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One of the great forerunners of 20th-century painting

This richly illustrated and expert study follows the artist from the early gloom-laden paintings in which he captured the misery of peasants and workers in his homeland, through his bright and colourful Parisian period, to the work of his final years, spent under a southern sun in Arles. Here, at last, he found the light that produced the unmistakable Van Gogh style. At Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, in the feverish burst of creative energy that marked his last two-and-a-half years, he produced the 465 paintings on which his immortality rests.

Van Gogh craved recognition during his lifetime but was denied it until after his self-inflicted death. Today he is universally seen as one of the great forerunners of painting of the 20th century, and one of the tragic masters of art.

About the Series:

Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art Series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The author:

Ingo F. Walther (1940-2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther's many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent Van Gogh, Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices Illustres.

Anguished Art. The tortured talents of a post-Impressionist master

A post-Impressionist pioneer, Vincent van Gogh is also one of the most quintessential “tortured artists” in history. Through his lurid colours and emphatic brushwork, this introductory book gathers van Gogh’s most famous paintings to explore his vibrant, feverish portrayal of mood and place and its influence on generations to come.

Today, the works of Vincent van Gogh (1853 –1890) are among the most well-known and celebrated in the world. In Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, and many paintings and drawings beyond, we recognize an artist uniquely dexterous in the portrayal of mood and place through paint, pencil, charcoal, or chalk.

Yet as he was deploying the lurid colours, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms that would subsequently make his name, van Gogh battled not only the disinterest of his contemporary audience but also devastating bouts of mental illness. His episodes of depression and anxiety would eventually claim his life, when, in 1890, he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.

This richly illustrated introduction follows Vincent van Gogh’s story from his earliest pictures of peasants and rural workers, through his bright Parisian period, to his final, feverish burst of creative energy in the South of France during the last two and a half years of his life.

About the Author: 

Ingo F. Walther (1940 – 2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

"This man will either go mad or he will outstrip us all." Such was the fate that Camille Pissarro, the great Impressionist painter, predicted for his colleague Vincent van Gogh, a struggling artist still vainly seeking a buyer for his pictures. He was to prove right on both counts.

Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, near Breda, the eldest son of a Dutch pastor. He tried his hand at numerous professions, working as an art dealer, a teacher, a lay preacher and a book-seller before finally embarking, largely self-trained, upon a career as an artist. All his life, however, he remained a solitary and despairing figure, and his self-destructive nature drove him in his later years to the brink of madness.

Feeling himself alone in the world, his only true friend and source of moral and financial support was his brother Theo, who attended van Gogh's welfare throughout his life and who would ultimately follow him, within the space of six short months, to the grave. The recognition and admiration for which van Gogh fought so bitterly would only be granted him after the self-inflicted revolver shot which ended his tragic life.

Today, van Gogh is not only considered the most important pioneer of 20th-century art, but is widely regarded as one of the most significant and best-loved painters in the entire history of art.

Images included:
The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum in Arles, 1888
Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, summer 1887
Vase with Irises against a Yellow Background, Saint-Rémy, May 1890
Vincent's Bedroom in Arles, 1899
Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889
The Church at Auvers, 1890
Drawbridge at Arles. "Pont de Langlois", 1888
Sower (after Millet), 1888
Irises, 1889
Noon: Rest from Work (after Millet), 1890
The Yellow House (Vincent's House), 1888
Vase with twelve Sunflowers, 1888
Thatched Cottages in Cordeville, 1890
Starry Night, 1888

About the Series:
TASCHEN portfolios feature high quality prints that beg to be framed. Tucked in each portfolio are 14 large-format reproductions, each with a brief description. Guaranteed to brighten any day, they also make great gifts for art lovers!

From the early gloom-laden paintings to the works of his final years under a southern sun in Arles

"This man will either go insane or leave us all far behind," prophesied the great Impressionist Camille Pissarro. The man was Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), a vicar's son born at Groot-Zundert near Breda in Holland, who at that time was struggling to find buyers for his paintings. Van Gogh did indeed go at least to the brink of insanity. And he has long been recognised as one of the greatest modern artists. Van Gogh, who followed a variety of professions before becoming an artist, was a solitary, despairing and self-destructive man his whole life long. His truest friend was his brother Theo, who supported him unstintingly throughout and followed him to the grave just six months later.

This richly illustrated study by two experts on van Gogh follows the artist from the early gloom-laden paintings in which he captured the misery of peasants and workers in his home parts, through the bright and colourful paintings he did in Paris, to the work of his final years under a southern sun in Arles, where he at last found the light that produced the unmistakable van Gogh style. At Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, in the feverish burst of creative energy that marked the last two and a half years of his life, he produced the 463 paintings on which his immortality rests. Van Gogh craved recognition during his lifetime but was denied it till after his self-inflicted death. Today he is universally seen as one of the great forerunners of 20th-century painting, and one of the tragic masters of art.

The authors:

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994 and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on van Gogh and Chagall.

Ingo F. Walther (1940-2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He has published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther's many titles for TASCHEN include Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices Illustres.

Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers includes more than 300 works by Van Gogh in his most prolific years leading up to his tragic suicide.

Special printed papers and specially die-cut openers enhance the value of this excellent presentation. Van Gogh’s own words, placed together with preparatory sketches for his works and vintage postcards and photographs, enhance an insightful text.

Bold strokes of genius. The amazing work of a tormented soul

Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of the most ironic in art history. He lived an unhappy and difficult life during which his work received almost no appreciation — finally killing himself by a bullet to the chest, so great was his despair — and is now widely considered one of the most important painters of all time, his works fetching record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction. This comprehensive study of Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) represents a rarity in art history: a detailed monograph on his life and art combined with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings. These volumes also reproduce most of Van Gogh’s paintings in colour.

The author:

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994 and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on Van Gogh and Chagall.

The editor:

Ingo F. Walther (1940–2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

Tortured talent. The genius and the angst of an Expressionist master

Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of the most ironic in art history. Today, he celebrated the world over as one of the most important painters of all time, recognized with sell-out shows, feted museums, and record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.

Yet as he was painting the canvases that would subsequently become these sell-out modern masterpieces, van Gogh was battling not only the disinterest of his contemporary audiences but also devastating bouts of mental illness, with episodes of depression and paralyzing anxiety which would eventually claim his life in 1890, when he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) pairs a detailed monograph on his life and art with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings.

The authors:

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994 and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on Van Gogh and Chagall.

Ingo F. Walther (1940–2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!

The Complete Paintings of Vincent van Gogh. The genius and the angst of a tortured talent

Meet Vincent van Gogh, one of the most famed tragic figures of 19th‑century art. This lush tome collects all his 871 paintings, alongside writings and essays, charting the life and work of a master who continues to tower over art to this day. From Sunflowers and The Starry Night to Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, celebrate an artist uniquely dexterous in the representation of texture and mood, light and place.

Today, the works of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) are among the most well known and celebrated in the world. In paintings such as Sunflowers, The Starry Night, and Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, we recognize an artist uniquely dexterous in the representation of texture and mood, light and place.

Yet in his lifetime, van Gogh battled not only the disinterest of his contemporary audience but also devastating bouts of mental illness. His episodes of depression and anxiety would eventually claim his life, when, in 1890, he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh offers a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings, alongside writings and essays, charting the life and work of a master who continues to tower over art to this day.

The authors:

Ingo F. Walther (1940–2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history, and German literature in Munich and Augsburg. In 1994, he earned his Ph.D. on the subject of Dan Graham, and subsequently worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on van Gogh and Chagall. Since 2004, he has worked as Professor of art history at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe.

Vincent van Gogh's story is one of the most ironic in art history. He lived an unhappy and difficult life during which his work received almost no appreciation - finally killing himself by a bullet to the chest, so great was his despair - and is now widely considered one of the most important painters of all time, his works fetching record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) represents a rarity in art history: a detailed monograph on his life and art combined with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings.

These volumes also reproduce most of van Gogh's paintings in colour.

Inspired by the innovative use of color in Bauhaus art, Hungarian painter Victor Vasarely (1906-1997) developed his own abstract-geometric visual language, exploring the relationship between pure form and pure color. Vasarely`s experimentation with optical effects in the 1940s and 50s earned him a central role in the evolution of Op Art. By the late 50s and early 60s, he concentrated on the "democratization of art" by no longer producing his works as expensive originals but in large editions of affordable screen prints; this attempt to redefine the position and function of the artist in society was an important first step in the Pop Art movement. Vasarely`s boldly colorful and eye-popping paintings are instantly recognizable and remain entirely modern and relevant today.

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art Series features:
a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance

• a concise biography
• approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The author:
Magdalena Holzhey studied art history, Italian, and musicology in Berlin and Pisa. She has held academic and curatorial positions in galleries and museums, including the K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf. She has published on classical modernism and contemporary art and is currently preparing a dissertation on Joseph Beuys.

Посмотреть русскоязычное издание книги Vasarely - Вазарели

Democratic Art. Victor Vasarely’s hypnotizing illusions

Enter a universe of shimmering colour and pure abstraction. Pioneer of the Op Art movement, Victor Vasarely developed his own geometric visual language, exploring the relationship between colour and form in bold, eye-popping paintings. Spanning his first experimentation with optical effects in the ’40s and his attempt to “democratize art,” this collection celebrates Vasarely’s unique legacy.

Hungarian-French painter Victor Vasarely (1906–1997) was a precocious talent. His earliest surviving painting, a landscape done at age 12, baffled through its realism — an indication of the compelling illusions of spatial depth that would later define his dazzling universe.

Inspired by the likes of Malevich and the Bauhaus school, Vasarely developed his own abstract-geometric visual language, exploring the relationship between pure form and pure colour. Vasarely’s experimentation with optical effects in the 1940s and ’50s earned him a central role in the evolution of Op Art. By the late ’50s and early ’60s, he concentrated on the “democratization of art” by producing “multiples” — reasonably priced original
works reproduced in large editions. Vasarely’s attempt to “destroy the completely obsolete myth of the unique, inimitable masterwork” was a tremendous contribution to art theory. To him, there was no place for hierarchical division into originals and reproductions, nor for distinction between fine and commercial art — “We cannot leave the enjoyment of art to an elite of connoisseurs forever,” he declared. This redefinition of the artist’s position and function in a society marked a crucial first step in the Pop Art movement.

Vasarely’s boldly colourful and eye-popping paintings are instantly recognizable and remain entirely modern and relevant today. In this dependable introduction, we explore the makings of an artist ahead of his time. Crisp reproductions and insightful texts celebrate the father of the Op Art movement, from his earliest hypnotizing optical illusions to his hallmark checkerboard works.

The author:

Magdalena Holzhey studied art history, Italian, and musicology in Berlin and Pisa. She held various academic and curatorial positions in galleries and museums, including the K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, before becoming Curator of Collections of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. She has published widely on classical modernism and contemporary art.

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

About the Series:

The face of Spain

The undeniable pinnacle of the golden age of Spanish painting

Acclaimed for its blending of realism with atmosphere, and for its deeply sensitive appreciation of character, the work of Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660) represents the undeniable pinnacle of the golden age of Spanish painting.

Born in Seville but of Portuguese origin, Velázquez became Court Painter to Philip IV in 1623. A steady worker, using primarily sombre low-toned coloring, he met Rubens in 1628, and soon after made a first trip to Italy. The pictures painted there reveal a growing interest in both color range and in the male nude.

Velázquez only returned to Italy once again in the late 1640’s, where he painted his famous portrait of Pope Innocent X and his only female nude, the "Rokeby Venus". But his greatness lies perhaps in his empathetic studies of such characters as the dwarf playmates of the royal children. The weathering of the skin, rags and mortality, as well as the ageing face of the despondent monarch increasingly preoccupied him in later years. The power, insight and brilliant technique of these paintings were to prove profoundly influential on such later artists as Manet, Delacroix, Picasso and Bacon.

About the Series:
Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:

• a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist
• approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions
• a concise biography

Court painter to King Philip IV of Spain, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (June 1599 - August 6, 1660) is not only a leading light of the Spanish Golden Age, but among the most celebrated masters in all Western art history. 

Monet and Renoir, Corot and Courbet, Degas and Dali all hailed his influence. Picasso was so inspired by his masterpiece Las Meninas that he painted 44 variations of it. Velazquez's importance is found particularly in his naturalist approach, in contrast to the more ubiquitous idealized manner of his age. 

Early works included numerous "bodegones", genre scenes of everyday life in early 17th century Spain, in which warm, rich tones and textures set off the most ordinary of subjects and humble of faces, such as Old Woman Frying Eggs. Later, his portraiture for the Royal Court brought the same naturalism to the highest echelons of society, marking a profound shift in the depiction of royalty with softer, more relaxed poses that offered his subjects a human warmth and character as much as a sense of grandeur. Velazquez's most famous work, Las Meninas, was also painted in the royal court, but in its enigmatic composition raises many broader questions about reality and illusion and the relationship between the painter, painting, and viewer. 

This fresh TASCHEN Basic Art 2.0 edition introduces Velazquez through key works from throughout his career. From humble genre scenes to the royal portraits, the exquisite Rokeby Venus nude, and the ever-mysterious Las Meninas, we explore his exceptional attention to composition, masterful handling of tone, and his remarkable influence as, in Manet's words, "the greatest painter of all."

About the series

Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:

 - a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
 - a concise biography
 - approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

The Complete Velázquez. A catalogue raisonné of “the painter’s painter”

Manet called him “the greatest painter of all.” Picasso was so inspired by his masterpiece Las Meninas that he painted 44 variations of it. Francis Bacon painted a study of his portrait of Pope Innocent X. Monet and Renoir, Corot and Courbet, Degas and Dalí… for so many champions of art history, the ultimate sounding board was — and remains — Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660).

First available as an XXL-sized volume, this accessible edition brings together Velázquez’s complete works with a selection of enlarged details and photography of recently restored paintings, achieved through the joint initiative of TASCHEN and Wildenstein. The dazzling images are accompanied by insightful commentary from José López-Rey on Velázquez’s interest in human life and his equal attention to all subjects, from an old woman frying eggs to a pope or king, as well as his commitment to color and light, which would influence the Impressionists over two centuries later.

The authors:

José López-Rey (1905–1991) taught Italian Renaissance at the University of Madrid and worked as an art advisor for the Spanish Ministry of Education. Before the end of the Spanish Civil War, he emigrated to the USA, where he resumed his teaching career at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York. In 1973 he was awarded emeritus status. López-Rey was a corresponding member of the Hispanic Society of America and a consultant and contributor to several international art journals, including the Gazette des Beaux Arts and Art News.

Odile Delenda, graduate of the École du Louvre, served as professor there, and then as deputy head of the department of paintings at the Musée du Louvre until 2007. She has collaborated on several exhibitions of old master paintings. A research fellow at the Wildenstein Institute in Paris since 1990, she has continued her study of Spanish art from the Siglo de Oro. She is, among other works, the author of Vélasquez, peintre religieux (1993) and, under the auspices of the Wildenstein Institute, the first critical catalogue raisonné of the painted oeuvre of Francisco de Zurbarán and his studio (2009/10).