At Eternity's Gate: The Spiritual Vision of Vincent Van Gogh

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Summary: A mixed bag: some interest, some goofs
Review: Some interesting background on van Gogh's family and their religious preferences is mixed with a series of goofs in this book. The author is confused about van Gogh paintings and hasn't kept up with the better van Gogh books over the years. Better to read a more creative work, such as Meyer Shapiro's van Gogh or Jan Hulsker's The Complete van Gogh, or the two volumes of exciting insights in Walther and Metzger's van Gogh, the Complete Paintings.

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Summary: the most reliable resource to date on van Gogh's life
Review: Soundly informed and judiciously handled, notably with respect to van Gogh's formative religious background and its long-term effects on his life, thought,and motivation, including his artistic choices. Erickson also provides remarkable insight into van Gogh's legendary illness, showing his religious dimensions and demonstrating its impact on his art from a novel perspective. Prof. John Walford, Wheaton College

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Summary: We can now see van Gogh's art as he intended
Review: The conventional view of Vincent van Gogh is that he was a great painter who lost his faith and, finally, lost his sanity as well. . . . But now, thanks to Kathleen Powers Erickson, such interpretations are no longer tenable. Erickson has performed an invaluable service to the disciplines of art history and spiritual Vincent van Gogh corrects numerous misconceptions about this complex man and clarifies the nature of his artistic calling. . . . By illuminating van Gogh's life, Erickson has allowed it, in turn, to illuminate his canvases. Paintings which were formerly "works of art" now seem more like icons; Erickson has enabled us to see beyond their painterly surfaces and glimpse the spiritual forces that inspired them. The paintings become, in a sense, windows that are transparent to the divine reality behind them. More than just a series of magnificent paintings, the works of Vincent van Gogh, after Erickson, now appear as the artist had intended - a visual record of the human soul trying to understand its Creator, while struggling with its afflictions along the earthly road of trials, and making its way, at last, through eternity's gate and into the Celestial City. It is a magnificent trip, and Erickson is a worthy guide along its path

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: This book was magnificent!I thought the first chapter was hard to go through but after that, Erickson repayed her debt.I've never read such an outstanding book.The reason why I liked this book is because I liked how she talked about every detail.This book should get an award!