Vincent Van Gogh in one of several self-portraits of him
The great Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh died on 29 July 1890 , aged only 37, due to the consequences of a chest injury that he himself, a few days earlier, had procured in a suicide attempt failed.
This at least the official version of the premature death of the artist, who in effect told the doctor that he tried to save him, that he had shot himself.
In the course of the following decades, no doubt ever overshadowed this exposition of the facts, judged more than plausible, and perhaps even taken for granted, in reference to a severely depressed (and ill-treated) man, who had already tried several times before then. take your own life.
In the recent biography Van Gogh:the life however, released in 2011 by Random House, the authors Steven Naifech and Gregory Smith , completely overturned the aforementioned thesis, asserting that it was, in reality, murder, although quite accidental; according to what they reconstructed, in fact, Vincent, who went to the French countryside to paint as he always did, was wounded by a gunshot fired by mistake from the weapon of René Secrétan , a sixteen year old who liked to shoot animals.
It was clearly a tragic accident and Van Gogh, to prevent the young man from being prosecuted, accused himself.
The proof?
It would be found in the corner bullet entry , oblique and not straight, therefore incompatible with a self-procured shot.