Van Gogh: Up Close

Great book for lovers of Van Gogh!

It's a pity that the admittedly ambiguous title of this volume has disappointed some readers' expectations and left them frustrated and dissatisfied. I confess that I myself did not know quite what to expect when I first opened it up, but it is quickly apparent from the first sentences one reads (if one bothers to read the "Sponsor's Foreword") that the subject of the book is not going to be close-up views of Van Gogh's paintings, but views of Van Gogh's close-up paintings. He made a great number of such close-ups, usually of natural elements like insects, flowers, and tree trunks, and that is one of the two major focusses of the exhibition. The other is a number of paintings, mostly landscapes, in which he has a foreground close-up and then lengthens the perspective out to encompass middle-ground elements and finally meets a fairly high horizon. As a theme for an exhibition and book I found this original and compelling. The book is not exactly an exhibition catalogue in the usual sense, but a compilation of lavishly (and excellently--my copy had no problem with blurred reproductions) illustrated essays on the topic designed to accompany the exhibition, which was arranged by the National Gallery of Canada and was first at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (February to May) and then in Ottowa (May to September, 2012).The reviewer Grady Harp has already provided a succinct summary of the contents, and I can only agree with his assessment that this is one of the most interesting of recent art books. I found most of the essays informative and would point especially to Richard Shiff's very original and thought-provoking take on the "materiality" of Van Gogh's painting and to the two smaller contributions of Noelle Paulson, which are models of clear and nuanced articulation of a sensitive perception.The book itself is beautifully produced, another triumph of Yale University Press's brilliant designer, Gillian Malpass, who, just within the past several months, has brought us some other magnificent volumes like "Renoir: Impressionism and Full-Length Painting" and "Renoir in the Barnes Foundation." This is an excellent contribution to the literature on Van Gogh and highly recommended.

Some reviewers don't seem to know their Van Gogh or the period in which he painted. He painted at the end of the impressionist period and basically in their style. Paintings of that time had a "blurry" look to them. It is not that the pics. were out of focus as a reviewer has suggested. Secondly the up-close refers to the fact that he viewed his subjects up-close. It is not that photos of his works were going to be taken up-close as another reviewer said! It is a nice big book, full of pics. and information.

From the title, I imagined that, at last, we would have an artbook with high-quality magnified details of the artworks exhibited in this show (which, from Canada, will travel to Philadelphia). Unfortunately, this is not the case: granted, many works are seldom reproduced in other publications, so it is an opportunity to discover lesser-known landscapes or still-lifes by the Dutch master, but the reproductions themselves are at best average, some being even literally blurred. Quite a disappointment in this respect for such a major VanGogh exhibition.As far as the essays are concerned, most of them are lengthy and do not bring forth any grounbreaking information, except maybe on the artist's technique.On the whole a disappointment.

I LOVE this book and often look at it just because the artwork is so beautiful and to calm my mind when I am anxious. I read an Amazon review before purchasing this book (but bought it anyway) that said they thought the photos were unclear. I think that reviewer was mistaking blurry photography with Van Gogh's artistic style which is often soft, dreamy, and romantic. If you are a Van Gogh fan, I think you will like this book and you can't beat the price.

I bought this as a birthday present for my girlfriend. She only mentioned him once but I knew she would be surprised to see it. She has gone back into it several times and thumbed through the pages, enjoying his work. English is not her first language so she has a little trouble with the text. This is a good quality, well-produced collection. I gave it 5 stars because my girl friend likes it so much.

A friend told me about this book and I bought it that day. This is truly an up close view of Van Gough's work. Beautifully written and edited. This book is a great addition to my coffee table. If you like Van Gough's work, you'll love this book.

Beautiful, oversized hardbound book, with many photos of paintings and drawings. Many references to artwork through letters to Theo. Its mesmerzing

An amazing book if like my Son you need one to see how Van Gogh painted and his technique/style. Very informative and worth every penny.

An insightful and very well-illustrated look at van Gogh's close-up paintings. A new view of works you might not have paid attention to previously!

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