Van Gogh Exhibition Catalogues

Over the last 110 years there have been hundreds of exhibitions featuring the works of Vincent van Gogh. Many of these exhibitions have been accompanied by catalogues which not only include excellent reproductions of the works on display, but also interesting and informative background information. Just a few of these exhibition catalogues are listed below.

Without question Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings is one of the finest exhibition catalogues I’ve ever seen. Beautifully illustrated, this book is a first-rate accompaniment to the Van Gogh drawings exhibition held in 2005 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Having said that, for those who aren’t able to attend the exhibition, this catalogue is the next best thing and definitely stands on its own.
The writers, the four curators (Ives and Stein from the Metropolitan Museum; Van Heugten and Vellekoop from the Van Gogh Museum) have compiled an outstanding catalogue that focuses on the 119 art works included in the exhibition. Each art work (mostly drawings, but some watercolours, letter sketches and paintings as well) is separately profiled with background information, analysis as well as exhibition history and provenance details. The breadth of the information is exhaustive. And at the same time extremely well written and insightful. The writers successfully walk the fine line of assembling a huge amount of very detailed information while at the same time presenting it in an engaging and entertaining manner.
In addition to the work by work profiles, the catalogue also includes historical and biographical sections which detail Vincent van Gogh’s profession as an artist. These sections trace the course of Van Gogh’s varied and remarkable career as a draftsman and, as a result, provide new and astute insights into each of the art works included. For those with a more specialized eye, there are also some interesting sections that analyze the technical aspects of the art works themselves (infrared reflectography, scientific analyses of the materials Van Gogh used, etc.). Technical yes, but written for both the specialist and the laymen. Yet another layer of insight into the astonishing opus of Van Gogh’s drawings.
Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings is one of the largest and most comprehensive exhibitions of Van Gogh’s drawings ever presented. And this catalogue is a superb companion to such an outstanding and successful exhibition. Highly recommended.
Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Doctor Gachet by Anne Distel and Susan Alyson Stein (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999): This exhibit took place in New York, Paris and Amsterdam and focuses on Dr. Paul Gachet, Van Gogh's doctor in Auvers-sur-Oise during the last two months of his life. Always a controversial figure (partly due to his arguable incompetence, partly due to the questionable authenticity of some of the works in his possession), this book is a wonderful exploration of the man and his collection. The authors, both frequent and well respected contributors to Van Gogh scholarship, explore Gachet and his collection (now owned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris) to an incredible level of detail. The amount of research behind this book is staggering and it makes for an extremely compelling and satisfying reading experience.
Theo van Gogh by Chris Stolwijk and Richard Thomson, with a contribution by Sjraar van Heugten (Waanders, 1999): Published in conjunction with the exhibition Theo van Gogh (1857-1891), art dealer, collector and brother of Vincent, this book is a wonderful exploration of the life of Vincent's brother, Theo van Gogh. Extremely well researched and well written, the reader will find photographs and biographical information never before published.
Van Gogh Face to Face: The Portraits by Roland Dorn et al (Thames & Hudson, 2000): From 2000-2001 this exhibition, devoted specifically to Van Gogh's portraits and self-portraits, will travel to Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia. This book is well written and provides graphics of superb quality. My only misgiving comes from the fact that seven different writers contributed to the commentary of the book which makes the flow of the text somewhat disjointed. While very well researched, the Pickvance books below, for example, take a work-by work, single author approach and, as a result, the commentary is more clear and concise. Still, it's a minor criticism of an excellent book.
Van Gogh in Arles by Ronald Pickvance (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984): This book and its companion, Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers (see below), is absolutely essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in Vincent van Gogh. The images in this book are absolutely first rate and Pickvance, a well respected Van Gogh scholar, provides sharp and insightful commentary for each of the works. Also exciting is that so many of Van Gogh's wonderful drawings are included. Highly recommended.
Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers by Ronald Pickvance (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986): Like Van Gogh in Arles (above) this book accompanies one of the most major Van Gogh exhibitions ever staged. Once again the graphics of the works are beautiful and the commentary by Pickvance is extremely well written. Each of the works is examined in depth, which guarantees the reader some of the most interesting and compelling analysis available for such Van Gogh favourites as Starry Night and Wheatfield with Crows.
Van Gogh's Van Goghs: Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam by Richard Kendall (Harry N. Abrams, 1998): The next best thing if you weren't able to make it to this record-breaking exhibition in Washington and Los Angeles. This book, an overview of the exhibition, is an extremely thorough and interesting overview of the 70 works on display. But it's more than that. I was very impressed with Richard Kendall's commentary in the book. Not only is this a comprehensive and thoughtful look at the "Van Gogh's Van Goghs" exhibition, it's also an excellent look at Van Gogh's life and career period. I might have expected this--this major exhibition was superb and this catalogue is a worthy companion. Exhibition or not, this book is first-rate.

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