ABOUT
About The Author
The Killing Vincent Project is meant as a historical analysis and exposé, attempting to continue exploring the key questions that TIME magazine asked in its October 31, 2011, cover story: “Who killed Vincent van Gogh?” and “Was van Gogh’s death really a suicide?” on the “Culture” Cover. I have attempted to answer both questions. This work is not meant as an academic treatise or dissertation, with every observation, thought, and detail requiring documentation. It is only an attempt as an expose’, to seek the truth of what really happened on the day Vincent van Gogh was mortally wounded, and to best connect all the missing “dots”. In the process, I will try to fit the best murder scenario into what little is really accepted, and why he was murdered… significantly changing art history.
When I started this project, I never believed that Vincent committed suicide, but I committed my research to exploring all the possibilities from the beginning and from every angle. I tried to present all this research objectively, without any bias. However, as I progressed into all the research surrounding Vincent’s mysterious death, my theory as to who most likely killed Vincent evolved, and I became even more certain it was very unlikely that he committed suicide. I will demonstrate why it was not likely or possible for him to have done so. I will then elaborate on my theory about the murder of Vincent and its cover-up.
Goals and Challenges
The first major goal of this project is to determine if Vincent van Gogh’s death was really a suicide as legend would have you believe, possibly an accident, or a likely murder and cover-up. So very little is indisputably known today about his mythical death, yet so much is well known, by comparison, about his life. If I can convince you that Vincent did not commit suicide, then the second major goal becomes a critical evaluation of all the persons of interest in this epic cold case. The third major goal is to solidify the case against suicide with additional, modern forensic evidence: simulations of the day VIncent was injured using the same antique model gun, reenactments of firing that gun with vintage black powder bullets, and then a detailed forensic analysis of the signature powder burn that the gun would have left behind in FBI clear ballistic gel that 100 percent consistent with human tissue. All of the new forensic studies are documented in photos and videos.
We will look at his medical, mental, and physical health, his state of mind, the people he associated with, and the motivations that those people might have had to kill Vincent—or that Vincent might have had to kill himself. Ideally, we can eliminate all of the old information and revisit the big picture with our pre-existing bias left outside the covers of this book. A reexamination of all the pertinent evidence will allow you, the reader and jury, to make your own judgment in this case. We can explore all aspects of this infamous cold case together and then you can, with a more expansive and comprehensive perspective, decide for yourself who is responsible for the death of Vincent van Gogh.
If this false suicide theory is finally put to rest—as is my intent, based on this recent analysis combined with the newer, in-depth forensics presented toward the end of this book—then a serious look at his death as an unsolved homicide must now be vigorously pursued. “Blasphemy” it may be to some, but truth ultimately must prevail: Vincent van Gogh did not commit suicide as the legendary myth would have you believe with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was murdered.