5 comments about Vincent Van Gogh, Painted with Words: The Letters to Emile Bernard.

1. An excellent addition to the library of anyone with a serious interest in Vincent van Gogh, or for that matter Emile Bernard.
   
   In 1996 I enjoyed reading the selected letters of van Gogh, a gifted writer, in a book edited by Ronald De Leeuw. This current effort has a more narrow focus but is greatly enhanced by the fine selection of accompanying artwork. The explanatory chapter notes are superb.
   
   Its editors and the Morgan Library should win prizes for this scholarly work.



2. A friend of many Impressionists, Vincent van Gogh stands alone among artists, beloved, admired and respected by millions. While many of his paintings are familiar to us, this beautiful volume offers insights into his thinking, his cretaive process, and his life. The letters presented herein were written between December 1887 and November 1889 to his younger friend and colleague, Emile Bernard. These epistles are priceless as they focus to a great extent on artistic questions and, at the same time reveal a man blessed with a unique style and plagued by doubts.
   
   Letters in this volume are numbered from 1 to 22. Facsimiles of all are presented. With these we are privy to the artist's apparent disregard for apostrophes and his cavalier use of capital letters. A joy and privilege to see the writing in his own script, complete with drawings and crossed out words.
   
   Following the facsimiles one finds the letters printed in the original French along with transcriptions. Also included are generous full color reproductions of paintings by van Gogh and Bernard, many of which are discussed in the epistles as van Gogh both criticized and praised the younger artist. What comes through very clearly in the correspondence is the depth of friendship the two men shared.
   
   Van Gogh's last letter was written mere months before he took his own life.
   Vincent van Gogh Painted with Words is a volume to be read, reread, studied, and treasured. It contributes immeasurably to our understanding of this troubled genius.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   - Gail Cooke



3. As a writer, I found this book very much of a revelation. Why? Simply put, Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) was a prolific writer of letters. He wrote hundreds of brilliant letters to fellow artists, friends and his brother, Theo. Much of a persons character, thoughts, likes and dislikes, loves and hates, fears and loneliness can be found in letters. Both the darkness and the light of the soul come through in personal letters as they are often inner directed as much as directed to the receiver.
   
   Many of these letters tell the story of life. They give us a glimpse of the ideas behind his art. They seem to prove that he was very much in his right mind and that he was not suffering from any sort of mental disability as some have thought.
   
   The letters written to the French painter, Emile Bernard (1868-1941), who was twenty-years-old in 1888, are of great significance. In these, the artists share ideas when van Gogh was working in Arles in the South of France.
   
   This is a very fine work. It's interesting reading and seems to bring the characters to life.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   - Susanna K. Hutcheson



4. The 22 letters written by Van Gogh to French painter Emile Bernard, in which he almost exclusively discusses the subject of painting with a fellow artist, are the subject of this beautiful volume which accompanies an exhibition of the letters at the Pierpont Morgan library in NYC. Each of the letters is reproduced through a high-quality facsimile and also translated into English. Many works Van Gogh alludes to in those letters are also reproduced and every letter is carefully annotated which helps the reader understand the many references the artist cites as sources of inspiration to his work.
   
   This is a groundbreaking publication that gives the reader invaluable insights into Van Gogh thoughts and working methods and comes as a perfect complement to the already published correspondence of the artist with his brother and dealer Theo. The letters to Bernard are more spontaneous because they were written by an artist to another artist and the introduction of the book explains this very well.
   
   Highly recommended.



5. ..in fact, in my entire library, one of the best. I read it before viewing the exhibition. The facsimiles of the letters are as good as seeing them in person. Art and letter lovers alike will cherish this book!

No comments about Van Gogh: 30 Postcards / Postkarten / Cartes Postales (Postcardbooks).

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No comments about The Life and Work of Vincent Van Gogh (A Compilation of Works from the Bridgeman Art Library).

2 comments about Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South.

1. Collaborative conservators and Art Institute of Chicago curators Douglas Druick and Peter Zegers have drawn upon the rich, scholarly literature, letters and writings, and new technical investigations focused on the artists Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, to present the most thorough, comprehensive, and insightful exploration of the Arles period to date. Landscapes and portraits painted in tandem by these two outstanding artists, their responses to each other, work together to envision vigorous dialogue occasioned by their strong personalities. Here presented for art students are fresh perspectives on Van Gogh and Gauguin's best-known works, as well as some of the more obscure aspects of their lives and their world. The informative, 424 page text is enhanced with 475 illustrations (300 of which are in full color). No personal, academic, or community library collection on the history of western art can be considered complete without the inclusion of Van Gogh And Gauguin: The Studio Of The South. This superb art history and analysis is also available in a hardcover format (Thames & Hudson, 0500510547, ...).



2. "Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South" is a great and rare achievement, since it captures the atmosphere of artists lives as no other book or film has done in the past, being magnificently precise in details and facts, yet sensitive to the personal aesthetic visions of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Armed with wonderful maps, charts, photographs and documents the authors explore the "geography" of artistic process and communication between two men. I kept going to the exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, and back to consult the book: they acted as an artwork in time and space, yet an object on the table - all at once. This book has finally answered lots of questions, and most importantly - it has made two artists and their visions closer to us as never before.

1 comments about Van Gogh's Flowers.

1. the book was very informative and gave the writers view of the painters personality and how it affected his work. i would recommend it to beginners and veterans in the world of art.

No comments about Lust for Life - The Novel of Vincent Van Gogh by Irving Stone 1934.

5 comments about Van Gogh: His Life and His Art.

1. I read just about every biography of Vincent van Gogh I can get my hands on, and this is by far one of if not the best I've ever come across. David Sweetman writes with a thoughful consideration to the life of Vincent beyond the popular label of a "mad genius" and delves into the soul of this brilliant man. Vincent was a generous, loving human being with such capacity for giving that he bewildered those around him, that he was mistaken as insane, and cast aside. Mr. Sweetman does not dwell uneccesarily on the events which biographers today are so captivated by-the ear thing, the Gauguin thing, etc. This was a man who tried to find his place in the world as a not just a painter, but hopefully a husband and father, as well. This book brings to light the devotion of Theo, and, after Vincent's and her husband's deaths, the devotion of Jo. The surprising friendship of Signac, and the not so surprising mental instability of the Dr. Gachet. It is a shame that this book is out print, because it is a fascinating read for not only lovers of Vincent, for readers of biographies in general. It is well worth the search.



2. The review above is absolutely right. This is one of the best biographies of Van Gogh out there. Sweetman's approach is thoughtful and well researched. This biography has proven to be an invaluable reference for my own Van Gogh research. I hope that the publisher of this book will consider reprinting it. It's a real shame that Sweetman's excellent book isn't easily available to anyone interested in Vincent van Gogh's life and art.



3. If you want to know Vincent... this is the best book out there. Sweetman is thorough and empathetic and like the Don McLean song, lovingly writes through Vincent's eyes.



4. I read this book several years ago and it taught me so much about art, life, love and passion that Sweetman's biography resonates in me still. Vincent is the most famous artist on the planet today and so much has been written about him. But David Sweetman really took the time to update so much information - just as he did in Gauguin's biography - that you learn so much more by reading this book. I recommend it to everyone who wants to understand about mental illness and all the stigma that goes with it. Vincent was very brave to rise above his pain and blessed the world with so much beauty and colour. This text refers to the hardcover book.



5. Out of curiosity I started reading Van Gogh's abridged letters (Dear Theo) and got confused who the main characters were in his life. So I bought this biog on a whim . . . and couldn't put it down. I even cried at the end. Sweetman is a terrific writer. He helped me figure out not only the difference between "K" and "Cent" and "Sein" and the artists he hung with and the Doctors who attended him off and on throughout his tortured life, but Sweetman helped me make sense of impressionism and post impressionism, the "solon" system which made the independent galleries so radical (and necessary) and much more. Despite the inclusion of great photos of many of Van Gogh's drawings and paintings, like the letters, this book is best read if one has a picture collection close by so one knows what painting is being discussed. Interestingly, VVG chronicled his life in such detail that biographers like Sweetman can easily track his whereabouts for nearly all of his 37 years. Sweetman distills the 600+ letters in which VVG ruminated to his brother Theo about art, women, religion, poverty, color, what the grass looked like after a rain, etc etc etc. Great job, Sweetman! Thank you.

1 comments about Vincent Van Gogh: A Biography.

1. I just finished this excellent biography this afternoon. After reading Stone's Lust for Life, I was curious to read a regular biography about Van Gogh. This is not exactly a "regular" biography, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. Meier-Graefe blurs the line between historical fiction and biographical nonfiction. The result is really fantastic. I felt like I got a sense of Van Gogh's tortured soul, his complex relationships (with his brother, with Gauguin..), and how it all worked together to create his art.

No comments about THE LETTERS OF VINCENT VAN GOGH.