Unpublished Van Gogh drawings to be unveiled

An unpublished sketchbook of Vincent Van Gogh's will be presented in Paris on Tuesday, ahead of the release in several countries of a new book displaying the works.

The sketchbook is owned by a private collector and hardly any details have emerged of what is depicted on its pages.

The new 288-page book reproducing the drawings -- entitled "Vincent Van Gogh, the fog of Arles: the rediscovered sketchbook" will be published Thursday in France, the US, Japan, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

It contains more than ten drawings, according to French publisher Le Seuil, adding that they form "a very impressive ensemble" and that "their authenticity is well established".

"This book has only been seen by its owners, myself and the publisher," the book's editor Bernard Comment told AFP in an interview earlier this year, describing its content as "stunning, dazzling".

Van Gogh lived in the scenic southern French town of Arles towards the end of his short life. It was there, in 1888, that he famously cut off part of his ear after an argument with fellow artist Paul Gauguin.

Van Gogh committed suicide in France, aged 37, in 1890.