Vincent van Gogh’s story will always be one of the most fascinating stories in art history, as he was famous for being a man who sold one painting in his life, only to be known as one of the greatest artists of all time following his tragic death.

One of Vincent’s only supporters in life was his brother Theo, who died months after him.

There was one person who found herself suddenly responsible with presenting Vincent’s work to the world, and that was his sister-in-law, Theo’s widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger.

Many say she is the person who made Vincent van Gogh famous.

Johanna was born in Amsterdam in 1862. She was one of seven children and was close to her siblings. They all had a passion for music and would play instruments together.

Johanna also had a passion for reading and writing and studied English as she got older. Johanna started keeping a detailed diary at 17, where she eventually detailed her journey with the van Gogh brothers and how she gave Vincent’s work a second chance.

She was working as an English teacher in the Netherlands by the time she was 22, which was when she met Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam. A year after they met, she married Theo in 1889, and they had a son named Vincent Willem in 1890.

Vincent van Gogh was a huge part of Johanna’s life, as he and his brother were extremely close companions. Vincent was the godfather of their son, and they would exchange letters, but unfortunately, Johanna’s relationships with her brother and brother-in-law did not last very long.

Theo was diagnosed with syphilis before meeting Johanna, and his condition worsened after Vincent tragically took his life in 1890. Theo passed away just six months later, in 1891.

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Johanna was left with Vincent’s massive art collection and decided to make sure the world knew of his artistic brilliance, which was ignored during his time on Earth.

She began selling his paintings on her own and sending them to other artists who put them in exhibits and sales. One of her most successful ventures in promoting Vincent’s paintings was when she gave over 400 of them to be shown in an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1905.

Johanna also made the decision to collect as many of the eloquent letters between Vincent and Theo as she is good and publish them, drawing people to their story and eventually making people respect Vincent as an artist more.

By the mid-1910s, Vincent’s paintings were making it into international galleries and exhibits. His work began inspiring other artists who would become famous themselves, like Henri Matisse.

Johanna continued promoting Vincent as a gifted artist, distributing his paintings, managing his and Theo’s estates, and telling their stories until her final days. Johanna fell ill with Parkinson’s disease and passed away in 1925 at 62.

Following her death, her son Vincent was left with what was left of his uncle’s painting collection and followed in his mother’s footsteps.

Johanna’s life is fascinating, as she dedicated so many years to making sure her brilliant brother-in-law had a legacy. We have her to thank for the exposure to the Van Gogh paintings we still dearly love today.

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