A WORD ABOUT TUSSENVOEGSELS

His name is Vincent van Gogh. Yet one might also refer to him as Van Gogh. Why is the "van" capitalized in one and not the other? Well, "Van" is a tussenvoegsel. It is a word that is in between the person's first and last names. In this case, "van" means "from."

According to Dutch usage, the "van" is never capitalized when it is preceded by a first name or initial. Thus, you have Vincent van Gogh. The "Van" is capitalized when it starts a sentence or if you are only using the last part of the artist's name. For example, "It is said that Van Gogh cut off his own ear." Or, "Van Gogh cut off his own ear."

I have used these conventions in our story.