Starry Night is a fascinating, fully illustrated account of Van Gogh's time at the asylum in Saint-Remy, during which he created some of his most iconic pieces of art.
Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces - cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets during his time there. This fascinating and insightful work from arts journalist and Van Gogh specialist Martin Bailey examines his time there, from the struggles that sent him to the asylum, to the brilliant creative inspiration that he found during his time here.
He wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material.
An essential insight into the mind of a flawed genius, Starry Night is indispensable for those who wish to understand the life of one of the most talented and brilliant artists to have put paintbrush to canvas.
Contents: A Note to the Reader
Preface
Prologue: Two Brothers, Two Lives
1. Arrival
2. Enclosed Garden
3. Life Inside
4. Alienists
5. Wheatfield
6. The Stars
7. Beyond the Walls
8. Olive Groves
9. Cypresses
10. Fellow Travellers
11. Crises
12. Mirror Images
13. Transforming into Colour
14. Memories of the North
15. Almond Blossom
16. Isolated
Postscript I: The Asylum after Van Gogh
Postscript II: Imprisoned in Russia
On the Trail of Van Gogh
Chronology
Endnotes
Select Bibliography
Index
Picture Credits
Acknowledgements
Author Biography:
MARTIN BAILEY is a leading specialist on Van Gogh and an arts journalist. He is a London-based correspondent for The Art Newspaper. Bailey has curated several exhibitions on Van Gogh including one at Tate Britain in 2019. His books include The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece, Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence, Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum and Van Gogh's Finale: Auvers and the Artist's Rise to Fame .
