666 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 21 or Wednesday, 22 August 1888.

metadata

No. 666 (Brieven 1990 670, Complete Letters 526)
From: Vincent van Gogh
To: Theo van Gogh
Date: Arles, Tuesday, 21 or Wednesday, 22 August 1888

Source status

Original manuscript

Location

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b568 V/1962

Date

See letter 665, Date,for the sequence of letters 665-671 and our dating of them.

Additional

Van Gogh enclosed a letter for Willemien (letter 667); cf. l. 52.

Ongoing topics

Gauguin coming to Arles (602)

Decoration of the Yellow House (665)

Willemien’s visit to Paris (660)

original text

1r:1

Mon cher Theo,

je t’écris bien à la hâte mais pour te dire que je viens de recevoir un mot de Gauguin qui dit qu’il n’a pas écrit à cause qu’il travaillait beaucoup mais se dit toujours prêt à venir dans le Midi aussitôt que la chance le permettra.

Ils s’amusent bien à peindre, à discuter, à se battre avec les vertueux anglais,1 il dit beaucoup de bien du travail de Bernard et Bernard dit beaucoup de bien du travail de Gauguin.

Je suis en train de peindre avec l’entrain d’un Marseillais mangeant la bouillabaisse ce qui ne t’étonnera pas lorsqu’il s’agit de peindre des grands Tournesols.

J’ai 3 toiles en train, 1) 3 grosses fleurs dans un vase vert, fond clair (toile de 15),2 2) 3 fleurs, une fleur en semence et effeuillee & un bouton sur fond bleu de roi (toile de 25),3 3) douze fleurs & boutons dans un vase jaune (toile de 30).4 Le dernier est donc clair sur clair et sera le meilleur j’espère. Je ne m’arrêterai probablement pas là. Dans l’espoir de vivre dans un atelier à nous avec Gauguin je voudrais faire une decoration pour l’atelier. Rien que des grands Tournesols.

A côté de ton magasin, dans le restaurant, tu sais bien qu’il y a une si belle décoration de fleurs là, je me rappelle toujours le grand tournesol dans la vitrine.5 Enfin si j’exécute ce plan il y aura une douzaine de paneaux. Le tout sera une symfonie en bleu et jaune donc. J’y travaille tous ces matins à partir du lever du soleil. Car les fleurs se fanent vite et il s’agit de faire l’ensemble d’un trait.

1v:2

Tu as bien fait de dire à Tasset qu’il faut qu’il nous donne quelques tubes de couleur pour les 15 francs de port de deux envois non affranchis.6 Quand j’aurai fini ces tournesols je manquerai de jaune & de bleu peutêtre alors je ferai une petite commande à cet effet. La toile ordinaire à Tasset qui était à 50 centimes plus chère que celle de Bourgeois7 me plait beaucoup et est très bien préparée.

J’en suis bien content que Gauguin se porte bien. je commence à aimer le midi de plus en plus.

J’ai encore une etude en train de Chardons poussiereux avec un inombrable essaim de papillons blancs et jaunes.8

J’ai encore manqué des modèles que j’espérais avoir de ces jours ci.

Koning a écrit qu’il va demeurer à la Haye, il a l’intention de t’envoyer des études.9

J’ai un tas d’idées pour de nouvelles toiles. J’ai revu aujourd’hui ce même bateau à charbon avec des ouvriers qui le dechargent dont je t’ai déjà parlé, au même endroit des bateaux de sable dont je t’ai envoyé un dessin. Ce serait un fameux motif.10 Seulement je commence de plus en plus à chercher une technique simple qui peutêtre n’est pas impressioniste. Je voudrais peindre de façon qu’à la rigueur tout le monde qui a des yeux puisse y voir clair.– J’ecris à la hâte mais voulais ci inclus envoyer un mot à la soeur.11 Poignée de main, il faut que je retourne à la besogne.

t. à t.

Vincent

Gauguin a dit que Bernard avait fait un album de croquis de moi et qu’il le lui avait montré.12

translation

1r:1

My dear Theo,

I’m writing to you in great haste, but to tell you that I’ve just received a line from Gauguin, who says that he hasn’t written because he was doing a great deal of work, but says he’s still ready to come to the south as soon as chance permits.

They’re having a fine time, painting, debating, quarrelling with the virtuous Englishmen;1 he says many good things about Bernard’s work, and Bernard says many good things about Gauguin’s work.

I’m painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large Sunflowers.

I have 3 canvases on the go, 1) 3 large flowers in a green vase, light background (no. 15 canvas),2 2) 3 flowers, one flower that’s gone to seed and lost its petals and a bud on a royal blue background (no. 25 canvas),3 3) twelve flowers and buds in a yellow vase (no. 30 canvas).4 So the last one is light on light, and will be the best, I hope. I’ll probably not stop there. In the hope of living in a studio of our own with Gauguin, I’d like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large Sunflowers.

Next door to your shop, in the restaurant, as you know, there’s such a beautiful decoration of flowers there; I still remember the big sunflower in the window.5 Well, if I carry out this plan there’ll be a dozen or so panels. The whole thing will therefore be a symphony in blue and yellow. I work on it all these mornings, from sunrise. Because the flowers wilt quickly and it’s a matter of doing the whole thing in one go. 1v:2

You did well to tell Tasset that he must give us some tubes of paint for the 15 francs’ carriage on the two unstamped consignments.6 When I’ve finished these sunflowers I’ll perhaps be short of yellow and blue, so I’ll make a small order to that effect. Tasset ordinary canvas, which at 50 centimes was dearer than Bourgeois’s,7 is very much to my liking and is very well prepared.

I’m very glad that Gauguin is well. I’m beginning to like the south more and more.

I have another study on the go, of dusty thistles with an innumerable swarm of white and yellow butterflies.8

I’ve again missed some models that I hoped to have these past few days.

Koning has written that he’s going to stay in The Hague; he intends to send you some studies.9

I have a whole heap of ideas for new canvases. Today I saw that same coal-boat again, with workers unloading it, that I’ve already told you about; in the same place as the sand-boats, of which I’ve sent you a drawing. It would be a grand subject.10 Only I’m beginning more and more to look for a simple technique that perhaps isn’t Impressionist. I’d like to paint in such a way that if it comes to it, everyone who has eyes could understand it. I’m writing in haste but wanted to send a line to our sister enclosed herewith.11 Handshake, I must get back to work.

Ever yours,

Vincent

Gauguin said that Bernard had made an album of croquis of mine, and that he’d shown it to him.12

notes

1. Bernard had also written about this; see letter 664, n. 3.

2. Sunflowers in a vase (F 453 / JH 1559 ). Van Gogh is mistaken about the size: the work measures 73 x 58 cm, which makes it a ‘no. 20 figure’ canvas (73 x 60 cm).

3. Sunflowers in a vase (F 459 / JH 1560 ). Van Gogh refers to five flowers; the sixth (below centre) was added when the painting was mounted on wood and enlarged to 98 x 69 cm. It was most probably originally a ‘no. 25 figure’ canvas (81 x 65 cm). See Dorn 1999, pp. 49, 59.

4. Sunflowers in a vase (F 456 / JH 1561 ). See Dorn 1999, p. 49; Van Tilborgh and Hendriks 2001, p. 22, on the number of flowers.

5. Next door to Boussod, Valadon & Cie, at 21 boulevard Montmartre, there was a restaurant belonging to the Duval chain (Almanach du commerce de Paris 1886). See letter 502, n. 8. Around 1900 the restaurant was called Le Soleil, as can be seen on a contemporary postcard. See exhib. cat. Chicago 2001, pp. 50-51.

6. See letter 658 for the compensation for the cost of carriage on Tasset’s shipments.

7. Van Gogh was able to compare these prices because he had a catalogue from the artists’ supplies merchant Bourgeois; see letter 639.

8. This study is not known, but the subject may have been similar to that of the drawing Thistles by the roadside (F 1466 / JH 1552). For an earlier attribution see letter 665, n. 8.

9. Around 15 September 1888 Koning, who had returned to Winschoten after he left Paris, moved to 163 Van Diemenstraat in The Hague (FR b1080-b1081). He wrote to Theo about his studies: ‘I can well imagine that at the moment I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I firmly believe it will come. Anyway, judge for yourself. This morning I packed up the best of my studies or paintings, call them what you will, and I shall send them to you today’ (FR 1080). On 18 September 1888 Koning sent seven studies to Paris: ‘There are 4 no. 10 ... 2 no. 8 and 1 no. 6’ (FR b1081). The exact make-up of Koning’s consignment to Theo cannot be reconstructed. There are presently 14 paintings by Koning in the Van Gogh Museum, ten of which qualify in terms of their size.

10. Van Gogh had written about this ‘very large boat laden with coal’ in the ‘railway yard’ in letter 652. The drawing of sand barges is Quay with sand barges (F 1462 / JH 1556 ); it had gone to Theo in the second consignment of paintings (see letter 662).

There is no known painting of a large coal barge, so evidently Van Gogh did not carry out his plan. Pickvance and others linked this passage to the paintings Sand barges (F 437 / JH 1570 ) and Sand barges (F 438 / JH 1571 ); see exhib. cat. New York 1984, p. 164 and exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1990, p. 139. However, it is more likely that these paintings (which are actually of small sand barges, not large coal boats) were the outcome of Van Gogh’s earlier idea of painting the coal barge at sunset. See letter 652, n. 13.

11. This letter to Willemien was letter 667.

12. Nothing is known about this album. Van Gogh had sent two batches of drawings to Bernard in mid-July; see letter 641, n. 1.