1. The public garden (‘The poet’s garden’) (F 468 / JH 1578 [2713]). The painting measures 73 x 91 cm.
[2713]
2. Newly mown lawn with a weeping tree (F 428 / JH 1499 [0]). This smaller study (60.5 x 73.5 cm) was in the second consignment of paintings from Arles; see letter 660, n. 1.
[0]
3. Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580 [2714]).
[2714]
4. Self-portrait (F 476/ JH 1581 [2715]).
[2715]
5. For painting at night, which Vincent had also written to Willemien about, see letter 678, n. 13.
a. This probably means something along the lines of ‘depending’.
b. Read: ‘comme seraient bombés’.
6. Van Gogh got his information from Maurice de Fleury’s article ‘La maison d’un moderniste, L’Architecture de demain’, in Le Figaro, Supplément Littéraire 14 (15 September 1888), no. 37, pp. 2-3. The term ‘Impressionist house’ does not occur in the article. Fleury wrote: ‘Just like the house of an artist (the delightful home of this prince: Edmond de Goncourt), it is in Auteuil that you could find the house of a modernist.’ (Tout comme la maison d’un artiste (le délectant logis de ce prince: Edmond de Goncourt), c’est à Auteuil que vous pourriez trouver la maison d’un moderniste.) He described the house built for ‘the Duke of X’ (le duc de X...) as a work of art because of ‘the use of materials hitherto rarely used, the colourist’s taste which dominated the overall design, certain ingenious details’ (l’emploi de matériaux jusqu’à présent peu usités, le goût de coloriste qui a présidé à la conception d’ensemble, certains détails ingénieux). Fleury referred to Edmond de Goncourt because he also lived in Auteuil and had described his own house and the works of art in it down to the smallest detail in La maison d’un artiste (1881). Van Gogh’s use of the term ‘artist’s house’ in this and subsequent letters may indicate that he was familiar with Goncourt’s book (see also letter 674, n. 7).
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