The artist speaks
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It is not as easy a read as Stone's van Gog biography Lust For Life, but for fans, it's a deep book.
Vincent tells of how he went into the fields to paint, and then a rain storm came. He sought meager shelter behind a big tree while it lasted, and then resumed. And because he had started with a low vantage point, he now had to stand on his knees in the mud! He seems to merely mention this to point out why he considers common workman's clothes to be the artist's best friend...
He also tells how he went out to paint the sea, in a storm so strong he could barely stay on his feet. One painting got so full of sand from the beach that he went to a nearby inn and retouched it... and then went back out into the storm to finish it with fresh impressions!
Today, most of us: "Go out with the camera today? Nah, it's a bit nippy, and I just got the Sopranos on DVD..."
Irving Stone edited Dear Theo, and while he may have done a good job generally, I think it was a disservice to the material to not indicate where he cut it. It is just one long text, no dates and no indication where each quote starts or ends.
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The soul of a great man... edited by a great writer.
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You can see the world through Vincent's eyes here... you can actually get to see how he thought and felt... his was a deep, deep soul, therefore misunderstood by everyone that surrounded him... He was lonely all his life, so everything he had to say he said it to his brother Theo through this letters. And so, he made a huge collection of letters filled with a lot of thoughts, feelings, philosophy, wisdom and of course a lot of comments on painting too. The letters are edited by Irving Stone (author of "Lust for Life", the best van Gogh biography I've run into). Although the book is a little hard to read, it really is worth it.
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Amazing!
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It was so fascinating to see what what going through Vincent's mind when he was doing all of his painting. He was an amazing artist.
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Van Gogh both thought, wrote & felt with his heart.
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I read Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo shortly after I saw the Van Gogh exhibit in Washington, DC. The effect was overwhelming. So much pain. So much loneliness. So much genius! We all are the richer for his pain and his poverty!
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A beautiful and sensitive book...
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A triumph of a book, a definitive and soulful look into the life and times of one of the greatest painters since the inception of cave painting. I could feel the Artiste's loneliness, his eccentricity, his passion for colours, his love for humanity and the innate tragedy of his unhappy life. A book which can occupy you for days after you have finished reading it. A prize buy.
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