Art History Vincent van Gogh
by
Cornelia Homburg
  • LAST REVIEWED: 18 August 2021
  • LAST MODIFIED: 27 June 2017
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199920105-0112

Introduction

Vincent van Gogh (b. 1858–d. 1890) must be considered the most widely known painter of the 19th century—for his art as much as his life and suicide. Turning artist only at the age of twenty-seven, he was largely self-taught, though his prior training as art dealer, infatuation with religion, and a life-long passion for literature had a profound impact on his art. Van Gogh spent most of the first half of his career between the rural environs of his parents’ home and The Hague where he was in contact with members of The Hague School. His work was influenced by his admiration for the School of Barbizon, in particular Jean-François Millet, and his objective to become a painter of peasant life. In 1886, after a brief stay in Antwerp, he settled in Paris where he soon participated in the contemporary art scene. He associated with Impressionists, Neo-Impressionists, and other artists such as Emile Bernard and John Russell. Moving to Arles in early 1888, he developed his personal brand of intensely colored, expressive art while articulating his ambitions and artistic allegiances in his many letters. His admiration for Rembrandt and Delacroix, as well as Japanese art, motivated his ideas, as did his two-month-long collaboration with Paul Gauguin at the end of 1888. Despite his mental breakdown and ensuing year-long isolation in the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Van Gogh continued to pursue his art with impressive clarity of mind. Interrupted by periods of illness and frequently shaken in his confidence, he created ambitious works that garnered attention in avant-garde circles. With the help of his brother Theo, an art dealer in Paris, he continued to exhibit, and critics began to take note of his work. In July 1890, after three months of immense creativity in Auvers-sur-Oise outside Paris, Van Gogh committed suicide. Soon after his death his fame began to rise swiftly to a star status that had a far-reaching impact on the imagination of both artists and the general public. As a result, the Van Gogh literature is vast. Many early publications, while often insightful and informative, promoted the image of Van Gogh as a mad genius, and his personality and suicide heavily influenced the analysis of his oeuvre. In the second half of the 20th century, a new generation of researchers began to concentrate more on the painter’s work and its social and cultural context, distancing the oeuvre from the persona. Studies of the artist’s relationships with his contemporaries, his models, and his ambitions as a modern painter have further corrected the popular image of the isolated artist. Important work focuses on the investigation of the artist’s ideas and concept of his work. Often growing out of dissertation research, much of this newer material has been published in exhibition catalogs, next to articles and books. The recent collection catalogs of the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam) and the Kroeller Mueller Museum (Otterlo) provide a wealth of fresh information. Among the most useful publications is the new edition of Van Gogh’s letters both in print and online.

Catalogues Raisonnes and Collection Catalogs

The two catalogues raisonnes, De la Faille 1970 and Hulsker 1996, remain relevant, also because their basic information has been reproduced online. However, it must be noted that much new information has come to light since their last publication. The more recent collection catalogs of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the Kroeller Mueller Museum, Otterlo, are more up to date and thorough in their analysis and contextualizing of individual works of art. Here it is helpful to keep in mind that even if these two museums together own the vast majority of works by Van Gogh, the research is focused on these collections and by necessity does not always take into account other works. Those can be difficult to reach or study while they often play a critical role in the artist’s oeuvre. Also, other publications such as of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Annenberg collection are worth noting here.

  • De la Faille, Jacob-Baart. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Edited by Abraham M. Hammacher, Jan G. van Gelder, and W. Jos de Gruyter. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff International, 1970.

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    De la Faille was the first to establish a catalog of Van Gogh’s work in the 1920s. It went through numerous revisions, the latest posthumously in 1970. Unfortunately, the committee of the 1970 edition chose a rather cumbersome format that remains difficult to use. Nevertheless, despite the need for updated information, the volume contains a vast amount of information and background material.

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  • Hulsker, Jan. The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches: Revised and Enlarged Edition of the Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Vincent van Gogh. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1996.

    DOI: 10.1075/z.77Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Originally published in Dutch as Van Gogh en zijn weg in 1977 and translated into English as The Complete Van Gogh in 1980. This diligent researcher and admirer of the artist decided that an alternative to the de la Faille edition was needed and produced his own oeuvre catalog. It is easier to use and combines paintings and drawings in chronological order. However, it also contains at times confusing speculation about the authenticity of works and, like De la Faille 1970, it is no longer up to date.

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  • Vincent van Gogh Gallery. Edited by David Brooks.

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    David Brooks had the good idea to create a catalogue raisonne online and based his information primarily on De la Faille 1970 and Hulsker 1996. It is possible to search under F and JH numbers and to find a host of other information. The author is not, nor claims to be, an art historian, and his material follows sources published by others. Most of the content of his website appeared again on another, more commercial site edited by Templeton Reid, the Van Gogh Gallery.

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Collection Catalogs

The collection catalogs of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the Kroeller Mueller Museum, Otterlo, provide a wealth of information about the artist, his working method, and his sources. The somewhat unusual situation in which two museums own the majority of works by an artist of this magnitude encouraged focused research inside these institutions rather than by a committee of experts from various backgrounds. The resulting publicationsare admirable in their depth and extremely useful. In accordance with the format of this bibliography, books are listed below by author and not in chronological order.

  • Hendricks, Ella, and Louis van Tilborgh, with the assistance of Margriet van Eikema Hommes and Monique Hageman. Vincent van Gogh Paintings: Vol. 2, Antwerp and Paris 1885–1888. Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 2011.

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    In particular this second volume is invaluable as it presents detailed art historical as well as technical research that together allow for a better understanding of the artist’s activities during his formative sojourn in Paris. While the discussions of the individual works provide detailed information regarding content and technique, the essays are especially useful to understand Van Gogh’s artistic development during that time.

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  • Heugten, Sjraar van. Vincent van Gogh Drawings: Vol. 1, The Early Years 1880–1883. Van Gogh Museum. Wormer, The Netherlands: V+K Publishing, 1996.

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    This and the other volumes of drawings provide an excellent overview of Van Gogh’s activities as a draughtsman. They can be used in sections for specific research on a work or a period or to get a sense of the overall development of the artist. Despite much detail, very accessible.

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  • Heugten, Sjraar van. Vincent van Gogh Drawings: Vol. 2, Nuenen 1883–1885. Van Gogh Museum. London: Lund Humphries, 1997.

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    See also Volume 1. Well written and full of information not only on technique and content of individual works but also on where the artist lived and how this environment inspired him.

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  • Ives, Colta Feller, Susan Alyson Stein, Sjraar van Heugten, and Marije Vellekoop. Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Van Gogh Museum. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005.

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    Not limited to a single collection, this exhibition catalog reflects in part the detailed investigations of the collection catalogs also listed in this section but adds further important research. It is particularly useful for its investigation of the relationship between the artist’s mature drawings and his paintings, as for example in Arles when he created drawings based on his compositions on canvas.

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  • Meedendorp, Teio. Drawings and Prints by Vincent van Gogh in the Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Kröller-Müller Museum. Deventer, The Netherlands: Thieme GrafiMedia Groep, 2007.

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    Similar in format to the paintings catalog of this museum mentioned in this section, it offers an in-depth discussion of the works on paper in the museum’s collection. Looks also at the collecting interests of the museum’s founder, Helene Kroeller-Mueller.

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  • Stein, Susan Alyson, Asher Ethan Miller, Colin B. Bailey, Joseph J. Rishel, and Mark Rosenthal, eds. The Annenberg Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2009.

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    A revised and expanded edition of a book originally published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1989. In part available online. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s expanded and republished in-depth research on parts of its collection, here the Annenberg gift, which includes major works by Van Gogh especially from the south of France.

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  • Ten Berge, Jos, Teio Meedendorp, Aukje Vergeest, and Robert Verhoogt. The Paintings of Vincent van Gogh in the Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Otterlo, The Netherlands: Kröller-Müller Museum, 2003.

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    A thorough discussion of the paintings in the museum’s collection. In an unusual editorial decision, also fakes and works that once belonged to the collection of Mrs. Kroeller Mueller are included. The book also considers the collecting interests of the museum’s founder.

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  • Tilborgh, Louis van, and Marije Vellekoop. Vincent van Gogh Paintings: Vol. 1, Dutch Period 1881–1885. Van Gogh Museum. London: Lund Humphries, 1999.

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    This first volume dedicated to the Van Gogh Museum’s collection analyzes the works in oil that Van Gogh created in the Netherlands. It provides insights into the rural motifs the artist pursued during his early years and the contacts with other painters that helped him develop his technique. Less detailed than volume 2.

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  • Vellekoop, Marije, and Sjraar van Heugten, with the assistance of Monique Hageman and Roelie Zwikker. Vincent van Gogh Drawings: Vol. 3, Antwerp & Paris 1885–1888. Van Gogh Museum. London: Lund Humphries, 2001.

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    See also Volumes 1 and 2. Situates the artist’s activities carefully within his environment and his interactions with other artists and encounters with art. Analyzes his development as a draughtsman with attention to detail.

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  • Vellekoop, Marije, and Roelie Zwikker, with the assistance of Monique Hageman. Vincent Van Gogh drawings: Vol. 4, Arles, Saint-Rémy & Auvers-sur-Oise. Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 2007.

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    See also the earlier volumes. This last volume consists of two parts that cover the artist’s extremely productive years in the south of France and in Auvers-sur-Oise. In addition to valuable information about the locations and what the artist saw, it situates the works on paper within the larger context of the oeuvre.

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  • Wolk, Johannes van der, Ronald Pickvance, and E. B. F. Pey. Vincent van Gogh: Drawings. Kröller-Müller Museum, Milan: Mondadori, 1990.

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    This exhibition catalog unites a large number of Van Gogh’s best drawings from all periods. Contains pertinent information about the material even if some of it has been superseded by more recent research. Useful in particular for those works that are not included in the other editions mentioned in this section.

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The Letters

The 2009 edition of the artist’s letters is the most useful source for Van Gogh research that has appeared in recent years. The edition contains all existing letters by Van Gogh and the letters of his correspondents as far as they are known, all translated, dated carefully, and placed into chronological order. A lavish multivolume paper edition—with one volume dedicated to notes and background information—is complemented by a vastly extended version online that is available free of charge. In the online version facsimiles of the letters can be placed next to the translations or transcriptions of the originals, and art works mentioned can be called up in color reproduction whenever available. It is easy to use and to search. The well-known earlier English version of the letters must be replaced with this new edition. When using the letters, it is crucial to remember that the available manuscripts are not complete. In most cases we are limited to a one-sided account, as the letters from Van Gogh’s correspondents are largely lost, while several letters by Van Gogh went missing or were destroyed. Also, Van Gogh was often not simply recording thoughts or encounters but was intent on pursuing a specific argument and convincing his counterpart of his ideas and wishes, thus generally tailoring his letters accordingly. Following the citations for the letter editions listed here, a small group of more recent publications is included that offer further insights into the subject.

  • Bakker, Nienke. “Van Gogh. L’Epistolier.” In Van Gogh/Artaud: le suicidé de la société. Edited by Isabelle Cahn, 47–59. Paris: Musée d’Orsay, Skira, 2014.

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    A succinct introduction and assessment of Van Gogh as letter writer by one of the editors of the 2009 edition included in the exhibition catalog by Cahn.

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  • Dumas, Ann, ed., Nienke Bakker, Leo Jansen, and Hans Luijten. The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and his Letters. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2010.

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    This catalog accompanied a beautiful exhibition that was developed on the basis of the letter edition project and can serve as an introduction to the subject of Van Gogh’s letters.

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  • Jansen, Leo, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker, eds. Vincent van Gogh – The Letters. The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition. 6 vols. Van Gogh Museum and Huygens Institute. London: Thames & Hudson, 2009.

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    Expanding on my introduction, the (online) edition is well documented via notes and commentaries. It contains a chronology and biographical and historical overview and a vast bibliography among other helpful references. The online version is available free of charge. While the translations were executed with care, as with all historical texts, it is still useful to refer to the original for specific interpretations. Also, the focus of the publication is the letters, not the research into definitive information and dating of the works of art. The website is updated at regular intervals.

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  • Jansen, Leo, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker, eds. Vincent van Gogh: Ever Yours. The Essential Letters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014.

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    For those who like to read a book but do not wish to buy the Complete Letters, this a good selection based on the 2009 edition. Also contains a short biography in the beginning.

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  • Jansen, Leo, and Jan Robert, eds. Brief Happiness: The Correspondence of Theo van Gogh and Jo Bonger. Cahier Vincent 7. Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle: Waanders, 1999.

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    Publication of the letters between Vincent van Gogh’s brother and his wife that not only provides insights into their relationship but also highlights the activities of the artist from another angle. With an introduction by Han van Crimpen.

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Overviews of the Oeuvre by Period

General overviews of Van Gogh’s oeuvre that provide a handy introduction for the beginning scholar are rare. Noted here is one of the most recent ones, Sund 2002, as well as Pollock and Orton 1978. During the 1980s and 1990s, a number of exhibitions were organized that investigated in a scholarly manner Van Gogh’s work of a particular period. The accompanying catalogs remain standard references. (For more recent information, the collection catalogs by the Van Gogh Museum and Kroeller Mueller Museum listed in Catalogues Raisonnes and Collection Catalogs are helpful. Uitert 1987 and Mast and Dumas 1990 provide good overviews of the Dutch period.) Griselda Pollock’s groundbreaking dissertation of 1980 (Vincent van Gogh and Dutch Art: A Study of the Development of Van Gogh’s Notion of Modern Art with Special Reference to the Critical and Artistic Revival of Seventeenth Century Dutch Art in Holland and France in the Nineteenth Century, 2 vols., University of London, Courtauld Institute of Art) was not published. Some of her work is reflected in the exhibition catalog of 1981; other aspects appeared in articles in the journal Art History that are listed under Thematic Studies. Welsh-Ovcharov, et al. 1988; Pickvance 1984; and Pickvance 1986 undertook pioneering work regarding the French period.

  • Mast, Michiel van der, and Charles Dumas, eds. Van Gogh en Den Haag. Haags Historisch Museum, Den Haag. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1990.

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    This exhibition catalog presents a valuable study of Van Gogh’s sojourn in this city from a historical perspective. It identifies the artist’s motifs and characterizes the particular environments he depicted; it further reconstructs the artistic climate in which he worked, also beyond the artists of The Hague School.

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  • Pickvance, Ronald. Van Gogh in Arles. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Abrams, 1984.

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    Pickvance was the first to thoroughly analyze Van Gogh’s work in Arles in terms of content and chronology; remains useful for the context of individual works.

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  • Pickvance, Ronald. Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Abrams, 1986.

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    Exhibition catalog. Follow-up to the Van Gogh in Arles catalog with a similar approach.

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  • Pollock, Griselda, and Fred Orton. Vincent van Gogh: Artist of His Time. Oxford: Phaidon, 1978.

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    An introduction to the artist’s life and work by two art historians who were among the first to undertake critical scholarship on the artist in the 1970s.

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  • Pollock, Griselda. Vincent van Gogh in zijn Hollandse jaren: kijk op stad en land door Van Gogh en zijn tijdgenoten, 1870–1890 (Vincent van Gogh in His Dutch Years: The Regard on City and Country by Van Gogh and His Contemporaries). Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, 1980.

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    The catalog in Dutch with an English summary includes some of Pollock’s valuable dissertation research; it was one of the early exhibitions in the Van Gogh Museum focusing on a specific time period.

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  • Solana, Guillermo, ed. Van Gogh: los últimos paisajes: Auvers-sur-Oise, 20 de mayo–29 de julio 1890 (Van Gogh: The Final Landscapes: Auvers-sur-Oise, 20 May–29 July 1890). Madrid: Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2007.

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    This catalog brings into focus the short time Van Gogh spent in Auvers, a small village and artists’ colony not far from Paris. Astute considerations that also highlight how much more research needs to be done. Summary in English.

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  • Sund, Judy. Van Gogh. London and New York: Phaidon, 2002.

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    Very useful as a general introduction to life and work. Unfortunately, the publisher’s format does not allow notes nor references to letters. Helpful, brief bibliography.

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  • Uitert, Evert van, ed. Van Gogh in Brabant. Paintings and Drawings from Etten and Nuenen. Noordbrabants Museum, Hertogenbosch. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1987.

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    Exhibition catalog. A solid overview of Van Gogh’s work and ideas during his stay in the Dutch countryside. Particularly interesting is Zemel’s essay “The ‘Spook’ in the Machine: Pictures of Weavers in Brabant” on Van Gogh’s interest in the subject of weavers. It was republished as chapter 2 in Carol Zemel, Van Gogh’s Progress: Utopia, Modernity, and Late-Nineteenth-Century Art (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997).

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  • Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila, and Françoise Cachin, with the assistance of Monique Nonne. Van Gogh à Paris. Paris: Editions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1988.

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    This catalog presents detailed factual research on Van Gogh’s time in Paris, the places he frequented, and the artists he encountered there.

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Materiality, Process, Technique

The technical research regarding works by Van Gogh has intensified in recent years. The publications listed here are not limited to technical fact-finding but place the work in context and provide useful insights into the artist’s concepts and ambitions. Early investigations of individual artworks such as Jirat-Wasiutynski, et al. 1984 and Peres, et al. 1991 have been complemented by research that was aided by new questions and advanced technology in the laboratory. In particular Vellekoop, et al. 2013 is a good example of an extensive collaboration between art historians and conservators as well as specialists from other scientific institutions that partnered to provide a better understanding of how the artist worked. Shiff 2012 takes another track, reflecting the author’s interest in the materiality of painting and viewing the artist’s surfaces through the lens of early criticism.

  • Hendricks, Ella, and Louis van Tilborgh, with the assistance of Margriet van Eikema Hommes and Monique Hageman. Vincent van Gogh Paintings: Vol. 2, Antwerp and Paris 1885–1888. Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 2011.

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    Detailed art historical and technical research provides a better understanding of the artist’s activities during his formative years in Paris. While the discussions of the individual works offer information regarding content and technique, the essays are especially useful to understand Van Gogh’s overall development during that time.

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  • Jirat-Wasiutynski, Voitech, H. Travers Newton, Eugene Farrell, and Richard Newman. Vincent van Gogh’s Self-portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin: An Historical and Technical Study. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Art Museums, 1984.

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    Exemplary study of a major self-portrait by Van Gogh that shows how art historical and technical research can enrich each other.

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  • Peres, Cornelia, Michael Hoyle, and Louis van Tilborgh. A Closer Look: Technical and Art-Historical Studies on Works by Van Gogh and Gauguin. Cahier Vincent 3. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1991.

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    A groundbreaking study that highlights the dramatic changes of color in Van Gogh’s Arles paintings. Fascinating collaboration between several specialists of different backgrounds.

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  • Rathbone, Eliza E., William H. Robinson, Elizabeth Steele, and Marcia Steele. Van Gogh: Repetitions. The Phillips Collection; The Cleveland Museum of Art. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2013.

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    This catalog combines technical and content research regarding those paintings of which Van Gogh made more than one version. For each case, detailed art historical analysis is followed by technical research and provides fascinating insight into the artist’s thinking. Can be used for individual case studies. With further contributions by Sylvia Albro, H. Travers Newton, and Galina K. Olmsted.

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  • Shiff, Richard. “Matière très Matière.” In Van Gogh: Up Close. Edited by Cornelia Homburg, with Anabelle Kienle, Joseph J. Rishel, and Jennifer A. Thompson, 120–153. National Gallery of Canada. Philadelphia Museum of Art, New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2012.

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    Exhibition catalog. The author’s interest in an artist’s mark making has resulted in an evaluation of Van Gogh’s intentions and his preference for heavily worked surfaces, viewed in the context of the early reception of his work.

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  • Stein, Susan Alyson, and Charlotte Hale. Irises and Roses. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.

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    A focused exhibition that created a unique opportunity to study four paintings by Van Gogh from the spring of 1890, an important moment in the artist’s career when he was preparing his move from St-Remy in the south of France to Auvers-sur-Oise outside of Paris. The publication of the research on the web offers detailed information in accessible format.

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  • Vellekoop, Marije, Muriel Geldof, Ella Hendriks, Leo Jensen, and Alberto de Tagle. Van Gogh’s Studio Practice. Mercatorfonds and Van Gogh Museum. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013.

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    This heavy volume combines art historical and technical research covering numerous aspects of the artist’s activity, among them comparisons between specific works that clarify the differences between Van Gogh working in front of nature and in the studio. The artist’s draughtsmanship is scrutinized via his procedures and materials. Research into the artist’s use of colors and paint supports resulted in information about his suppliers and the changes in the appearance of many paintings. Comparisons between works by Van Gogh and his contemporaries provide some knowledge of their exchanges.

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Thematic Studies

Thematic approaches to Van Gogh’s oeuvre provide helpful insights into the artist’s ideas and offer avenues for further study. The first two sections list publications that deal with the subject matter that the artist found particularly important: views of nature and portraiture. The other three sections present research that investigates major sources of inspiration: literature, religion and Japonisme. These three topics interweave in many ways with the artist’s selections of motifs, and certain studies appear in several sections to indicate this. The publications listed are those that go into greater depth of a theme while scholarly approaches vary. For individual works, reference must also be made to the discussions in the collection catalogs mentioned in Catalogues Raisonnes and Collection Catalogs that provide valuable details and background information.

Representations of Nature

Van Gogh was constantly inspired by the landscapes that surrounded him and enchanted by aspects of nature that he discovered, but his choices of what to depict in his art were rarely impulsive and often conditioned by specific goals and interests. Scholars have investigated Van Gogh’s depictions of nature and land- and cityscapes from a variety of angles. Pollock 1983 and Pollock 1988 position Van Gogh’s work from the Netherlands in a social context while Thomson 1987 analyzes the historical and cultural significance of one of the artist’s motifs in Paris. Jirat-Wasiutynski 1993, Jirat-Wasiutynski 2001, and Homburg 2010 investigate the artist’s choices and viewpoints for his subject matter as well as the conceptual framework within which he pursued his representations of nature.

  • Homburg, Cornelia, ed. Vincent van Gogh: Timeless Country – Modern City. Milan: Skira, 2010.

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    With essays by Joan Greer, Sjraar van Heugten, Jenny Reynaerts, Chris Stolwijk, and Judy Sund, this exhibition catalog investigates the artist’s depictions of nature by analyzing his choices of urban and rural motifs. Identifies the frames of reference the artist established and the specific interests and allegiances at different stages of his career. Reynaerts relates his early landscapes to models of The Hague School and his reading, Sund places his portraits of peasants into the context of his ambitions, while Greer establishes a context for the urban landscapes of Paris.

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  • Homburg, Cornelia, ed. with Anabelle Kienle, Joseph J. Rishel, Jennifer A. Thompson. Van Gogh: Up Close. National Gallery of Canada and Philadelphia Museum of Art. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2012.

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    Studies Van Gogh’s deliberate choice of the close-up view of nature for his paintings in the larger context of his ambitions and his associations with specific models, contemporaries, and photography. This catalog also contains contributions by Rakhee Balaram, Noelle C. Paulson, Ulrich Pohlmann, and Richard Shiff.

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  • Jirat-Wasiutynski, Vojtech. “Vincent van Gogh’s Paintings of Olive Trees and Cypresses from St.-Rémy.” The Art Bulletin 75 (1993): 647–670.

    DOI: 10.2307/3045988Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    A focused study on these important motifs in St.-Remy. Analyzes Van Gogh’s ideas about the subject, his working methods, and exchanges with Gauguin and Bernard. A good starting point for further investigation.

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  • Jirat-Wasiutynski, Vojtech. “Van Gogh in the South: Antimodernism and Exotism in the Arlesian Paintings.” In Antimodernism and Artistic Experience. Edited by Lynda Jessup, 177–187. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001.

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    Evaluates Van Gogh’s choice of Arles as a destination and the context in which he viewed the town and its rural environment.

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  • Kendall, Richard, Sjraar van Heugten, and Chris Stolwijk. Van Gogh and Nature. Clark Art Institute. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2015.

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    . While the exhibition catalog does not present much new research, it gives a good overview of Van Gogh’s interest in nature. Useful as an introduction to the topic.

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  • Pollock, Griselda. “Stark Encounters: Modern Life and Urban Work in Van Gogh’s Drawings of The Hague 1881–1883.” Art History 6 (1983): 330–358.

    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.1983.tb00819.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    The essay discusses Van Gogh’s extensive body of drawings executed in The Hague with particular attention to social subject matter and the artist’s own convictions in this context. See also Pollock 1988.

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  • Pollock, Griselda. “Van Gogh and the Poor Slaves: Images of Rural Labour as Modern Art.” Art History 11 (1988): 408–432.

    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.1988.tb00311.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Griselda Pollocks (unpublished) dissertation of 1980 led to the publication of a number of essays that evaluate Van Gogh’s Dutch oeuvre in a social context. Reflecting the author’s Marxist point of view, the essay provides astute insights into Van Gogh’s early work. See also Pollock 1983.

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  • Thomson, Richard. “Van Gogh in Paris: The Fortification Drawings of 1887.” Jong Holland 3.3 (1987): 14–25.

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    Locates the group of water colors and drawings in the historic and cultural context of the time and the place that they represented.

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Portraiture

Throughout his career Van Gogh stated repeatedly his ambition to become a painter of portraits, which he considered the highest art form. A chronic lack of models and a deep fascination with nature prevented him from achieving this goal. Nevertheless, the numerous portraits he created are significant and have engendered some important publications. These do not only analyze the works of art but also locate them within the painter’s goals and the social context in which they were created.

  • Dorn, Roland, George S. Keyes, and Joseph J. Rishel, with Katherine Sachs, George T. M. Shackelford, Lauren Soth, and Judy Sund, with a chronology by Katherine Sachs. Van Gogh Face to Face: The Portraits. Detroit Institute of Arts. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000.

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    Of particular interest in this catalog are the essays by Dorn, “The Arles Period: Symbolic Means, Decorative Ends,” and Sund, “Famine to Feast: Portrait Making at St. Remy and Auvers.” Dorn’s essay considers the portraits of the Roulin family as a cohesive series planned as such by the artist and positions it within the concept of decoration. Sund uses her discussion to investigate Van Gogh’s ideas and ambitions regarding portraiture in his mature work.

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  • Rathbone, Eliza E., William H. Robinson, Elizabeth Steele, and Marcia Steele. Van Gogh: Repetitions. The Phillips Collection and The Cleveland Museum of Art. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2013.

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    Fine exhibition catalog with further contributions by Sylvia Albro, H. Travers Newton, and Galina K. Olmsted. The discussions of the portraits of the Roulin family and of L’Arlesienne (Madame Ginoux) are noted in particular. While they may not offer groundbreaking new insights, they constitute useful and solid introductory texts and references to other literature.

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  • Sund, Judy. “Country Man/City Man: Dichotomy and Hybridity in Van Gogh’s Figure Paintings.” In Vincent van Gogh: Timeless Country – Modern City. Edited by Cornelia Homburg, 73–86. Milan: Skira, 2010.

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    Sund analyzes how Van Gogh’s choices in the depiction of rural and urban figures were conditioned by his notions of type and specific models.

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  • Zemel, Carol. “Modern Citizens: Configurations of Gender in Van Gogh’s Portraiture.” In Van Gogh’s Progress: Utopia, Modernity, and Late-Nineteenth-Century Art. By Carol Zemel, 87–169. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

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    See also “Self-Portraits: The Construction of Professional Identity.” These two chapters in Zemel’s book offer focused studies that evaluate Van Gogh’s choices (and stereotyping) in his portraiture and contextualize the way he positioned himself as an artist in his self-portraits.

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Literature

One of the most significant sources of inspiration for the artist was his reading. Literature of all types—journals, poetry, novels, biographies, travel accounts, and others—formed a never-ending source for ideas and associations. Reading, in at least four languages (Dutch, German, English, and French), was an ongoing activity from an early age and informed the artist’s opinions and his art. Documented prominently in the artist’s letters, this interest has been discussed by many authors, though often in passing. Sund 1992 remains a major reference, in particular with regard to Van Gogh’s interest in naturalist literature, while Veen 2009 provides a broader overview. The new letters edition online is helpful for references to original sources (Jansen, et al. 2009).

  • Jansen, Leo, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker, eds. Vincent van Gogh—The Letters. The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition. 6 vols. London: Thames & Hudson. Van Gogh Museum and Huygens Institute, 2009.

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    It is necessary to refer here to the new letters website with its extensive notes. The editors identified a wealth of references and quotations by Van Gogh that can be searched easily.

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  • Kōdera, Tsukasa. Vincent van Gogh: Christianity versus Nature. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1990.

    DOI: 10.1075/oculi.3Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    See, in particular, chapter 6, “Christianity versus Nature: Emile Zola’s La faute de l’abbé Mouret.” Within a larger context of investigating Van Gogh’s sources of inspiration such as the Bible and Japonist literature and imagery, the analysis of the influence of Emile Zola’s book on Van Gogh’s imagery in St.-Remy is fascinating.

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  • Nordenfalk, Carl. “Van Gogh and Literature.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 10 (1947): 132–147.

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    Very early but useful overview of the artist’s interests.

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  • Sund, Judy. “Favoured Fictions: Women and Books in the Art of Van Gogh.” Art History 11 (1988): 255–267.

    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.1988.tb00298.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    The author highlights here the interesting association Van Gogh established between women as readers and writers and his own love for literature.

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  • Sund, Judy. True to Temperament: Van Gogh and French Naturalist Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

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    A major study of Van Gogh’s inspiration through his extensive reading, with a focus on his great appreciation of naturalist literature (as the title indicates). Provides excellent analysis within a social context as well as situates the artist’s thinking within the currents of his time.

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  • Veen, Wouter van der. Van Gogh: A Literary Mind: Literature in the Correspondence of Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh Studies 2. Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 2009.

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    Based on research associated with the new edition of the Van Gogh letters, the book provides insight into the broad range of literature that Van Gogh read and incorporated in his art as well as his approach to life.

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Religion

Van Gogh’s upbringing as the son of a minister and his early attempts to follow in his father’s footsteps created a deep-seated interest in religion and related texts that had a far-reaching impact on his artmaking. Even after the artist had renounced his ambitions toward a religious career and had become weary of the teachings of the church, he continued to infuse his work with religious context and references. Also in his relationship with other artists such as Gauguin and Bernard, this element played a decisive role. The list of titles here is also intended to highlight the different approaches authors have taken.

  • Erickson, Kathleen Powers. At Eternity’s Gate: The Spiritual Vision of Vincent van Gogh. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1998.

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    While problematic, as the book is particularly unreliable with regard to interpretations of works of art, the first two chapters, which deal with the early education and background of the Van Gogh family of preachers, provide detailed information. Originally published by the University of Chicago Press in 1992.

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  • Greer, Joan. “A Modern Gethsemane: Vincent van Gogh’s Olive Grove.” Van Gogh Museum Journal (2001): 106–117.

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    Investigates Van Gogh’s exchanges with Gauguin and Bernard regarding Christian subject matter and the role of the Dutchman’s religious background in the development of his artistic identity.

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  • Greer, Joan. “‘Christ, This Great Artist’—Van Gogh’s Socio-religious Canon of Art.” In Vincent’s Choice: The Musée imaginaire of Van Gogh. Edited by Chris Stolwijk, Sjraar van Heugten, Leo Jansen, and Andreas Blühm, with the assistance of Nienke Bakker, 61–72. Van Gogh Museum and Mercatorfonds, 2003.

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    As the title indicates, this essay places Van Gogh’s ideas about religious art and literature into the vital context of Dutch theological tendencies of the 19th century. Focusing on his early years, the analysis of Van Gogh’s artistic identification with religious thought of his time is particularly helpful.

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  • Kōdera, Tsukasa. Vincent van Gogh: Christianity versus Nature. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1990.

    DOI: 10.1075/oculi.3Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    This study researches in depth Van Gogh’s sources and motifs reflecting his religious interest and personal background. It shows the efforts by the artist to combine nature and Christian symbolism in his work against the background of religious and cultural climate particularly in the Netherlands.

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  • Silverman, Debora. Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Search for Sacred Art. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.

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    Considers the work of the two artists in a religious context. The author argues convincingly the importance of this influence and provides valuable analysis of individual works of art as well as background.

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Japonisme

While Van Gogh was familiar with Japanese artifacts and history already in the Netherlands, he learned to appreciate the impact of Japonism and its opportunities for artmaking only after he arrived in Paris in 1886. He began to share the general fascination with Japanese art and culture with his contemporaries, and it became a vital impetus for his art from 1887 onward. A major topic of discussion with his colleagues, it also led him to accumulate a significant collection of Japanese wood block prints, which served as inspiration (now housed in the Van Gogh Museum). Aspects of his fascination have been investigated.

  • Childs, Elizabeth C. “Seeking the Studio of the South: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Avant-Garde Identity.” In Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard. Edited by Cornelia Homburg, with essays by Elizabeth C. Childs, John House, Richard Thomson, and a chronology by Lynn DuBard, 113–152. Saint Louis Art Museum. New York: Rizzoli, 2001.

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    The author analyzes the way Van Gogh shaped his identity via the prevalent ideas of Japan as a timeless harmonious culture whose exotic, non-Western character offered an alternative to Western values. Focus lies on his collaboration with Gauguin in Arles.

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  • Homburg, Cornelia. “Nature So Close.” In Van Gogh: Up Close. Edited by Cornelia Homburg, with Anabelle Kienle, Joseph J. Rishel, and Jennifer A. Thompson, 2–39. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press. National Gallery of Canada and Philadelphia Museum of Art. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2012.

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    Introduces the framework that determined the research on the artist’s close-up views of nature for this exhibition, and investigates Van Gogh’s deliberate use of a Japanese model for his study of nature as well as the consequences for the construction of his oeuvre.

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  • Kōdera, Tsukasa. “Japan as Primitivistic Utopia: Van Gogh’s Japonist Portraits.” In Vincent van Gogh: Christianity versus Nature. By Tsukasa Kōdera, 51–65. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1990.

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    Investigates in detail the sources for specific Japanese motifs in Van Gogh’s portraiture. The author argues for a utopian concept in Van Gogh’s assimilation of Japonist concepts with regard to his plans for a Studio of the South in Arles.

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  • Orton, Fred. “Vincent van Gogh and Japanese Prints.” In Japanese Prints Collected by Vincent van Gogh. 14–23. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, 1978.

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    An early publication of Van Gogh’s Japanese prints, the article by Fred Orton in this volume offers an insightful introduction to Van Gogh’s interest in the subject.

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  • Rappard-Boon, Charlotte van, Willem van Gulik, and Keiko van Bremen-Ito. Japanese Prints: Catalogue of the Van Gogh Museum’s Collection. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle: Waanders, 2006.

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    Revised edition (first published as Catalogue of the Van Gogh Museum’s Collection of Japanese Prints in 1991). Provides an overview of the collection of Japanese prints now in the Van Gogh Museum. Helpful to get an idea of what the artist collected even if the collection is no longer complete. The introduction was written by Tsukasa Kōdera who analyzes Van Gogh’s Japonisme and some of its major sources. Compare also Tsukasa Kōdera, Vincent van Gogh: Christianity versus Nature (Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1990), chapter 4, “Japan as Primitivistic Utopia: Van Gogh’s Japonist Portraits.”

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  • Roskill, Mark. “The Japanese Print and French Painting in the 1880s.” In Van Gogh, Gauguin and the Impressionist Circle. By Marks Roskill, 57–85. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1970.

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    The author explains in which way the aesthetic qualities of the Japanese prints were of particular importance to artists in France in the 1880s and in this context analyzes Van Gogh’s interest in the subject. Solid introduction to the topic.

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Artistic Strategies: Van Gogh’s Positioning of His Oeuvre

Despite his intense, seemingly impulsive working method, Van Gogh developed a distinct idea of his ambitions as an artist and letter writer. Several authors have evaluated his choices of a position providing studies for both content and methodology. The publications range from the reconstruction of the artist’s viewpoint vis-à-vis his own work, an evaluation of his efforts to conceive of his work in terms of series or decorations, to an investigation of his motivation to establish himself as a member of the avant-garde.

  • Dorn, Roland. Décoration: Vincent van Goghs Werkreihe für das Gelbe Haus in Arles Hildesheim, Germany: G. Olms, 1990.

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    Translation: Décoration: Vincent van Gogh’s Series of Works for the Yellow House in Arles. Insightful and thorough analysis of Van Gogh’s series of paintings for his yellow house in Arles. Particularly interesting as it highlights with this specific example the deliberateness with which the artist constructed his oeuvre. Extensive references and notes.

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  • Homburg, Cornelia. “Vincent van Gogh’s Avant-Garde Strategies.” In Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard. Edited by Cornelia Homburg, 21–56. Saint Louis Art Museum. New York: Rizzoli, 2001.

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    Analyzes Van Gogh’s contacts with other artists as well as his use of models and specific subject matter in the context of his ambitions to create a place for himself among his contemporaries and on the art market.

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  • Pollock, Griselda. Avant-Garde Gambits 1888–1893: Gender and the Color of Art History. London: Thames & Hudson, 1992.

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    While more focused on Gauguin than Van Gogh, a piercing, feminist point of view analyzing the ambitions and positions of the two artists.

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  • Uitert, Evert van. “Van Gogh’s Concept of his Oeuvre.” Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the history of Art 12 (1981–1982): 223–244.

    DOI: 10.2307/3780499Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    One of the first authors to investigate Van Gogh’s personal view of his oeuvre and his ambitions as an artist. A useful way to initiate study of this topic.

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  • Zemel, Carol. Van Gogh’s Progress: Utopia, Modernity, and Late-Nineteenth-Century Art. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

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    Particularly relevant in this context are chapter 4, “Self-Portraits: The Construction of Professional Identity,” and chapter 6, “The Real Country: Utopian Decoration in Auvers.” A succinct study that analyzes in chapter 4 the intention and reception of Van Gogh’s self-portraits in the context of his ambitions as an artist. Chapter 6 discusses Van Gogh’s introduction of double square paintings in terms of decoration and discusses his imagery as an idealized concept.

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Relationships with Other Artists

Fascinating work has been done (and needs to continue) regarding Van Gogh’s relationship with his contemporaries and his admiration for older art. An avid reader of journals and books on art and a collector of prints, he established a framework of vital references, which he incorporated regularly in his art and which served as a basis for his interaction with others. The Dutch 17th-century masters, in particular Rembrandt, became life-long guides for technique and expression and constituted a heritage that justified his own standing. Also, numerous painters of the 19th century, among them Delacroix, Daumier, and Millet, served as models. Relevant research has been published including, among others, Druick, et al. 2001 (cited under Relationship with Gauguin); Stolwijk, et al. 2003; and Tilborgh, et al. 1988, (both cited under Models and Inspiration). Van Gogh’s interaction with his contemporaries is also vital for the understanding of his oeuvre. Rather than working as an isolated artist, the painter was deeply influenced by his friendships, collaborations, and rivalries with other artists. In particular the publications that deal with his activities in Paris and his collaboration with Gauguin are worth highlighting since these had such a far-reaching impact on his mature work.

Models and Inspiration

Van Gogh’s range of models was vast and can be surprising considering the oeuvre he produced. It stretched from Rembrandt, Hals, and Delacroix to Ary Scheffer, Monticelli, and the School of Barbizon. This section lists a number of studies, but see also Thematic Studies for further references. Here special attention is given to specific models that shaped Van Gogh’s art, those he attempted to follow and emulate.

  • Chetham, Charles. The Role of Vincent van Gogh’s Copies in the Development of his Art. New York: Garland, 1976.

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    The first extensive investigation of Van Gogh’s models. Solid work that was important for all further research.

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  • Homburg, Cornelia. The Copy Turns Original: Vincent van Gogh and a New Approach to Traditional Art Practice. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1996.

    DOI: 10.1075/oculi.6Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Investigates the meaning of Van Gogh’s copying activity after Rembrandt and 19th-century models and the reasons for the artist’s choices. Charts this type of activity in the context of Van Gogh’s ambitions and the late-19th-century fascination with originality.

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  • Nochlin, Linda. “Van Gogh, Renouard, and the Weavers’ Crisis in Lyons.” In The Politics of Vision: Eessays on Nineteenth-Century Art and Society. By Linda Nochlin, 95–119. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.

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    Analyzes the social context of Van Gogh’s imagery and the models he knew via reproductions in journals. Uses one example to show how the artist approached a social subject and his knowledge of context.

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  • Pollock, Griselda. “On Not Seeing Provence: Van Gogh and the Landscape of Consolation, 1888–9.” In Framing France: The Representation of Landscape in France, 1870–1914. Edited by Richard Thomson, 81–118. Manchester, UK and New York: Manchester University Press, 1998.

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    Discusses the artist’s ongoing orientation toward Dutch 17th-century models. Reference must also be made to Pollock’s (unpublished) dissertation that focused on Van Gogh’s Dutch years and his Dutch models.

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  • Sheon, Aaron. Monticelli: His Contemparies, His Influence. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Institute of Art, 1978.

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    Exhibition catalog. One of the few more detailed studies of Monticelli, who is little known today but for whom Van Gogh had boundless admiration. Short section on this aspect at the end of the catalog.

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  • Stolwijk, Chris, Sjraar van Heugten, Leo Jansen, and Andreas Blühm, eds, with the assistance of Nienke Bakker. Vincent’s Choice: The Musée imaginaire of Van Gogh. Van Gogh Museum. Antwerp: Mercatorfonds, 2003.

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    An exhibition catalog that presents an overview of artists and ideas that Van Gogh used as his guide for developing his own artistic identity. Without striving for completeness, it allows for insight into the wide-ranging tastes and preferences of the artist.

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  • Tilborgh, Louis van, Sjraar van Heugten, and Philip Conisbee, eds. Van Gogh & Millet. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1988.

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    Essential reference that highlights Van Gogh’s great admiration for Millet in the context of his love for Barbizon painting. Solid research also with regard to the position of Millet in the second half of the 19th century and the painter’s image as Van Gogh absorbed it from his readings. An adjusted French version in collaboration with Marie-Pierre Salé was published in conjunction with another showing at the Musée d’Orsay in 1998.

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Friends and Contemporaries

Despite the frequently proposed image of the isolated artist, neither his geographic situation nor his personality prevented Van Gogh from nourishing friendships and exchanges with other artists in person or by letter. While opportunities in the Netherlands were at times limited due to his living in the countryside, Paris provided a fertile ground, which Van Gogh explored at great length. His interactions with other artists underscored his need to develop in new directions, sharpened his sense of competition, and intensified his quest for collaboration.

  • Dorn, Roland. “Emile Bernard and Vincent van Gogh.” In Emile Bernard, 1868–1941: A Pioneer of Modern Art. Edited by Mary Anne Stevens and Fred Leeman, 30–47. Städtische Kunsthalle and Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1990.

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    Exhibition catalog. An overview of the exchanges and collaboration between the two artists and a brief reference to Bernard’s role in constructing Van Gogh’s posthumous fame.

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  • Homburg, Cornelia, ed. Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard. St. Louis Art Museum. New York: Rizzoli, 2001.

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    With contributions by Elizabeth C. Childs, John House, Richard Thomson, and Lynn DuBard. Taking as a starting point Van Gogh’s own term of the “painters of the petit boulevard” to distinguish himself and his colleagues from the more established Impressionists, the essays in this catalog examine how these relationships influenced his career. Homburg analyzes the artist’s strategies to establish himself, while Thomson situates the artist in the social and artistic milieu of Paris.

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  • Lövgren, Sven. The Genesis of Modernism: Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh & French Symbolism in the 1880s. New York: Hacker Art Books, 1983.

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    Revised edition (first published in 1959). As the title indicates, the book takes a modernist approach. Based on research in the 1950s, the analysis of the main ideas of the artists and the artistic milieu in which they functioned is thoughtful and provides a welcome change from Rewald’s work. Useful as an introduction to the subject as well as for methodology.

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  • Rewald, John. Post-impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin. Rev. ed. New York: Museum of Modern Art. distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1978.

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    First published in 1956. While dated in its methodological approach, the sweeping overview remains relevant for its wealth of material and detailed information about the artist’s activities and friendships.

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  • Roskill, Mark. Van Gogh, Gauguin and the Impressionist Circle. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1970.

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    Based on research in the 1960s, it contains valuable information and analysis regarding Van Gogh and Gauguin and places them into the larger context of artistic activity of the 1880s in Paris.

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  • Stolwijk, Chris, and Richard Thomson, with a contribution by Sjraar van Heugten. Theo van Gogh, 1857–1891: Art Dealer, Collector, and Brother of Vincent. Van Gogh Museum. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1999.

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    A discussion of the art-dealing activities of Theo van Gogh at the influential, traditionally oriented firm of Goupil and Cie, the catalog provides insight into the visual sources and useful artist contacts that the artist had at his disposal via his brother.

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  • Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila, and Françoise Cachin, with the assistance of Monique Nonne. Van Gogh à Paris. Paris: Editions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1988.

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    This catalog is an important contribution regarding Van Gogh’s activities in Paris 1886–1888 (a time when he wrote few letters), his immersion in the Parisian avant-garde scene, and the reorientation of his manner of working.

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Relationship with Gauguin

In particular the collaboration between Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin was formative for both artists and had an impact far beyond the two-month-long collaboration in Arles at the end of 1888. Their stay together in the Yellow House was fraught by differences of lifestyle and opinions as well as by intense competition. As in particular Uitert 1983 and later Druick, et al. 2001 have shown, for Van Gogh the months leading up to the artists’ cohabitation were extremely important. Reference must be made also to Roskill 1970 (cited under Relationships with Other Artists: Friends and Contemporaries).

  • Childs, Elizabeth C. “Seeking the Studio of the South: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Avant-Garde Identity.” In Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard. Edited by Cornelia Homburg, 113–152. Saint Louis Art Museum. New York: Rizzoli, 2001.

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    Looks at the relationship between the two artists by charting their ideas of the exotic and analyzes the parallels and differences between them with a focus on Van Gogh’s position.

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  • Druick, Douglas W., and Peter Kort Zegers, with Britt Salvesen. Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South. Art Institute of Chicago. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001.

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    A vast undertaking to map the collaboration between the two artists, the catalog is the result of extensive research, but it remains cumbersome as a publication. At the same time it is extremely useful as it addresses many questions, such as where the two artists created their paintings and in which order, and the influence of other artists such as Delacroix and Daumier, as well as of literature, visual references, and others. It also includes fascinating technical research. Best used by searching the index for specific topics or works rather than a comprehensive reading.

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  • Silverman, Debora. Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Search for Sacred Art. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.

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    Another approach to the subject via a reading of the artists’ work in a religious context. With its specific focus, the book is based on solid research and brings to the fore useful material regarding the background and specific religious interests of the painters—a good way to initiate discussion about the subject.

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  • Uitert, Evert van. Vincent van Gogh in Creative Competition: Four Essays from Simiolus. Zutphen, The Netherlands: Nauta, 1983.

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    A first, groundbreaking analysis of Van Gogh’s relationship with Gauguin. Thoughtful considerations about the intellectual context that give a valuable introduction to the subject and analyze the parameters for the artistic competition. This collection of essays in a small edition appeared separately as “Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin: A Creative Competition,” Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 9 (1977): 149–168; “Vincent van Gogh in Anticipation of Paul Gauguin,” Simiolus 10 (1978–1979): 182–199; “Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in Competition: Vincent’s Original Contribution,” Simiolus 11 (1980): 81–106; and “Van Gogh’s Concept of His Oeuvre,” Simiolus 12 (1981–1982): 223–244.

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Reception and Reputation

The history of the artist’s reception is absorbing because of a longtime tendency to confound persona and oeuvre and because of the artist cult that developed in the course of the 20th century. Zemel 1980 addresses this succinctly in a study of early criticism, while Uitert 1987 (see The Legend) analyzes the situation in the context of a larger publication that highlights the burgeoning role of the Van Gogh Museum created on the basis of the Van Gogh family collection. The topic is approached here in two sections that are closely related and should be cross-referenced. The section on early criticism focuses on the comments about the artist during the first decades following his death in Europe, in particular in France, the Netherlands, and Germany. The reputation of Van Gogh is addressed in the second section by a selection of publications analyzing the phenomenon. Also, the Biography section includes further references regarding the myth of the artist.

Early Reception

A small number of useful compilations of early criticism and reminiscences by contemporaries give access to the early reception of Van Gogh and his oeuvre. This selection has been complemented by studies that focus on specific collections or distributions of works by Van Gogh. Some, such as Distel and Stein 1999, investigate the Gachet collection, established through friendships with Van Gogh and other artists, the only one available to visitors in France in the early 20th century. Herzogenrath and Hansen 2002 uses the early interest in Van Gogh in Germany to highlight the politics of art at the beginning of the 20th century.

  • Distel, Anne, and Susan Alyson Stein. Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Doctor Gachet. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1999.

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    An investigation of the collection of Dr. Gachet, a homeopathic doctor, amateur artist, and collector of contemporary art and friend of Cezanne, Pissarro, Van Gogh, and others. The catalog evaluates his collection and discusses the many copies of works by Van Gogh that became a hot topic in the late 1990s. Contrary to other publications on the subject, the authors refuse to engage in conjecture and sensationalism.

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  • Feilchenfeldt, Walter. Vincent van Gogh & Paul Cassirer, Berlin: The Reception of Van Gogh in Germany from 1901 to 1914. Cahier Vincent 2. Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1988.

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    Written by the art dealer Walter Feilchenfeldt, it documents in detail the early interest in Van Gogh in Germany. Valuable source for early provenance, though not without errors. Catalog of the drawings compiled by Han Veenenbos.

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  • Herzogenrath, Wulf, and Dorothee Hansen. Van Gogh: Fields. The Field with Poppies and the Artists’ Dispute. Kunsthalle Bremen, Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2002.

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    Addresses the reception of modern art from France, in particular the work of Van Gogh, in Germany. Using the early acquisition of a St.-Remy landscape and exhibitions of the artist’s work in the Kunsthalle Bremen as a starting point, it highlights the heated debate about modern art in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. The catalog’s discussion of individual works remains traditional. An adjusted publication appeared for a showing at the Toldeo Museum of Art.

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  • Omoto, Keiko. Van Gogh, pèlerinages japonais à Auvers: études et présentation des livres d’or de Paul Gachet. Paris: Musée Guimet, 2009.

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    Translation: Van Gogh, Japanese Pilgrimages to Auvers: Studies and Presentation of the Guest Books of Paul Gachet. An edition of the guest books of Dr. Gachet, whom Van Gogh met at the end of his life in Auvers, it represents the early interest in Van Gogh’s oeuvre by Japanese artists and intellectuals. While primarily descriptive rather than analytical, it shows a fascinating aspect of Van Gogh’s reception, at a time when public collections in France did not include works by the artist.

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  • Stein, Susan Alyson, ed. Van Gogh: A Retrospective. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin, 1986.

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    A most useful selection of texts—letters, reminiscences, and articles—from a variety of countries that gives an overview of criticism and Van Gogh’s growing reputation. It expands on Welsh-Ovcharov 1974.

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  • Stolwijk, Chris, and Han Veenenbos. The Account Book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Cahier Vincent 8. Leiden, The Netherlands: Primavera Pers, 2002.

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    The publication presents the record of Vincent van Gogh’s early sales, as noted by family in the years after the artist’s death. It also includes information about the works by other artists that were collected by the brothers Van Gogh and are now almost all housed in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

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  • Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila, ed. Van Gogh in Perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974.

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    In the format of the well-known “in perspective” series (edited by H. W. Janson), this is a handy compilation of early criticism, generally excerpted, that provides insight into the early reception of the artist. In a second briefer section of the book, the editor introduces art historical studies of the 1940s and 1950s by Meyer Schapiro, Fritz Novotny, and Jean Seznec, among others.

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  • Zemel, Carol M. The Formation of a Legend. Van Gogh Criticism, 1890–1920. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1980.

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    Important analysis of the early reception of Van Gogh in the Netherlands, France, and Germany. Covering a wide range of writers, the quotes from publications are generally short and are chosen to support the author’s viewpoint.

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The Legend

The phenomenon of Van Gogh worship during the course of the 20th century that channeled and even limited scholarship on the artist brought forth a number of useful studies addressing the issue. Zemel 1980, listed in the section on Early Reception has to be mentioned again here for its useful analysis of the artist’s early fame. It is impressive how many authors during the 20th century helped shape the popular image of the artist as mad genius and fostered his status as a legend. Among many examples two are mentioned here that were particularly successful. In the United States, Irving Stone published Vincent van Gogh: Lust for Life in 1934, which became even more popular through the successful Hollywood film that was based on it. In Germany Julius Meier Graefe, whose art historical discussions of Van Gogh’s work culminated in his 1922 two-volume book Vincent with which he intended “to foster the legend,” were complemented further by his novel on Van Gogh with the subtitle Roman eines Gottessucher’s (Novel of a Seeker of God) in 1932. Uitert 1987 and Kōdera 1993 investigate the rise of the artist’s fame that received yet another boost in the 1980s and 1990s through a number of high-profile exhibitions and the growing popularity of the Van Gogh Museum.

  • Esner, Rachel, and Margriet Schavemaker, eds. Vincent Everywhere: Van Gogh’s (Inter)National Identities. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2010.

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    A compilation of essays by authors from different backgrounds and interests (historical, art historical, literary, popular culture) on the artist’s impact and appropriation by different nationalities. Fascinating in particular because the editors situate the contributions in the context of both an international and the Dutch debate on national identity and multiculturalism.

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  • Hammacher, Abraham M. “Van Gogh and the Words.” In The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Edited by Abraham M. Hammacher, Jan G. van Gelder, Jacob-Baart de la Faille, and W. Jos de Gruyter, 9–37. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff International, 1970.

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    A sweeping overview of the literature and criticism on Van Gogh with an emphasis on “personalities” ranging from Karl Jaspers to Antonin Artaud to Reiner Maria Rilke as well as many journalists. Useful as an introduction; less so for its analysis.

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  • Heinich, Nathalie. The Glory of Van Gogh: An Anthropology of Admiration. Translated by Paul Leduc Browne. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.

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    English translation of La gloire de Van Gogh, essai d’anthropologie de l’admiration, first published in 1991. A sociological approach to analyze the fame of Van Gogh in the context of hero worship as a cultural phenomenon, the role of religious concepts to chart admiration and success both in the art world and the market. An appendix contains a succinct selection of early criticism in France that illustrates the author’s argument.

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  • Kōdera, Tsukasa, ed. The Mythology of Vincent Van Gogh. Tokyo: TV Asahi, 1993.

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    Kōdera’s large volume presents a range of articles by both Western and Japanese authors who address various aspects of the artist’s fame in both analyses and factual overviews. Particularly noteworthy are chapter II, on “Cinema, Video and the Performing Arts,” chapter III with an essay on the long list of illnesses attributed to him, and chapter IV that looks at the intense Japanese interest in Van Gogh.

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  • Koldehoff, Stefan. Van Gogh: Mythos und Wirklichkeit. Köln: Dumont, 2003.

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    Translation: Van Gogh: Myth and Reality. With a contribution by Nora Koldehoff. In our context, the interest of this book is limited to the part that highlights the appearance of Van Gogh fakes due to his popularity. Written from a journalistic standpoint it picks up on the interest in fakes that flared up in the 1990s to discuss them with reference to the infamous Wacker fakes and process of the 1930s.

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  • Saltzman, Cynthia. Portrait of Dr. Gachet: The Story of a Van Gogh Masterpiece: Modernism, Money, Politics, Collectors, Dealers, Taste, Greed, and Loss. New York: Viking, 1998.

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    As the title indicates, the book tracks the reputation of Van Gogh through a single example, via a journalistic, at times too sensationalist style. Interesting as an elaborate result of the Van Gogh hype. With a focus on the art market.

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  • Uitert, Evert van. “An Immortal Name.” In The Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. Edited by Evert van Uitert and Michael Hoyle, 19–29. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff/Landshoff, 1987.

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    An essay that discusses in succinct form the artist’s growing reputation. The author starts with the painter’s own ambitions, then looks at the context of earliest criticism from 1890 onward until the early part of the 20th century. Appropriately, the essay is part of a larger volume dedicated to the legacy of the Van Gogh family collection.

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Biography

This is another challenging aspect of the Van Gogh literature, as his biographers tend to have difficulties disassociating the person as artist from his dramatic, sensationalized reputation and often seem to feel compelled to write such a text because of it. Van Gogh himself did not facilitate the process considering the dichotomy of the intensity of his living, writing, and working, and the impressive clarity and purpose of his creative process. The first book-length biographies were published in the 1920s by Gustave Coquiot, Theodore Duret and Julius Meier Graefe. They were followed by a multitude of writers who explored the popular image of the artist mingling life and work, often with little attention to historical fact. (See also the introduction to the chapter on “Reputation.”) Presented here is a very small selection that includes the more recent publications with the exception of the memoir of Johanna van Gogh-Bonger that accompanied the first edition of the artist’s letters and has historical significance.

  • Bailey, Martin. Young Vincent: The Story of Van Gogh’s Years in England. London: Allen, 1990.

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    Not a biography in the traditional sense, it brings into focus the time Van Gogh spent in England before he became an artist.

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  • Bell, Julian. Van Gogh: A Power Seething. Boston: New Harvest, 2015.

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    A writer and painter who presents a personal take on Van Gogh and does not claim a scientific approach. An easy read and with useful information, as long as one keeps in mind the author’s intent to write a good story and his tendency to interpret facts from a personal point of view.

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  • Gogh-Bonger, Johanna van. “A Memoir of Vincent Van Gogh.” In The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh. By Vincent van Gogh, 15–53. London: Thames & Hudson, 1958.

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    This memoir accompanied the author’s first edition of Van Gogh’s letters, Vincent van Gogh: Brieven aan zijn broeder of 1914. The personal, sympathetic, and carefully edited vision of van Gogh’s life had a huge impact on the reputation of the artist and for many years served as a guide for other biographers.

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  • Hulsker, Jan. Vincent and Theo van Gogh: A Dual Biography. Ann Arbor, MI: Fuller, 1990.

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    English translation of Lotgenoten: het leven van Vincent en Theo van Gogh, first published in 1985. One of the earnest attempts of the 1980s with much useful information, it is impregnated with the author’s deep admiration of his subject.

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  • Jansen, Leo, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker, eds. Vincent van Gogh—The Letters. The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition. 6 vols. London: Thames & Hudson. Van Gogh Museum; The Hague: Huygens Institute, 2009.

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    The edition contains two sections of interest: a detailed chronology and a historical and biographical context. The overview of van Gogh’s life included here is useful for its solid information.

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  • Naifeh, Steven, and Gregory White Smith. Vincent van Gogh: The Life. New York: Random House, 2011.

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    Eagerly anticipated and based on many years of research by the authors, the much-promoted book remains disappointing. The very detailed (and lengthy) narrative tends toward a psychological reading of much of the artist’s life and unfortunately includes important factual mistakes. See also the review by Louis van Tilborgh and Teio Meedendorp. “The Life and Death of Vincent van Gogh,” The Burlington Magazine 155.1324 (2013): 456–462.

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