Vincent van Gogh
Today is World Book Day, an annual event organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing, and copyright. So time for some books ... by Vincent van Gogh!
Painted toward the end of 1887, this painting is one of the most assured still lifes Vincent van Gogh created during his time in Paris. It belongs to a small group of works devoted to books, made over the course of his two-year stay in the city, and marks a moment of real change in his painting. When van Gogh arrived in Paris in February 1886 to live with his brother Theo, he stepped directly into the charged atmosphere of Montmartre. There he encountered new ideas, new artists, and above all a new approach to color. In the Parisian Novels, the heavy browns of his Dutch period have disappeared, replaced by brighter tones and a more animated surface. On a tilted table lie stacks of contemporary French novels, their yellow covers immediately recognizable, beside a simple glass filled with roses. The books point to his lifelong devotion to literature—especially the Naturalist writers he admired—while the flowers add a fragile, almost tender counterpoint.
The canvas is larger than most of his earlier still lifes, and he handles it with growing freedom. Short strokes, dashes, and cross-hatched marks build up the surface and give the scene a sense of movement. Shown in 1888 at the Salon des Indépendants under the title Parisian Novels, the painting clearly held special meaning for him and for Theo. It is not simply a still life of novels and roses, but a newly discovered faith in color.
P.S. If you prefer reading online, we encourage you to enroll in our Post-Impressionism 101 online course, where you can learn more about Vincent van Gogh! :)
P.P.S. If you're interested in reading about art, here are 5 essential books for art historians (and art lovers!). If you want to explore some more beautiful art by the Dutch master, here's 10 Van Gogh paintings celebrating spring!