Van Gogh

By Sandra Forty

Vincent van Gogh is indisputably one of the greatest painters of the late nineteenth century. His works are some of the most recognizable and sought after of any artist. His paintings are the highlights of virtually all the greatest galleries and art collections around the world. On the rare occasions when one of van Gogh’s paintings comes up for sale, it invariably breaks auction records—yet, heartbreakingly, van Gogh himself rarely had enough money to buy the paints he needed or even to afford a good meal. Always profoundly religious and spiritual, he was well educated and linguistically very adept. Sadly, almost every event in his life led to disaster and disappointment for him. As van Gogh’s moods changed, so too did his paintings in palette, skill, light, composition, and rhythm. With adequate knowledge, an observer can correctly assign his paintings to various stages of his life. When van Gogh signed his paintings—he didn’t always—he signed simply as “Vincent” because he preferred not to be associated with his moralistic, ultra-conservative Dutch family. He unleashed his personal frustrations onto his canvas in glorious sweeps of color and expression, unmatched by any other artist. Ironically, the profound sadnesses experienced during his tragic life have produced some of the most life-affirming paintings ever produced.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAJ Books International
• Release date: Mar 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781844062126

Sandra Forty

Sandra Forty is a graduate of London University where she studied medieval and early modern history, including a spell at the Courtauld Institute learning about Renaissance art from Professor Gombrich. Since then she has worked as a journalist in London, then as a book editor and writer. She is the author of a number of books, most on art and architecture. Sandra lives in south Devon with her husband, children and many cats.

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Published by TAJ Books International LLP 2012

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ISBN 978-1-84406-193-8

ISBN 978-1-84406-212-6 (eBook)

Printed in China.

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Contents

Vincent Van Gogh

Plates

Index

Other eBooks in this Series

VINCENT VAN GOGH

Vincent van Gogh is indisputably one of the greatest painters of the late nineteenth century. His works are some of the most recognizable and sought after of any artist. His paintings are the highlights of virtually all the greatest galleries and art collections around the world.

On the rare occasions when one of van Gogh’s paintings comes up for sale, it invariably breaks auction records—yet, heartbreakingly, van Gogh himself rarely had enough money to buy the paints he needed or even to afford a good meal. Always profoundly religious and spiritual, he was well educated and linguistically very adept. Sadly, almost every event in his life led to disaster and disappointment for him.

As van Gogh’s moods changed, so too did his paintings in palette, skill, light, composition, and rhythm. With adequate knowledge, an observer can correctly assign his paintings to various stages of his life. When van Gogh signed his paintings—he didn’t always—he signed simply as Vincent because he preferred not to be associated with his moralistic, ultra-conservative Dutch family. He unleashed his personal frustrations onto his canvas in glorious sweeps of color and expression, unmatched by any other artist. Ironically, the profound sadnesses experienced during his tragic life have produced some of the most life-affirming paintings ever produced.

Vincent van Gogh struggled for many years to understand color and composition. He spent a great deal of time copying the great artists and then trying to get his own ideas into coherent compositions. Much of