485 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Monday, 9 March and about Monday, 23 March 1885.

metadata

No. 485 (Brieven 1990 489, Complete Letters 396)
From: Vincent van Gogh
To: Theo van Gogh
Date: Nuenen, between about Monday, 9 March and about Monday, 23 March 1885

Source status

Original manuscript

Location

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b434 V/1962

Date

In letter 484 written on or about 2 March, Vincent promised to paint some heads and send them to Theo. Now he says he has a few that are finished, but that they are not yet dry. He also says: ‘I didn’t want to put off writing again any longer’ (ll. 65-66). All this in any event places the letter some time after the previous one, and it was certainly written before Mr van Gogh’s stroke on 26 March (486).

From a letter dated 25 March from Mrs van Gogh to Theo we learn that Theo had lent Vincent a book that he had already had a chance to start reading: ‘Well we saw Vincent got a book to read, so another sign of life, which is always pleasing. He seems to be reading it with great ambition. I’ve already heard him say: that’s a fine book, so you will give him a great deal of pleasure with it’ (FR b2268; this was probably the book by Gigoux discussed later (see letters 492 and 494)). Since nothing is said about it in the present letter, we assume that this letter must have been written before Vincent received the book, so at least a few days before 25 March. It is not possible to give any more precise date; we have therefore dated the letter between about Monday, 9 and about Monday, 23 March 1885.

Sketches

Head of a woman (F - / JH 713), letter sketch
Seated woman (F - / JH 713), letter sketch
Two heads of women (F - / JH 714), letter sketch

original text

1r:1

Waarde Theo,

de koppen die ik U beloofde heb ik eenigen van klaar, doch nog niet geheel droog. Doch zooals ik reeds schreef, ze zijn in een donkere hut geschilderd & ’t zijn – studies – in den regelregten zin van ’t woord.

In vroeger dagen reeds had ik een begin gemaakt met U geteekende studies te sturen.–

Dat zulks toen niet is doorgegaan is tegen mijn intentie geweest.–1

Ik werk hard en – stel dat slechts 1 van de 10 of 20 studies die ik maak iets hebbe dat ze de moeite waard doe zijn om te zien – die enkelen, ’t zij meer ’t zij minder in getal, al zijn ze nu niets waard, zijn ’t later welligt wel.–

Niet op zich zelf zoozeer als in verband met andere studies.–

Wat hier ook van zij – ik wil ’t op nieuw eens probeeren en zoodra ze dus geheel droog zijn & ik ze uithalen kan, stuur ik U een paar koppen en ook een schetsje van een garenwindster.2 En daar hoeft het bepaald niet bij te blijven – want daar meer dan een vol jaar ik haast uitsluitend me heb ingespannen op ’t schilderen, durf ik wel te beweeren deze iets anders hebben dan de eerste geschilderde studies die ik U zond.3

Als ik b.v. laatst die prachtige houthakkers van l’Hermitte4 zag, dan weet ik [zeer wel dat] een groote afstand me nog scheidt van zoo iets zelf te maken.– Doch wat betreft mijn opvatting en m[anier] van zoeken – n.l. steeds direkt buiten of in de [berookte],5 arme hut – encourageert mij ’t zien v[an] zijn [werk] want ik zie (b.v. aan detai[ls] in koppen in handen[) hoe] artisten als l’Hermitte ’t boerenfiguur niet alleen van op een vrij grooten afstand maar van heel digt bij bestudeerd moeten hebben, niet nu terwijl ze met gemak 1v:2 en zekerheid scheppen en composeeren, doch vóór ze zulks deden.–

On croit que j’imagine – ce n’est pas vrai – je me souviens – zei een die meesterlijk composeeren kon.–6

Wat mij nu betreft, ik kan nog geen enkel schilderij laten zien, desnoods nog geen enkele teekening.

Maar studies maak ik wel en juist daarom kan ik me heel best voorstellen de mogelijkheid er een tijd kome dat ik ook grifweg composeeren zal kunnen.

En trouwens ’t is moeielijk te zeggen waar studie ophoudt en schilderij begint.

Ik denk over een paar grootere doorwerkte dingen en als het eens was dat ik helderheid kreeg om de effekten die ik op ’t oog heb weer te geven – in dat geval zou ik die studies in kwestie nog hier houden want dan zou ik ze er zeker voor noodig hebben.– het is b.v. zoo iets:7

[sketch A]
[sketch B]
1v:3

Namelijk figuren tegen ’t licht van een raam in.

Ik heb er studies van koppen voor, zoowel tegen ’t licht in als met ’t licht mede en ’t heele figuur heb ik al verscheiden keer onder handen gehad, garen windende naaister of aardappels schillen.– En face en en profil.8 Of ik ’t echter klaar zal krijgen weet ik niet want het is een moeielijk effekt.

Doch ’k geloof wel er een paar dingen mee geleerd te hebben.

[sketch C]

Gegroet, ik wilde niet langer wachten weer eens te schrijven.

b. à t.

Vincent

translation

1r:1

My dear Theo,

I have a few of the heads I promised you ready, but not completely dry yet. But as I already wrote, they were painted in a dark cottage and they are — studies — in the true meaning of the word.

I had already made a start on sending you study drawings in the past.

It wasn’t my intention that this shouldn’t continue.1

I work hard and — suppose that only 1 in 10 or 20 of the studies that I make have something that makes them worth the trouble of looking at them — those few, be it more, be it fewer in number — although they’re worth nothing now, may well be later.

Not so much in themselves as in conjunction with other studies.

Be this as it may — I want to try it again, and so as soon as they’re completely dry and I can varnish them, I’ll send you a few heads and also a little sketch of a yarn-winder.2 And it certainly doesn’t have to stop there — for since I’ve devoted myself almost exclusively to painting for more than a whole year, I dare assert that these have something different from the first painted studies that I sent you.3

For instance, when I saw those magnificent woodcutters by Lhermitte4 recently, then I know very well that a great distance still separates me from making something like that myself. Yet as regards my views and manner of searching — that is, always directly from nature or in the poor, smoke-blackened5 cottage — seeing his work encourages me, for I see (in details in heads and hands, for instance) how artists like Lhermitte must have studied the peasant figure not only from a fairly great distance but from very close to, not now, while they create and compose with ease 1v:2 and certainty, but before they did that.

They think I imagine — it isn’t true — I remember — said one whose composition was masterly.6

Now for myself, I can’t yet show a single painting, not even a single drawing yet.

But I’m making studies, and precisely because of this I can very well conceive of the possibility that a time will come when I, too, will be able to compose readily.

And after all, it’s difficult to say where study stops and painting begins.

I’m thinking about a couple of larger, more worked-up things, and should I get a clear idea of how to achieve the effects I have in mind — in that case I would still keep the studies in question here, because then I would certainly need them for it. It is, for example, something like this:7

[sketch A]

[sketch B]

1v:3

Namely figures against the light from a window.

I have studies of heads for it, both against the light and facing the light, and I’ve already worked on the whole figure several times, seamstress winding yarn, or peeling potatoes. Full face and in profile.8 I don’t know whether I’ll get it finished, though, because it’s a difficult effect.

Still, I think I’ve learned a few things from it.

[sketch C]

Regards, I didn’t want to put off writing again any longer.

Yours truly,

Vincent

notes

1. After the brothers had agreed in March 1884 that Vincent would send Theo work in return for a monthly allowance, Vincent made a number of works for Theo; see letters 440 ff. Because of the tensions between them this had come to a dead end.

2. Van Gogh is probably referring here to Woman winding yarn (F 36 / JH 698 ); it measures 40.5 x 31.7 cm and is the only known painting of this subject dating from this period. Cf. cat. Amsterdam 1999, pp. 114-117, cat. no. 21.

3. The first painted studies that Vincent had sent Theo were works from Drenthe, at the end of September and in November 1883 (see letters 389 and 406).

4. See for Léon Augustin Lhermitte, The woodcutters : letter 484, n. 5.

5. In view of his choice of words in letter 484, l. 51, it is possible that Van Gogh wrote ‘bemoste’ (moss-grown) rather than ‘berookte’ (smoke-blackened).

6. Given that Van Gogh attributed the saying ‘je me souviens’ (I remember) to Gustave Doré in letter 537, this is who he must mean here. See letter 537, n. 16.

7. The letter sketches Head of a woman and Seated woman (both F - / JH 713) are after Head of a woman (F 70 / JH 715) and Head of a woman (F 70a / JH 716).

8. There are several known works in which these light effects occur; it is not possible to identify the ones Van Gogh is referring to here.