459 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, Sunday, 21 September 1884.

metadata

No. 459 (Brieven 1990 460, Complete Letters R48)
From: Vincent van Gogh
To: Anthon van Rappard
Date: Nuenen, Sunday, 21 September 1884

Source status

Original manuscript

Location

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b8379 V/2006

Date

Letter headed: ‘21 Sept’. The figure ‘1’ is not very clearly written, but any other reading seems unlikely. The remark that Van Gogh was in Utrecht ‘last week’ (l. 9) accords with this.

Ongoing topics

Margot Begemann is in Utrecht (456)

Set of decorations for Hermans (453)

original text

1r:1

21 Sept.

Amice Rappard,

Met veel dank voor de lezing zend ik U heden terug ’t boek van Blanc en dat van Fromentin.1 Zooals gezegd heb ik ingevolge van ’t lezen van Artistes de mon temps, de Grammaire des Arts du dessin laten komen van denzelfden schrijver2 & ge kunt, als ge wilt, het lezen.

Verleden week ben ik toevalligerwijs met eenige anderen hier uit het Dorp een dag te Utrecht geweest.3 Ik ben toen nog bij U aan geweest en kon niet terug komen daar ik zelfden dag weer weg moest.– Ik vond ten Uwent niemand te huis en ’t speet me wel ik gansch niets zoodoende ook van Uw werk kon te zien krijgen – ik had graag Uw groote sch^ij van de vischmarkt4 gezien.– En men kon niet eens mij zeggen waar gij waart, waarom ik veronderstel gij nog in Drenthe zijt.–5

En tevens had ik u graag over uw bezoek bij ons gesproken, of ge al dan niet daar lust in hebt.6 ik schreef U reeds doch op twee brieven7 geen antwoord.

Gegroet,

b. à t.

Vincent

1v:2

met veel pleizier heb ik gewerkt aan de 6 doeken over welke ik U geschreven heb en die als geschilderde schetsen nu alle 6 er op staan en reeds bij mijn liefhebber zijn, waarna, als hij ze gecopieerd heeft, ze mijn eigendom blijven en ik ze nog verder zal afmaken. de sujetten zijn:

Aardappelpooten8

Ossenploeg9

Korenoogst10

Zaaier11

Herder, stormeffekt12

Houtsprokkelaars, sneeuweffekt.13

ik ben eenigzins gebonden geweest door dat ik me aan bepaalde afmetingen te houden had en verder omdat mijn liefhebber liefst composities met b.v. 5 of 6 figuren had waar ik er liever 2 of 3 had gemaakt. Doch enfin het is toch met regt veel pleizier ik er aan werkte en nog er verder op door zal gaan.14

translation

1r:1

21 Sept.

My dear friend Rappard,

With many thanks for letting me read them, I’m today returning the book by Blanc and the one by Fromentin.1 As I said, as a consequence of reading Artistes de mon temps, I sent for the Grammaire des arts du dessin by the same writer,2 and you can read it if you want to.

Last week I happened to go to Utrecht for the day with some other people from the village.3 I did call on you, but I couldn’t go back because I had to leave again the same day. I found no one home, and I was sorry because it meant that I couldn’t see any of your work at all — I really would have liked to see your large painting of the fish market.4 And they couldn’t even tell me where you were, which is why I assume you’re still in Drenthe.5

And at the same time I wanted to talk about your visit to us, whether or not you feel like it.6 I already wrote to you, but no reply to two letters.7

Regards,

Yours truly,

Vincent

1v:2

I’ve worked with great pleasure on the 6 canvases I wrote to you about, and all 6 of them are now done as painted sketches and are already with my art lover, after which, once he’s copied them, they remain my property and I’ll finish them off. The subjects are:

Planting potatoes8

Ox-plough9

Wheat harvest10

Sower11

Shepherd, storm effect12

Wood gatherers, snow effect13

I was somewhat constrained because I had to keep to specific dimensions, and also because my art lover preferred compositions with 5 or 6 figures, say, whereas I would rather have had 2 or 3. But anyway, I still worked on them with a great deal of pleasure, and will take them even further.14

notes

1. These books were Charles Blanc, Les artistes de mon temps and Eugène Fromentin, Les maîtres d’autrefois. Van Rappard had sent them after his visit to Nuenen; see letter 448.

2. A reference to letter 454. See for Blanc's Grammaire des arts du dessin: letter 454, n. 17.

3. The visit was to Margot Begemann and the doctor who was treating her, so there was not much ‘happening to go’ about the trip to Utrecht. Margot’s brother Louis was probably one of the party, since he was aware of the facts.

4. This painting of a fish market by Van Rappard is not known.

5. Van Rappard stayed on Terschelling until the end of September. See letter 460.

6. In letter 441 Van Gogh, on behalf of his parents, had invited Van Rappard to visit Nuenen; this visit took place at the end of October.

7. These were letters 448 and 454.

8. Planting potatoes (F 41 / JH 513 ).

9. Van Gogh painted over the picture of the ploughman – it is under Cottage with tumbledown barn and a stooping woman (F 1669 / JH 825 ). See letter 453, n. 10. He made a new version, with a woman picking up the potatoes behind the ploughman: Ploughman and a woman planting potatoes (F 172 / JH 514 ), see letter 466, n. 1.

10. This painted sketch of a wheat harvest is not known.

11. This painted sketch of a sower is not known.

12. Shepherd with flock of sheep (F 42 / JH 517 ).

13. Wood gatherers in the snow (F 43 / JH 516 ). It appears here that the original motif of an ox-cart in the snow (cf. F 1144 / JH 511 ) was altered.

14. This increase in the number of figures is evident from Van Gogh’s original design for Planting potatoes (F 1141 / JH 510 ) compared with the final work Planting potatoes (F 41 / JH 513 ). See also letter 453, n. 13.