Vincent van Gogh: A Self-Portrait in Art and Letters

by Vincent van Gogh, H. Anna Suh (Editor), Alayne Pullen (Translator)

Throughout his life, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) wrote hundreds of letters, many to his brother Theo. Theo acted as patron, agent, and sounding board to the artist whose life was fraught with poverty, a struggle for recognition, and alternating fits of madness and lucidity. Van Gogh also corresponded with other family members and fellow artists, including his dear friends Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard. His letters, originally collected by Theo’s wife, Johanna, exhibit Van Gogh’s genius, his depth of observation, and his feelings in their most naked form.

In Vincent Van Gogh these letters have been excerpted, newly translated, and set side-by-side with more than 250 of his drawings and paintings. Van Gogh’s words and art illuminate each other and reveal a portrait of the artist as never seen before. The commentary of H. Anna Suh frames Van Gogh’s work and puts his art, letters, life, and struggles into rich context. The result is this timeless jewel of a collection, unlike any other Van Gogh book that has gone before.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2006

About the author

Vincent Willem van Gogh, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland. The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness. He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are somber-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "The Potato Eaters" (1885). In that year van Gogh went to Antwerp where he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints.

In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists. His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health. He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art. Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. In a fit of epilepsy, van Gogh pursued his friend with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.

In May of 1890, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Two months later he was dead, having shot himself "for the good of all." During his brief career he had sold one painting. Van Gogh's finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brushstroke, in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line. Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.

Reviews

[Stephanie McGuirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was mostly a relaxing, inspiring collection for me. Vincent's passion was so strong. He worked so damn hard. Most of the letters are very mundane, describing the art he is working on in detail (hence, relaxing to read). But he does express many interesting thoughts and feelings too.

I appreciated the outside context added in throughout. It was very helpful because Vincent didn't write much about life events in the letters. It's clear that the recipients didn't need much context, and that he didn't foresee anyone else reading the letters. This also isn't a complete collection, and some letters have been cropped.

Don't be intimidated by the size of the book. It is half pictures. The picture quality is excellent. It was so cool to see Vincent's progression over time, and to see the works as he was describing them. It was organized very well.

[Rob Corder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shocking book that tries to align the letters with the finished paintings and drawings that Van Gogh was working on during his voluminous letter writing. His letters are gorgeous to see and the ink sketches are pure genius. Breathtaking paintings, with his own narrative which in hindsight seem so humble and tragic.

95% of the illustrated work comes from Amsterdam.

I was always troubled by the Dear Theo letters, by not having a visual reference to his work. This solves the issue and is a delight to pour over.

[Colette]

I bought this book in the bookstore without hesitation. If one would like to know Van Gogh better, this is the one book to buy.

In my opinion, this is not the kind of book that you should finish reading as soon as possible. I've been pretending that I actually received these letters, and reading no more than five of them a day. Therefore, I don't need to remember too much information at one time. And there would be enough time to savour.

[Kim Neve]

I just picked this up at Half Price Books yesterday, and I am very glad that I did! It combines Van Gogh's letters to Theo with his sketches. Copies of the original letters are interspersed throughout, and translated on the page. The letters, sketches, and prints of his paintings are also grouped chronologically.

[Faz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top 3 things about this book that really reach out to me:

1. The letters, laid side-by-side with his drawings, really brought his thought process to life. It was as if he could really taste every thought.

2. The translations of his letters were thoughtful. They really conveyed how empathetic he was.

3. I think it must have been really noisy in his head, back then.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very worthy read. Many things I did not know about Van Gogh, and so much more interesting come from his own words (translated). Just FYI, it is an oversize book, so don't plan on reading it on the train!

[Vera]

The letters written by Vincent van Gogh are a part of Art History. The illustrations of his works include many not seen by the general public and are excellent in quality.