Customer Reviews (2)

Van Gogh, a man worth getting to know.
In his early years as an artist, Vincent Van Gogh vividly related his concept of art to his brother Theo in two separate letters from July of 1882, numbered 218 and 221. In this book of Vincent's letters, translated by W.H. Auden, these letters can be more carefully read than if I were to paraphrase or quote bits and pieces here. His letters are a portal into the mind of a great artist and a misunderstood man. While there are more complete books of Van Goghs writings available, this collection gets to the core of Vincent as a man and as an artist.
Vincent was not some wacko who cut off part of his ear and shot himself from insanity, he was rather, a deeply caring man, a genius who observed life so far over the heads of the so-called art experts that they could not see his vision. I did not become a lover of Vincent's art work until after I had read this book of his letters and was able to see more clearly what he was conveying on canvas. I have admired Auden as a poet for many years and this translation of his is far more readable than other translations I have read since. For anyone who has ever admired Van Gogh's paintings, this book is a must read, but for anyone who has seen them and not appreceiated his perception of the world, read this book and you will change your mind and your heart as well. You might even come to understand and love this great man's artwork. JJ

An excellent selection of letters
The British poet WH Auden has compiled a wonderful selection from Van Gogh'sletters. Auden makes his selection..."What," I asked myself, "is the single most important fact about Von Gogh?" To that there seemed only one answer - "That he painted pictures". Hence the selection focuses on those letters which contain his reflections on the art of painting and the problems of being a painter. Other letters, eg to his father and brother, are included as they throw light upon Van Gogh's career as a painter. Also included are descriptions of VG by his acquaintances, 40 illustrations and a brief biography by his nephew. Of interest to artists as well as admirers of Van Gogh's works. ... Read more

Product Description
Vincent van Gogh was a Western painter who lived at the end of the 19th century. His work as an artist continues to inspire today because it is fresh and unique. The paintings van Gogh created are full of movement and life, although the subjects are often simple. This is because the artist tried to paint the energy behind what he was seeing. As a result, people and flowers - even the houses and furniture in his pictures - seem to be alive. In the end, he suffered much loneliness and despair. During his life, his art never sold well and he thought he was a failure. Yet today his work is some of the most famous in the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Beyond the sunflowers, irises and the portrait of Doctor Gachet, there is a man, Van Gogh, signified by his fragility and his talent. From his birth in 1853 to his death in 1890, the Post-Impressionist Van Gogh shaped nineteenth-century concepts of painting with his creativity and technique over the course of several years. He became a forerunner of the Expressionists, the Fauves and Modern Art. Today, however, Van Gogh remains the symbol of the painter tortured by illness, by other people and, especially, by himself. In this work, the author follows Van Gogh's correspondence, as well as his paintings, which express a new approach to colour. The legend often rubs shoulders with the banal and great artistic genius is confronted with the petty realities of existence. ... Read more

Product Description
Explores the spiritual vision of Van Gogh's painting The Night Café. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Lovely and fascinating!
This is a truly interesting and insightful read about Van Gogh's painting "The Night Cafe" in which author Edwards discusses the spiritual components of the work, and how this spirituality may have evolved in Van Gogh as a result of the artis's life, reading, and inner beliefs and torments. It's fascinating to read how Van Gogh, who was denied a career as a preacher, turned his spiritualty into artistic creativity.

This book is very readable (you don't have to be an intellectual or an art expert to enjoy it) and I am certainly going to check out Edwards' other books on Van Gogh. Highly recommended!

On the spiritual journey of the artist Vincent Van Gogh
"Mystery of the Night Cafe" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction.Professor Edwards's book interview ran here as cover feature on August 26, 2009.

Cliff hanger
Cliff Edwards deconstructs Van Gogh's Night Cafe using his letters and history. He makes connections between Van Gogh's personal demons and his struggle for salvation.

Mystery of the Night Cafe
In Mystery of the Night Café, Cliff Edwards takes the reader on an intimate journey into the creative genius of Vincent Van Gogh by focusing on one painting that reveals "the inner life and intent of the artist himself." Rather than portraying Van Gogh as a gifted person tormented by fits of mental illness, Edwards shows us though primary sources (the artist's total work, his correspondences, and books and paintings that influenced him) the sheer force of Van Gogh's aesthetic vision that informs all of his work. It is a vision of compassion and service to others, emerging in part from a thoughtful life exposed to repeated loss and failure, which grew into a search for the true meaning of the self. It is a way of seeing the mystery, the reality behind the form or label, which Van Gogh urges us toward in his painting, and in this sense the artist's quest is essentially a spiritual one. Edward's takes the reader along as he discovers the "mystery within a mystery" found in this intriguing yet often overlooked painting.

I highly recommend this thoughtful and beautifully illustrated work by Cliff Edwards (author of two previous books on the painter, _The Shoes of Van Gogh_ and _Van Gogh and God_). It is much more than simply a meditation on a single painting by one of the great masters, for through the life of Van Gogh we glimpse the archetypal journey toward the true self.

Mark Ferrara
SUNY Oneonta

What do you see when you see the painting for yourself?
Having meditated, as it were, at the shrine of Vincent van Gogh's Night Café while reading Cliff Edwards' book, I must say that the book, in keeping with the painting, is absolutely superb.The author captures in his interpretation not only the holy essence of this work of art but also of the artist.I believe Professor Edwards has got Vincent's spirituality exactly right, including the selfless, sacrificial nature of his death.

Truth is, we all live in some manner of speaking, or some manner of silence, within the Night Café.Cliff Edwards has not only unraveled its mystery, but has led us further into the mysterium tremendum where we come to know the inscrutable nature of our own poverty and desire in the face of the Infinite, which without doubt was Vincent's purpose.

I shall never gaze again upon Vincent's depiction of the Night Café without seeing the figure of Christ draped open in the doorway to the café's inner sanctum.I had sought him elsewhere in the scene.I had even thought the white-clothed figure without legs might symbolize an effigy of the risen Christ (the "innkeeper" as Edwards notes), but until reading this book I had not seen the "Empty Tomb" within the canvas as the thinly veiled visage of the Invisible One, Christus Consolator, just as Vincent envisioned God to be manifest in the life and suffering of the marginal poor of his day, which included himself.

It is Vincent's distinct and indomitable spirit that is captured in the Night Café.By leading us through the work of art back to the artist, thus also to the Ultimate Reality to which the artist symbolically points us, Cliff Edwards deserves a literary award for bringing the mystery of this painting, in concert with Vincent himself, to light.

As you come yourself in sacred pilgrimage before Vincent's alluring "sanctuary" of the Night Café, and as you read Cliff Edwards in order to gain his deep in-sight, be prepared to ponder the profound Mystery that Vincent conveys, which is to say, to understand it by standing under it long enough to see what otherwise remains invisible to the observing eye.
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Product Description
Now art lovers and colorists of all ages can enjoy hours of coloring pleasure. This exquisite new coloring book will launch you on a journey of discovery with a collection of 30 meticulously rendered black-and-white drawings of Van Gogh masterpieces. By referring to the 30 accompanying full-color illustrations, you can bring alive these skillful adaptations that include Sunflowers, Starry Night, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, The Church at Auvers, and many more. Captions. Line drawings by Marty Noble.
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Customer Reviews (6)

Master! Beautiful as expected.
As an art student finishing her Bachelor's degree, I have purchased this as a way to study his line work. I have always admired Van Gogh, have many of the prints on my wall, but my goal was to study his lines and how his process to achieving a finish drawing was.


This book is a must have on any art student's library. You will get most of the master's famous workand have it for years. It's so relaxing and you can learn a lot from it.

The way I use is this:

I photocopy it, then use on my sketchbook because it does have drawings on both sides,you want to make sure you don't color it right on the book so that you can use other times.

I also use transfer paper, when I don't have the time to xerox it. Always have sharp points and Prismacolor pencil is the best to achieve the bright tones. Happy Drawing everybody. =)

Impressionist Coloring Book For Kids Of Any Age
I am a fan of this series of books, and especially appreciate their utility in introducing great art to children and young adults. I am a great admirer of Vincent van Gogh, and have always appreciated his unique style and especially his brushwork. In my mind his use of dynamic brushstrokes and bright contrasting colors defines impressionism for all time. The problem, of course, is that these characteristics are impossible to reproduce in a coloring book or paint-by-numbers book of any sort.

While I prefer the abstract coloring books from the same series, I recognize that impressionism is more difficult to reproduce than the (generally) hard-lined linearity inherent in abstract art. While I considered giving this book four stars due to the impossibilities in reproducing a van Gogh masterpiece, I elected to give it five because of the educational and inspirational value that exposing people to these great works intrinsically has.

The book is well printed, and comes with a nice color guide for rendering the individual pieces. It is a bargain, and is a great, interactive way to introduce kids (or adults new to van Gogh, for that matter) to the work of the master impressionist.

Pretty good
This is a great coloring book for adults.I use it as a time to just do something a little mindless.Its a nice change to have a book like this that isn't a bunch of cartoons intended for 5 year olds.

Careful!
I think we can all agree that, although he depicted some perfectly pleasant scenes of quaint countryside and rural life, Van Gogh's approach to paint application and colour was way off. How many times did he spoil, say, a nice waving wheat scene with turmultuous swirling colours, giving a dark psychological insight into a tormented psyche, at odds with the scene depicted? He couldn't even paint a nice starry sky without expressing through colour, texture and dynamic motion a radical and unique vision of personal torment, at odds with the artistic conventions of the time. This book, then, is a godsend; a chance to rectify Van Gogh's stylistic mistakes in the area of colour application, while retaining the charming scenes of the French countryside.
A word of warning, however: this book is really not suitable for children or similarly impressionable people. I gave it to a young nephew who, after spending quite some time colouring in the nice birds over the wheat field, cut his ear off!

Good adult therapy
I was looking for a good "adult therapy" style coloring book, and this is exactly what I was hoping for. Since I can't draw, I satisfy my creative yearning with coloring. The pictures have a enough detail to be absorbing, but not so much detail as to be tedious. The paper and granularity of the drawings are perfect for crayons, which I prefer over markers or pencil. My husband still teases me for playing with crayons, but at least my subjects are adult now. ... Read more

Product Description
Briefly examines the life of the renowned Dutch painter and traces the development of his art. ... Read more

Product Description
Choice drawings—from early impressions of peasant life to studies for Starry Night, other masterpieces. 44 b/w illus. Captions.
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Customer Reviews (2)

Extremely poor reproductions
Guess my title says it all. This book was a big disappointment. The reproductions are so faint it's not worth buying.

Van Gogh Drawings
Drawings in this set were not very good quality. But they are interesting (and reasonable) if you are not familiar with them.[[ASIN:0486254852 Van Gogh Drawings: 44 Plates (Dover Art Library) ... Read more

Product Description
Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text. ... Read more