The Essential: Vincent Van Gogh (Essential (Harry N. Abrams)) [Hardcover]

Abrams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998 | Series: Essential (Harry N. Abrams)

For readers who have little time to spare and are averse to art-world jargon, this series aims to provide an entertaining guide to individual artists and pop culture. Each volume presents an account of the artist's life, personal and professional anecdotes, concise definitions of cultural and social movements that shaped the artist's work, and colour reproductions. This book explores how Van Gogh, son of a clergyman, with his own failed dreams of becoming one, emerged as one of the world's great painters and an art-world icon. It discusses his greatest passions, how he felt about selling only one painting during his lifetime, and why he painted his most beautiful flower pictures during the most anguished period of his life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This pocket-sized book packs a lot of information, visual and textural, about one of the best-loved artists of the 20th century. One of the Essentials series, which also includes Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, and Edward Hopper, it comes off as a kind of art-world Cliff Notes, but beautifully and colorfully designed. The book purports to tell you everything you need to know to sound smart about Van Gogh. To that end, the text is pre-underlined (the key words and information are italicized, sometimes eccentrically, as in "Vincent was no virgin"); there are lists of bulleted phrases containing highlights of different aspects of Vincent's short career; and "sound bytes"--pithy quotations--are highlighted by blue strips.

There is a reason why Vincent Van Gogh's passionate story has been the subject of best-selling potboilers and Hollywood sagas. He sold only one picture during his wretched lifetime, he committed suicide at age 37, he was fervently religious and callously rude, and he cut off part of his ear. And the 20th-century auction prices for paintings like Irises (more than $50 million in 1987) have made front-page news around the world. This little book relates Vincent's life, his anchoring relationship with his younger brother Theo (to whom he wrote 800 lucid and eloquent letters on art), and his painting. Unfortunately, author Ingrid Schaffner's distorted, flip style ("Theo is not too thrilled," that Vincent "hangs out in divey bars," "Today Van Gogh would be seriously on Prozac") might be offensive to readers of even moderate empathy or serious interest. But for an instant course in Van Gogh, this book is probably your best bet. --Peggy Moorman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810958139
• ISBN-13: 978-0810958135
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,896,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good little book!, November 7, 2010

By 

E. Faxon (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential: Vincent Van Gogh (Essential (Harry N. Abrams)) (Hardcover)

I just have to write a review because I've never had the opportunity to be the first to review! This book is well-written and well-researched; lots of juicy biographical information and analysis. Much better than you would expect for something that looks like a doll's coffee table book.

5.0 out of 5 stars There you have it!, February 12, 2011

By 

Phyllis J. Beckman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Vincent van Gogh (Hardcover)

Ingrid Schaffner pulls me into the tortured world of Vincent van Gogh. That his artistic period lasted a mere 10 years is new information. That he sold one painting in his lifetime is frustration revisited. That he sliced off "part" of his ear, rather than the whole ear is a relief. That Gauguin and van Gogh were rivals during their friendship is sharply defined. That in the grand scheme of art history, van Gogh has trumped Gauguin is satisfying. There you have it! The Essential Vincent van Gogh by Ingrid Schaffner is a keeper.