Saving Vincent, Guest Post by Joan Fernandez

For historical fiction fans of women’s untold true stories, an early twentieth century novel about Jo van Gogh who battled the male-dominated art elite in her fifteen-year crusade to save her genius brother-in-law Vincent from obscurity.

In the tradition of The Paris Bookseller and Her Hidden Genius, the story of a real woman overshadowed in history by the giant talent she saved, Vincent van Gogh.

How did a failed belligerent Dutch painter become one of the greatest artists of our time?

In 1891, timid Jo van Gogh Bonger lives safely in the background of her art dealer husband Theo’s passionate work to sell unknown artists, especially his ill-fated dead brother Vincent. When Theo dies unexpectedly, Jo’s brief happiness is shattered. Her inheritance—hundreds of unsold paintings by Vincent—is worthless. Pressured to move to her parents’ home, Jo defies tradition, opening a boarding house to raise her infant son alone, and choosing to promote Vincent’s art herself. But her ingenuity and persistence draw the powerful opposition of a Parisian art dealer who vows to stop her once and for all, and so sink Vincent into obscurity.

Saving Vincent reveals there was more than one genius in the Van Gogh family.

Love and Art: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Saved Vincent van Gogh

Based on a true story, Jo van Gogh, a timid widow, takes on the male-dominated art elite to save her brother-in-law Vincent’s art from obscurity. She must prove that the hundreds of worthless paintings she inherited are world-class to ensure her young son will have an inheritance.

Saving Vincent, A Novel of Jo van Gogh, begins at a tragic turning point.

Jo’s One True Love her art dealer husband, Theo, is dead. She is expected to return to Amsterdam to live under her father’s roof with a one-year-old baby., a little boy they’d assumed would be one of many children.

She is a young widow. Only 28 years old, married just 21 months, before Theo dies from a brain disease in an asylum.

This biographical historical novel traces the true story of Jo’s abrupt rejection to traditional expectations that she return to her father’s home. Instead, she chooses another path.

It’s a path that will profoundly impact not just her but future generations of art lovers.

She decides to open a boarding house in Bussum, a small town southwest of Amsterdam, where her childhood best friend lives. Along with personal items, she ships twenty-seven crates filled with Van Gogh paintings to her new home. For upon Theo’s death, all of Vincent van Gogh’s artwork—hundreds of paintings, drawings and lithographs—now belong to her and their son. The little guy will be able to claim his half at of the inheritance at age 25.

There’s just one problem.

The legacy is virtually worthless.

A Worthless Inheritance: The Van Gogh Paintings No One Wanted

In 1891, despite Theo’s dedicated patronage of Vincent’s work—providing financial, emotional and commercial representation to his brother for a decade—very few Van Gogh paintings have been sold. Except for an inside crowd of other artists and a few art critic,s Vincent is unknown.

Just as app developers flock to Silicon Valley to make their fortunes today, so in the late 19^th century, artists from across Europe mobbed Paris to try to be discovered.

Vincent is one of thousands.

Anonymous and insignificant.

Yet, despite these circumstances, Jo chooses to champion Vincent’s artwork on her own. It would take fifteen years of diligent effort before she would ultimately succeed in saving Vincent from certain obscurity. As it turned out, her success impacted not just for her son’s inheritance, but ultimately decades of devoted fans around the world.

Her decision was audacious, but it also raises a question. Jo grew up in the Netherlands, far from the glittery Louvre-like art-gallery avenues of Paris and its intense art scene. She never went to art school and had no formal training in the arts nor experience in business.

Without this background, how could she have been so certain that Vincent’s artwork was worth fighting for? Especially when the authoritative art establishment at the time felt vehemently otherwise.

This was a question I confronted again and again as I researched and wrote my novel.

On the surface, Jo’s background carries no clues: Sheltered upbringing. Elementary school teacher. Then in marriage, a full-time wife and mother behind the scenes as her art dealer husband, Theo, earned their livelihood.

Yet, against powerful naysayers, she believed in Vincent’s genius.

Initially hesitant, she became more confident in her convictions.

For it turns out she was uncommonly qualified.

The Making of a Champion: Jo’s Unique Preparation

Let me share three influences that prepared Jo to become Vincent’s champion.

The Language of Emotion

Jo grew up in a family of amateur musicians. On Sundays the family would gather in their salon to play concerts together. When Jo was 28, her family began hosting large musical soirees. Although the Bonger family was middle class, there was no scrimping on music lessons and musical instruments. All the children played: Jo and her sisters, Lien and Mien, played the piano. Older brother Henri loved the cello; younger brother Wim took up the violin while a third sister, Betsy, sang. Throughout Jo’s childhood the family went on outings to the theatre and concerts. Music was so integral that within the three teaching degrees Jo earned a biographer claimed she had the equivalence of a college degree in music.

Music and art appreciation are similar in drawing emotions and meaning from the ethereal. In a letter to his brother Vincent would write that those looking at art must look “beyond the paint.” Jo grew up in an environment that focused on listening and playing for meaning beyond the notes. I believe that appreciating art uses the same sensibility as appreciating music.

Jo’s study of music prepared her to be confident in championing Vincent’s art.

Words of Wisdom

After Jo and Theo became engaged, they had to live apart for four months prior to their marriage. Jo stayed in her parents’ home in Amsterdam, while Theo returned to Paris.

During this period, they poured out their hearts in a torrent of love letters. In addition to the sweet preparations of creating a home (Theo’s hunt for a new apartment, a list of household wedding gifts, tender explorations of what each wanted in a marriage), the two new fiancés carried on a dialogue about art. Jo asked questions; Theo answered. Theo shared his frustrations with the cutthroat art business, his interpretation of other artists’ work (like Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet) and above all, thoughts about Vincent.

Letter writing can have an intimacy that a face-to-face conversation may not. It’s less intimidating to open one’s heart and to be vulnerable on the page when distance buffers embarrassment. Jo and Theo wrote to each other nearly every day. Within the letters, I saw that Theo was unwittingly teaching and mentoring Jo.

As I read the 101-letter correspondence, I made lists of the topics they covered. Art dominated their sharing.

A Front Row Seat

After their marriage, Jo and Theo settled into a newlywed routine. Theo would go out to his art dealership in Paris’ Montmartre district each morning and return home exhausted. In their previous letters and tender sharing of what they wanted in marriage, Theo expressed a longing for a confidante to help share his burdens.

I imagined that Jo’s gentle ministering would have helped him unwind the frustrations of the day. He shared insights on the art trade, lessons learned from a failed exhibition and how to make the next one better. All of these and more would be nuggets of knowledge Jo would remember and draw from in the future.

Yet, I imagined something even more influential. When Jo and Theo married, Vincent was in the south of France living in an asylum near the town of St Remy. As he recovered from his mental breakdown, he began to paint. He also wrote to Theo obsessively, several times a week. After painting and drying several paintings, he would roll up the canvasses and send them to Theo by train.

Picture what it must have been like when Vincent’s art and letters arrived. I thought of Theo unfurling the burlap and pulling out the paintings one by one. With Jo at his side as he examined the newly arrived paintings, Theo would have expounded on each one. And when the letters arrived, no doubt he instantly tore them open. Perhaps reading them aloud.

Two things happened in these exchanges: Jo would have witnessed Theo’s devotion to his brother, and she would have heard his professional assessment and commentary. The combination created an unintentional training.

Jo’s uncommon circumstances gave her an uncommon preparation to become Vincent’s champion despite objections by the art elite status quo.

Ultimately, she would prove them wrong.

Vincent van Gogh Legacy Still Relevant Today

January 19, 2025, was the National Gallery in London’s last day for their exhibit: “Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers.” The 18-week exhibition attracted nearly 335,000 visitors: it’s largest attendance ever.

Three multi-media Van Gogh immersive events have attracted millions: Van Gogh Alive: More than 8 million people in 70 cities worldwide; Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience: More than 900,000 visitors in 8 cities; and Beyond Van Gogh: More than 650,000 visitors.

Behind Van Gogh’s enormous and enduring shadow is Jo, a tenacious woman who dared defy the art elite status quo of her day to preserve Vincent’s legacy.

Saving Vincent reveals there was more than one genius in the Van Gogh family.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Vincent-Novel-van-Gogh/dp/164742870X

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Vincent-Novel-van-Gogh-ebook/dp/B0D7WBYZ97

Meet Joan Fernandez

Joan Fernandez is a novelist who brings to light courageous women’s brilliant deeds in history. She is a former senior marketing executive and general partner of the financial powerhouse Edward Jones. In 2018, she retired from a 30+ year career to be a full-time writer. Since leaving the corporate world, she’s become a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Author’s Guild, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). In April 2020, she founded a Historical Fiction affinity group within WFWA that grew from a handful of people to nearly two hundred authors. Her short story, “A Parisian Daughter,” was published in the American Writing Award-winning anthology, “Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women.” Joan’s debut novel, “Saving Vincent” (She Writes Press), was also recognized by the American Writing Awards, winning their 2024 art award.

Joan is a sought-after public speaker, recently presenting “Top 10 Secrets for Forming a Vibrant, Lasting Author Community” at the Historical Novel Society UK Conference in May 2024. She also presented “How to Portray the Past Truthfully without Harm” at the Tenth Anniversary Conference for WFWA in September 2023.

Additional memberships include the Missouri Writers Guild, Unite Against Book Bans, Right to Read Coalition and PEN America.

Joan calls both St. Louis, Missouri and Sedona, Arizona, home, where she enjoys foodie meals with her Cuban husband and antics with grandkids.