East Perthshire author Dr Ralph Skea has published his second book analysing the paintings and drawings of Vincent Van Gogh.
While his first book – Vincent’s Gardens, published in 2011 – was devoted to the artist’s depictions of gardens and parks, Dr Skea’s new companion volume, Vincent’s Trees, focuses on the Dutch maestro’s profound identification with trees of many different species, growing in rural and urban settings.
Dr Skea, a lecturer at the University of Dundee for 30 years before he retired in 2008, lives near Coupar Angus.
He has a long held interest in 19th century painting and his own artistic efforts have been exhibited widely in Scotland since 1973.
Vincent’s Trees was published earlier this month by Thames and Hudson.
Dr Skea said: “Some of Van Gogh’s earliest drawings and paintings were of woods and tree-lined lanes in his homeland, the Dutch province of North Brabant.
“Trees provided him with intriguing subject matter throughout his 10-year career, and almost a quarter of his output in oils was devoted to images of trees in all four seasons.
“Furthermore, some of his most famous works completed in the south of France immortalised the trees growing there: cypresses, pines, olive groves, and fruit orchards in blossom.
“The book analyses these paintings and drawings in the context of the various avant garde styles that Van Gogh experimented with.
“In many works he perceived trees as being symbolic of such themes as survival, hope, and regeneration.”
