Abstract
The prominent position of Vincent van Gogh in the art world is now firmly established. In 1990, the centenary of his death, he set another world record for sale of an art work by auction. More important, his paintings and drawings in museums, and reproductions in books, wall-hangings, calendars, and even postage stamps continue to attract, intrigue, and entertain a wide audience. Polls find van Gogh near the top of recognized artists irrespective of the aesthetic background of the survey. The present degree of popularity is immense; during his life it was miniscule.
The more my health comes back to normal … the more foolish it seems to me … to be doing this painting which costs us so much and brings in nothing … the trouble is that at my age it is damnably difficult to begin anything else. Vincent to Theo, letter 611, from St. Rémy, Autumn 1889.1
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References and notes
The epigraph comes from letter 611, which begins on page 224, volume III, of The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh. 2nd ed., 1978. Boston: New York Graphic Society. Vincent van Gogh rarely dated his letters. Although they were assembled in chronological order by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, exact dates are not always available. Henceforth, for the sake of brevity, all references to The Complete Letters will be noted in the text, parenthetically, by letter number.
Tralbaut ME. 1981. Vincent van Gogh. New York: The Alpine Fine Arts Collection Ltd.
Bargue C. 1868–70. Cours de Dessin. (Course of drawing.) Paris: Goupil & Co.
Dürer A. 1538. Unterweisung der Messung, mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheit. (Teaching of measurement with compass and straight edge.) Revised, posthumous edition. Nuremberg: Hieronymous Formschneyder (Andreä). See also: Scherer V. 1904. Dürer des Meisters Gemälde Kupferstiche und Holzschnitte. (Dürer, the masterpieces of painting, engraving and woodcut.) Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. Panofsky E. 1955. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
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Arnold, W.N. (1992). Introduction. In: Vincent van Gogh: Chemicals, Crises and Creativity. Birkhäuser Boston. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2976-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2976-6_1
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