BBC Radio 4

Van Gogh conveyed his genius through his painting, but less well known is his writing. A keen and expressive correspondent who regaled acquaintances with his views on love, religion and sex, he put pen to paper with the same creative vigour as he put paintbrush to canvas. By the time he walked into a field in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise and shot himself in the chest, the 37-year-old Van Gogh had left behind a rich literary legacy that would, like his painting, outlive his short and tortured life. Richard Cork is an avid admirer of the work of Van Gogh. As a student, he gained a powerful sense of the artist's mind through a small collection of letters he read, and this has remained with him for forty years. In this programme, he immerses us in the thoughts and preoccupations of one of the most expressive visual artists of all time, through connecting his paintings with his letters.