The Bottom Line
It's definitely not cheap, but if you're a Van Gogh fan, this is something very special. It contains 819 letters written by Van Gogh (and 83 written to him by his brother Theo, artists Paul Gauguin and Paul Signac, and others) and more than 4,300 illustrations of his sketches, drawings, paintings, plus the art he refers to.
If you read one letter a day, it'd keep you going for more than two years. So if you calculate it like insurance ads do, at a daily price, that might make it easier to deal with the expense.
Pros
- 4,300 illustrations + 2,180 pages = a lot of Van Gogh
- Contains 819 letters written by Van Gogh and 83 written to him.
- Letters illustrated with the paintings/drawings referred to, by Van Gogh and other artists.
- Thumbnails of paintings included on the page of each letter where it's mentioned.
Cons
- Not cheap! But beautifully designed and printed.
- As a boxed set, it weighs a lot. Each volume is like an exhibition catalog in size/weight.
Description
- Published October 2009. Available in English (Thames & Hudson), Dutch (Amsterdam University Press), and French (Actes Sud).
- Boxed set with six hardcover volumes. 2,180 pages, over 4,300 illustrations. Online preview and sample pages.
- New transcriptions and translations of every known letter from Van Gogh Museum, other museums, archives and privately held.
- The sketches Van Gogh made in his letters are reproduced at full size.
- 15 years of research behind this edition, including identifying every work of art mentioned.
- All letters are annotated, including thumbnails of paintings mentioned in each
- Volume 1 The Hague to Etten (1872–1881). Volume 2 The Hague (1881–1883). Volume 3 Drenthe to Paris (1883–1888).
- Volume 4 Arles (1888–1889). Volume 5 Saint-Rémy to Auvers-sur-Oise (1889–1890) plus 25 related manuscripts.
- Volume 6 History, family tree, correspondents. Materials/techniques. Bibliography. List of works. Maps, concordances, index
- On the Van Gogh Letters Project website you can read the letters for free, thanks to the VG Museum and Huygens Instituut
Guide Review - Vincent van Gogh: The Letters (6 Volume Boxed Set)
On my first trip to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, some years ago now, I treated myself to the three-volume slipcase edition of his letters. I've treasured it for beauty of books themselves and, of course, the pleasures to be had reading the letters. So when I discovered that a new edition was to be published, with new translations and transcriptions, additional letters, and illustrated, I just knew it was something for which I'd break the piggybank.
There are so many fabulous things in addition to the new translations of Van Gogh's letters. Every artwork he refers to is reproduced in color alongside the letters themselves, and a thumbnail is given every time it's mentioned in a subsequent letter. All 240 of the sketches Van Gogh made in his letters are reproduced actual size. Ongoing topics are flagged from letter to letter, and the letters are annotated with explanations of things. The extensive research that has gone into this new edition of Van Gogh's letters has identified every work of art mentioned, whether produced by Van Gogh or other artists. It even includes letters to Emile Bernard and to Anthon van Rappard, which were in private hands and inaccessible to scholars for more than 70 years.
To be able to see the paintings Van Gogh's talking about right there, see the sketches he included in his letters at the size he made them, to see the art he refers to ... it's fabulous beyond words. It's all cross-referenced and indexed so you can find larger versions of the thumbnail paintings, though I've found in many instances the thumbnail is enough to remind me of a painting. For days after our postie staggered from her van to our door with the box containing this edition, I had to resist the temptation to do little else besides sit and read. I can't but think Van Gogh would have been delighted with it.
