This lovely book tells the fascinating story of Vincent van Gogh's famous floral paintings.

Vincent van Gogh painted Irises in the last year of his life, in the garden of the asylum at Saint-Rémy, where he was recuperating from an attack of mental illness. Although he considered the painting more a study than a finished picture, his brother Theo submitted it to the Salon des Indépendants in September 1889. Its energy and theme--the regenerative powers of the earth--express the artist's deeply held belief in the divinity of art and nature.

This groundbreaking book fills a gap in Van Gogh scholarship with an in-depth study of Irises--among the J. Paul Getty Museum's most famous paintings--placed in the context of his glorious flower and garden paintings. Full-color reproductions include not only Irises, but also a panoply of nature paintings by Van Gogh and the artists who inspired him, such as Albrecht Dürer, Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, and Paul Gauguin.

Author: Jennifer Helvey
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum
Published: 10/01/2009
Series: Getty Museum Studies on Art
Pages: 208
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 7.87h x 6.40w x 0.77d
ISBN: 9780892362264


Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 11/01/2009 pg. 243

About the Author

Jennifer Helvey is an independent scholar living in Ithaca, New York. She was assistant curator in the Department of Paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum from 1996 to 2001.