Van Gogh

by Frank Milner

In this stunningly illustrated volume, art historian Frank Milner introduces 60 of Van Gogh's most characteristic works.

Dimmensions: 14.5x10.5x0.5 inches

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

112 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1991

About the author

Art historian and Japanese woodblock print collector

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars for the first 25 pages of introduction. The writing was pretty dull and the pages were in black and white. I'm not sure what the point of showing paintings in black in white is for a book about art. Some of the sketches and photos were fine, but I thought it was odd that some paintings were presented in these opening pages in black and white.

The text gives an overview of Van Gogh's life with emphasis on his artistic development. I think art students or historians would appreciate it more; I got a little lost in the different names and movements. I learned some new things, but nothing groundbreaking.

However, I would give 4 stars to the last 80% of the book which is comprised of mostly full-page reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings. This is an oversized book so you really get to see the detail in the different pieces that were chosen. I appreciated that the paintings were presented more or less in chronological order, too. It was interesting to see Van Gogh's progression and the way different people and styles influenced his work. I also really loved the selections - there were many that I have not seen before. I was surprised to find so many new-to-me paintings.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of my favorite Van Gogh paintings:

The Potato Eaters
Head of a Woman
Woman at the Cafe du Tambourin
Interior of a Restaurant
Portrait of Pere Tanguy
Self-Portrait with Easel
Postman Joseph Roulin
Fourteen Sunflowers
Haystacks in Provence
The Night Cafe
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Death's Head Moth
Irises
The Starry Night
Self-Portrait
Worn Out

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this for a steal at a second hand book sale. One of my favorite artists. Visited the Van Gogh museum many years ago. Learned some things about him, liked the chronological layout and how you could flip ahead to a large print of the specific painting referenced. The prints are a nice quality. It’s a large book so it’s living on the coffee table

[Emily Griswold Bunty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great! It’s huge and most of the pages are full-color images of his paintings.

The biography at the beginning is good but a little heavy on the “art critic” speak—I wish it was geared toward an average reader and not someone who already knows all the terms and lingo of the various art movements.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to right a history paper on any topic, so I chose Van Gogh. I used this book as a source. Actually, the research paper went terribly, but the book was fairly interesting and I learned a bunch about Van Gogh.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice reproductions of some of Van Gogh’s major works, with about 25 pages about his life. The text is an OK overview but doesn’t provide much depth or insight.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely coffee table book, large in size with stunningly beautiful paintings, some of which I never saw before. The first 23 pages are filled with well-written descriptions of Van Gogh's troubled life. There are two patterns that emerge. One is that he was indeed a very troubled soul. Wherever he was, trouble followed.

Unable to relate to society or to people, his volatility irrupted throughout his life. Though little exists of his childhood, a few reports state he was troublesome and disagreeable.

There are varying ideas of why he was so out of touch with a "normal" reality. Some believe that syphilis overtook his brain, others note that there was a strong history of mental illness and suicide in his family.

Another pattern that emerges is one that I also read in a wonderful book titled Johanna by Claire Cooperstein which praised Vincent's sister in law, married to his brother Theo, for the fact that we have Van Gogh's art work today. She tirelessly saved and placed his paintings into the right hands to be shown to the world.

In both this current book and that one, there is strong evidence that points to the fact that Vincent was indeed a very jealous, selfish man who simply could not stand that his brother had a wife, a child, and happiness that was so elusive to Vincent.

There is a strong link between events in Theo's life that were life changing and greatly disturbed Vincent which may have led to his mental breakdowns and institutionalization.

No matter the illness, his art work is beloved by many and is priceless.

[Taranika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally thought the book was amazing. I learned and picked up a few tips from It. It read about the background of Van Gough and how him becoming a artist all started. The tone of the story gave me as a reader a good understanding of the book. How they broke down step by step what he went through and the different changes he made for art. And also the varies of paintings they had to represent the stories it told. The most interesting thing I learned from reading about Van Gough was that his first love was his cousin. They eventually got married and continued their life together. I thought it was kind of strange but yet intriguing to now know that you can find love with anyone. Reading this book really made me want to continue my fond for art. I loved the book so much that I can barely come up with things i dislike about it. But I would say by not giving the reasons why he painted his specific paintings would be the one and only thing I would have to say I disliked about the book. I'm happy that I was able to read this book and I Truly recommend it for other art lovers.

[✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, slim volume for the coffee table. Need a new coffee table and to get to Europe!