''Lust for Life'' (1934) is a biographical novel by

Irving Stone Irving Stone (born Tennenbaum, July 14, 1903 – August 26, 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Among the best known are '' Lust for Life'' (1934), about the l ...

about the life of the Dutch painter

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

and his hardships. It was Stone's first major publication, and is largely based on the collection of letters between Vincent van Gogh and his younger brother, art dealer Theo van Gogh.Pomerans (1996), ix This correspondence lays the foundation for most of what is known about the thoughts and beliefs of the artist.Van Gogh's letters, Unabridged and Annotated
Retrieved 25 June 2009. Stone conducted a large amount of "on-field" research for the novel, as is mentioned in the afterword. The narrative of ''Lust for Life'' creates origin-stories for many of the artist's famous paintings. including '' The Potato Eaters'' and ''

Sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

''. Stone wanted to explain Van Gogh's difficult life and how he began, flourished, and died as a painter. People close to Van Gogh's life, like Paul Gauguin, are also characters in the novel. The book is divided into nine smaller "books", titled based on the places Van Gogh lived:

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(Prologue), the Borinage, Etten,

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

St. Remy Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

, and Auvers. The novel was adapted into a 1956 film of the same name starring Kirk Douglas, which was nominated for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, winning one.

References

1934 American novels American historical novels Biographical novels Cultural depictions of Vincent van Gogh Cultural depictions of Paul Gauguin Novels by Irving Stone American novels adapted into films Novels about artists Grosset & Dunlap books {{1930s-bio-novel-stub