March 18, 2026 • 7 mins
Van Gogh didn't find fame or financial success during his life. But after he died, his widowed sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, worked for decades to bring his life and work to the spotlight. Learn more about her in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/johanna-van-gogh-bonger.htm
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff.
Lauren Bogelbaum here. Even knowing a little about Vincent van Gogh,
it's still astonishing that he sold only a few paintings
during his lifetime, and for small sums of money or
barters to keep himself afloat. Today there are traveling interactive
(00:25):
exhibits that promise to immerse you in his words and works.
The area where he grew up in the Netherlands is
a national park. There are many pieces of music and
films inspired by him. There's an episode of Doctor Who
about his struggle with mental health and aliens, and someone
once gave me a t shirt that features Yonkat riding
a pop tart through the starry night. When his works
(00:49):
do come up for auction today they fetch tens of
millions of dollars apiece, from famed paintings like Sunflowers and
Cafe Terrace at Night to a litany of self portraits.
Vincent Willem Vango's portfolio is overwhelming and brilliant, but fame
and success have always been fickle, and vengo had a
(01:09):
number of odds stacked against him. He experienced debilitatingly poor
mental and physical health. It's mostly impossible to make real
diagnoses today, but experts have extended hypotheses from epilepsy to
borderline personality disorder to lead poisoning. Whatever he faced, it
didn't make it easy for him to market himself. He
(01:31):
actually worked in the art scene for a time. He
had a day job as an art dealer, but that
might have been a mark against him too. For the
article this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke
by email with Nadine Granoff, a fine art appraiser. She said,
we get the impression that Vincent did not excel at sales.
He was a failure as an art dealer at Goupeel,
(01:53):
a fine art dealer. It is said Vincent was fired
from Goupeel for not being sufficiently cordial to clients. He
probably seemed a bit eccentric in the world of commerce,
so that could have burned bridges and turned potential buyers
off to his own works in the short term and
in the longer term. He may not have lived long
(02:15):
enough to see his career bloom. He died of what's
generally agreed to be suicide at age thirty seven at
the time in eighteen ninety. He was just a couple
of years into receiving some increased recognition amongst the avant garde,
an inclusion in some exhibits in Paris and Brussels. So
how did this now iconic painter become iconic enter His
(02:40):
sister in law, One Johanna Vango Bonger, better known as
Yo Yo, only became part of the Vango family in
eighteen eighty nine, shortly before Vincent's death. Born in eighteen
sixty two, Yo worked as an English teacher at two
different girls schools before her marriage to Vincent's beloved brother Tayoh. Tragically,
(03:02):
Tao died just six months after Vincent. Tao had complications
from syphilis. Yo was left with their newborn son and
a sizable art collection from Vincent, and that is when
she decided to pursue Tao's wishes. Hastuffworks also spoke via
email with Hans Luton, a senior researcher at the Vango Museum.
(03:24):
He said Tao wanted nothing more than to raise the
profile of his brother's work. Yo assumed responsibility for Vango's
artistic legacy from eighteen ninety one up to her death.
She dedicated herself to raising awareness of Vincent's art and letters,
and of course she loved his work too. Yo worked
(03:45):
extensively to cultivate Vincent's name and interest in his style,
which was no small feat. His work was considered too
modern to be of interest to collectors and buyers, so
she selectively sold his works and inspired writers and art
critics to cover his paintings. She also lent pieces to
prestigious museums and organized countless exhibitions and sales. Latin said
(04:11):
one of Yo's major feats was the organization of a
magisterial exhibition at the Stedlick Museum, at Amsterdam's premier museum
for contemporary art, in nineteen oh five, where she united
no less than four hundred and eighty four of Ango's works.
A Vango exhibition of this magnitude would never again be matched.
All told, between eighteen ninety one and nineteen twenty five,
(04:35):
Yo sold at least one hundred and ninety two of
her brother in law's paintings and fifty five of his
works on paper. She also published Vincent's letters to Tao
in nineteen fourteen. He had written hundreds, most of which
Taeo had kept. These eloquent letters made Vincent more relatable,
increasing his appeal and the public's appreciation for his art.
(04:58):
Experts do believe that Yo n credited out sexual and
family secrets, and unfortunately the conversation is pretty one sided.
Only about forty of Tao's letters to his brother survive.
Granoff said Vincent typically burned any letters he received after
reading them. Outside of promoting Vincent's work, Yeo also fought
(05:20):
for better working conditions for women and laborers as a
member of the Social Democratic Workers Party. Yo Vang Go
Bonger died in nineteen twenty five at the age of
sixty two from Parkinson's disease. All of the works still
in her possession passed to her son, whom they had
named Vincent Villain Vang Go after his uncle. He continued
(05:41):
his mother's life's work and eventually established the Vincent Vango
Foundation and the Vango Museum so that his uncle's pieces
could be accessible to everyone. Tao and Yo's great grandson,
Villain Vang Goh, is currently a board advisor to the museum.
A Latin said, Io Vang Bonger is perhaps not a
household name, but she was a force to be reckoned
(06:03):
with She acted decisively in a world dominated by men.
I am delighted that we are able to tell her
life story in such detail now. Luton wrote a biography
of Yo that was published in collaboration with the Vango
Museum back in twenty nineteen. It's English translation by Lynn
Richards dropped in twenty twenty two. It's called Yo Van
(06:25):
Go Bonger, The Woman who made Vincent Famous. You can
also read Yo's diaries for free online, annotated by Latin
and also translated into English by Richards at Bongerdiaries dot org.
Today's episode is based on the article Meet the Woman
(06:46):
who made Vango Famous on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by
Leah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership
with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff.
Lauren Bogelbaum here. Even knowing a little about Vincent van Gogh,
it's still astonishing that he sold only a few paintings
during his lifetime, and for small sums of money or
barters to keep himself afloat. Today there are traveling interactive
(00:25):
exhibits that promise to immerse you in his words and works.
The area where he grew up in the Netherlands is
a national park. There are many pieces of music and
films inspired by him. There's an episode of Doctor Who
about his struggle with mental health and aliens, and someone
once gave me a t shirt that features Yonkat riding
a pop tart through the starry night. When his works
(00:49):
do come up for auction today they fetch tens of
millions of dollars apiece, from famed paintings like Sunflowers and
Cafe Terrace at Night to a litany of self portraits.
Vincent Willem Vango's portfolio is overwhelming and brilliant, but fame
and success have always been fickle, and vengo had a
(01:09):
number of odds stacked against him. He experienced debilitatingly poor
mental and physical health. It's mostly impossible to make real
diagnoses today, but experts have extended hypotheses from epilepsy to
borderline personality disorder to lead poisoning. Whatever he faced, it
didn't make it easy for him to market himself. He
(01:31):
actually worked in the art scene for a time. He
had a day job as an art dealer, but that
might have been a mark against him too. For the
article this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke
by email with Nadine Granoff, a fine art appraiser. She said,
we get the impression that Vincent did not excel at sales.
He was a failure as an art dealer at Goupeel,
(01:53):
a fine art dealer. It is said Vincent was fired
from Goupeel for not being sufficiently cordial to clients. He
probably seemed a bit eccentric in the world of commerce,
so that could have burned bridges and turned potential buyers
off to his own works in the short term and
in the longer term. He may not have lived long
(02:15):
enough to see his career bloom. He died of what's
generally agreed to be suicide at age thirty seven at
the time in eighteen ninety. He was just a couple
of years into receiving some increased recognition amongst the avant garde,
an inclusion in some exhibits in Paris and Brussels. So
how did this now iconic painter become iconic enter His
(02:40):
sister in law, One Johanna Vango Bonger, better known as
Yo Yo, only became part of the Vango family in
eighteen eighty nine, shortly before Vincent's death. Born in eighteen
sixty two, Yo worked as an English teacher at two
different girls schools before her marriage to Vincent's beloved brother Tayoh. Tragically,
(03:02):
Tao died just six months after Vincent. Tao had complications
from syphilis. Yo was left with their newborn son and
a sizable art collection from Vincent, and that is when
she decided to pursue Tao's wishes. Hastuffworks also spoke via
email with Hans Luton, a senior researcher at the Vango Museum.
(03:24):
He said Tao wanted nothing more than to raise the
profile of his brother's work. Yo assumed responsibility for Vango's
artistic legacy from eighteen ninety one up to her death.
She dedicated herself to raising awareness of Vincent's art and letters,
and of course she loved his work too. Yo worked
(03:45):
extensively to cultivate Vincent's name and interest in his style,
which was no small feat. His work was considered too
modern to be of interest to collectors and buyers, so
she selectively sold his works and inspired writers and art
critics to cover his paintings. She also lent pieces to
prestigious museums and organized countless exhibitions and sales. Latin said
(04:11):
one of Yo's major feats was the organization of a
magisterial exhibition at the Stedlick Museum, at Amsterdam's premier museum
for contemporary art, in nineteen oh five, where she united
no less than four hundred and eighty four of Ango's works.
A Vango exhibition of this magnitude would never again be matched.
All told, between eighteen ninety one and nineteen twenty five,
(04:35):
Yo sold at least one hundred and ninety two of
her brother in law's paintings and fifty five of his
works on paper. She also published Vincent's letters to Tao
in nineteen fourteen. He had written hundreds, most of which
Taeo had kept. These eloquent letters made Vincent more relatable,
increasing his appeal and the public's appreciation for his art.
(04:58):
Experts do believe that Yo n credited out sexual and
family secrets, and unfortunately the conversation is pretty one sided.
Only about forty of Tao's letters to his brother survive.
Granoff said Vincent typically burned any letters he received after
reading them. Outside of promoting Vincent's work, Yeo also fought
(05:20):
for better working conditions for women and laborers as a
member of the Social Democratic Workers Party. Yo Vang Go
Bonger died in nineteen twenty five at the age of
sixty two from Parkinson's disease. All of the works still
in her possession passed to her son, whom they had
named Vincent Villain Vang Go after his uncle. He continued
(05:41):
his mother's life's work and eventually established the Vincent Vango
Foundation and the Vango Museum so that his uncle's pieces
could be accessible to everyone. Tao and Yo's great grandson,
Villain Vang Goh, is currently a board advisor to the museum.
A Latin said, Io Vang Bonger is perhaps not a
household name, but she was a force to be reckoned
(06:03):
with She acted decisively in a world dominated by men.
I am delighted that we are able to tell her
life story in such detail now. Luton wrote a biography
of Yo that was published in collaboration with the Vango
Museum back in twenty nineteen. It's English translation by Lynn
Richards dropped in twenty twenty two. It's called Yo Van
(06:25):
Go Bonger, The Woman who made Vincent Famous. You can
also read Yo's diaries for free online, annotated by Latin
and also translated into English by Richards at Bongerdiaries dot org.
Today's episode is based on the article Meet the Woman
(06:46):
who made Vango Famous on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by
Leah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership
with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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