Customer Reviews

Van Gogh on Art and Artists: Letters to Emile Bernard (Genius of Vincent Van Gogh)

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What an enlightening opportunity to be a fly on the wall reading letters from probably the most verbal of all the famous painters. Imagine, as a bonus, getting "the rest of the story" from the massive number of letters van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo. This was an amazing labor to gift us who buy this book to learn what van Gogh thought about other painters who also became famous, how he painted, painting processes he engaged in, and sometimes what troubled him and how he spoke about his "episodes" to others in his circle. I felt I had secret access to van Gogh as I read his thoughts about relationships he had with other masters and his feelings about other painters in his time.

As a painter, I loved learning about van Gogh's painting technique, color choices, and thought processes. I learned first hand what van Gogh was thinking when he painted individual paintings I have seen many times, the ideas, the color combinations, the places he loved.

Even though I had read many books about van Gogh and many more that contained information about him, after reading this book, I felt I had an intimate knowledge of him, really knew him, even felt mentored by him.

You don't have to be a lover of art or artist to gain tremendous insight from this book. Anyone curious about people, interested in exploring the mind of a genius, and especially those interested in personality traits and individual psychology would find this book a treasure trove.