J.W. Phillips (ArtWord Magazine & Vistaview e-zine)
There is a fantastic new book just out on the last two years of Van Gogh's life: Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers. This book has the highest quality reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings I have seen in any book, anywhere, including the deluxe limited edition catalog raisonnés!
Book publisher Hugh Lauter Levin Associates dedicates the book to the memory of its designer Philip Grushkin and rightly so. The book is a magnificent memorial not only to the last feverishly productive and genius inspired years of Van Gogh's life but to the sensitivity and taste of the man who designed this book that describes the events that produced some of the most famous works of art the world over.
From the choice of typefaces, to the Canson color paper, die cut interleaves, and the 100 lb. white text that lends its luminance to the high quality Hong Kong production inks used to render its color plates, this book is itself a work of art. Add to this the erudite text by Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov and wonderful reproductions of photos from the Van Gogh archives, and what we have in this book is a collector's item! This is one of those books that will actually go up in price not down, and caring art book collectors should snatch up copies right away against the risk that successive editions will have an impossible time keeping to the standard of quality evident in the first pressings.
This book is the Christmas present I would love to get, and if this review seems 'over the top' or 'ebullient' readers unfamiliar with my often blistering criticism or wit should rest assured that raves like this are just as rare from me as books like this are in the market. . . If you're an artist or have a love of this artist's work, don't think about it, buy it.
You can preview excerpts from the book at http://www.HLLA.com but this is one of those examples of an object you really have to hold in your hands to appreciate for all its intrinsic delights.
Possibly the most beautiful art book of the year (or several years, for that matter). It details, in vivid text and magnificent reproductions of sketches and paintings, the last 2 1/2 years in the life of Vincent Van Gogh. This was the period during which he produced some 400 paintings. As demonstrated in this book, many of them hold conversations directly with the soul of the viewer.