“What intensity of colour, what pure air, what vibrant serenity” wrote Vincent to his brother on the 17th of September, 1888. He was describing the Provençal countryside around Arles, the rather grotty little town where he had been living since February that same year. In just over a month, he would be joined by another [...]
I've finished reading Van Gogh’s letters, and I’ve also read the chapter on Van Gogh from ‘Portraits: John Berger on artists’. Berger is an art historian whom I hugely admire, and his writing on Van Gogh is very touching. Berger expresses an awareness of the ineffectualness of words in the face of great art. He [...]
Van Gogh has been described as a comet: a fiery blaze of creativity that was over before anyone could fully take note of it. We tend to think of this comet in terms of colour: the deep blue of the starry sky; the sulphurous, sparkling yellow of the wheat fields; or the glaring red walls [...]
Antony Gormley in conversation with Frances Morris at Tate Modern Listening to Antony Gormley talk to Frances Morris about the work of Alberto Giacometti was a real treat, as I love the work of both artists. Their stripped-down visions of the human form have a powerfully universal and even primal quality, although they can be seen [...]
