This choice selection of beautifully reproduced drawings spans the full length of van Goghs brief but prolific career. The works range from his early impressions of peasant life to drawings that served as studies for the great canvases he painted at the close of his life; including Landscape with Cypresses and Starry Night.Van Goghs quest to be "alone with nature" and with those whose lives were close to the land took him first to the desolate reaches of northern Holland and ultimately to the sunlit fields and villages of southern France. The drawings presented in this book record the life; the land; and the people he encountered; familiar images to us through his paintings; yet startlingly fresh in these lesser-known works in another medium. Themes include peasants in their fields and cottages; village gardens; fishing boats; the postman Roulin; a drawbridge; fields of grain; a self-portrait; the house he lived in; the room he slept in; and the courtyard of the hospital in Arles.Van Gogh Drawings offers a beautiful and stirring collection of work; one that clearly displays the artists powerful affinity for the drawing medium. During the last six years of his life; his most productive period; van Gogh produced approximately 700 drawings and 800 paintings. Virtually unknown at his death; he had sold only one of this astonishing number of works. Now; a century later; they number among the most universally admired and prized of manrsquo;s creative achievements. The drawings presented here; chosen from museums and private collections around the world; dramatically record the brief journey of his life and the unfolding of his genius. The captions; which draw heavily upon information provided by Jan Hulsker in The Complete Van Gogh; list subject; date; medium; dimensions (in centimeters; height before width); and the institutions in which they are located. 44 black-and-white illustrations.
#568776 in eBooks 2012-07-16 2012-07-16File Name: B00A3KJCU6
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The author crafts beautiful sentences and paragraphs and has a lot of important ...By winterlightThis is a strange but thoroughly enjoyable book. The author crafts beautiful sentences and paragraphs and has a lot of important things to say about how Americans understood; represented; and altered the landscapes across which they moved in the nineteenth century. This book also explores the ways in which the trauma of the Civil War left a heavy imprint of the memories of the Americans who survived it. Writing something new about iconic figures such as Jefferson; Thoreau; or Whitman is not an easy task; and yet I think the author has a firm grasp of their personalities and how they understood their personal relationships with Nature. This book also introduced me to some new historical figures such as Horace Cleveland; the landscape architect responsible for the magnificent park system in Minneapolis and the author of a gem of an essay titled "The Influence of Parks on the Character of Children." Fans of Richard Louv and other proponents of unstructured outdoor play will feel a strong affinity for Cleveland and others like him.Its hard to say how much of an authorial presence belongs in a work of history; but I found myself struggling with a few passages that seemed staged or self-indulgent. I suppose all history is at some level autobiography; but this book travels a mighty long way in that direction. I also was surprised that the author made no mention of Keith Thomas "Man and the Natural World: Changing Attitudes in England; 1500-1800." To be sure; that work covers a different time and place; but the prose is crisp and a model for writing about shifting mentalities; particularly changing attitudes toward nature. Nineteenth-century American authors were greatly influenced by English authors and English ways; and I believe thats especially true of New Englands authors. Thomas book would have helped the author more fully illuminate these continuities including that vision of Arcadias demise as tragedy rather than progress.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The use of our environment as seen through art and literatureBy FreddieFits well with the ongoing debates about land use in our country. The author leads you through writings and works of art from Emerson to Cole. Meanwhile professional designers like Olmsted and Downing are making decisions which would affect future generations in major American cities.