Unlocking ‘Van Gogh code’

A Laguna Beach art professor thinks he has discovered the true origins of Vincent Van Gogh’s greatest masterpiece.

William J. Havlicek, a professor at the Laguna College of Art & Design, provides insight into what inspired Van Gogh to paint “The Starry Night.”

Havlicek’s book, “Van Gogh’s Untold Journey” reveals how “The Starry Night” is connected to Victor Hugo novel, “Les Miserables.”

According to Havlicek, Van Gogh wrote letters that made numerous references to Bishop Bienvenu. The bishop was a “Les Miserables” character who played a prominent role in “The Starry Night.” The painting is a visualization of a passage from “Les Miserables” where Bishop Bienvenu stands alone, comparing his own serenity to the serenity of the night skies.

“There’s no question that Van Gogh got his idea from it because he made references to the bishop and he made references to the content of ‘Les Miserables,’” Havlicek said. “There’s the actual title of Van Gogh’s painting right there: ‘The Starry Night.’ And if you read this paragraph, he’s describing the painting perfectly. He’s describing stars. He’s describing the moon that Van Gogh had.”

Havlicek also exposes Van Gogh’s love for authors such as Charles Dickens. He compares an illustration of Charles Dickens empty chair in an 1870 issue of “The Graphic” to Van Gogh’s painting, “Vincent’s Chair with his Pipe.”

“Van Gogh was actually inspired to do a whole series of empty chairs himself, having to do with when we lose a major moral force,” Havlicek said.

Havlicek spent nearly 15 years writing his book, which includes his doctoral research from Claremont Graduate University on Van Gogh. He sometimes had to talk with Dutch and French speakers to make sure he was translating Van Gogh’s letters correctly.

“For instance, I wanted to see how he was using the word ‘terrible,’ the French use of the word terrible,” Havlicek said. “He said, ‘The resemblance is terrible, I think.’ Basically, he said, it was unbelievable. It isn’t terrible like you would say frightening, you know. It was more like, you wouldn’t believe how much this looks like father.”

Havlicek said his graduate studies in philosophy, art history and theology prepared him to thoroughly research Van Gogh, who was a very intelligent artist.

“Most people have a hard time believing he was very skilled in many ways,” Havlicek said. “So when I approached him in an interdisciplinary way I didn’t realize at that time that that was a very brilliant thing to do. I’m not gonna give myself the credit for it. I said, ‘Praise the Lord for that,’ because I just ended up in the right place in the right time with the right people who saw the potential of this and said, ‘You know, this could end up being a really interesting book.’”

Half of the proceeds will be donated to Progeny, a program for the rescue, safety, treatment and rehabilitation of exploited and endangered children, Havlicek said.

The book is available at bookstores and at www.WilliamHavlicek.com.