The Shoes of Van Gogh: A Spiritual and Artistic Journey to the Ordinary [Paperback]

Cliff Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

This personal and reflective book is an exploration of Vincent Van Gogh as spiritual guide, specifically as the most important spiritual guide for great teachers such as Henri Nouwen. Topics include Van Gogh's life, Van Gogh's conversion from drawing to painting, and the evocative power of still life versus portrait. Package includes 10 drawings from Van Gogh and is designed for easy reading.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824521420
• ISBN-13: 978-0824521424
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of "The Shoes of Van Gogh", May 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shoes of Van Gogh: A Spiritual and Artistic Journey to the Ordinary (Paperback)

"The Shoes of Van Gogh" presents a clear picture of the spiritual path taken by Vincent van Gogh as reflected through his art. This book confronts the popular view of Vincent as a madman who committed self-mutilation and suicide and makes the case that Vincent was a whole, sane seeker of God throughout the duration of his short life. His art was the means to that end - the realization of God or the eternal - by opening up new levels of awareness for himself and others through expression and appreciation of the ordinary in life.

The book conveys this message in two ways. First, the reader is taken on a chronological tour of the major phases in Vincent's adult life and is shown examples of work representative of his spiritual growth at each phase. Then, by means of this linear trek through time, the reader ironically is brought back to the beginning and shown the endless cycle of seasonal transformation which shaped Vincent's philosophy and art. Simultaneously, the reader is brought full circle to the opening theme of the book, that being the capacity of van Gogh's work to transcend itself and open new levels of reality within and without both painter and viewer.

Vincent's continual spiritual metamorphosis unfolds with each chapter in chronological fashion. Like all spiritual heroes, Vincent's progression takes off when he lifts the veil and sees through the facade of the social order in which he has been existing. He sheds the entrenched religious conventions and turns to art in an effort to continue ministering to his suffering compatriots on the pilgrim's path. From that point forward, he uses art as a mode of self-expression and as a means to reach others:
* In the Hague, recognizing the holy moments of creation made manifest in new life, in "Child in Cradle with Kneeling Girl" and later reinforced in "La Berceuse";
* In Nuenen, reconciling himself with his father's death, his father's beliefs and his own childhood religion and acknowledging the value and worth of contemporary works;
* In Paris, illustrating a powerful message of the laborer's empty boots;
* In Arles, the time of great, personal blossoming both spiritually and professionally -- the metamorphosis into a great painter and spiritual hero as represented by the bent, flowering pear tree and the butterfly;
* In Arles, "The Bedroom," showing peace, gratitude and spiritual repose;
* In Saint-Remy, his ecstatic vision of the infinite in "Starry Night" and the return from that realm to the ordinary world of everyday events, as seen in the first steps of a young child; and
* In Auvers, in "Wheatfield with Crows," recognizing the perfect symmetry of the birth-death round and the seasonal transformation of all living things.

Having traversed Vincent's adult life through to his death, the reader is brought full circle to the point of beginning. The divine symmetry present in the cycles of the seasons is also present in the body of work this artist left to the world. The eye with which Vincent viewed the ordinary objects and events of creation is the same eye through which God related to Vincent and, so too, those who contemplate his work today.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars van gogh's shoes, May 9, 2004

By 

james brame (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shoes of Van Gogh: A Spiritual and Artistic Journey to the Ordinary (Paperback)

The Shoes of Van Gogh took me on a journey; I was like a ghost sitting next to Cliff Edwards as he explored Van Gogh's life, loves, and passion. Edward's does not make the mistake, like many, to describe Vincent as a deranged painter, but as a person with a passion for life, who was a deeply sensitive and spiritual person. Dr Edward's explorations of nine paintings help the reader discover this part of Van Gogh, something which is deeply rooted in all of us; the need for meaning in this world of shadows. Vincent was able to produce paintings, which act as a conduit from us to the greater mystery, or the ultimate concern of everyone. Dr Edward's has done an excellent job in describing this to the reader and has done justice to the work of Van Gogh.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paintings as windows, April 28, 2004

By 

Esther R. Nelson (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shoes of Van Gogh: A Spiritual and Artistic Journey to the Ordinary (Paperback)

At the very outset of Cliff Edwards' newest book, he states that paintings are like windows, making visible both the inside and outside world. When Vincent Van Gogh painted a picture, he (as all artists do) opened his soul to that painting. Through that aperture, God was able to illuminate the artist. In this brief volume, Edwards acts as our guide, examining nine Van Gogh paintings, and bringing us (the reader) along with him as he discovers and explains Vincent's spirituality. How is God revealed through Van Gogh's art? This book will inform you, but best of all, it has that unique ability to comfort you as well.