Van Gogh: Fields The Field with Poppies and the Artists' Dispute

In this first major publication paying tribute to the subject of landscape in the works of Vincent van Gogh, more than 50 paintings and drawings by the Dutch artist will be represented - taking van Gogh's Poppyfield from the collection of the Kunsthalle Bremen as a starting point. This picture was one of the first van Gogh painted in 1889 in the surrounding countryside of the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he let himself be voluntarily treated. Fields are the artist's leitmotif, a motif, which runs like a thread through his work. The paintings in the volume illustrate the extent to which van Gogh's mind was rooted in the cycles of nature: from the mythical sower to the flowering corn to the autumnal reaper. Above all they show the artistic possibilities of his conception of landscape: from the perspective effect of depth to the accentuation of the canvas surface. Poppyfield was acquired by the Bremen Kunsthalle in 1911. The purchase prompted the protest of German artists against the arrival of French modernism in German museums. However, the Bremen curator Gustav Pauli, supported by well-known artists such as Max Liebermann and Wassily Kandinsky, defended the purchase. The argument, which aroused the whole of Germany at that time, will be clearly documented by the publication. (German edition available 3-7757-1130-9) The artist: Vincent van Gogh (Groot-Zundert 1853-1890 Auvers-sur-Oise). Began his career in the art trade, working for art dealers in The Hague, London, and Paris; later worked as a private teacher and a Methodist preacher. Travelled to Paris in 1886; settled in Arles in 1888, where he was visited by Paul Gauguin. Following a nervous breakdown in 1889, he spent a year in a psychiatric clinic in Saint-Rémy, after which he was treated privately by Dr. Gachet in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he committed suicide after a severe attack of depression. Exhibition Schedule: Kunsthalle Bremen October 19, 2002 - January 26, 2003