Van Gogh: The
Complete Paintings by Ingo F. Walther (editor) and Rainer Metzger (author) was
published by Taschen in 2012. Taschen is a German publishing house, but do not
worry. The text is in English.
It is a huge and
heavy volume: hardcover, large format (21 x 28 cm), with 740 pages, and with
numerous illustrations; most illustrations are in colour, while some of them in
black-and-white.
The book is
divided into two parts. Part one covers the time from 1853 to 1888. There are
three chapters, which follow a chronological line:
# 1. The Making of
an Artist, 1853-1883
# 2. The Years in
Nuenen, 1883-1885
# 3. City Life,
1885-1888
Part two covers
the time from 1888 to 1890. There are three chapters, which follow a
chronological line:
# 4. Painting and
Utopia, Arles, February 1888 to May 1889
# 5. “Almost a Cry
of fear,” Saint-Remy, May 1889 to May 1890
# 6. The End,
Auvers-sur-Oise, May to July 1890
Each of the six
chapters are divided into several shorter sections by subheadings. This layout is
very reader-friendly.
At the end of the
book there are five appendices:
** Vincent van
Gogh 1853-1890: A Chronology
** Bibliography
** Comparative
Table of Catalogue Numbers
** Index of
Paintings
** Index of Names
There are many
books about Vincent van Gogh. Many offer a brief biography as well as
illustrations of his most famous paintings; maybe 100 or 200 pages. This type
of book is excellent, if you want to have a quick account of the man and his
work as an artist.
The volume under
review here is different. As the title says, it has all the paintings made by
van Gogh. There are literally hundreds of illustrations in this book. But it is
not merely a picture book. Editor Ingo Walther and author Rainer Metzger also
offer a detailed biography of the artist.
All the paintings
are here and each painting is discussed in the text which follows a
chronological line. What can we see in this painting? What does it mean? Why
did Vincent paint this motive in this way? What does he want to say?
An important
source for this account is the large collection of letters written by Vincent.
Most of them are written to his brother Theo, but there are also some letters
to other people (family and friends). Vincent often wrote a letter when he had
completed a painting.
In his letters he
explains what he did and what he wanted to show. His letters are an important
source because in these letters he reveals his inner thoughts about his life
and his work.
Vincent’s life was
not very long and not very happy. But during his life he managed to create some
great works of art.
Letter # 309,
written in the summer of 1883, is quoted on pages 95-98. In this this letter,
Vincent makes the following observation:
“I not only began
drawing relatively late, but in addition I may well not have so very many years
of life ahead of me… As far as the time that remains for my work is concerned,
I believe that without being premature I can assume that this body of mine will
still keep going, despite everything, for a certain number of years yet – say,
between six and ten.”
Later in the same
letter he adds the following remark:
“Something has to
be created in these years; this thought is my guiding light whenever I draw up
plans for my work.”
This letter is
highly prophetic. In July 1890, only seven years later, he passed away. He sensed
he did not have long to live. Therefore he wanted to make the most of the time he
had left. And he did. During the last years of his life he was a very prolific artist
and he created some of his best works.
These are my
personal favourites:
# 1. The Langlois
Bridge at Arles with Women Washing – and a carriage crossing the bridge; painted
in March 1888. This painting appears on page 323.
# 2. The Café
Terrace on the Place du Forum in Arles at Night; painted in September 1888.
This painting appears on page 425. If you go to Arles, you will see that the
café is still there. Today it is named after the artist who painted it more
than a hundred years ago.
While he was
alive, Vincent was not famous at all. He sold only one painting in his entire
life. Today the situation is radically different. He is one of the most famous
painters in the world. And sometimes his works are targeted by thieves.
On page 21 there
is a painting called Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather. It was painted in
1882. The caption says “Whereabouts unknown,” because it was stolen from the
Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam on 7 December 2002.
On page 53 there
is a painting called Chapel at Nuenen with Churchgoers. It was painted in 1884.
The caption says “Whereabouts unknown,” because it was stolen from the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam on 7 December 2002.
This information
was true when the book was published in 2012. Fortunately, it is not true
anymore: in 2016 both paintings were found again after a police raid on a mafia
location in Italy.
[For details, see
the following item which is available online: Sophie Eastaugh, “Stolen van Gogh
paintings found after 14 years in raid on Italian mafia group,” CNN News, 30
September 2016.]
The publisher has
done a great job with this volume. The illustrations are excellent. The text is
clear and informative. It is a beautiful book which deserves to be praised.
I noticed only one
mistake. It appears in a passage on page 97 where the text reads as follows:
“This old city to
win became Vincent’s base when he travelled to Amsterdam to make a last attempt
Kee.”
The order of the
words is confused. The two words “to win” are misplaced. They should be moved
towards the end of the passage, so that it reads:
“This old city
became Vincent’s base when he travelled to Amsterdam to make a last attempt to
win Kee.”
[Kee is the
nickname of Cornelia Adriana Vos-Stricker (1846-1918) who was Vincent’s cousin.
He wanted to marry her, but she did not return his feelings. For details, see
pages 62-63.]
This mistake is
mentioned here, for the record. Obviously, it is a minor flaw, which does not
disturb the overall quality of the book.
If you want a
short account of Vincent’s life and work, this book is not right for you. It is
far too long and far too heavy.
But if you want to
see all his paintings, and if you want to know all the details about his life
and his work, then this book is exactly what you need. As a detailed biography
about a highly-acclaimed European artist, it is highly recommended.
PS. Taschen
published a smaller version of this book in 2015. The format of the smaller
volume is 14 x 20 cm. The text is the same, and it is much lighter, but the
print is smaller and so are the illustrations. This means you have two options.
If you wish to buy this book, make sure you get the version that is right for
you.
***
Van Gogh: The
Complete Paintings
By Ingo F. Walther
(editor) & Rainer Metzger (author)
Taschen (hardcover)
2012
Format: 21 x 28
cm, 740 pages
***
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