Still Life - French Novels 1888

Curator: Good afternoon. We are looking at Van Gogh’s 1888 still life, "French Novels." You can see it today at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Editor: At first glance, it feels almost suffocating, this collection of books tumbling towards the viewer. The impasto brushstrokes make it feel almost three-dimensional, like you could reach out and grasp one of these tomes. Curator: Van Gogh painted this while in Arles. He was living in the Yellow House, dreaming of creating an artist's colony. Reading shaped his world view, and these novels were vital intellectual fuel. They connected him to the literary and philosophical debates of the time, including naturalism and its impact on social commentary. Editor: Do you think he's commenting on literacy or perhaps critiquing academic dogma? Or perhaps just portraying the messiness of knowledge and creation? He once said that books were "consoling company.” The painting hints at both the solace and the intellectual energy that these stories sparked. Curator: These novels represent Van Gogh’s modern life, even though he lived somewhat removed from contemporary urban centers. Note the complementary colors that seem almost artificially intensified, even discordant, which adds a very strong and personal impression, as though we can see and feel the emotions Van Gogh drew from these books and ideas. Editor: There is something subversive about taking intellectual pursuits as your subject matter and giving them the attention of a classical still life, usually reserved for, say, fruit. There's no hierarchy; books can be as vital and beautiful as any flower arrangement. It's quite an assertion. Curator: Ultimately, I see it as an intimate portrait of a mind fueled by stories. It’s not just an image of books, but an image of their role in Vincent’s creative world, of his inner life in painted form. Editor: It is fascinating how it foreshadows the intensity of his personal story. Seeing this collection feels a little like glimpsing the chaotic yet fervent engine driving his genius.