Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Placing the artist in the context of his time, Melissa McQuillan looks at the influences on his life and work and discusses his paintings in depth. Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo and other artists, particularly Gauguin, are also examined.

The author argues that Van Gogh's works were products of his deliberate engagement with contemporary artistic questions and of his experience as an art dealer. His subsequent reputation, the mythology that grew up after his death, the debates between naturalism and modernity and the social implications of Van Gogh's imagery - all are studied in full in this lucid account of an artist who sold only one painting during his lifetime but whose works now command the highest prices in the world.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

McQuillan's handy little paperback first ad~dresses the question of van Gogh as artistic legend whose fame has been fueled by recent auction records for his paintings. Once past this recognition of late-twentieth-century economics and publicity values, the book establishes itself as a quietly effective introduction to the artist's career. In the way of current scholarly research, McQuillan looks at van Gogh within the context of the artist's own period and finds some stimulating new ideas to investigate, including those on the artist's experience as an art dealer, his deliberate attitude to his art, and his connections to other artists of his time. McQuillan also probes van Gogh's reputation and ventures an explanation for his current surge of popularity. Small black-and-white reproductions and a limited number of colorplates illustrate the volume. Bibliography; index. --John Brosnahan

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Melissa McQuillan teaches at the Wimbledon School of Art and has written extensively on Van Gogh.