Van Gogh Drawings

VincentvanGogh(1853-90)startedhisartisticcareerbyconcentratingondrawing.Convincedthatthiswasthefoundationheneededtobecomeapainter,hedidlittleelseforthefirstthreeyearsofhiscareer.Hewasatalenteddrauftsmanlongbeforehebecameanexperiencedpainter,anddrawingwouldremainanintegralpartofallhissubsequentartisticactivities.PublishedtoaccompanyanexhibitionattheVincentvanGoghFoundationinArles,VanGoghDrawingsincludesmorethan30oftheartist'sprintsanddrawings.ThisvolumealsopaysspecialattentiontotheinfluencesthatshapedvanGogh'sgraphicwork,andfeaturesarangeofimagesthatinspiredvanGoghatspecificpointsinhispractice.TheseincludeprintsandimagesfromillustratedmagazineswhichvanGoghcollectedandwhichstronglyinfluencedhisearlywork,andreplicasof17th-centuryprintsandJapaneseprintswhichinspiredhisremarkablereedpendrawingsmadeinProvence.VanGoghabsorbedamultitudeofinfluencesandmergedtheminworksthatwerehighlyinnovativeinstyleandoftenalsointechnique,producingoneofthemostremarkabledrawnoeuvresofthe19thcentury.