Van Gogh's Imaginary Museum: Exploring the Artist's Inner World

There are few western artists who left such a comprehensive record of their likes and dislikes in art as Vincent van Gogh. Through his correspondence, it has been possible to identify the works he was most familiar with, and those he most admired. This book, which accompanies an important exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, marking the 150Ýsuperscript th¨ anniversary of the artist's birth, brings together the paintings that had the greatest influence on Van Gogh - by such masters as Rembrandt and Rubens, Corot and Courbet, Monet and Gauguin - with dozens of his own works. By juxtaposing these other artists' works with many of Vincent's most powerful and best-loved paintings, the exhibition reveals a fascinating dialogue between one artistic genius and his art historical predecessors.
Ten lavishly illustrated essays by Van Gogh specialists cover a wide range of subjects, from the artist's attitude toward "the people" to his relationship with literature. Exploring the full panoply of Vincent's visual passions, Van Gogh's Imaginary Museum demonstrates not only the resonance between Vincent's taste and his own art but also the workings of the artistic mind and imagination in general.