The Van Gogh Deception
Written by Deron R. Hicks

Publisher’s Summary:
When a young boy is discovered in Washington, DC’s National Gallery of Art without any recollection of who he is, he must piece together the disjointed clues of his origins while using his limited knowledge to stop one of the greatest art frauds ever attempted.

Primary Source Pairing:
The Van Gogh Deception is an exciting read from the first to the last page. The mystery of the identity of a discovered young boy with amnesia is as intriguing as an interesting piece of art. With QR codes in the text to view famous pieces of art, The Van Gogh Deception provides visual literacy extensions that enhance the reading experience and create a full multimodal learning opportunity for readers. For this primary source pairing, invite students to study the piece of art that is central to the plot of the story: the 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh titled The Park at Arles with the Entrance Seen Through the Trees. According to the Author’s Note, the original painting passed through various owners before it was probably destroyed in a fire during World War II. Today only the black and white image of the painting exists. Fortunately a letter from van Gogh to his brother Theo describes his use of color in detail. An additional primary source pairing includes inviting students to study one of van Gogh’s letters to his brother about another painting titled The Potato Eaters.

Questions for Discussion for The Park at Arles with the Entrance Seen Through the Trees:

• Describe what you see.
• What do you notice first?
• What people and objects are shown?
• How are they arranged?
• What is the physical setting?
• What’s happening in the image?
• What tools were used to create this?
• How does the letter from van Gogh in the Author’s Note section of the book describe the color he used in the painting?
• Does learning about the color allow you to visualize the painting differently?
• Make a connection to something you see in the painting to something you read in the book The Van Gogh Deception.

Questions for Discussion for van Gogh’s letter to his brother Theo:

• Describe what you see.
• What do you notice first?
• How much of the text can you read? What does it say?
• What do you see that looks strange or unfamiliar?
• How are the words arranged?
• What do you notice about the page the writing appears on?
• What do you see on the page besides writing?
• What other details can you see?
• What do you think was happening when it was created?
• What tools and materials were used to create it?
• What can you learn from examining this?
• If someone created something like this today, what would be different?
• What would be the same?
• How does studying this letter help you understand van Gogh?
• What questions do you have when you study this letter?
• Make a connection to something you see in the letter to something  you read in the book The Van Gogh Deception.

Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
The Park at Arles with the Entrance Seen Through the Trees, painting by Vincent van Gogh, 1888: www.vangoghgallery.com
Letter from Vincent Van Gogh to Theo Van Gogh 9 April 1885: Wikimedia Commons