Complete Works of Vincent van Gogh

by Vincent van Gogh

One of the most celebrated artists of Western art, the Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh created masterpieces that are now famous for their striking colour, emphatic brushwork and contoured forms. Although the artist died in obscurity, his artworks would go on to change the course of modern art, powerfully influencing Expressionism and the works of leading artists. A first of its kind in digital print, the ‘Masters of Art’ series allows readers to explore the works of the world’s greatest artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents the complete paintings and letters of the Dutch master. For all art lovers, this stunning collection offers a personal and unique digital portrait of one of the world’s greatest artists. (Version 2)

Features:
* the complete paintings of Vincent van Gogh — over 800 paintings, fully indexed and arranged in chronological order
* features a special ‘Highlights’ section, with concise introductions to the masterpieces, giving valuable contextual information
* beautiful ‘detail’ images, allowing you to explore van Gogh’s celebrated works in detail
* numerous images relating to van Gogh’s life and works
* includes over 800 letters — explore the artist’s vast and scholarly correspondence with his brother Theo
* EVEN includes the detailed biography by van Gogh’s sister-in-law
* hundreds of images in stunning colour – highly recommended for tablet or smartphone users, or as a valuable reference tool on traditional eReaders
* UPDATED with improved and larger imagesCONTENTS:The Highlights
STILL LIFE WITH CABBAGE AND CLOGS
AVENUE OF POPLARS IN AUTUMN
THE POTATO EATERS
SKULL WITH BURNING CIGARETTE
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH STRAW HAT
THE WHITE ORCHARD
PORTRAIT OF THE POSTMAN JOSEPH ROULIN
STILL LIFE: VASE WITH TWELVE SUNFLOWERS
VINCENT’S HOUSE IN ARLES (THE YELLOW HOUSE)
THE CAFÉ TERRACE ON THE PLACE DU FORUM, ARLES, AT NIGHT
PORTRAIT OF DR. GACHET
VINCENT’S BEDROOM IN ARLES
VINCENT’S CHAIR WITH HIS PIPE
THE RED VINEYARD
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH BANDAGED EAR
THE STARRY NIGHT
WHEAT FIELD WITH CYPRESSES
IRISES
WHEAT FIELD WITH CROWSThe Paintings
THE COMPLETE PAINTINGS
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PAINTINGSThe Letters
THE CORRESPONDENCE OF VINCENT VAN GOGHThe Biography
MEMOIR OF VINCENT VAN GOGH by Johanna Gesina van Gogh

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

4612 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Vincent Willem van Gogh, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland. The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness. He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are somber-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "The Potato Eaters" (1885). In that year van Gogh went to Antwerp where he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints.

In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists. His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health. He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art. Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. In a fit of epilepsy, van Gogh pursued his friend with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.

In May of 1890, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Two months later he was dead, having shot himself "for the good of all." During his brief career he had sold one painting. Van Gogh's finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brushstroke, in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line. Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.

Reviews

[Omama. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of van Gogh’s most celebrated works are provided, with concise introductions, special ‘detail’ reproductions and additional biographical images. Among them, my most favorite, and one of the most famous paintings ever created "THE STARRY NIGHT."

In a letter to Theo, van Gogh wrote, “it does me good to do what’s difficult. That doesn’t stop me having a tremendous need for, shall I say the word — for religion — so I go outside at night to paint the stars."

[Evelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"if I was without your friendship I would be sent back without remorse to suicide, and however cowardly I am, I would end up going there."
(Letters to Theo, 30 April 1889)

After reading his full biography and letters, looking back at his paintings somehow makes me a little bit melancholic. I hope he knows that he's one of the greatest painter known nowadays.