Van Gogh - Hardcover

The definitive biography for decades to come (Leo Jansens, curator of the Van Gogh Museum and principal editor of 'Vincent van Gogh: The Letters' (which was described as 'Book of the Decade' in the Guardian last year))

An amazing tour de force (Ann Dumas, curator, Royal Academy of Arts)

In their magisterial new biography, Van Gogh: The Life, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith provide a guided tour through the personal world and the work of that Dutch painter, shining a bright light on the evolution of his art while articulating what is sure to be a controversial theory of his death at the age of 37. ... Mr. Smith and Mr. Naifeh diligently examine the development of his ideas, his techniques, his startling ability to inhale lessons from other painters and transform their innovations into his own. ... What Mr. Naifeh and Mr. Smith capture so powerfully is van Gogh's extraordinary will to learn, to persevere against the odds, to keep painting when early teachers disparaged his work, when a natural facility seemed to elude him, when his canvases failed to sell. (Michiko Kakutani New York Times 2011-10-20)

Now, at last, with Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, we have what could very well be the definitive biography... In it we get a much fuller view of van Gogh, owing to the decade Naifeh and Smith spent on research to create this scholarly and spellbinding work. Against all odds the pair, ... have managed to slough off ossified impressions and speculations and gotten into van Gogh's skin, making it possible for us to experience anew his heartbreaking relationships with his family and a much wider circle of friends and acquaintances... When all else failed, van Gogh committed himself to his art, and the last third of this magisterial work details his attempts to find his place in the world. ... How pleased he would be to know how much his art has been admired for more than 100 years. And how pleased we should be that Naifeh and Smith have rendered so exquisitely and respectfully van Gogh's short, intense, and wholly interesting life. (Roberta Silman Boston Globe 2011-10-28)

Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, whose biography of Jackson Pollock won the Pulitzer Prize, have written this generation's definitive portrait of the great Dutch post-Impressionist. ... Their most important achievement is to produce a reckoning with van Gogh's occasional "madness" that doesn't lose sight of the lucidity and intelligence - the profound sanity - of his art. ... this comprehensive book gives "us the full, ragged glory of his life." (Richard Lacayo Time magazine 2011-10-28)

Winners of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for their biography of Jackson Pollock, [Naifeh and Smith] bring a booming authorial voice and boundless ingenuity to the task and have written a thoroughly engaging account of the Dutch painter. ... the authors vividly reconstruct the intertwined stories of his life and his art, portraying him as a "victim of his own fanatic heart." Messrs. Naifeh and Smith present Van Gogh's story in such a fluent and captivating manner that ... their fine book has the potential not only to reinvigorate the broad base of popular interest that Van Gogh already enjoys but to introduce a whole new generation to one of art history's most remarkable creative spirits. (Jonathan Lopez Wall Street Journal 2011-10-28)

Their belt-and braces book is in every sense monumental... the Van Gogh who emerges from this extraordinary marshalling of resources is... a far more comprehensive figure than earlier versions... fascinating and fastidious... (Michael Prodger Sunday Times 2011-10-30)

The Van Gogh summoned here is hugely detailed and two-dimensional, an intricate cutout... engrossing... a model of scholarship. (Martin Herbert Daily Telegraph 2011-10-29)

An enormous and engrossing new biography... the story has a momentum that justifies the time it takes to tell it... (Economist 2011-11-04)

In terms of scholarship and readability, this hefty tome is impressive. It is rich with detail, while its narrative never flags... a fully rounded figure emerges from the shadows of a myth. (Fisun Güner Metro 2011-11-02)