Van Gogh in Arles

by Ronald Pickvance

Vincent van Gogh spent fifteen months in Arles in the south of France, from February 1888 to May 1889; his production during this time marks the zenith in the development of his art. This is the first major exhibition to be devoted to van Gogh’s stay in Arles. It affords the opportunity to participate in his artistic journey during this extraordinarily focused and prolific period. This volume was published in conjunction with this exhibition, held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 18 October - 30 December 1984. [From the Foreword]

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Biography, Visual Art, Biography Memoir, France

271 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2010

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

van Gogh lived in Arles from 20 Feb 1888 until 8 May 1889. During these ~15 months he produced ~200 paintings, >100 drawings/watercolors, and wrote ~200 letters. The vast majority survive, sustaining a pace that no other artist of the nineteenth century could match.

This was the zenith/climax of van Gogh's decade worth of artistic activity. Paul Gauguin stayed with van Gogh during 2 months in this period.

I appreciate the few maps in here, to help me visualize the layout of Arles' major sites. Why Arles, in the far south of France? It rivaled Marseilles, and was called the Rome of Gaul. When van Gogh left Paris in Feb 1888, he was escaping from the rigors of a particularly hard winter. This had added to the already low state of van Gogh's health, induced by excessive smoking and drinking. He hoped the South would provide sun and warmth, add restorative walks, and some solitude. But even Arles started out cold for the first few weeks.

I liked these first 32 pages that talk about inner-van Gogh thoughts at the time, by extracting lots of direct quotes from letters.
Topics:
- The town, monuments, museums
- The people of Arles
- The landscape (Sun, color, light)

haha here as I read van Gogh write: I am in need of a book - "The ABCD of Drawing", by A. Cassagne. I asked for it in the bookshop here, and after waiting a fortnight, they told me that they must have the name of the publisher ., which I do not know. I'd be very grateful if you could send it to me.

- The Yellow House
- Montmajour
- The Camargue and the Crau

Then 6 pages on his health.

This book is dominated by the final (pgs 32-272) catalogue of excellent prints. These are nicely in order by date. I really like reading older art books, where the book itself is NOT done in it's own overly artistic manner. This is a simple layout. Prints with lots of text.

For each section of print/years, there are excerpts from day-to-day diary entries stating what van Gogh did on those days. You really feel like you are walking beside him, somewhat.

I'm very happy to own this book.

Solid 5*

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoyed Van Gogh's work, but never truly understood nor identified myself with his art. After visiting Arles, France this spring and understanding HOW GORGEOUS this village/city is - I needed to read more about his time in Arles. I myself fell for Arles.

This entire book is compiled of letters either written by Vincent to his brother Theo,other family members, and his friends and fellow painters such as Gauguin, Emile Bernard and others. It is a historical and well documented 15 months story of Van Gogh's time living in Arles, France and painting. It documents his anxieties, illnesses, paintings, relationship to his brother Theo, and the everyday struggles of adapting to a new area. I really enjoyed learning more about Van Gogh's paintings and the background and planning that went into each individual painting.

It is amazing to read his views and detailed description of color, and his perceptions of ideas and surroundings. Van Gogh is a very passionate artist who struggled with his artistic passions and real life expectations. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a well documented 15 months stay in Arles, which gives you a great understanding who Vincent Van Gogh was.

I am intrigued and am waiting impatiently to receive the "Yellow House" another book on the times in Arles, which apparently focuses more on the 9 weeks of Gauguin and Van Gogh communal living situation.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this decades ago because I had been into VanGogh and it was a great intro to his work from this key period. Uses Theo-Vincent letters and an array of his work,so it's fascinating and wonderful. I had recently read Barbara Stok's comic biography, which seems to use much of the same materials, so I liked going back to it again. Great art, great stories.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book accompanied a 1984 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nice book. Since this exhibit has taken place there has been considerable further research done on the works van Gogh created during this period so I wouldn't say it's the most valued source of information regarding his time in Arles - but definitely an interesting read and nice presentation of a good portion of his Arles paintings and drawings. A few key pieces are missing - most notably, the Sunflowers series and his Night Cafe (outside view). I liked how the book broke up this period into a few sections - each section beginning with a timeline summarizing what occurred over a few months and then afterwards presenting the works van Gogh created during that same period. Nice reprints of the paintings and drawings as well.

[Laura]

You may read online at MetMuseum

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough treatment of this crucial period in Van Gogh’s life, scholarly but written in lay language. Excellent illustrations, most in full color. Lots of attention to the artist’s letters, which are keyed to the old 3 volume set, since the online letters appeared at a later date.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this very slowly, one page at a time. It made me get to know van Gogh, and love and appreciate him and his art even more.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, along with Van Gogh in Saint-Remy and Auvers, are good reference books that are still accessible to the lay person interested in art, combining Van Gogh's famous letters and some art criticism and interpretation and context to Van Gogh's work in the era. With the advances in color printing, the pictures illustrations now seem faded, but there are enough websites that carry catalogue raisionné's of Van Gogh's works that one can find better colors illustration online to supplement the reading.