Van Gogh And The Olive Groves

Combining deep focus with a multifaceted approach to reveal formal, technical, and spiritual aspects of the olive tree motif that dominated the painter's production during his time in a Provençal asylum​ Van Gogh and the Olive Groves reunites for the first time the important series of paintings that Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) dedicated to the motif of olive trees during his stay at the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The book contextualizes this work within Van Gogh's artistic production and explores its deeply personal, often religious resonance. It also features in-depth findings on the artist's technique, materials, and palette resulting from a three-year cross-disciplinary conservation science research project that rigorously examined all 15 paintings. Of particular interest are new discoveries concerning Van Gogh's use of unstable pigments, his application of paint en plein air versus in the studio, and the chronology of the series. Produced between June and December 1889, this bold and highly experimental series employs the motif as a constant in the artist's passionate investigation of the expressive powers of color, line, and subject. Painting the olive trees at different times of day and in different seasons was a quest to unlock their quintessential features, which to him represented the spirit of Provence.

Starry Night is a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.

This lovely book tells the fascinating story of Vincent van Gogh's famous floral paintings.

"This superbly illustrated book traces van Gogh's development as a painter of trees, from the distinctive pollard willows of his home province of North Brabant to the cypress and olive trees of Provence to the parks of Paris. Ralph Skea discusses van Gogh's early life in the Netherlands; his first tree studies in the Dutch landscape; his paintings of trees within townscapes; his particular fascination with orchards, which led to some of his best-known and most loved paintings; and the works he completed in rural Provence."--Amazon.com.

This is an eye-opening catalogue that chronicles van Gogh's ongoing relationship with nature throughout his entire career. Among the featured works are van Gogh's drawings and paintings, along with related materials that illuminate his reading, sources, and influences.

A new look at the ways van Gogh represented the seasons and the natural world throughout his career The changing seasons captivated Vincent van Gogh (1853–90), who saw in their unending cycle the majesty of nature and the existence of a higher force. Van Gogh and the Seasons is the first book to explore this central aspect of van Gogh's life and work. Van Gogh often linked the seasons to rural life and labor as men and women worked the land throughout the year. From his depictions of peasants and sowers to winter gardens, riverbanks, orchards, and harvests, he painted scenes that richly evoke the sensory pleasures and deprivations particular to each season. This stunning book brings to life the locales that defined his tumultuous career, from Arles, where he experienced his most crucial period of creativity, to Auvers-sur-Oise, where he committed suicide. It looks at van Gogh's interpretation of nature, the religious implications of the seasons in his time, and how his art was perceived against the backdrop of various symbolist factions, antimaterialist debates, and esoteric beliefs in fin de siècle Paris. The book also features revealing extracts from the artist's correspondence and artworks from his own collection that provide essential context to the themes in his work. Breathtakingly illustrated and featuring informative essays by Sjraar van Heugten, Joan Greer, and Ted Gott, Van Gogh and the Seasons shines new light on the extraordinary creative vision of one of the world's most beloved artists.

"Published on the occasion of the exhibition Van Gogh Repetitions, organized by The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., and the Cleveland Museum of Art."

This biography of Vincent van Gogh’s sisters tells the fascinating story of the lives of these women whose history has largely been neglected. Many people are familiar with the life and art of Vincent van Gogh, and his extensive correspondence with his brother Theo. But their sisters—Ana, Lies, and Wil van Gogh—have gone overlooked until now. In this compelling group biography based on extensive primary resources, art historian Willem-Jan Verlinden brings Vincent’s three sisters into the spotlight. At a time when the feminist movement was beginning to take root and idealists were clamoring for revolution, the Van Gogh sisters recorded their aspirations and dreams, their disappointments and grief. Based on little-known correspondence between the sisters, this fascinating account of these remarkable women captures a moment of profound social, economic, and artistic change. With great clarity and empathy, The Van Gogh Sisters relates the sisters’ intimate discussions of art, poetry, books, personal ambitions, and employment. Their story will resonate with readers and broaden understandings of Vincent van Gogh’s childhood. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent period in nineteenth-century history this story sheds new light on these impressive women, deepening our understanding of this unique and often troubled family.

Winner of the James Beard Award Until one stops to notice, an olive is only a lowly lump at the bottom of a martini. But not only does a history of olives traverse climates and cultures, it also reveals fascinating differences in processing, production, and personalities. Aficionados of the noble little fruit expect miracles from it as a matter of course. In 1986, Mort Rosenblum bought a small farm in Provence and acquired 150 neglected olive trees that were old when the Sun King ruled France. He brought them back to life and became obsessed with olives, their cultivation, and their role in international commerce.

Vincent van Gogh found tranquility and stimulation in the landscape about him, and in his paintings of fields and meadows he sought to represent eternal truths about humanity and nature. The challenges of depicting fields provide keys to understanding the development of Van Gogh's unique creative process. This book was published to accompany the Toledo showing of the exhibition VAN GOGH: FIELDS, February 23-May 18, 2003. The exhibition brought together 27 selections of the artist's landscapes from each phase of his short, intense career.