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Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum
Starry Night is a fascinating, fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy, during which he created some of his most iconic pieces of art.
Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets during his time there. This fascinating and insightful work from arts journalist and Van Gogh specialist Martin Bailey examines his time there, from the struggles that sent him to the asylum, to the brilliant creative inspiration that he found during his time here.
He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
An essential insight into the mind of a flawed genius , Starry Night is indispensable for those who wish to understand the life of one of the most talented and brilliant artists to have put paintbrush to canvas.
Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets during his time there. This fascinating and insightful work from arts journalist and Van Gogh specialist Martin Bailey examines his time there, from the struggles that sent him to the asylum, to the brilliant creative inspiration that he found during his time here.
He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
An essential insight into the mind of a flawed genius , Starry Night is indispensable for those who wish to understand the life of one of the most talented and brilliant artists to have put paintbrush to canvas.
224 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
December 26, 2018
This has been a truly wonderful reading and visual experience, seeing so many of Van Gogh’s most iconic paintings and learning how, and in what circumstances, they were created. The excitement is tempered by also learning more about Van Gogh’s emotional/psychological life, which certainly cost him peace of mind, freedom, health, and ultimately, life.
This book primarily deals with that year at St Paul’s asylum separated into chapters by the type of paintings he created. Van Gogh’s inspirations came primarily from the natural world around him, the town of St Remy, and a few people he saw regularly during the year. His brother Theo sent supplies on request and paintings were sent to Paris for show or sale (though sales were rare).
The discussion of Starry Night led me to enjoy the painting even more. That the Almond branch painting was done for his new godson adds a dimension to Vincent that I was happy to find. His multi-season paintings of the wheatfields are new to me, a wonderful surprise... I don’t believe I had seen them all before.
I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in Van Gogh. It covers the penultimate year of his life and all of the art he created over that time. In addition, it provides some further information on what has happened to these pieces in the intervening years, including some “lost” pieces. There is also a history of St Paul’s hospital itself into the late 20th century. For potential art tourists, there is information on areas of interest around St Paul and St Remy and Arles. For information seekers, there are extensive footnotes and a lengthy bibliography.
The reproductions of Van Gogh’s art work are beautiful. I read this on an iPad and the clarity and color are excellent.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This book primarily deals with that year at St Paul’s asylum separated into chapters by the type of paintings he created. Van Gogh’s inspirations came primarily from the natural world around him, the town of St Remy, and a few people he saw regularly during the year. His brother Theo sent supplies on request and paintings were sent to Paris for show or sale (though sales were rare).
The discussion of Starry Night led me to enjoy the painting even more. That the Almond branch painting was done for his new godson adds a dimension to Vincent that I was happy to find. His multi-season paintings of the wheatfields are new to me, a wonderful surprise... I don’t believe I had seen them all before.
I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in Van Gogh. It covers the penultimate year of his life and all of the art he created over that time. In addition, it provides some further information on what has happened to these pieces in the intervening years, including some “lost” pieces. There is also a history of St Paul’s hospital itself into the late 20th century. For potential art tourists, there is information on areas of interest around St Paul and St Remy and Arles. For information seekers, there are extensive footnotes and a lengthy bibliography.
The reproductions of Van Gogh’s art work are beautiful. I read this on an iPad and the clarity and color are excellent.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
January 21, 2019
A real look at the 12 months of Van Gogh’s 12 in the asylum after he sliced off his ear. The masterpieces he imagined on canvas while periodically suffering through his mental setbacks are incredible. His one mission in life was to be able to continue his art in spite of the voices and thoughts that people were trying to poison him while all along he was the one swallowing his paints in attempts to commit suicide during these episodes at the asylum.
His view of the famous “Starry Night” was that ‘the night sky evokes the eternal, the infinite and life after death.’ He looked toward the heaven for comfort and consolation.
Van Gogh’s beautiful thoughts: ‘Just as we take the train to go to Tarascan or Rouen, we take death to go to a star. While alive, we cannot go to the star anymore than, once dead, we’d be able to take the train.’ And this, ‘illnesses such as cholera and cancer are as celestial means of locomotion’ concluding that to dies peacefully of old age would be to go there on foot. Amazing thoughts.
His art played with motion. Always fluid. The sky’s, the landscapes, even portraits. Sometimes abstract but always in motion. One brush stroke propelling image another image. A wave of color.
Van Gogh likened his determination to create continually and quickly to that of a coal miner, ‘as he is always in danger and makes haste in what he does.’ Comparing his own mental setbacks as the danger to him being able to create when ill.
Two and a half months after leaving the asylum he shot himself in the stomach while in a field with his paints and easel at 37. If only he had lived what other masterpieces he would have gifted us. 🙁
His view of the famous “Starry Night” was that ‘the night sky evokes the eternal, the infinite and life after death.’ He looked toward the heaven for comfort and consolation.
Van Gogh’s beautiful thoughts: ‘Just as we take the train to go to Tarascan or Rouen, we take death to go to a star. While alive, we cannot go to the star anymore than, once dead, we’d be able to take the train.’ And this, ‘illnesses such as cholera and cancer are as celestial means of locomotion’ concluding that to dies peacefully of old age would be to go there on foot. Amazing thoughts.
His art played with motion. Always fluid. The sky’s, the landscapes, even portraits. Sometimes abstract but always in motion. One brush stroke propelling image another image. A wave of color.
Van Gogh likened his determination to create continually and quickly to that of a coal miner, ‘as he is always in danger and makes haste in what he does.’ Comparing his own mental setbacks as the danger to him being able to create when ill.
Two and a half months after leaving the asylum he shot himself in the stomach while in a field with his paints and easel at 37. If only he had lived what other masterpieces he would have gifted us. 🙁
August 17, 2022
Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion, for the advance reading copy.
The book is concise yet it has a lot of information which is amazingly compiled with full illustrations on Van Gogh's days at the Asylum. His works are portrayed with such insights that it is a pleasure to read this book.
The chapters are short. The presentation is really good. You will get to learn more about the artist which I feel we won't find from other sources.
Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion, for the advance reading copy.
The book is concise yet it has a lot of information which is amazingly compiled with full illustrations on Van Gogh's days at the Asylum. His works are portrayed with such insights that it is a pleasure to read this book.
The chapters are short. The presentation is really good. You will get to learn more about the artist which I feel we won't find from other sources.
Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion, for the advance reading copy.
September 13, 2022
This book covers Vincent Van Gogh’s time at the St Paul asylum in Provence. A remarkable amount of work was produced in his just over a year stay including his most famous painting Starry Night. Detailing his health, his work and more, this is an informative read with wonderful illustrations.
October 1, 2018
When you receive the canvases I’ve done in the garden you’ll see that I’m not too melancholy here.
Van Gogh lived at the asylum of Saint Paul from May 1889 to May 1890, just a single year. Here he suffered from different attacks, but he always went outside his chamber to paint and love the nature and the countryside. The works of this period at the asylum are ones of the most known around the world, as Starry Night teach us.
Van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of contemporary art, and he is known not only because of his artistic skill, but also because of various episodes of his life, as the one in which he cut his ear after the “fight“ with Paul Gauguin. This man was one of the most important person to Van Gogh, and for him “our protagonist” painted a lot of “Sunflowers”. They shared an house, really. After the fight, Van Gogh arrived in Saint Remy, the local community in which The asylum is placed.
The author visited this location, a mental hospital nowadays, looking for something that could remember the works of Van Gogh. Some places remained untouched, while others were redone after WWII. The author found a lot of interesting things about this place, such as postcards and photos, memories and stories from the catholic nuns who ruled this asylum until the war. There was also a book of signatures for the asylum-museum, autographed by great painters as Signac, who studied the same locations painted by Van Gogh.
With a fluid writing style, the narrator takes us in a journey through the important year in the life of one of the must famous painters of the world. Divided into sections with different themes and destinations, the book has a lot of beautiful images of high quality, accompanied with good descriptions and interesting notes and explanations. Very good, indeed.
[image error]
Flowers, people, trees, landscapes: all these themes are the main focus of Van Gogh in 1889/1890. Drawings and paintings are beautiful but have a meaning to their author: they gave him happiness, sadness, pleasure, comfort, love.
One of the color binomial in the paintings I love is yellow-blue: Van Gogh adored this formula, which expresses life and contrasting emotions at the same time.
Van Gogh wrote a lot to his brother Theo and we can know his thoughts just because of his postcards and letters from the asylum. These manuscripts are very informative, giving us ideas for the dates of the paintings. The artist loved in the small “alienation” community for a full year, sharing the sufferings of numerous men (18 males, according to the notes of the hospital). He understood the pains and the bad experiences not only because he was one of them, but also because he could see through these human beings with his work, as shown on different portraits of patients and people in the hospital.
The intensity of his artistic skills gave Van Gogh the possibility to escape from the suffering and the indignities in the asylum, giving him purpose. The mental suffering caused inability to paint or draw few times, but didn’t change the power of the works.
Very interesting and well done is the chapter about the most famous paint of Van Gogh, now in New York City, Starry Night. The author explores the hows and the whens and the whats, trying to understand times and themes of this masterpiece. A really enjoying experience, as a reader and as an art history lover. Well done.
I recommend this book to anyone who want to investigate the Van Gogh’s period at the asylum, before his painful death for a gunshot in a field.
* i received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review *
Van Gogh lived at the asylum of Saint Paul from May 1889 to May 1890, just a single year. Here he suffered from different attacks, but he always went outside his chamber to paint and love the nature and the countryside. The works of this period at the asylum are ones of the most known around the world, as Starry Night teach us.
Van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of contemporary art, and he is known not only because of his artistic skill, but also because of various episodes of his life, as the one in which he cut his ear after the “fight“ with Paul Gauguin. This man was one of the most important person to Van Gogh, and for him “our protagonist” painted a lot of “Sunflowers”. They shared an house, really. After the fight, Van Gogh arrived in Saint Remy, the local community in which The asylum is placed.
The author visited this location, a mental hospital nowadays, looking for something that could remember the works of Van Gogh. Some places remained untouched, while others were redone after WWII. The author found a lot of interesting things about this place, such as postcards and photos, memories and stories from the catholic nuns who ruled this asylum until the war. There was also a book of signatures for the asylum-museum, autographed by great painters as Signac, who studied the same locations painted by Van Gogh.
With a fluid writing style, the narrator takes us in a journey through the important year in the life of one of the must famous painters of the world. Divided into sections with different themes and destinations, the book has a lot of beautiful images of high quality, accompanied with good descriptions and interesting notes and explanations. Very good, indeed.
[image error]
Flowers, people, trees, landscapes: all these themes are the main focus of Van Gogh in 1889/1890. Drawings and paintings are beautiful but have a meaning to their author: they gave him happiness, sadness, pleasure, comfort, love.
One of the color binomial in the paintings I love is yellow-blue: Van Gogh adored this formula, which expresses life and contrasting emotions at the same time.
Van Gogh wrote a lot to his brother Theo and we can know his thoughts just because of his postcards and letters from the asylum. These manuscripts are very informative, giving us ideas for the dates of the paintings. The artist loved in the small “alienation” community for a full year, sharing the sufferings of numerous men (18 males, according to the notes of the hospital). He understood the pains and the bad experiences not only because he was one of them, but also because he could see through these human beings with his work, as shown on different portraits of patients and people in the hospital.
The intensity of his artistic skills gave Van Gogh the possibility to escape from the suffering and the indignities in the asylum, giving him purpose. The mental suffering caused inability to paint or draw few times, but didn’t change the power of the works.
Very interesting and well done is the chapter about the most famous paint of Van Gogh, now in New York City, Starry Night. The author explores the hows and the whens and the whats, trying to understand times and themes of this masterpiece. A really enjoying experience, as a reader and as an art history lover. Well done.
I recommend this book to anyone who want to investigate the Van Gogh’s period at the asylum, before his painful death for a gunshot in a field.
* i received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review *
September 8, 2022
From May 8 to May 16, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh resided in the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, which is located close to Saint-Remy-de-Provence. After mutilating his ear, the horrible incident that put a stop to his collaboration with Paul Gaugin in their studio of the South in neighboring Arles, the artist withdrew to this secluded retreat.
This is excellent work. Every biography writer should take this book as an example. Martin Bailey provides a thorough analysis of this significant period in Van Gogh's life. The artist produced over 150 works of art during his stay. The author not only talks about the artist's works but also gives information about the undiagnosed mental and/or physical diseases that guide the artist's life and artistic life. We also learn about the conditions of people who stayed in mental hospitals at the end of the 19th century.
The fact that the book is divided into chapters with a successful systematic makes it easier to read. Letters, paintings, drawings, Van Gogh Museum’s archival documents, posters, postcards, photographs first published taken by the author, and rare and never seen before documents that are used in the book make this reading extremely captivating.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for providing an ARC of this book to review.
This is excellent work. Every biography writer should take this book as an example. Martin Bailey provides a thorough analysis of this significant period in Van Gogh's life. The artist produced over 150 works of art during his stay. The author not only talks about the artist's works but also gives information about the undiagnosed mental and/or physical diseases that guide the artist's life and artistic life. We also learn about the conditions of people who stayed in mental hospitals at the end of the 19th century.
The fact that the book is divided into chapters with a successful systematic makes it easier to read. Letters, paintings, drawings, Van Gogh Museum’s archival documents, posters, postcards, photographs first published taken by the author, and rare and never seen before documents that are used in the book make this reading extremely captivating.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for providing an ARC of this book to review.
October 20, 2023
Fascinating deep dive into Van Gogh and his time at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole where he created some of his most famous work.
July 17, 2019
“Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum” by Martin Bailey is a poignant and beautifully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, he continued to produce prodigiously and created a series of masterpieces — cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. He wrote very little about this time in letters to his beloved brother Theo, so this book gives a helpful and sensitive impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material. Highly recommended for all of us who deeply love this masterful artist. 5/5
Pub Date 27 Aug 2018
Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are truly mine.
#StarryNight #NetGalley
Pub Date 27 Aug 2018
Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are truly mine.
#StarryNight #NetGalley
August 5, 2022
I read Martin Bailey’s book Van Gogh’s Finale and was eager to read Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum. Bailey’s engaging book demonstrates how the asylum and its environs impacted Van Gogh’s mental and creative life. Bailey writes that Van Gogh’s year at the asylum “witnessed a remarkable development” in his art, with more muted colors and more energetic, swirling brush strokes. His isolation from other artists allowed him to develop his own style.
The artist created one of the most beloved paintings in the world while during this time–The Starry Night, with its whirling colors of star-filled sky above a village with candlelit windows and a sliver moon shedding its golden light over the hillsides and orchards. I learned that the light area above the horizon was likely the Milky Way. The story of an ink drawing Van Gogh made of the painting, how it was looted during WWII and survived and was discovered and transported to safety, is amazing. Bailey discovered that the artist did not represent the actual sky as it would have been on the day of his painting, but used his imagination and memory to “create a stunning, highly personal vision.”
After Van Gogh’s breakdown that resulted in his mutilating his ear, he needed a safe place to reside. Saint-Paul-de-Mousole, near the town of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, was a better option than most ‘mad houses,’ with beautiful gardens and private rooms. Van Gogh resided there from May 8, 1889 to May 16, 1890. Bailey’s photographs of the hospital today reflect Van Gogh’s portrayal of the building in his time, the long hallways, the arched entry door opening to a fountain.
Bailey researched the patients at the asylum during the artist’s stay, and even met people from the village who had known the artist. He found what was perhaps the almond tree portrayed in the artist’s beautiful painting created for the birth of his brother’s son, and his namesake, Vincent Willem. The work was displayed in the family home while Vincent Willem was growing up.
Vincent Willem believed that his uncle’s breakdowns coincided with his father becoming engaged and starting a family, causing a fear of abandonment in the artist. Theo Van Gogh’s engagement was announced at the time Vincent had his falling out with Gaugin and his breakdown that caused his self-mutilation. The announcement that Theo’s wife Jo was pregnant precipitated another breakdown. Vincent was depended on Theo for art supplies and financial as well as emotional support, and he feared that with a wife and family that support would end.
Van Gogh would have spells of lucidity and productivity punctured by breakdowns and recoveries lasting several weeks. He was given an empty room for painting. When he was well, the doctor allowed him to travel into the countryside to paint. When ill, he tried to kill himself by ingesting his paints and other substances. After a year without a complete cure, Van Gogh left the asylum.
I always appreciate how Bailey enrichens my viewing of Van Gogh’s art. He notes that red pigments have faded and I can imagine the irises with a more violet hue, a pink sky a vivid red.
Many of the paintings were views from his workroom window, which had bars. He could see a wheat field, which he painted many times. Wheatfield in the Rain with its rain depicted by slashes of diagonal paint was inspired by Japanese art. It is a dismal scene.
It is horrifying to learn how many of Van Gogh’s paintings are lost. Portraits he gifted were unappreciated.
Bailey looks at the paintings by theme: enclosed garden, life inside, alienists (fellow patients at the asylum), wheat fields, the stars, the villages and landscape outside of the asylum, olive groves, cypresses, fellow travelers, self portraits, memories of his homeland, the almond blossom.
This October the Detroit Art Institute celebrates being the first American museum to purchase a Van Gogh work with a special exhibit, Van Gogh in America. I have my tickets already! There will be 70 works on exhibit. I can’t wait! And I appreciate Bailey’s books for preparing me to better interpret what I will see.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
The artist created one of the most beloved paintings in the world while during this time–The Starry Night, with its whirling colors of star-filled sky above a village with candlelit windows and a sliver moon shedding its golden light over the hillsides and orchards. I learned that the light area above the horizon was likely the Milky Way. The story of an ink drawing Van Gogh made of the painting, how it was looted during WWII and survived and was discovered and transported to safety, is amazing. Bailey discovered that the artist did not represent the actual sky as it would have been on the day of his painting, but used his imagination and memory to “create a stunning, highly personal vision.”
After Van Gogh’s breakdown that resulted in his mutilating his ear, he needed a safe place to reside. Saint-Paul-de-Mousole, near the town of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, was a better option than most ‘mad houses,’ with beautiful gardens and private rooms. Van Gogh resided there from May 8, 1889 to May 16, 1890. Bailey’s photographs of the hospital today reflect Van Gogh’s portrayal of the building in his time, the long hallways, the arched entry door opening to a fountain.
Bailey researched the patients at the asylum during the artist’s stay, and even met people from the village who had known the artist. He found what was perhaps the almond tree portrayed in the artist’s beautiful painting created for the birth of his brother’s son, and his namesake, Vincent Willem. The work was displayed in the family home while Vincent Willem was growing up.
Vincent Willem believed that his uncle’s breakdowns coincided with his father becoming engaged and starting a family, causing a fear of abandonment in the artist. Theo Van Gogh’s engagement was announced at the time Vincent had his falling out with Gaugin and his breakdown that caused his self-mutilation. The announcement that Theo’s wife Jo was pregnant precipitated another breakdown. Vincent was depended on Theo for art supplies and financial as well as emotional support, and he feared that with a wife and family that support would end.
Van Gogh would have spells of lucidity and productivity punctured by breakdowns and recoveries lasting several weeks. He was given an empty room for painting. When he was well, the doctor allowed him to travel into the countryside to paint. When ill, he tried to kill himself by ingesting his paints and other substances. After a year without a complete cure, Van Gogh left the asylum.
I always appreciate how Bailey enrichens my viewing of Van Gogh’s art. He notes that red pigments have faded and I can imagine the irises with a more violet hue, a pink sky a vivid red.
Many of the paintings were views from his workroom window, which had bars. He could see a wheat field, which he painted many times. Wheatfield in the Rain with its rain depicted by slashes of diagonal paint was inspired by Japanese art. It is a dismal scene.
It is horrifying to learn how many of Van Gogh’s paintings are lost. Portraits he gifted were unappreciated.
Bailey looks at the paintings by theme: enclosed garden, life inside, alienists (fellow patients at the asylum), wheat fields, the stars, the villages and landscape outside of the asylum, olive groves, cypresses, fellow travelers, self portraits, memories of his homeland, the almond blossom.
This October the Detroit Art Institute celebrates being the first American museum to purchase a Van Gogh work with a special exhibit, Van Gogh in America. I have my tickets already! There will be 70 works on exhibit. I can’t wait! And I appreciate Bailey’s books for preparing me to better interpret what I will see.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
August 5, 2022
This beautifully illustrated book is about the year that Vincent Van Gogh spent at the asylum in Saint-Remy. We have a chance to see and read about the place, treatments, and his life around the asylum. Even though he is there and has health problems, that is the period when he painted his most famous painting.
I enjoyed reading this book and is an excellent addition to the other books about Van Gogh's life and art.
I enjoyed reading this book and is an excellent addition to the other books about Van Gogh's life and art.
January 10, 2019
Interesting read, well-researched and presented in a manner any art lover might enjoy. A bit slow at times with countless details as the focus generally remained on each piece van Gogh produced during his stay at the hospital. Some character development but none resulting in intimacy. Nice addition to the chronology in the life of one of our greatest artists of all-time.
August 5, 2022
This beautifully illustrated book is about the year that Vincent Van Gogh spent at the asylum in Saint-Remy. We have a chance to see and read about the place, treatments, and his life around the asylum. Even though he is there and has health problems, that is the period when he painted his most famous painting.
I enjoyed reading this book and is an excellent addition to the other books about Van Gogh's life and art.
I enjoyed reading this book and is an excellent addition to the other books about Van Gogh's life and art.
August 23, 2018
Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Starry Night is a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
I absolutely love the work of Van Gogh, it’s absolutely breathtaking and this book was eye opening to the experiences that Van Gogh and other patients would have gone through in the asylum. I didn’t even know that he was in an asylum.
4..25 stars!
Starry Night is a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
I absolutely love the work of Van Gogh, it’s absolutely breathtaking and this book was eye opening to the experiences that Van Gogh and other patients would have gone through in the asylum. I didn’t even know that he was in an asylum.
4..25 stars!
July 31, 2022
I love the front cover of Starry Night it is one of my favourite paintings from Van Gogh . The book is full of information about Van Gogh and there was a lot of interesting facts that I didn’t know about him. There is pictures of his paintings also in the book and again there was some I had never seen before to his famous ones that I recognised straight the way. If you love art and Van Gogh you will like this book. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.
October 15, 2018
Beautifully put together and exceedingly well researched, the book is a total delight for all who love the art of Vincent van Gogh and are interested to know more about the man behind the canvas, who, for a substantial part of his life lived in agony, mostly with himself.
Starry Night offers a closer look at the time the painter spent in Saint-Paul de Mausole, a small asylum in France on the outskirts of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
In fact, the place is just 25 km/16 miles away from Arles, where van Gogh had previously shared the famous Yellow House together with Gauguin. There exists a book by Martin Gayford which tells of nine turbulent weeks, as that's basically how long it lasted, until after a final fallout Gauguin moved out, with the result of van Gogh suffering a severe breakdown and cutting off his left ear.
Short after his release from hospital he admits himself to the small asylum at the foot of Les Alpilles (the little Alps), where he spent a bit over a year. A time of intense and painful creativity and where he created in June 1889 one of his most famous paintings "Starry Night". A time, where he also tried to poison himself by swallowing the colours he used for those paintings.
Author Martin Bailey, an expert on van Gogh's life, takes the reader on a fascinating journey, which is gripping and touching at the same time and we follow Vincent through the "Harrowing Period".
The chapter "The Wheatfield" is for a fan simply a must, as we see a group of paintings on which the artist worked in 1889 during his time in the asylum and which capture a view he had from the studio room, an extra room, that was allocated to him in the institution to enable him to continue to paint. We see the same scene in the changing seasons and without doubt also reflecting good and bad days of the painter himself.
But what exactly happenend leading up to van Gogh's moment of madness and self harm? And was it really his free will to go to the asylum?
How did he feel upon his arrival, when he saw the place for the first time? A place about which he wrote himself "One continually hears shouts and terrible howls as of animals in a menagerie."
What was his treatment like, the other patients, his daily routine? Why did his brother Theo never visit him?
Endless questions and carefully the author unravels mystery after mystery.
The fluent writing has you hooked from the start.
The illustrations and photos, together with never before published material are often jawdropping.
There's even a map to offer the visitor of the place and its surrounds an idea for a most enjoyable walk along Vincent's path at this very painful time in his life.
To say, I love the book, doesn't cover it. Starry Night is simply one of my highlights of the year, every page is a delight.
Starry Night offers a closer look at the time the painter spent in Saint-Paul de Mausole, a small asylum in France on the outskirts of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
In fact, the place is just 25 km/16 miles away from Arles, where van Gogh had previously shared the famous Yellow House together with Gauguin. There exists a book by Martin Gayford which tells of nine turbulent weeks, as that's basically how long it lasted, until after a final fallout Gauguin moved out, with the result of van Gogh suffering a severe breakdown and cutting off his left ear.
Short after his release from hospital he admits himself to the small asylum at the foot of Les Alpilles (the little Alps), where he spent a bit over a year. A time of intense and painful creativity and where he created in June 1889 one of his most famous paintings "Starry Night". A time, where he also tried to poison himself by swallowing the colours he used for those paintings.
Author Martin Bailey, an expert on van Gogh's life, takes the reader on a fascinating journey, which is gripping and touching at the same time and we follow Vincent through the "Harrowing Period".
The chapter "The Wheatfield" is for a fan simply a must, as we see a group of paintings on which the artist worked in 1889 during his time in the asylum and which capture a view he had from the studio room, an extra room, that was allocated to him in the institution to enable him to continue to paint. We see the same scene in the changing seasons and without doubt also reflecting good and bad days of the painter himself.
But what exactly happenend leading up to van Gogh's moment of madness and self harm? And was it really his free will to go to the asylum?
How did he feel upon his arrival, when he saw the place for the first time? A place about which he wrote himself "One continually hears shouts and terrible howls as of animals in a menagerie."
What was his treatment like, the other patients, his daily routine? Why did his brother Theo never visit him?
Endless questions and carefully the author unravels mystery after mystery.
The fluent writing has you hooked from the start.
The illustrations and photos, together with never before published material are often jawdropping.
There's even a map to offer the visitor of the place and its surrounds an idea for a most enjoyable walk along Vincent's path at this very painful time in his life.
To say, I love the book, doesn't cover it. Starry Night is simply one of my highlights of the year, every page is a delight.
September 1, 2022
Martin Bailey has another in his series of books covering the life of Vincent Van Gogh. This one focuses on this Van Gogh’s one year at the Asylum in Saint-Remy. The book is well researched and written for people who have more than a casual interest in Van Gogh’s life and art. As in the other books by the author he includes much of Van Gogh’s own words. He was a prolific writer to his brother and other family members. There are photos of the asylum and discussions of where he roomed, conditions and his views. I was fascinated to learn that they have now identified names of many people that were also patients at the time. Additionally many of their medical conditions and can be matched them to descriptions written by Van Gogh himself.
The art he creates during this time is extremely important and the colorful photographs of his paintings are wonderful. There are photos of cypress trees and olive groves along with how Van Gogh saw and painted them. A whole chapter is focused on one of his iconic works Starry Starry Night. Researchers have gone so far as to recreate the nights sky in planetariums for the two days he spent painting his masterpiece. (He painted during the day from memory.) He paints self portraits because he lacks other models and they show him to be healthy. In one short two month period he paints 60 works. The stunning Almond Blossom (which I just complete in jigsaw puzzle form) is painted as a gift to newborn nephew Vincent. The book gives additional information about what become of the asylum after Vincent’s time there. It is a prison camp during WWI an asylum again and now an asylum museum. (Yup, on my list of places to visit.)
This book seems to be a reprint from 2018 and I don’t know if it has been updated or changed from the original publication. I’ve read and enjoyed the authors books, Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence and Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame. This book and series would be a welcome addition to anyone interested in Van Gogh and his works.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion for a temporary ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The art he creates during this time is extremely important and the colorful photographs of his paintings are wonderful. There are photos of cypress trees and olive groves along with how Van Gogh saw and painted them. A whole chapter is focused on one of his iconic works Starry Starry Night. Researchers have gone so far as to recreate the nights sky in planetariums for the two days he spent painting his masterpiece. (He painted during the day from memory.) He paints self portraits because he lacks other models and they show him to be healthy. In one short two month period he paints 60 works. The stunning Almond Blossom (which I just complete in jigsaw puzzle form) is painted as a gift to newborn nephew Vincent. The book gives additional information about what become of the asylum after Vincent’s time there. It is a prison camp during WWI an asylum again and now an asylum museum. (Yup, on my list of places to visit.)
This book seems to be a reprint from 2018 and I don’t know if it has been updated or changed from the original publication. I’ve read and enjoyed the authors books, Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence and Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame. This book and series would be a welcome addition to anyone interested in Van Gogh and his works.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion for a temporary ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 29, 2018
Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters and who doesn’t love Starry Night? I mean, you see it everywhere now…cell phone cases, tapestries, mouse pads, etc. He is one of the most well-known painters worldwide but how much do you really know about his life? I admit, I knew next to nothing and was thrilled to be able to read a copy of Martin Bailey’s new book chronicling the last year or so of his life as a patient of the Saint Paul asylum.
I found this book absolutely fascinating. It reads very text book but the narration isn’t dry as I had expected it to be. The artwork (of course) is absolutely beautiful and really gives a little insight to where Vincent’s mind may have been during his battle with mental illness. We also get a peek at his relationship with his brother, Theo, and how Theo really supported Vincent through his life, his asylum years and as a rising artist.
Starry Night Van Gogh at the Asylum is very well researched and brilliantly put together for any art lover, or anyone interested in a little bit of history about this amazing artist, to enjoy. My only criticism for this book is that I wish it was a little more chronologically written. There are quite a few places through the book where we flip from one point in time to another and I found it a little confusing trying to keep my facts straight.
This beautiful book would make an excellent addition to anyone’s collection, a perfect coffee table conversation starter or a gift for the art lover in your life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to read and review
I found this book absolutely fascinating. It reads very text book but the narration isn’t dry as I had expected it to be. The artwork (of course) is absolutely beautiful and really gives a little insight to where Vincent’s mind may have been during his battle with mental illness. We also get a peek at his relationship with his brother, Theo, and how Theo really supported Vincent through his life, his asylum years and as a rising artist.
Starry Night Van Gogh at the Asylum is very well researched and brilliantly put together for any art lover, or anyone interested in a little bit of history about this amazing artist, to enjoy. My only criticism for this book is that I wish it was a little more chronologically written. There are quite a few places through the book where we flip from one point in time to another and I found it a little confusing trying to keep my facts straight.
This beautiful book would make an excellent addition to anyone’s collection, a perfect coffee table conversation starter or a gift for the art lover in your life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to read and review
December 4, 2018
Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Starry Night is a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
I absolutely love the work of Van Gogh, it’s absolutely breathtaking and this book was eye opening to the experiences that Van Gogh and other patients would have gone through in the asylum. I didn’t even know that he was in an asylum.
4..25 stars!
Starry Night is a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
I absolutely love the work of Van Gogh, it’s absolutely breathtaking and this book was eye opening to the experiences that Van Gogh and other patients would have gone through in the asylum. I didn’t even know that he was in an asylum.
4..25 stars!
August 3, 2022
I feel like i got to know a lot more about one of my favorite artists through this book.
And it wasn't only about his art but also about his mental illness and how he dealt with it during his stay at the asylum.
This is truly a deep dive in his psyche and his life dealing with it.
There was a lot of information here that I didn't know about and I'm blown away by it.
This was both fascinating and heart breaking.
It made me appreciate his art even more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
And it wasn't only about his art but also about his mental illness and how he dealt with it during his stay at the asylum.
This is truly a deep dive in his psyche and his life dealing with it.
There was a lot of information here that I didn't know about and I'm blown away by it.
This was both fascinating and heart breaking.
It made me appreciate his art even more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 17, 2022
the art of Van Gogh continues to remain beautiful and deeply rooted in his humanity. good insight into his experience at the asylum as well as insight into his relationship with his brother Theo.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 31, 2022
This was a fairly quick and easy to read book describing Vincent's time at the asylum. Before reading this I didn't know too much about Van Gogh, but I was able to easily read along without becoming lost. The page layout, smaller chapters, and reference images throughout the book allowed easily digestible segments of information.
August 20, 2024
Just as we take the train to go to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to go to a star.
- Vincent to Theo, Sept. 1888
Starry Night: van Gogh at the Asylum is an emotional as well as educational read.
Focusing on Vincent van Gogh's time at the Saint-Paul de Mausole psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This would be where Vincent went in 1889 after the mental crisis that had led to the removal of his ear. Martin Bailey combines extracts from Vincent's letters and writings, as well as other items to explore probably the most infamous time in van Gogh's life.
I liked how the book was laid out, with chapters showcasing letters, paintings and drawings, archived documents from museums, posters and postcards, as well as photographs from the time as well as taken by the author. As with all people who become famous long after their tragic passing? The sight of van Gogh's, thoughts in his own hand further adds to the acknowledgement that an artist whose work has affected millions of people struggled so much with belonging.
Vincent van Gogh created 150 pieces of art in the small room he had at the asylum during his time in Provence when he wasn't walking in the village of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and the foothills of the Alpilles. Many of these as any lover of art, are some of the most famous of his work including of course Starry Night as well as The Iris and The Almond Tree Branch in Bloom which are all breathtaking.
The artwork that's reproduced in the book is vibrant so that you're able to see each brush stroke and the colours have remained bright to this day. Bailey provides us with information about the paintings which are insightful and add to the wonder and understanding of van Gogh's work.
Bailey's dedication to learning about, and in turn educating the reader, about Vincent van Gogh is evident on every page and his research is thorough and it's apparent just how important the artist is to the author (as he is to many). I found it wonderful albeit heartbreaking to not only read more about some of Van Gogh's artwork but also the various mental and physical health conditions that would not impact Van Gogh's life but indirectly those such as his brother Theo who tried everything he could to help his much-loved brother.
To know each letter began My Dear Theo hurts my heart because the love is apparent even when the madness he endured held onto him.
This book's a dedication to a man who deserved more, and in truth to his brother too who loved faithfully until the end.
To know that we get to witness the world through Vincent's eyes is a wonderful thing and I think that the year he was surrounded by the beauty of Provence kept him with his loved ones both family and friends just a little longer. Van Gogh will never be forgotten, but it is work such as this that enables us to know more of the man than his beautiful paintings and sketches.
If ever I wish to time travel it would be to Provence and to simply talk with Vincent because he like so many poets, had a heart and soul that was too fragile and good for this world.
Van Gogh would leave Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in May 1890 and would leave the world July of that year by his own hand.
Vincent van Gogh was 37 years old.
Theo van Gogh would join his brother after pasing away in January 1891 at just 33 years old leaving behind his wife Johanna and son Vincent who was six days from his first birthday.
- Vincent to Theo, Sept. 1888
Starry Night: van Gogh at the Asylum is an emotional as well as educational read.
Focusing on Vincent van Gogh's time at the Saint-Paul de Mausole psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This would be where Vincent went in 1889 after the mental crisis that had led to the removal of his ear. Martin Bailey combines extracts from Vincent's letters and writings, as well as other items to explore probably the most infamous time in van Gogh's life.
I liked how the book was laid out, with chapters showcasing letters, paintings and drawings, archived documents from museums, posters and postcards, as well as photographs from the time as well as taken by the author. As with all people who become famous long after their tragic passing? The sight of van Gogh's, thoughts in his own hand further adds to the acknowledgement that an artist whose work has affected millions of people struggled so much with belonging.
Vincent van Gogh created 150 pieces of art in the small room he had at the asylum during his time in Provence when he wasn't walking in the village of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and the foothills of the Alpilles. Many of these as any lover of art, are some of the most famous of his work including of course Starry Night as well as The Iris and The Almond Tree Branch in Bloom which are all breathtaking.
The artwork that's reproduced in the book is vibrant so that you're able to see each brush stroke and the colours have remained bright to this day. Bailey provides us with information about the paintings which are insightful and add to the wonder and understanding of van Gogh's work.
Bailey's dedication to learning about, and in turn educating the reader, about Vincent van Gogh is evident on every page and his research is thorough and it's apparent just how important the artist is to the author (as he is to many). I found it wonderful albeit heartbreaking to not only read more about some of Van Gogh's artwork but also the various mental and physical health conditions that would not impact Van Gogh's life but indirectly those such as his brother Theo who tried everything he could to help his much-loved brother.
To know each letter began My Dear Theo hurts my heart because the love is apparent even when the madness he endured held onto him.
This book's a dedication to a man who deserved more, and in truth to his brother too who loved faithfully until the end.
To know that we get to witness the world through Vincent's eyes is a wonderful thing and I think that the year he was surrounded by the beauty of Provence kept him with his loved ones both family and friends just a little longer. Van Gogh will never be forgotten, but it is work such as this that enables us to know more of the man than his beautiful paintings and sketches.
If ever I wish to time travel it would be to Provence and to simply talk with Vincent because he like so many poets, had a heart and soul that was too fragile and good for this world.
Van Gogh would leave Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in May 1890 and would leave the world July of that year by his own hand.
Vincent van Gogh was 37 years old.
Theo van Gogh would join his brother after pasing away in January 1891 at just 33 years old leaving behind his wife Johanna and son Vincent who was six days from his first birthday.
December 27, 2018
It’s not know what the cause of Van Gogh's mental disturbances were though it was most likely to have been a form of frontal lobe non-convulsive epilepsy that was and is not fully understood. There was a family history of epilepsy but Van Gogh also exhibited symptoms of bi-polar mania followed by long periods of depression. Van Gogh described explosive visions of light and color as well as auditory hallucinations. The crisis came one day when he took a razor and cut off part of his own ear. Perhaps in an attempt to silence the auditory terrors. In May 1889 Van Gogh checked himself into an insane asylum. His room was sparse and there were bars on the window but through the window the view was breathtaking. Here was a view that seemed to match the visions in his head. Sunlight burst gold on a wheatfield. Shimmering silver olive trees beckoned. Dark green cypresses silhouetted by a powdery blue sky. Explosions of red poppies and purple lavenders and simple white dandelions in fields of green of seemingly endless shades. Van Gogh immediately began to paint and he painted it all inside and out of the asylum. In the year that he was there Van Gogh produced 142 paintings but his most famous is “The Starry Night.” Vincent wasn’t allowed to go out at night but when the sun went down he looked through the bars on the window and into the night sky then painted it during the day in his room. In his imagination his brush took flight and lept into the sky. Vincent himself said that “Starry Night” was an exercise in imagination. The sky Vincent saw was a whorl of white yellow and shaded blue brush strokes. Haloed stars with rings that seem to make the entire painting light up. Astronomers have investigated the type of sky Vincent might have contemplated and have determined that the moon would have been near full. Vincent painted a re-imagined crescent moon of yellow emanating from gold. He painted not from memory but from imagination. He never painted the window with its bars but looked past it into his imagination and the sky. He painted stars not bars. “Starry Night” is one of the most recognizable paintings in western culture. Vincent Van Gogh said that the sight of the stars made him dream. “Be clearly aware of the stars. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.”
September 4, 2022
“I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.” - Vincent Van Gogh
My thanks to Quarto Books White Lion Frances Lincoln for a temporary digital review copy of ‘Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum’ by Martin Bailey.
This is an account of Vincent Van Gogh's one year stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence during which he painted some of his most iconic works. These masterpieces were produced despite Van Gogh dealing with the challenges of his ill health and the institutionalised life at the asylum.
Martin Bailey is an art journalist and a Van Gogh specialist. He examines the crises that caused Van Gogh to admit himself to the asylum and the creative inspiration he found during his year there. Bailey notes that the isolation assisted Van Gogh to develop his idiosyncratic style as he was away from other influences and artists.
This lavish book provides images and details of many paintings that van Gogh produced while there. Many of these were new to me. Its chapters are organised by the themes that Van Gogh painted including cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves, almond blossoms, sunsets, and of course the night sky.
While Van Gogh wrote little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, Bailey seeks so provide an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum during this period, incorporating newly discovered material. It appears that the asylum itself was quite progressive in its attitudes and treatment methods including a garden and encouraging nature walks
Although I knew some details of Vincent Van Gogh’s life, I was unaware that he had painted so many pieces, including ‘Starry Night’, while an in-patient.
Martin Bailey is clearly dedicated to his subject and an art history detective. I was interested in his account of tracking down a lost case of Van Gogh’s art that had been transported to Russia after World War II and since ‘disappeared’. Following the main text is a chronology, endnotes, a select bibliography, an index, and picture credits.
Overall, a beautifully presented and fascinating book that expands on the life and work of this iconic artist.
My thanks to Quarto Books White Lion Frances Lincoln for a temporary digital review copy of ‘Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum’ by Martin Bailey.
This is an account of Vincent Van Gogh's one year stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence during which he painted some of his most iconic works. These masterpieces were produced despite Van Gogh dealing with the challenges of his ill health and the institutionalised life at the asylum.
Martin Bailey is an art journalist and a Van Gogh specialist. He examines the crises that caused Van Gogh to admit himself to the asylum and the creative inspiration he found during his year there. Bailey notes that the isolation assisted Van Gogh to develop his idiosyncratic style as he was away from other influences and artists.
This lavish book provides images and details of many paintings that van Gogh produced while there. Many of these were new to me. Its chapters are organised by the themes that Van Gogh painted including cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves, almond blossoms, sunsets, and of course the night sky.
While Van Gogh wrote little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, Bailey seeks so provide an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum during this period, incorporating newly discovered material. It appears that the asylum itself was quite progressive in its attitudes and treatment methods including a garden and encouraging nature walks
Although I knew some details of Vincent Van Gogh’s life, I was unaware that he had painted so many pieces, including ‘Starry Night’, while an in-patient.
Martin Bailey is clearly dedicated to his subject and an art history detective. I was interested in his account of tracking down a lost case of Van Gogh’s art that had been transported to Russia after World War II and since ‘disappeared’. Following the main text is a chronology, endnotes, a select bibliography, an index, and picture credits.
Overall, a beautifully presented and fascinating book that expands on the life and work of this iconic artist.
September 5, 2022
I get sent most of my review copies as digital versions and for the most part I do prefer that as otherwise I would slowly get buried under a mountain of paper. As soon as I started reading Starry Night I really wanted a hard copy of the book. The photographs and the paintings just don’t get the attention that they deserve if you aren’t physically holding the pages in your hand and this is a book that deserves close inspection.
Bailey has chosen to detail Van Gogh’s time at the asylum in Saint-Remy with beautifully detailed descriptions of the period when he created some of his best known masterpieces. The book covers how he came to be there and the inspiration that he found in the location that helped him to develop some of the most famous canvases in the world, including the cypresses, wheat-fields, olive groves and sunsets that became central to the Van Gogh style. Although he wrote prolifically to his brother Theo these letters barely touched on his time here so it is fascinating to get a feel for his struggles during this period.
For me the quality of the additional illustrations are what makes this book much more interesting than others that I have read on the subject. It becomes a social history of a French psychiatric institution of the time including early photographs of the area and a plethora of back up material that is compulsive reading for any Van Gogh fan. Even if you only really like MOMA’s “Starry Night” or have been exposed to Van Gogh via the classic “Vincent and the Doctor” episode of Doctor Who (Season 5 Episode 10) there is plenty in here to pique your interest and keep you reading. I’ll be adding the physical book to my Christmas wish list. It is a must have for anyone interested in Impressionist art.
Supplied by Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group, Frances Lincoln in exchange for an honest review.
UK publication Date: Aug 2 2022. 224 pages.
Bailey has chosen to detail Van Gogh’s time at the asylum in Saint-Remy with beautifully detailed descriptions of the period when he created some of his best known masterpieces. The book covers how he came to be there and the inspiration that he found in the location that helped him to develop some of the most famous canvases in the world, including the cypresses, wheat-fields, olive groves and sunsets that became central to the Van Gogh style. Although he wrote prolifically to his brother Theo these letters barely touched on his time here so it is fascinating to get a feel for his struggles during this period.
For me the quality of the additional illustrations are what makes this book much more interesting than others that I have read on the subject. It becomes a social history of a French psychiatric institution of the time including early photographs of the area and a plethora of back up material that is compulsive reading for any Van Gogh fan. Even if you only really like MOMA’s “Starry Night” or have been exposed to Van Gogh via the classic “Vincent and the Doctor” episode of Doctor Who (Season 5 Episode 10) there is plenty in here to pique your interest and keep you reading. I’ll be adding the physical book to my Christmas wish list. It is a must have for anyone interested in Impressionist art.
Supplied by Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group, Frances Lincoln in exchange for an honest review.
UK publication Date: Aug 2 2022. 224 pages.
August 10, 2022
Starry Night by Martin Bailey is a wonderful exploration of this period of Van Gogh's life.
It seems like whenever I reread one of Bailey's books on Van Gogh's time in France (The Sunflowers are Mine, Studio of the South, Starry Night, and Van Gogh's Finale) it becomes my new favorite. I can offer some reasons why this one qualifies.
First, I think this period of his work is my favorite and a beautifully illustrated book like this is sure to appeal to me. Coupled with well-written accounts of his stay and his thoughts makes this both visually and intellectually interesting.
Second, exploring the grounds and his fellow patients through Bailey's research gives wonderful insight into what helped him create such exquisite pieces of art. Plus, it gave me several opportunities to go off on tangents. For example, his painting of the long hallway and his thought that, if the building were someplace else, it would make an ideal exhibit space, made me think about exhibit spaces. I mentally went back and thought about how I work my way through various layouts, more or less structured paths through the exhibits. Yeah, I go off by myself sometimes, but I enjoy it.
Third, and this is really just me being odd, it always brings Don McLean to mind and I sing Vincent for days. Even my dogs get tired of it, but the song is great. Anyway, back to the book.
I would recommend this, as well as Bailey's other books on Van Gogh, to anyone with even a passing interest in him. The illustrations are wonderful and the text brings the life and times of Van Gogh into vivid light.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
It seems like whenever I reread one of Bailey's books on Van Gogh's time in France (The Sunflowers are Mine, Studio of the South, Starry Night, and Van Gogh's Finale) it becomes my new favorite. I can offer some reasons why this one qualifies.
First, I think this period of his work is my favorite and a beautifully illustrated book like this is sure to appeal to me. Coupled with well-written accounts of his stay and his thoughts makes this both visually and intellectually interesting.
Second, exploring the grounds and his fellow patients through Bailey's research gives wonderful insight into what helped him create such exquisite pieces of art. Plus, it gave me several opportunities to go off on tangents. For example, his painting of the long hallway and his thought that, if the building were someplace else, it would make an ideal exhibit space, made me think about exhibit spaces. I mentally went back and thought about how I work my way through various layouts, more or less structured paths through the exhibits. Yeah, I go off by myself sometimes, but I enjoy it.
Third, and this is really just me being odd, it always brings Don McLean to mind and I sing Vincent for days. Even my dogs get tired of it, but the song is great. Anyway, back to the book.
I would recommend this, as well as Bailey's other books on Van Gogh, to anyone with even a passing interest in him. The illustrations are wonderful and the text brings the life and times of Van Gogh into vivid light.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
September 24, 2022
CW/TW:mentions of self-harm/mutilation, death , suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt , suicide
The book by Martin Bailey is beautifully curated and easy to follow. It's such an honour to add this book to my evergrowing van Gogh collection. It focuses on the late artist’s life at the Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint Rémy, and all the paintings he produced during his year-long stay (May 1889–May 1890). I was so engrossed in the book. The author managed to keep me entertained enough that I was able to read it in just one sitting. I love seeing van Gogh’s paintings in large prints. It is so exhilarating.
It has been an immense pleasure to read and understand the environment in which Van Gogh lived and worked. It was incredibly insightful and informative. It couldn’t have been easy living under many rules or restrictions during his stay at the asylum. Despite having numerous of his liberties taken away, he managed to produce a lot of beautiful paintings and pen heartfelt letters. I love reading about the different theories presented by van Gogh researchers, but I think I agree with the one in this author’s analysis that has been explained in a simplistic and straightforward way.
I am probably biassed at this point, but I highly recommend this book. Learning about the lost sketch of Starry Night was interesting. One is left to wonder where it is right now.
I shall end this post with a snippet of one of his letters written during his stay at Saint Paul.
The book by Martin Bailey is beautifully curated and easy to follow. It's such an honour to add this book to my evergrowing van Gogh collection. It focuses on the late artist’s life at the Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint Rémy, and all the paintings he produced during his year-long stay (May 1889–May 1890). I was so engrossed in the book. The author managed to keep me entertained enough that I was able to read it in just one sitting. I love seeing van Gogh’s paintings in large prints. It is so exhilarating.
It has been an immense pleasure to read and understand the environment in which Van Gogh lived and worked. It was incredibly insightful and informative. It couldn’t have been easy living under many rules or restrictions during his stay at the asylum. Despite having numerous of his liberties taken away, he managed to produce a lot of beautiful paintings and pen heartfelt letters. I love reading about the different theories presented by van Gogh researchers, but I think I agree with the one in this author’s analysis that has been explained in a simplistic and straightforward way.
I am probably biassed at this point, but I highly recommend this book. Learning about the lost sketch of Starry Night was interesting. One is left to wonder where it is right now.
I shall end this post with a snippet of one of his letters written during his stay at Saint Paul.
”This inevitability of suffering and despair – anyway, here I am again, recovered for a period – I’m thankful for it." — Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, September 1889.
January 9, 2025
The Starry Night, June, 1889
Museum of Modern Art, New York
This book, with marvelous reproductions of Van Gogh’s paintings, is about his time at the insane asylum (May 8,1889 – May 16,1890) at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole outside the small village of Saint-Remy-de-Provence. He was transferred there after cutting off his right ear in Arles.
He spent just over a year at the asylum, where he produced some of his most famous paintings. Even though there were times he was unable to paint due to his mental illness, his output was enormous.
Wheat Field with Cypresses, June 1889
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sadly, and ironically, he attempted a few times to commit suicide by eating or drinking his valued painting materials sent to him by his brother Theo.
Self-Portrait, September 1889
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
(hiding his other removed "ear")
The author explains well the meaning and the circumstances in which Van Gogh was painting at the institution. One feels the energy emanating from these paintings. The brush strokes convey force and emotion.
Van Gogh left the asylum in May of 1890 to live 30 kilometres north of Paris, where he would be close to his brother Theo. In July he shot himself and died shortly after.
August 6, 2022
Van Gogh’s Starry Night is arguably one of the most beautiful paintings ever created and this is the story of how it came to life. I’ve always loved the artist and known parts of his life in broad strokes (thank you, Doctor Who for filling in the blanks), but I didn’t know anything about this chapter in his story: How he spent a year in a mental institution, when he created indisputable masterpieces, despite being so ill. By limiting the scope of this book, Martin Bailey can dig deep into the context and circumstances. of Vincent’s life When you think of the biggest love stories in history it may not come up but the relationship between Vicent and his brother Theo is touching beyond words (Theo died shortly after Vincent, and they are buried together in unassuming graves). The author makes this relationship shine by including excerpts of their letters. It’s clear how Bailey researched his subject and he includes pictures of many original documents, photographs, maps and letters. The cherry on top is including the paintings that Vincent created during that time, which are all perfect. It makes you think, if he’d had access to modern medication, would he have been a happier man and, if so, would he have created such wonderful paintings? A great book for art lovers and Van Gogh fans.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, Frances Lincoln!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, Frances Lincoln!
September 9, 2022
Starry Night, Martin Bailey, 9/8/2022
This brilliantly researched and fully illustrated book is written about the asylum period of Vincent Van Gogh’s life. Van Gogh spent May 1889 – May 1890 at the asylum Saint-Paul de Mausole located in Saint-Remy de Provence. Van Gogh was known to have untreated “episodes” of debilitating auditory hallucinations. These episodes were so disabling that he cut off one of his ears while afflicted.
Even with his ongoing mental illness, Van Gogh was lucid three-fourths of his time in the asylum. He spent this time painting in an area devoid of other patients painting as a method of coping with the hellish atmosphere in which he lived. Over 150 paintings, including many of his masterpieces, were created during his year in Saint Remy.
Bailey’s in depth research yields never-before-seen medical and other background documents, personal letters, and photographs of the hospital area at that time period. I appreciate this new material as it separates this book from others on the asylum year.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes impressionism, art history, or Van Gogh in particular. I will be acquiring a paper copy to better appreciate the details of the illustrations.
Thank you to the author, Martin Bailey, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
This brilliantly researched and fully illustrated book is written about the asylum period of Vincent Van Gogh’s life. Van Gogh spent May 1889 – May 1890 at the asylum Saint-Paul de Mausole located in Saint-Remy de Provence. Van Gogh was known to have untreated “episodes” of debilitating auditory hallucinations. These episodes were so disabling that he cut off one of his ears while afflicted.
Even with his ongoing mental illness, Van Gogh was lucid three-fourths of his time in the asylum. He spent this time painting in an area devoid of other patients painting as a method of coping with the hellish atmosphere in which he lived. Over 150 paintings, including many of his masterpieces, were created during his year in Saint Remy.
Bailey’s in depth research yields never-before-seen medical and other background documents, personal letters, and photographs of the hospital area at that time period. I appreciate this new material as it separates this book from others on the asylum year.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes impressionism, art history, or Van Gogh in particular. I will be acquiring a paper copy to better appreciate the details of the illustrations.
Thank you to the author, Martin Bailey, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
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