of paintings he was working on with details of the colors he would use and his daily thoughts. Theo would save every single letter.
Johanna adored her brother in law and saw how close the two brothers were and was happy to support him in any way she could. On June 8, 1890, less than two months before he died, Theo, Johanna and baby Vincent went to see him in Auvers-sur-Oise, it would be the only time Vincent met his nephew. Vincent was in very good spirits but a short time later on July 29, 1890 Vincent died. Theo was devastated and just four months later he was admitted to the Den Dolder asylum in the Netherlands. On January 25, 1891, Theo would die, just six months after his brother. The notes as his cause of death are heartbreaking, “Heredity, Chronic disease, overwork and sadness”.
Johanna and Theo had been married for less than two years when it all ended. Left with a baby and an apartment filled with paintings she wasn’t sure where to start. Her brother told her she should just toss all the paintings out, but Johanna loved Theo and Vincent and couldn’t do it. Vincent only sold one painting while he was alive so the outlook at the time didn’t look good.
Returning to the Netherlands she moved to the small town of Bussum to open a boarding school for girls, but Johanna was also a smart business woman and knew that the town also had a high concentration of art critics and dealers. She had worked very closely with Theo and knew what to do. Women in the art world, just before the turn of the century were mostly unknown which worked in her favor. The mens art club didn’t see her coming. Before he died Theo told her to never sell Vincent’s paintings in groups, bring them out one at a time to generate interest.
In 1901, Johanna married Johan Cohen Gosschalk, a Dutch painter that was a great support. Later that year, with art dealer Paul Cassirer and his cousin Bruno she helped create an exhibition of Vincent’s paintings in Berlin. Germany was an early market that discovered Vincent long before anyone else including the wealthy Helen Kroller-Muller. Muller over time would build the largest personal collection with 91 of Vincent’s paintings.
Controlling the circulation of paintings she created the narrative of Vincent’s story and was just getting started. Remember all those letters Vincent sent Theo? After Theo’s death in a box she found piles and piles of letters, Theo saved every single one. Johanna started to transcribe each of the letters with Vincent's thoughts, state of mind and sketches. You have to remember at the time that nobody outside the artist community knew who Vincent was, he wasn’t famous when he was alive or after his death and many thought his paintings were horrible and his use of color shocking. However, that was about to change.
Johanna began to release pieces of the letters and the Vincent we all know now with all the ups and downs came to life. Suddenly his paintings began to sell and the interest in his life was a topic at the local cafe. In 1915 she would lose her second husband and decided to go to New York with her son. Johanna spent all her time on the letters, for four years she diligently transcribed them and also translated them into English. She was very careful not to let the letters overshadow the paintings, the two had to go hand in hand building interest into Vincent and his paintings.
Johanna also kept a detailed diary that her son would later release after her death. One entry she wrote “Imagine for one moment my experience when I came back to Holland realizing the greatness and the nobility of that lonely artist's life”, She held her responsibility to Theo & Vincent very close to her heart. As Vincent Willem grew up he was surrounded by more than 200 paintings of his uncle covering the walls. Out of all of them one was the most important to his mother, Sunflowers painted in 1888. When news of Gauguin's arrival came, Vincent decided to paint a series of paintings to surround his friend's room. Seven paintings, three of which were copies he did himself all of the happy sunflower that would jump off the wall.
After his death alongside all of his other paintings, Theo would hang Sunflowers of sixteen stems in a vase on his wall, it was his favorite. After their deaths, Johanna had held onto this painting and would never part with it or let it be exhibited. In 1924 Jim Eend working for the National Gallery in London was given a large amount of money from Samuel Courtauld to purchase paintings of modern artists. Jim went to visit Johanna and wanted to purchase her beloved Sunflowers. She told him no, and it wasn’t for sale, “I have seen this painting everyday of my life for 30 years and can’t part with it”. Jim persisted and just before Johanna died she sent him a letter that she would sell it to him. Vincent had spent time in London at the National Gallery and her goal was to get his paintings into the public museums so generations could enjoy them.
On September 2, 1925 Johanna died in Laren, Netherlands at 62 years old. Her son Vincent continued the legacy of their family and in the 1960’s created the Van Gogh foundation. The over 200 paintings that she could never sell that surrounded their home would become the basis of the collection in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 1973.
In 1914,she had Theo’s body moved to lay beside his brother in Auvers-sur-Oise, the two brothers together once again.
Johanna wrote in her diary, “I wish I could make you feel the influence Vincent had on my life”. If it wasn’t for Johanna van Gogh, we would never know the life and genius of Vincent and for that gift she gave us all she should be remembered as a saint.
Support my writing and stories of Paris by joining my Patreon page and get lots of extra goodies including discounts on my tours in Paris, trip planning and custom history just for you. Patreon link in bio.