GOGH, VINCENT VAN

born March 30, 1853, Zundert, Netherlands died July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France Self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh, oil on mill board on cradled panel, 188687; in the Art in full Vincent Willem van Gogh Dutch painter, generally considered the greatest after Rembrandt, and one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists. The striking colour, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his work powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh's art became astoundingly popular after his death, especially in the late 20th century, when his work sold for record-breaking sums at auctions around the world and was featured in blockbuster touring exhibitions. In part because of his extensive, published letters, van Gogh has also been mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist. Additional reading Life and work Van Gogh's life has been a popular subject for biography. For the general reader, David Sweetman, Van Gogh: His Life and His Art (also published as The Love of Many Things: A Life of Vincent van Gogh, 1990), is particularly useful. A brief but thorough study of his life and works is Melissa McQuillan, Van Gogh (1989). Richard Kendall, John Leighton, and Sjraar van Heugten, Van Gogh's van Goghs: Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (1998), presents a fresh look at the course of van Gogh's career. The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, 3rd ed., 3 vol. (2000), features van Gogh's writings as well as reproductions of the drawings that appear in his correspondence.An updated, comprehensive survey and standard source on van Gogh's work is J.-B. de la Faille, The Complete Works on Paper, Catalogue Raisonn, 2 vol. (1992; contains the original French title, 4 vol., 1928, and the revised one-volume English ed., 1970). Louis van Tilborgh and Marije Vellekoop, Vincent van Gogh: Paintings (1999 ), focuses on van Gogh's Dutch period from 1881 to 1885 in volume 1. Other broad surveys include Jan Hulsker, The New Complete van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, rev. and enlarged ed. (1996); and Ingo F. Walther and Rainer Metzger, Vincent van Gogh: The Complete Paintings, 2 vol. (1990, reissued in 1 vol., 1997; originally published in German, 1989). Themes and criticism Thematic studies also offer insight into the artist's work. The Van Gogh Bulletin (quarterly), published by the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, provides continuing, focused scholarship. An overview of the artist's critical reception is Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov (compiler), Van Gogh in Perspective (1974). Studies of van Gogh's work in specific locations include Martin Bailey and Debora Silverman, Van Gogh in England: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1992); Trudy van Spaandonk, Antoinette Wildenberg, and Ank Mulder-Koenen, Van Gogh in Brabant: Paintings and Drawings from Etten and Nuenen, ed. by Evert van Uitert (also published in Dutch, 1987); Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov, Vincent van Gogh: His Paris Period, 18861888 (1976), and Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers (1999); and Ronald Pickvance, Van Gogh in Arles (1984), and Van Gogh in Saint-Rmy and Auvers (1986). Carol Zemel, Van Gogh's Progress: Utopia, Modernity, and Late-Nineteenth-Century Art (1997), presents a revised view of van Gogh's professional identity. Debra N. Mancoff, Van Gogh: Fields and Flowers (1999), examines his relationship with nature; and Judy Sund, True to Temperament: Van Gogh and French Naturalist Literature (1992), examines his relationship with literature. The van Gogh myth The persistent and sensational image of van Gogh as a tortured and unrecognized genius has also prompted examination, as seen in Nathalie Heinich, The Glory of Van Gogh: An Anthropology of Admiration (1996; originally published in French, 1991), which charts the evolution of the legend; and Kodera Tsukasa and Yvette Rosenberg (eds.), The Mythology of Vincent Van Gogh (1993), which presents a broad spectrum of topics, including the perspective of popular literature and film and the continuing popularity of his art in Japan. The close relationship of van Gogh to his brother Theo is addressed in Jan Hulsker, Vincent and Theo van Gogh: A Dual Biography, ed. by James M. Miller (1990); and Chris Stolwijk, Richard Thomson, and Sjraar van Heugten, Theo van Gogh, 18571891: Art Dealer, Collector, and Brother of Vincent (1999). The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica