Loved, loved, loved this illustration edition about van Gogh's life. I recently saw his art at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and ever since I have been reading as much as I can about this complex and talented man.

Whether you love art, or history, or just casually interested, this is a great book to read about his life. It is safe for children and doesn't talk about the nasty parts of his life, but adults will definitely know what the author is talking about.

I highly recommend and can't wait to pick up my own copy of this book!

I really like the art of Vincent van Gogh and "The starry night" is my favorite painting ever. I almost cried that time I had a chance to see it for myself at an art exhibition. So, it's not really a surprise that I decided to read and review this book.

What I liked the most are definitely the drawings. They are really "Van-Gogh-ish". But in the end, I missed something. It's still great, but I think that Frida Kahlo book is done slightly better than this one.

Portrait Of An Artist Vincent Van Gogh is a beautiful illustrated and informative book! We study artist throughout the year in our home as we homeschool. This a wonderful addition to our library. The illustrations are very similar that of the hand of Van Gogh himself. With the colors and details, this book be explored may times.

I love this concept. It's an easy to read children's book with exciting pictures of Vincent Von Gogh that stay true to his art. Every classroom in America should have this book. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Rating 4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions for an early copy of Portrait of an Artist: Vincent van Gogh by Lucy Brownridge. This is the second book in this series that I have read and I cannot wait to read the other books in the series. This one, like the one on Frida Kahlo, was very colorful and done in the style of van Gogh. This book tells the story of van Gogh’s life, including him becoming a priest in Belgium, which was something I never knew about him. As with the Kahlo book, I would recommend this for children who like biographies, art, or just learning about new things.

I've really been enjoying all these books that tell us about the lives of famous people and Portrait of an Artist: Vincent van Gogh by Lucy Brownridge was another great hit. I'm impressed by how well Brownridge describes depression and the manner of van Gogh's death in a manner that is appropriate for young children. As always, the illustrations are great too and I like how his paintings are strewn throughout the book as well as that there are some explanations for some of his paintings in the back of the book.

My oldest son really likes books about art and has actually carried around a small Van Gogh book since he was a baby. I was excited for him to get a chance to learn more about Van Gogh as a person and I actually ended up refreshing my knowledge of Van Gogh as well. My son loved this book and he especially loved finding the paintings that he recognized sprinkled throughout the book. I appreciate that Van Gogh’s mental health and suicide were handled in a very gentle way that is child-appropriate by not getting into too many specifics. It would be a great book for kids who want to learn more about art or artists, or even as an introduction to the world of fine art.

Another excellent book in this series! It’s perfect for budding artists and any other older elementary child looking to learn more about the arts. The illustrations are all in the style of Van Gogh, adding to the overall mood. The lists found at the end of facts and his most famous paintings are a helpful resource. Highly recommended!

This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Easy to follow text that introduces elementary level readers to Vincent Van Gogh's life. Readers briefly see Van Gogh's childhood and his evolution as a painter. Brownridge uses appropriate language to address how Van Gogh died to end the biography.
Van Gogh's paintings are incorporated on every page spread.
Looking forward to reading other books in this series.

I love Van Gogh and I really enjoyed reading this. I was happily surprised that they mentioned Theo and their relationship. For such a short book I feel like it hit all the really important points in Vincent’s life. The illustrations were perfect as they really fit with Vincent’s aesthetic as an artist. This is a book I would read to my kid if I had one. So good!

This was very, very cute and I wish I had a small child in my life that I could share this with. I love that it uses the actual paintings of van Gogh to tell the story, and a lot of paintings as well! Van Gogh lived a difficult and sad life, and I think this book captures that well in a way that smaller children would be able to understand. And the illustrations are so, so fun. They didn't mention how he died though, which I thought might be a bit confusing for kids because he suddenly jumps from being very sad to being very dead. I think just a small line that connected those two things, maybe like he died of sadness, would be helpful. But other than that, I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this. It was wonderful. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series when they are released.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley.
A lot of this review will sound similar to my earlier review for the book in the same series on Frida Kahlo. They have similar strengths.

Again I think this is a good introduction to an artist whose life was not easy. The fact that again the illustrations echo the artist's personal style is such a considered thoughtful detail. It helps young readers to understand the artist's style and get used to it.
With an art history background I know a fair amount about Van Gogh but still enjoyed this book. Its very well done in its brevity and I can see it being very accessible to young readers and new art lovers.

This book is part of a series on artists. I have read the one on Frida Kahlo, which was well done, and now there is an entry of Van Gogh. This short book does an excellent job of telling the story of Van Gogh's life and work. Young readers will learn about Vincent's struggle to find what he wanted to do; for example, they will read that Van Gogh was a minister for a time before becoming an artist. Van Gogh's mental health issues are included in an honest, but not too detailed, way. Readers will also learn about Van Gogh's brother Theo and his relationship with Paul Gauguin. And of course, there is the art! The illustrations are vibrant and many of the artist's works are found on these pages. This book should be a welcome entry for a school collection on artists for young readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.

It is no easy task. To take the story of a broken, mentally il man, who now is world famous for his paintings that were considered trash at the time he drew them, is a hard feat to accomplish in a children's picture book.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/vangoh.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5330" />

This is done as sensitively as possible. There is mention of his mental illness, in passing, and each page has a painting of Van Gogh's which are all explained at the end of the book.

Recommended as a good introduction to children of this very famous artist.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Portrait of an Artist: Vincent van Gogh is a new biography of the artist aimed at young readers (6-10 years). Due out 3rd Sept 2019 from Quarto on their Wide Eyed Editions imprint, it's 32 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

It's always challenging to write a biography of a subject whose life was fraught with difficulties and illness and ended so tragically. The author manages to tell the story with truth and grace, noting of his death, that "later on that year, Vincent decided that he had had enough of being unwell". This is an appealing full color part of the Portrait of an Artist series including children's biographies for luminaries such as Kahlo, Monet, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

The factual events of Van Gogh's life are shown along with facsimile reproductions of his work. The end of the book also includes 10 of his best known works with a short interpretive paragraph about the symbolism and composition of the paintings.

This is a good support text for a classroom or library unit on artists, art appreciation, composition, and similar. This would also make a good selection for art interested youngsters and their families.

Four stars.

"Portrait of an Artist: Vincent van Gogh" provides a short overview of the life of this famous artist. The colors and style of the illustrations make it an interesting as well as informative book. These drawings will surely appeal to children for whom this picture book is designed. They underscore the contrast between the different phases of the life of the artist, and how his emotions affected his art. The inclusion of images of Van Gogh's masterpieces also lends realism to the story.

This book glosses over the rather negative and disturbing aspects of Van Gogh's life, including his manner of death, which seems appropriate for children for whom this book is intended. At the same time, the author leaves the door open to those who wish to dig more deeply into the life of the artist by reading a more in-depth study of his life. The book contains end notes which describe the paintings included in the book.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

If you are looking for a delightfully illustrated book with which to introduce your child to the life and art of Van Gogh, Portrait of an Artist: Vincent van Gogh should be one of your top picks. Written for ages seven to ten, the sensitively written book begins with Vincent’s close relationship with his brother Theo, his struggles to find a place in society, and his eventual voyage to France and commitment to art as a career after he learned about Impressionism. Brownridge recounts his time in Aries with Paul Gaugin, including the fight that precipitated his self-injury to his ear. The writing becomes slightly less confident when the story picks up with Van Gogh’s depression and suicide. Understandably, this is a topic Brownridge wants to leave with guardians to discuss, but to solve that issue she uses the generalization “unwell,” and vague descriptions that might leave some children confused.

The illustrations in the book are gorgeous. Each spread represents a stage of Van Gogh’s life and includes a representation of a painting from that time, such a colorful drawing of Van Gogh in his Aries garden, with an adorable black cat that reoccurs throughout the book, accompanied with a reproduction of his famous Sunflowers. It’s no surprise that the drawings echo Van Gogh’s impressionistic style.

In addition to providing an age-appropriate but full summary of Van Gogh’s life, the book offers young readers and their guardians or older siblings an opportunity to read together and find the hidden treasures in the art; it can also be a jumping point for a family discussion on mental illness.

Thank you to Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the perfect means to introduce a young reader to Van Gogh and his life's accomplishments.
What a beautifully illustrated book! What I found especially meaningful was the incorporation of Van Gogh's actual paintings throughout.
It also tells of the painter's life from beginning to end. The text touches on his tormented life. It's important to use this as a stepping stone to further discussion for young readers since it is such a difficult subject.

The perfect book to introduce kids from 7 to 10 to painting, art and to one of the most loved painters wolrwide. The text and illustrations (in his style) are engaging and beautiful. The incorporation of some of his works a wonderful way of intoducing his art. His death is discreetly and sensitively pointed at (“Vincent decided that he had had enough of being unwell”) which is important for kids that age.
All in all, a must-have for anyone who wants to instill a love of art into children.
I highly recommend this book !
#PortraitOfAnArtistVincentVanGogh #NetGalleyFrance

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in this series I have read after the Frida Kahlo edition. This follows a similar approach, key events and art in the life and career of Van Gogh are set against some lovely illustrations.

I was interested to see how the author would manage to talk about some of the more difficult aspects of Van Gogh's life but I think this was portrayed really sensitively. Saying that he had enough of being unwell leaves things open enough to discussion without being overly blunt, we need to remember the audience for this book are very young children.

Some of the facts area little iffy but as with the Kahlo edition, this is a beautifully illustrated book that would be a great gift for any young person with a developing interest in art.