From psalms and hymns to the operas of Richard Wagner and simple birdsong, music represented to Vincent van Gogh the ultimate form of artistic expression. Natascha Veldhorst provides close readings of the many allusions to music in the artist's prolific correspondence, and examines the period's artistic theory to offer a rich picture of the status of music in late 19th-century culture. The many color illustrations here include Sunflowers in a Vase, which Van Gogh described as "a symphony in blue and yellow."