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Review
'The most important art publication of 2009, if not of the decade'
--Financial Times
'Publishing at its most creative and spectacular... If this were ten times the price, it would still be worth it' --Philip Pullman, The Guardian
'The most important publication of the century so far' --Charles Darwent, The Independent on Sunday
'Not so much book of the year as of the decade... The general reader will be entranced by the sheer encyclopaedic completeness of it all' --Frank Whitford, The Sunday Times
'Magnificent... will count for many art lovers as the book event of the year... one of art history's most vital records' --Rachel Campbell-Johnson, The Times
'Stupendous'
--Julian Bell, The London Review of Books
'Magnificent... a rare treasure, years in the preparation and a joy to handle and to read' --Margaret Drabble, The New Statesman
'... a celebration not only of the great artist but of art itself.' --John Banville, The Observer
'At last Van Gogh speaks at full volume' --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
' A gigantic new translation of his complete letters. Unedited. Uncensored. The truth... The greatest cache of writing about art left behind by any artist.' --Waldemar Januszczak, The Sunday Times
'The definitive edition... a distinguished scholarly achievement... Vincent Van Gogh: The Letters transforms our understanding of the artist.'
--Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper
--Financial Times
'Publishing at its most creative and spectacular... If this were ten times the price, it would still be worth it' --Philip Pullman, The Guardian
'The most important publication of the century so far' --Charles Darwent, The Independent on Sunday
'Not so much book of the year as of the decade... The general reader will be entranced by the sheer encyclopaedic completeness of it all' --Frank Whitford, The Sunday Times
'Magnificent... will count for many art lovers as the book event of the year... one of art history's most vital records' --Rachel Campbell-Johnson, The Times
'Stupendous'
--Julian Bell, The London Review of Books
'Magnificent... a rare treasure, years in the preparation and a joy to handle and to read' --Margaret Drabble, The New Statesman
'... a celebration not only of the great artist but of art itself.' --John Banville, The Observer
'At last Van Gogh speaks at full volume' --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
' A gigantic new translation of his complete letters. Unedited. Uncensored. The truth... The greatest cache of writing about art left behind by any artist.' --Waldemar Januszczak, The Sunday Times
'The definitive edition... a distinguished scholarly achievement... Vincent Van Gogh: The Letters transforms our understanding of the artist.'
--Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper
Review
Box contents
6 volumes and 1 CD in cardboard Slip Case
6 volumes and 1 CD in cardboard Slip Case
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a beautiful set of books, that I will treasure - particularly because every time Vincent mentions a painting in his letters, his own or somebody else's, that painting is reproduced in thumbnail on the same page. How frustrating it is usually, when artbooks mention something and you're not sure what it is - or else you're flicking back to illustrations elsewhere in the book. This is a masterpiece of book design and you can see why it is so expensive.
However, it is expensive ... and you might like to know that all the letters can be read in English on the Van Gogh Museum's free website (Vangoghletters dot org).
Vincent wasn't just a painter, he was a vivid and expressive writer. His letters, mostly to his brother Theo, were frequently embellished with sketches giving progress reports on his work. They bring his paintings vividly alive. On October 16, 1888, he encloses a pen and ink sketch of his bedroom in the yellow house at Arles. `Looking at the painting should rest the mind, or rather, the imagination,' he says.
`The walls are of a pale violet. The floor - is of red tiles.
`The bedstead and the chairs are fresh butter yellow.
`The sheet and the pillows very bright lemon green.
`The bedspread scarlet red.
`The window green.
`The dressing table orange, the basin blue.
`The doors lilac.
`And that's all - nothing in this bedroom, with its shutters closed.
`The solidity of the furniture should also now express unshakeable repose ... This to take my revenge for the enforced rest that I was obliged to take. I'll work on it again all day tomorrow but you can see how simple the idea is.'
You can just imagine Theo opening the envelope and reading that and seeing that painting of Vincent's bedroom as clearly as if he were there.
And then again: `I'm painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won't surprise you when it's a question of painting large SUNFLOWERS ... I'd like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large Sunflowers ... a symphony in blue and yellow. I work on it all these mornings, from sunrise. Because the flowers wilt quickly.'
`One of these days,' he writes to his brother, `You'll see a painting of the little house itself, in full sunshine or else with the window lit and the starry sky.'
This set of books is the culmination of 15 years work, re-translating this vast correspondence in its entirety. Expensive, like I said - but probably one of the art books of the century.
However, it is expensive ... and you might like to know that all the letters can be read in English on the Van Gogh Museum's free website (Vangoghletters dot org).
Vincent wasn't just a painter, he was a vivid and expressive writer. His letters, mostly to his brother Theo, were frequently embellished with sketches giving progress reports on his work. They bring his paintings vividly alive. On October 16, 1888, he encloses a pen and ink sketch of his bedroom in the yellow house at Arles. `Looking at the painting should rest the mind, or rather, the imagination,' he says.
`The walls are of a pale violet. The floor - is of red tiles.
`The bedstead and the chairs are fresh butter yellow.
`The sheet and the pillows very bright lemon green.
`The bedspread scarlet red.
`The window green.
`The dressing table orange, the basin blue.
`The doors lilac.
`And that's all - nothing in this bedroom, with its shutters closed.
`The solidity of the furniture should also now express unshakeable repose ... This to take my revenge for the enforced rest that I was obliged to take. I'll work on it again all day tomorrow but you can see how simple the idea is.'
You can just imagine Theo opening the envelope and reading that and seeing that painting of Vincent's bedroom as clearly as if he were there.
And then again: `I'm painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won't surprise you when it's a question of painting large SUNFLOWERS ... I'd like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large Sunflowers ... a symphony in blue and yellow. I work on it all these mornings, from sunrise. Because the flowers wilt quickly.'
`One of these days,' he writes to his brother, `You'll see a painting of the little house itself, in full sunshine or else with the window lit and the starry sky.'
This set of books is the culmination of 15 years work, re-translating this vast correspondence in its entirety. Expensive, like I said - but probably one of the art books of the century.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a wonderful read,illustrated with excellent reproductions of drawings and paintings, many of which I have never seen before. The writing reveals a sensitive man who is well-read and careful not to offend his recipients. The set of six books is very expensive but it will take many weeks to finish it and no doubt dip into it for ever.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
One of the most interesting and original publications in the art field of recent years - decades, in fact. It helps 'makes sense' of pictures that are well-known by themselves, by placing them in the context of van Gogh's life and thought.
A big splurge, but I have no regrets at all.
A big splurge, but I have no regrets at all.
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