Scan barcode
magnetgrrl's review against another edition
4.0
It's refreshing to read of Van Gogh's utter lack of confidence, and how he's always close to either a breakthrough or a breakdown, but through it all, he just keeps painting. It's an inspiring and informative view into not just the creative process, but the neurotic mindset that sometimes accompanies it.
mstormodolge's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I’ll be honest- my scores a lie. I just… gosh I love his artwork so much? And I feel that if Vincent could have gotten the help he desperately needed a lot earlier than he did… I dunno. A girl can hope.
This book is rough. Vincent Van Gogh makes beautiful art but he was rough man. Most of the letters are a bit hard to follow as someone who doesn’t know the art scene very well and it’s weird to read about an artist now worth probably billions be living for days with only coffee and bread as he waited for his brother to send him money. It’s weird how he only ever sold one canvas yet he kept painting and now they’re highly renowned.
It was good and I’m glad I read it. Even if it’s weird to see the perfect artist (imo) be a flawed human.
This book is rough. Vincent Van Gogh makes beautiful art but he was rough man. Most of the letters are a bit hard to follow as someone who doesn’t know the art scene very well and it’s weird to read about an artist now worth probably billions be living for days with only coffee and bread as he waited for his brother to send him money. It’s weird how he only ever sold one canvas yet he kept painting and now they’re highly renowned.
It was good and I’m glad I read it. Even if it’s weird to see the perfect artist (imo) be a flawed human.
janeycanuck's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Very interesting but also hard to get through until the second half when van Gogh started painting.
avolyn's review
2.0
Art has been one of my passions for as long as I can remember and I had always heard stories about famous painters and the lives they lived having been awfully strange and full of mental illness, so naturally this book intrigued me as a chance to see inside the life of a famous painter.
I enjoyed the beginning of the book which was written from the view point of his sister-in-law and was very informative on the life he lead and I found it interesting the various career paths that he had explored, and that he didn't really discover his true talent until late in life.
However, I had several issues with this book.
1. While somewhat interesting, I don't know that these letters had enough substance to fill out an entire book. It was rather boring.
2. It was hard to understand what was going on during parts of the book because we only saw his half of the situation, and his opinion. I thought that at times he seemed rather rude, and I would have liked to be able to read the letters from the other side to see whether his attitude was warranted.
3. There was a lot of repetition, it seemed as though I was reading the same letter over and over at times. He was either writing about his feelings for another women that were not returned, being angry with someone, or being poor and in need of money. He was always in need of money! I also was a little bit annoyed with the way in which he took no responsibility for his current situation and if he did have a conflict with someone, he made it clear that it was entirely their fault.
I feel bad that he lived such an unhappy life and had a hard time making friends and keeping friends but I can see why. He seemed like a complete jerk and rather oblivious to his own flaws.
I enjoyed the beginning of the book which was written from the view point of his sister-in-law and was very informative on the life he lead and I found it interesting the various career paths that he had explored, and that he didn't really discover his true talent until late in life.
However, I had several issues with this book.
1. While somewhat interesting, I don't know that these letters had enough substance to fill out an entire book. It was rather boring.
2. It was hard to understand what was going on during parts of the book because we only saw his half of the situation, and his opinion. I thought that at times he seemed rather rude, and I would have liked to be able to read the letters from the other side to see whether his attitude was warranted.
3. There was a lot of repetition, it seemed as though I was reading the same letter over and over at times. He was either writing about his feelings for another women that were not returned, being angry with someone, or being poor and in need of money. He was always in need of money! I also was a little bit annoyed with the way in which he took no responsibility for his current situation and if he did have a conflict with someone, he made it clear that it was entirely their fault.
I feel bad that he lived such an unhappy life and had a hard time making friends and keeping friends but I can see why. He seemed like a complete jerk and rather oblivious to his own flaws.
elysareadsitall's review
5.0
Reading these letters is fascinating. We see van Gogh's views on art, books, and life, and we get a look inside his emotional state and day-to-day life. The introduction, notes, and other information in the book are well organized and informative.
More...