Vincent Van Gogh, Painted with Words: The Letters to Emile Bernard

The 22 letters written by Van Gogh to French painter Emile Bernard, in which he almost exclusively discusses the subject of painting with a fellow artist, are the subject of this beautiful volume which accompanies an exhibition of the letters at the Pierpont Morgan library in NYC. Each of the letters is reproduced through a high-quality facsimile and also translated into English. Many works Van Gogh alludes to in those letters are also reproduced and every letter is carefully annotated which helps the reader understand the many references the artist cites as sources of inspiration to his work.This is a groundbreaking publication that gives the reader invaluable insights into Van Gogh thoughts and working methods and comes as a perfect complement to the already published correspondence of the artist with his brother and dealer Theo. The letters to Bernard are more spontaneous because they were written by an artist to another artist and the introduction of the book explains this very well.Highly recommended.

Word by word, page by page and letter after letter the myths are peeled back and the true character and personality of this great master becomes revealed.

..in fact, in my entire library, one of the best. I read it before viewing the exhibition. The facsimiles of the letters are as good as seeing them in person. Art and letter lovers alike will cherish this book!

Great book..perfect condition. For the collector.

As a writer, I found this book very much of a revelation. Why? Simply put, Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) was a prolific writer of letters. He wrote hundreds of brilliant letters to fellow artists, friends and his brother, Theo. Much of a persons character, thoughts, likes and dislikes, loves and hates, fears and loneliness can be found in letters. Both the darkness and the light of the soul come through in personal letters as they are often inner directed as much as directed to the receiver.Many of these letters tell the story of life. They give us a glimpse of the ideas behind his art. They seem to prove that he was very much in his right mind and that he was not suffering from any sort of mental disability as some have thought.The letters written to the French painter, Emile Bernard (1868-1941), who was twenty-years-old in 1888, are of great significance. In these, the artists share ideas when van Gogh was working in Arles in the South of France.This is a very fine work. It's interesting reading and seems to bring the characters to life.Highly recommended.- Susanna K. Hutcheson