Vincent van Gogh: The Lost Arles Sketchbook

Late in life, during his time living in Provence, Vincent van Gogh kept a sketchbook within a humble account ledger given to him by Joseph and Marie Ginoux, the owners of the Café de la Gare in Arles. This artifact of incalculable historical and aesthetic value remained hidden for more than one hundred and twenty years. It reappears today as a revelation and an extraordinary treasure. Published in this volume for the first time, Van Gogh’s lost sketchbook tells a riveting story. Over two tumultuous years in the artist’s life, he drew sixty-five sketches, including landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and a self-portrait, within the ledger. These priceless drawings provide insight into the last years of Van Gogh’s life, just before his fatal stay in Auvers-sur-Oise, and a new understanding of his most famous paintings, such as The Yellow House, The Night Café, and The Starry Night. With meticulous analysis of the sketchbook and the historical record, art historian Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov discusses each drawing in terms of Van Gogh’s career as a whole, and in particular during his time in Arles and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence between February 1888 and May 1890. This groundbreaking book includes facsimile reproductions of all the sketches and is richly illustrated with dozens of drawings, photographs, and paintings that situate the sketchbook in the context of Van Gogh’s life’s work and the history of art. The result of a remarkable discovery, “Vincent van Gogh: The Lost Arles Sketchbook” offers fresh insight into the life and work of one of the world’s most beloved artists.