Creative Inspiration: Vincent Van Gogh

By Vincent Van Gogh

Exploring the extraordinary richness of Van Gogh's writings and depth of his thinking on creativity, art and beauty.

Vincent van Gogh's paintings are amongst the most iconic and admired in the world. The trials of his life and health are endlessly discussed but the extraordinary richness of his writings and depth of his thinking on creativity, art and beauty is less explored.

Creative Inspiration, Van Gogh's writings have been edited and selected to create an enlightening, uplifting and helpful book for art lovers and creatives - amateurs and professionals alike.

150 carefully selected images illustrate these quotes, focusing on the sketches and drawings that reveal the rigour and ambition with which he approached his work.

The book is thematically divided - from Beginnings to Routine to Beauty - and his determination and charisma are shared through words and pictures.

A beautiful and delightfully handy art book that is designed to inspire.

Please note this is a fixed-format ebook with colour images and may not be well-suited for older e-readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: September Publishing
• Release date: May 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781910463581

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh (1853—1890) was a highly influential Dutch Post-Impressionist painter best known for his uniquely expressive brushwork and use of bold, dramatic colors. Van Gogh’s early life and formative adult years were marked by mundane security; he was born into an upper-middle class family, received a rounded education, and was able to make a living off of his interest in art by working as a dealer; however, while his employment provided the opportunity for travel, it also exacerbated his lifelong struggle with his mental health. It wasn’t until 1881—nine years before his death—that he began to produce his own art. His early work would consist mostly of still lifes and character studies but as he began to travel and become acquainted with new artistic communities, his art would become brazen and bright—capturing vivid portraits of the natural world. However, while Van Gogh would correspond and receive financial support from his younger brother, Theodorus, he often found himself skirting the line of poverty. His lack of commercial and financial success with his painting would lead him to neglect his physical and mental health, resulting in increased psychotic episodes and delusions; the worst of which ended with Van Gogh severing part of his own left ear. After a lifelong battle with depression, on July 27th, 1890, he went out into a wheat field where he had recently been painting and attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest. Van Gogh would die from his injuries in his room at the Auberge Ravoux just two days later. In the aftermath of his death, Van Gogh’s story would—for better or worse—cement his legacy in the public imagination as the “tortured artist” and in the decades that followed his work would gain worldwide critical and commercial beyond what he could have ever imagined.

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