Sunflowers For Van Gogh

Sunflowers For Van Gogh by Duncan, Douglas. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780847807642.

From the front flap of this 149-page book: "This romantic odyssey through all of Van Goghs hauntingly beautiful sunflower paintings, and David Douglas Duncans unknown poetic photography from the sunflower belt of southern France, pays tribute at once to the artists achievement and the dazzling flower itself. Inspired by Van Goghs vibrantly painted canvasses, Duncan set out on a journey to capture with color camera the plant that had so intrigued the artist. Scarce in Van Goghs own time, the sunflower of today grows across Europe in ever-increasing numbers of fields to satisfy the commercial demand for vegetable oil. This vast floral extravaganza vies with the Dutch tulip fields for spectacular beauty and abundance, yet has been ignored until now. With photographs, Duncan reveals his own obsession to document the flower. He sought out the source of Van Goghs inspiration at Arles, then farther afield, from Provence to the Atlantic. In the eleven known paintings of sunflowers by Van Gogh (reproduced here all together in color for the first time) and Duncans dramatic pictures, this book celebrates a countryside flower through the eyes of two artists."