The general outlines of Vincent van Gogh's life-the early difficulties in Holland and Paris, the revelatory impact of the move to Provence, the attacks of madness and despair that led to his suicide-are almost as familiar as his paintings. Lavish illustrations include oil paintings and drawings by Van Gogh as well as a selection of the Japanese works that so captured his imagination. The size, nature and importance of Van Gogh's own collection of Japanese prints are also explored. Featuring essays by the world's leading Van Gogh experts, this book details the ways in which the artist constructed his understanding of a Japanese aesthetic and his utopian ideal of a so-called primitive society, and incorporated these into his own vision and practice. This gorgeous publication offers a detailed reassessment of the impact Japanese printmaking had on Van Gogh's creative output. From then on, he positioned himself as an artist in the Japanese tradition in order to gain a reputation with the avant-garde of the day. Gradually this enchanted world became his main artistic reference point. He enthusiastically assembled a collection of the prints with the idea of dealing in them, and soon was captivated by their colorful and cheerful imagery and style, which began to exert a dramatic influence on his own work.
Vincent van Gogh's (1853–1890) encounter with Japanese ukiyo-e prints during his time in Paris was decisive for the direction that his art would take in the years to come. "All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art." -Vincent van Gogh.
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