Books by Louis van Tilborgh

On the Verge of Insanity: Van Gogh and His Illness

by Nienke Bakker, Louis van Tilborgh, Laura Prins

Accompanying the groundbreaking exhibition currently at the Van Gogh Museum, this publication features new information on Van Gogh's self-inflicted wound to his ear as well as identifying the revolver that was likely used in his suicide

The mental state of Vincent van Gogh (1853--1890) has been a perennial source of discussion and conjecture since his death by suicide. Was he mentally ill or a genius? What was the precise nature of Van Gogh’s illness? Did it influence his work? This intriguing publication examines how Van Gogh’s mental condition revealed itself in 1888 and how he struggled with it throughout his life. Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo, his artist friends, and his sister Willemien reveal that his primary reason for living was his art.

Richly illustrated with artworks, letters, previously unpublished historical documents, and photographs, On the Verge of Insanity provides a nuanced and considered overview of an extraordinary man who had to cope with mental illness at a time when the symptoms were readily misunderstood and professional treatment was insufficient. The authors also offer a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Van Gogh’s death in Auvers-sur-Oise, and they review the many diagnoses that have been proposed since the artist's death.

Distributed for Mercatorfonds

Exhibition Schedule:
Van Gogh Museum
(07/15/16–09/25/16)

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Van Gogh and Japan

by Nienke Bakker, Louis van Tilborgh, Cornelia Homburg, Tsukasa Kodera, Chris Uhlenbeck

“All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art.” –Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh’s (1853–1890) encounter with Japanese ukiyo-e prints during his time in Paris was decisive for the direction that his art would take in the years to come. He enthusiastically assembled a collection of the prints with the idea of dealing in them, and soon was captivated by their colorful and cheerful imagery and style, which began to exert a dramatic influence on his own work. Gradually this enchanted world became his main artistic reference point. From then on, he positioned himself as an artist in the Japanese tradition in order to gain a reputation with the avant-garde of the day.

This gorgeous publication offers a detailed reassessment of the impact Japanese printmaking had on Van Gogh’s creative output. Featuring essays by the world’s leading Van Gogh experts, this book details the ways in which the artist constructed his understanding of a Japanese aesthetic and his utopian ideal of a so-called primitive society, and incorporated these into his own vision and practice. The size, nature, and importance of Van Gogh’s own collection of Japanese prints are also explored. Lavish illustrations include oil paintings and drawings by Van Gogh as well as a selection of the Japanese works that so captured his imagination.

Distributed for Mercatorfonds

Exhibition Schedule:
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(03/23/18–06/24/18)

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Becoming van Gogh

by Teio Meedendorp, Louis van Tilborgh, Timothy Standring, Nicole Myers, Everett van Eitert, Richard Kendall, Simon Kelly

The career path of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), one of the world's most recognizable artists, was anything but typical. Focusing on the early stages of van Gogh's artistic development, Becoming van Gogh illustrates the artist's efforts to master draftsmanship, understand the challenges of materials and techniques, incorporate color theory, and fold myriad influences into his artistic vocabulary. Van Gogh was aware of avant-garde trends including Georges Seurat's divisionism, Paul Signac's and Camille Pissarro's pointillism, Émile Bernard's synthetism, and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's immersion in the bohemian culture of Montmartre.
This handsome book features works by van Gogh alongside works by the artists who influenced him, showing how he incorporated elements of their techniques into a style that became, eventually, uniquely his own. It features essays exploring how van Gogh imbued his early works with energy as he strove to master drawing with graphite, ink, and washes; how he began to understand color with watercolor paintings; and how he tested his skill with oils on canvas. The distinguished contributors to this volume offer insight into van Gogh's temperament, memory, typography, and relationship with his critics, among other topics. Generously illustrated with 262 color images, the book also includes a chronology charting the artist's stylistic development.

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Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months

by Nienke Bakker, Louis van Tilborgh, Emmanuel Coquery

A landmark publication tracing the final months of Van Gogh’s life.
Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months offers a unique and impressive overview of the paintings and drawings that Vincent van Gogh created during the last seventy days of his life. He produced no fewer than seventy-four paintings and over thirty drawings in the course of the intense, productive period leading up to his self-inflicted death on July 29, 1890. While the Portrait of Dr Gachet, The Church at Auvers, and Wheatfield with Crows are numbered among his greatest masterpieces, this part of his oeuvre is otherwise less known―unfairly so―than the sunny landscapes he painted in the south of France.
The book follows the artist from his arrival in Auvers-sur-Oise,where he set to work full of hope and with fresh ambitions, through to his final weeks. Essays by leading Van Gogh specialists highlight his artistic ambitions and mental state during this final phase, his exploration of the Auvers landscape, the flower still lifes, the portraits, and the panoramic landscapes he painted there, the role played by his drawings, and his artistic reputation at the time of his death and in the years immediately afterward.
In addition to the Auvers paintings, the book is richly illustrated with drawings, sketches, historical photographs, and detailed maps of the places Van Gogh worked. Also featured are related works by contemporaries and predecessors whom he admired. 220 color illustrations

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Van Gogh's Bedrooms

by Gloria Groom, Louis van Tilborgh, David J. Getsy, Inge Fiedler

A fascinating look at the genesis and meaning of Van Gogh’s famed paintings of his bedroom

Vincent van Gogh’s The Bedroom, a painting of his room in Arles, is arguably the most famous depiction of a bedroom in the history of art. The artist made three versions of the work, now in the collections of the Van Gogh Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Musée d’Orsay. This book is the first in-depth study of their making and their meaning to the artist.

In Van Gogh’s Bedrooms, an international team of art historians, scientists, and conservators investigates the psychological and emotional significance of the bedroom in Van Gogh’s oeuvre, surveying dwellings as a motif that appears throughout his work. Essays address the context in which the bedroom was first conceived, the uniqueness of the subject, and the similarities and differences among the three works both on and below the painted surface. The publication reproduces more than 50 paintings, drawings, and illustrated letters by the artist, along with other objects that evoke his peripatetic life and relentless quest for “home.”

Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago

Exhibition Schedule:
Art Institute of Chicago
(02/14/16–05/10/16)

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Japanese Prints: The Collection of Vincent Van Gogh: The Collection of Vincent van Gogh

by Louis van Tilborgh

“All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art” ―Vincent van Gogh, to his brother Theo, July 15, 1888
One hundred and fifty years ago, Vincent van Gogh fell under the enticing spell of Japanese printmaking while working in Paris. He bought over six hundred Japanese prints and displayed them in his studio as inspiration.
Van Gogh admired the prints’ mastery of strong colors, everyday subjects, unusual spatial effects, and delicate details from nature. When Van Gogh purchased the prints, he was just beginning to develop his own style as a painter, trying to find a modern yet also more primitive kind of painting that engaged directly with the viewer. These Japanese prints helped him find his now legendary style, with nature as a mutual starting point.
Presented here, in association with the Van Gogh Museum, is a beautiful exploration of Van Gogh’s fascination with Japan and Japanese artwork. This volume reveals a selection of prints, all from the museum’s collection, that Van Gogh owned during his lifetime and presents them with the works they inspired. This opportunity to share Van Gogh’s vision gives a compelling glimpse into one of the most powerful creative influences behind his art. 170+ color illustrations

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