Van Gogh

This impressive entry in the Art Masters series spends relatively little time on Van Gogh's  personal information (his death, for example, is easily overlooked within a small box of text), opting instead to place the painter into detailed historical context. Using generous, colorful, and cleanly designed two-page spreads, Crispino situates Van Gogh among other artists within certain time periods and locations, portraying his work and life as a counterpoint to various traditions and trends. Most topics are centered by an original drawing (of, say, the belle epoque or Eiffel Tower) that is surrounded by captioned photographs, paintings, artifacts, and descriptions. Sometimes the relation to Van Gogh seems tenuous, but frequently this grander scope gives readers a palpable sense of his tumultuous world. Most insightful are the sections devoted to individual paintings, for example, Bedroom in Arles; the isolated details draw readers' eyes to points of interest that are otherwise easy to miss. Consider this worthwhile volume the equivalent of an unusually insightful museum tour guide.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2008 Booklist