Vincent van Gogh's Letters: An Exploration of His Life and Work by Mark Roskill

Allen Melissa Kathleen: This book appears to be a binding of someone's thesis paper on Van Gogh's writings. I'm afraid this was not what I was looking for.

United States on Sep 05, 2023

Sunny: The letters are very beautiful and I love how Vincent described colours, but somewhat I feel like they where kind of censored. Maybe it’s just me but the many … left me thinking that it wasn’t the whole of it. Especially when I found that all the wonderful quotes from the letters seemed to be missing, that I had seen on an exhibition of him. That’s why I only gave 4 stars. But nonetheless, they transported his depression really well to me. I feel him so deeply it hurts.

Germany on Aug 19, 2023

Angela Wood: I love this book. My original copy of twenty years finally fell apart and I ordered this book as a replacement. Anyone curious about how the creative mind works will be captivated by what Van Gogh writes.

Canada on Dec 06, 2021

M: I love these letters and the insight into Vincent's life and some of his thought process..his love for his brother Theo. Such a Brilliant artist. I purchased these for a kindle some years back and lost it and really had to buy the book again as I like to refer back to it..time to time. A Good Buy.

United Kingdom on Jan 17, 2021

Amazon Customer: Ehhh, disappointed...
I love Vincent, his art endlessly. However, I just realised I don't like his writing as much. Too boring, I wasn't able to read it to the end.

United Kingdom on Nov 29, 2019

Jmam: letters of van gogh make fascinating reading. deeply analytical mind of van gogh revealed. nothing about his thinking as demonstrated in his letters suggests he was crazy. the opposite: he was really rational. but emotional issues made him lop his ear off. his letter explaining the famous billiard room bar painting is itself worth the book price.

United States on Nov 12, 2018

M. T. CrenshawM. T. Crenshaw: Van Gogh's letters are really a treasure that anybody who loves Art, Van Gogh's Art or just great historical figures should read. The Dutch painter is known by his characteristic colourful images and brush strokes, for his insanity and tragic ending. Reading some of the letters to his brother and confidant Theo allows us to leave behind the almost mythical movie-like character and meet the real Vincent, the human being, the man, the soul and the artist he was. His letters are full of realism, understanding and compassion towards human dejection and people living under harsh conditions; they are also full of spirituality and religiosity, of love and admiration for Nature, and of colour. His correspondence is a portal to his feelings of love, dejection, failure, fragility, indecision, anger, resentment, obsession and disappointments; are an example of how Art freed his spirit, a witness of his enthusiasm for literature and painting, as well as depiction of the poverty and misery that surrounded most of his adult life. In short, when reading Van Gogh's correspondence one feels transported to the late 19th century and living in Vincent's shoes. In that regard, the selection of letters...

United States on Nov 02, 2017

Dave Schan: Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters. This book is a collection of letters he wrote, primarily to his brother, Theo. He discusses his use of color in painting, his thoughts on other artists, and his overall view of life in general. While I've taken several art history classes, this has been my first exposure to a detailed discussion by the actual artist of his life and work. He is articulate and seems to have been well-versed on many topics. The letters include the practicalities of money that he needed from Theo to purchase painting supplies and to pay rent. They include a discussion of how various aspects of his painting styles came from studying specific artists. I can now look at the person of Van Gogh along with enjoying his paintings. The letters follow his life chronologically, and the book's editor ties them together to help the reader understand key issues at each phase of Vincent's life.

United States on Jul 23, 2017

Rosa Frei: The letters of Vincent Van Gogh, written mostly to his brother Theo, give insight into the thoughts of one of the greatest painters that ever lived. Driven by his passion, Van Gogh, who died young in 1890 at the age of 37, lived for his work only. His ability to observe nature and life, to perceive the different qualities of light and the fine gradation of colours, were the basis of his paintings. Van Gogh, lived in great poverty, supported only by his brother Theo. The special, deep bonding between the two brothers was so deep that shortly after Vincent died, Theo, broken by grief, began to have hallucinations and severe headaches. He died only 6 months after Vincent.

Germany on Aug 09, 2016

Stephen Deasy: Nothing quite like these beautifully human and passionate letters of a young artistic sensibility to his beloved
brother. Van Gogh felt the spirit - whatever one takes that to mean - and tried to become a preacher like his father.
He was too Christ-like to learn Greek and Latin; he wanted to preach and reach people.He put aside "the Book"and
In a 10 year span he created some of the most iconic images of the century and, more importantly, spoke and preached about beauty and seeing things, through his self-taught paintings that have spoken to millions.

United States on Jul 09, 2015