"The friendship of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin - including an intense, two-month collaboration in Aries, in the south of France - is one of the most revealing and dynamic relationships in the history of modern art. When they first met in Paris in late 1887, they were two of a number of artists seeking a way to move beyond impressionism. They found common ground in the belief that progressive art should be created at a distance from urban decadence, a conviction that led Gauguin to Brittany and van Gogh to Aries in the early months of 1888." "Published on the occasion of a landmark exhibition organized by The Art Institute of Chicago and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the book is a provocative study of influence and innovation. With a wealth of illustrations, it offers a new perspective on some of the best-known masterpieces of modern art, as well as fresh insight into two of its central personalities."--BOOK JACKET.