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896 letters found

001 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 29 September 1872.
in note 1:
...do with the stormy autumn weather: they were having at the time, which included frequent showers, strong...
in note 2:
...trotting races took place on Saturday, 28 September at 11.00 in the Haagse Bos, during the Nationale- en...
in note 3:
...a display of fireworks on Thursday on the terrace of the Stedelijk Badhuis (Municipal Baths); an...
in note 5:
...and his wife Dina Margrieta van Aalst, who lived at Lange Beestenmarkt 32 in The Hague. The couple had...
001a To Hendrik Verzijl. The Hague, Saturday, 26 October 1872.
in note 1:
Van Gogh must have been asked to bid on Verzijl’s behalf at an auction in The Hague (see note 3).
in note 2:
...Vincent was in touch with the young couple at this time, and later corresponded with them...
in note 3:
...which took place from 21 to 29 October 1872 at the premises of W.P. van Stockum in The Hague...
in note 4:
...as a tutor by the family at the end of his career. In February 1875 Verzijl was one of the 22 guests at the 53rd birthday party of the Reverend Theodorus van Gogh, who was on a friendly footing with the well-to-do residents and dignitaries in the village (FR b2320). He died at Jagtlust in 1881.
002 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 13 December 1872.
in translation:
I believe that Brussels is a very pleasant city, though it will seem strange at first...
in note 1:
...was that on 1 January 1873 Theo was to start work at the Brussels branch of the art dealer Goupil & Co...
in note 2:
Van Gogh worked as an assistant at the Hague branch of Goupil & Co. located at Plaats 14.
003 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, mid-January 1873.
in translation:
How pleasant those days at Christmas were, I think of them so often; they’ll also long be remembered by you, as they were also your last days at home. You must write to me in particular about what kind of paintings you see and what you find...
...and Aunt my warm regards. Did Uncle Cent stop off at Brussels? Well, old chap, keep well, all your...
in date note:
...it emerges that Theo wrote to Vincent on 22 January at the latest: ‘just imagine, on Monday and Tuesday...
in note 2:
Tobias Victor Schmidt was Theo’s boss at Goupil & Co. in Brussels. He called himself ‘Marchand de...
in note 3:
...for the others’ (FR b2596, 24 January 1873). At this time Theo was earning a starting salary of 30...
in note 10:
This colleague of Theo at Goupil’s in Brussels is most likely the later landscape painter Edouard Michel...
004 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 28 January 1873.
in translation:
Last Sunday I was at Uncle Cor’s and had a very pleasant day there and, as you can well imagine, saw...
...of the Rotta, and even saw the painting at the Brussels exhibition. Do keep me constantly informed...
...and Eduard. Ever your loving brother Vincent All at the Haanebeeks’, Aunt Fie’s and the...
in note 2:
...called ‘C.M.’ by family members, had a bookshop and art gallery at Keizersgracht 453 in Amsterdam.
in note 3:
The Rijksmuseum was housed at the time in the so-called Trippenhuis at Kloveniersburgwal 29 in Amsterdam. The building’s accommodations and suitability were the object of much criticism. See Honderd jaar Rijksmuseum...
in note 5:
The following works by Cluysenaar were on display at the Brussels Salon which Van Gogh had visited in 1872...
in note 7:
Antonio Rotta was represented at Brussels by the painting Il ciabattino (The cobbler). Exhib. cat. Brussels 1872, p. 78, cat. no. 639. Three works bearing this title and depicting similar themes have been found, an example being At the cobbler’s, 1867 (present whereabouts unknown), sold at Christie’s (London) on 24 June...
in note 8:
...des Beaux-Arts’ (General Exhibition of Fine Arts) at Brussels, which was held from 15 August to 15...
005 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 17 March 1873.
in translation:
I’ll go to Helvoirt at Easter if I possibly can, but it will depend on the nouveautés that Iterson takes...
...they only supply the trade. Uncle Cent is coming here at the end of the month, I’m longing to...
in note 2:
Vincent and Theo were both at their parents’ house in Helvoirt (North Brabant) for Easter (13 April) (FR...
in note 4:
...Didn’t we write to you about the two parrots at his house, one of whom spoke better English than...
in note 6:
...at Vienna), which was held from 19 February to 2 March 1873 in Arti et Amicitiae. See J.J. Heij, Een vereeniging van ernstige kunstenaars. 150 jaar Maatschappij Arti et Amicitiae 1839-1989. Amsterdam 1989, p. 143. The paintings were exhibited from 1 May to 1 November 1873 in the Dutch pavilion at the World Exhibition in Vienna; the Netherlands was represented by 167 works of art out of a total of 6,600. See Jutta Pemsel, Die Wiener Weltausstellung von 1873. Das gründerzeitliche Wien am Wendepunkt. Vienna and Cologne 1989, p. 67. Cf. also Sweetman 1988, p. 43...
in note 7:
...office of Goupil & Co., 17 Southampton Street, was at first only a stockroom without a shop, an outlet for...
in note 9:
Willem Marinus Valkis was, like Van Gogh, a boarder at W.M. Roos’s.
006 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 24 March 1873.
in note 1:
...but it must have been sent back to Brussels at some point, since Van Gogh saw it there when he...
007 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 5 May 1873.
in translation:
...that I won’t be able to, as I don’t yet know for sure when I have to be in Paris at the latest.
008 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 9 May 1873.
in translation:
On Monday morning I’ll leave Helvoirt for Paris, passing through Brussels at 2:07. Do come to the station if you can; it would give me great...
in note 5:
Van Gogh took the train that went to Paris via Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels. According to the 1873 timetable, the train arrived at 14.06 at Brussels North; the connection to Paris left from Brussels South at 14.35 and arrived in Paris at 21.05 (Brussels, Archives of the Belgian Railways).
009 To Theo van Gogh. London, Friday, 13 June 1873.
in translation:
spending your days at present, &c. Write to me especially about the paintings you’ve seen recently, and...
...very much enjoyed all the beautiful things I saw at the exhibition and in the Louvre and the...
in note 1:
...had started working – presumably on Monday, 19 May or shortly thereafter – at Goupil’s London branch.
in note 8:
Goupil & Co. had three galleries in Paris, one at rue Chaptal 9, one at boulevard Montmartre 19 and a branch at place de l’Opéra 2.
in note 9:
At first Van Gogh earned £ 90 a year (the average exchange rate was a little over 12 guilders to the pound...
010 To Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, Wednesday, 2 July 1873.
in translation:
...well. I commend myself expressly to hear something from you, should you have a moment at your disposal.
...get used to it. I’m already finished with my work at 6 o’clock, so I still have a fair amount...
...sound of the cow-horn, calling the cattle. And at this sign from their herdsman there soon appeared...
...afar to the others, Kindly and gaily at once, her clear-toned ‘good evening’. Further...But on...
in note 2:
Willem and Caroline were married on 30 April 1873 and lived at Varkenmarkt 11a in The Hague.
in note 7:
Van Gogh’s last evening at home was Sunday, 11 May 1873.
011 To Theo van Gogh. London, Sunday, 20 July 1873.
in translation:
...pleasure. I’m glad you’re well and that living at Mr Schmidt’s is still to your liking. Mr Obach was...
...explain it. English art didn’t appeal to me much at first, one has to get used to it. There are...
...a son of his, who had 3 splendid paintings at the last exhibition in Brussels, titled ‘Antwerp...
...mind that. You’ll surely have heard that Anna is at home and not well. It’s a bad start to her...
...my last evening at home. How much I’d like to have you here, what pleasant days we spent together in The Hague. I still think so often of our walk on Rijswijkseweg, where we drank milk at the mill...
...sound of the cow-horn, calling the cattle. And at this sign from their herdsman there soon appeared...
...afar to the others, Kindly and gaily at once, her clear-toned ‘good evening’. Further...But on...
in note 4:
...Huntingdon Hartford College) was exhibited in 1852 at the Royal Academy in London under the title A...
in note 8:
...Beaux-Arts, inv. no. 5070). Both works were shown at the Brussels Salon of 1872, which Van Gogh visited...
in note 9:
...a son of the artist Ferdinand de Braekeleer. At the ‘Exposition générale des Beaux-Arts...
in note 13:
See the appendix at the end of the letter. The quotation is the last line of the poem.
in note 14:
Van Gogh’s last evening at home was 11 May 1873.
in note 15:
At that time the Rijswijkseweg ran south of The Hague. The brothers took a walk there which Vincent mentions more than once. The mill referred to is possibly the Laakmolen, well known in those days, where one could buy, in addition to a glass of milk for 1 cent, fried eels. The doubt as to the mill’s identity is connected with Van Gogh’s assertion in July 1882 that the mill had been demolished (see letter 248). However, there is no archival evidence to verify the demolition in the intervening years of one of the mills on the Rijswijkse Trekvliet; on the contrary, improvements were carried out at this very time. See exhib. cat. The Hague 1990, p. 37. One of the things they evidently spoke about here was the possibility of becoming painters together, for he later writes: ‘Since I know that our thoughts crossed each other in our first years with G&Cie, that is that both you and I thought then about becoming painters, but so deeply that we didn’t dare to say it straight out then, even to each other, it could well be that in these later years we draw closer together’, and: ‘I see those same two brothers in earlier years – when you were just coming into the world of painting, just beginning to read &c. &c. – by the mill in Rijswijk’ (letters 413 and 414...
in note 16:
...ondergaande zon) (Mill by the Trekvaart (Landscape at sunset)); Theo’s scrapbook with prints opens in...
012 To Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, Thursday, 7 August 1873.
in translation:
...Palace and the Tower, nor to Tussaud’s; I’m not at all in a hurry to go and see everything. For the...
...though things aren’t as nice here as they seemed at first. Perhaps this is my fault, so I’ll...
in note 2:
...was taken in Keats’s work until the 1880s, at which time the country was gripped by a new literary...
in note 12:
...the whole poem; he omitted more than twenty lines at the end. The date ‘1818’ does not agree with the...
013 To Theo van Gogh. London, Saturday, 13 September 1873.
in translation:
...painting is ‘Satan possessing the herd of swine at the Gadarene lake’. It showed some 50 black...
in note 5:
In the summer of 1872, Van Gogh visited the ‘Exposition générale des Beaux-Arts’ (General Exhibition of Fine Arts) at Brussels, at which the painters mentioned were all represented. See letter 4.
in note 10:
...his frequent stays in Belgium. He was represented at the exhibition by A bog – View in Holland and...
in note 12:
According to the catalogue, Felix Terlinden was not represented at the London exhibition, though one of his works was on display at the 1872 Brussels exhibition.
in note 13:
There were c. 600 English paintings on display at this exhibition.
in note 14:
...a ‘companion picture to Perseus and Andromeda’ at the Royal Academy in 1873 and has nothing to do with...
in note 16:
...and requested that you begin in The Hague on 1 Nov. at the latest. And that His Honour therefore release...
014 To Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, between about Thursday, 16 October and Friday, 31 October 1873.
in translation:
...of us are. Pa and Ma have suggested that she stay at school until next April, and in that case attempt...
in note 6:
...The poem relates a love story that took place at the time of the first Pilgrim Fathers in Plymouth...
in note 10:
...Le frère quêteur (The friar collector) (1866) at the sale of the Post Collection in 1891 and sold for...
in note 11:
Van Muyden, Refectory of the Capuchins at Albano, near Rome (1855), a reproduction of which appeared in L’Illustration 33 (5 February 1859), p. 85 (at that time in the possession of ‘General Dufour’). Ill. 1658...
in note 13:
At this time Van Gogh was also writing to H.G. Tersteeg. Mrs van Gogh remarked to Theo: ‘Mr Tersteeg also...
in note 16:
See the appendix at the end of the letter.
in note 19:
...1861 with his name ‘Vincent’ inscribed at the front. See V.W. van Gogh, Les sources...
015 To Theo van Gogh. London, Wednesday, 19 November 1873.
in translation:
...be done all at once, and of course the first thing we need is to have good paintings &c., and that will be quite a feat. Well, we have to see how it goes and do the best we can with the means at our...
...it a little. I don’t doubt that your lodgings at the Rooses’ will be to your liking. You should...
...list of the painters who were awarded prizes at the Paris exhibition. Is Somerwil still with the...
...different from ours. You’ll have had some pleasant days at home; how much I’d like to see them...
...Write to me soon. Vincent Do you have my room at the Rooses’, or the one you slept in last...
in note 1:
Theo had arrived in The Hague on 12 November and had started work at Goupil’s, located at Plaats 14, on 17 November, though he had been sent out on a ‘commission’ as early as 13 November. See FR b2668 and b2673.
in note 2:
Theo boarded at the house of W.M. Roos, where Vincent had also lived.
in note 12:
The prize-winning artists at the Salon were announced on 4 November 1873 in the Journal officiel. See exhib...
in note 13:
...On 26 August 1871 he had settled in The Hague, where he lived at Papestraat 16 (GAH, Civil registration).
in note 14:
...5 November) and his arrival in The Hague (12 November) at his parents’ house in Helvoirt (FR b2672).
017 To Theo van Gogh. London, beginning of January 1874.
in translation:
...else who asks after me, particularly everyone at Aunt Fie’s and the Haanebeeks’. Vincent...
in date note:
...the inventory is being taken (l. 86), we assume that the letter was written at the beginning of the month.
in note 2:
Van Gogh knew Anton Mauve through his work at Goupil’s in The Hague.
RM02 Between 1874 and December 1876. Probably sent to Theo van Gogh. Copy of the poem ‘Soirée d’hiver’ by André Lemoyne.
in translation:
At sunset all the forest seems as...
...beneath a mossy roof, door and window closed At bedtime, his children with delight Will open wide...
019 To Theo van Gogh. London, Friday, 20 February 1874.
in translation:
I’m glad you’re so happy at the Rooses’; as I already asked Anna Carbentus to tell you, you’re...
...for his letter and give my regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and Iterson, Jan and Piet, and...
in note 7:
...with the note ‘a young, pretty cousin who died at an early age’ (FR b4535). We could find no trace...
in note 8:
...branch. Some of his extensive collection was sold at auction in 1875 and 1894. See Stolwijk 1998, p. 343...
in note 11:
...August 1877). The second, Piet, could be the one who was a foreman and frame-maker at Goupil’s during Van Gogh’s second stay in The Hague at the beginning of the 1880s, namely P.W. Gisolf. Cf. Visser 1973, p. 1.
021 To Theo van Gogh. London, Monday, 30 March 1874.
in translation:
I’m glad that you go to Uncle Cor’s occasionally. You see things there that you never find at the gallery in The...
022 To Theo van Gogh. London, Thursday, 30 April 1874.
in translation:
...s wonderful to be finished so early here; we close at 6 o’clock and yet we work none the less because of it. Give my regards to everyone I know at the Tersteegs’, Haanebeeks’ and Carbentuses’, and especially the Rooses’, also everyone at Uncle Pompe’s, because they’re going to Kampen...
in note 6:
...Mr van Gogh was pleased with Theo’s reception at the Haanebeeks’: ‘We think it wonderful that you...
023 To Theo van Gogh. London, Tuesday, 16 June 1874.
in translation:
There are beautiful things at the Royal Academy this year; among others Tissot has 3...
in note 3:
...of the work of living artists was held every summer at the Royal Academy of Arts (in Burlington House on...
in note 4:
...attributed to Van Gogh, depicting the house at 87 Hackford Road (private collection), is thought by...
RM01 Drawing with explanatory text. Possibly enclosed in a letter to Anna van Gogh. London, about July 1874 - May 1875.
in translation:
...Augustinian foundation (Austin Friars) dating from at least 1354, if not from 100 years earlier. The Dutch...
024 To Betsy Tersteeg. Helvoirt, Tuesday, 7 July 1874.
in note 2:
...united with all of the family’ and that Vincent and Anna were present at the Lord’s Supper (FR b4415).
025 To Theo van Gogh. Helvoirt, Friday, 10 July 1874.
in translation:
...painting by Cap. It’s not so very beautiful, but at least it’s original. I’ll write to you soon from...
026 To Theo van Gogh. London, Tuesday, 21 July 1874.
in translation:
Schüller at Paris sent me 6 copies of both, which I needed in order to give away. I can’t spare another...
in note 2:
...1865-1869 (The Hague, The Mesdag Collection), Girl at the pump, 1872 (Groningen, Groninger Museum) or The...
027 To Theo van Gogh. London, Friday, 31 July 1874.
in translation:
...and that you really understand it. A book like that at least teaches one to see that there’s a lot more...
...and a being that we do not yet know, or at least only very superficially, as you say, yes, that I...
...has that, then it’s beautiful everywhere. Pa isn’t at all better, even though he and Ma say he...
...that), which would be unfeasible and certainly useless, and at the end Pa said yet again that he...
...it, as Young Jochem said. Anna and I look at the newspaper faithfully every day and answer the...
...to another, larger gallery. Mr Obach is in Paris at the moment, deciding whether or not we’ll...
...s too young and they require German as well, but at any rate she certainly has more of a chance...
in note 9:
...unmarried daughters of Rev. Abraham van der Burg at Zundert, who was the minister there before Theodorus...
in note 15:
...13 May 1873; Ph. Sadée, Femme à la bêche (Woman at work with a spade), purchased on 17 April 1874; B.J...
028 To Theo van Gogh. London, Monday, 10 August 1874.
in translation:
‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her...
in note 5:
...at the fountain, 1858 (London, The Wallace Collection). Ill. 1663. A print made after this by William Hollidge appeared in The Illustrated London News of 21 December 1872, p. 581. Goupil published a photograph in the ‘Galerie Photographique’ series (no. 277) under the title Marguerite à la fontaine, the same title used by Van Gogh (see Ewals 1987, p. 339 and fig. 57; exhib. cat. London 1992, pp. 13 (ill. 4), 47, cat. no. 24; and exhib. cat. London 1998, pp. 16-19, figs. 14-19). This depiction of an episode from Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe shows Gretchen hearing the news that her unmarried girlfriend is pregnant. She realizes that at one time she would have condemned such behaviour but that she herself is no longer free of sin (Faust, 1, 5...
in note 8:
...at the 1859 Paris Salon (Promenade dans la neige) and at the London International Exhibition of 1862 (Ill. in Wentworth 1984, pl. 1). Ill. 1382. Walk on the ramparts of 1864 (Stanford, University Museum of Art, Gift of Mr Robert Sumpf) was included in Goupil’s ‘Galerie photographique’, Promenade sur les remparts, no. 429 (Paris, BNF, Cabinet des Estampes). Ill. 1664. There are two versions of Margaret in church: one dating from 1860 (present whereabouts unknown) and one from 1861 (Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland). At the time the work was photographed by Bingham for Goupil’s ‘Galerie photographique’, Marguerite à l‘église, no. 76 (Paris, BNF, Cabinet des Estampes). Ill. 1662...
in note 10:
...autour de mon jardin (1845), a novel well known at the time, was based on natural history and written...
in note 11:
...his own accord. It is, she says – a fit of pique. At any rate, it seems nothing can be done about it...
RM03 Copied poems: H.W. Longfellow, ‘Afternoon in February’ and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘Three kings’ daughters fair’. Probably between December 1874 and March 1876.
in date note:
The dating of this sheet is not at all firm. It is quite possible that Vincent gave it to Theo at Christmas 1874, when they were both visiting their parents (FR b2312), since ‘Kerstmis 74’ (Christmas ’74) is written at the bottom in another hand. Moreover, on 23 March 1876 Vincent sent Theo a copy of The poetical works...
029 To Theo van Gogh. London, between Monday, 4 January and Friday, 5 March 1875.
in translation:
Our gallery is now finished and it’s beautiful, we have many beautiful things at the moment: Jules Dupré, Michel, Daubigny, Maris, Israëls, Mauve, Bisschop, &c. We’re going to hold an exhibition in April. Mr Boussod has promised to send...
...magnificent. Adieu, I’ll send your little book at the first opportunity. Write to me soon...
in note 3:
...the art and print dealership of Holloway & Sons at 25 Bedford Street, and the English branch of his...
in note 15:
...at the time of this exhibition, as evidenced by an anonymous review: ‘There are a number of Titians...A landscape (127) is also a work of great beauty, whether by Titian or not’. See ‘The Royal Academy. Exhibition of works by old masters’, The Art Journal 14 (1875), NS, pp. 90-92, quotation on p. 91. The other works by Titian on display were Diana and Actaeon; Peter Martyr (study); Disciples at Emmaus; Triumph of Love; Queen of the gypsies and A Magdalen....
030 To Theo van Gogh. London, Saturday, 6 March 1875.
in note 2:
...bush at the most distant visible point in the road as a goal, and feeling a faint joy when she had reached it.’ Later on, when Hetty looks for a pond in which to drown herself, Eliot writes: ‘At last she...
031 To Theo van Gogh. London, Tuesday, 6 April 1875.
in translation:
...and a large white drawbridge, a barge with a man at the tiller going under it. The little house of the...
in note 4:
...the version in The Hague (Kunstmuseum) comes close, at least as regards subject matter, to the painting by...
032 To Theo van Gogh. London, between Tuesday, 13 and Sunday, 18 April 1875.
in translation:
Dear sea nymph seated at the waters...
in sketch A:
Landscape at Ville-d’Avray (F Juv. XX / JH Juv. 3), letter sketch
in date note:
...Sunday’ (l. 5) means that the letter was written at least two days before, but less than a week after...
RM05 Pages sent to Theo with a story addressed to several writers and sundry quotations. Between May and June 1875.
in translation:
at Courrières...
in additional details:
...the crossed-out words in l. 25 suggests that he copied the letter from another version. Two paragraphs were added at the end in pencil. The other two fragments on p. 4 were written at other times (though not at the same time), but whether this was done before or after the addition of the pencilled postscripts cannot be...
in note 3:
...line 42 to indicate that this passage should be read at that place. He made the same mark before line 55.
in note 7:
...sea), book 1, ‘Un regard sur les mers’ (A look at the seas), chap. 2: ‘Plages, grèves et...
033 To Theo van Gogh. London, Saturday, 8 May 1875.
in translation:
...believe that I’m not what many think me to be at present, we’ll see, we have to give it time; people will probably say the same about you in a couple of years; at least if you continue to be what you are: my...
...to accomplish great things through society, to arrive at nobleness, and to outgrow the vulgarity in...
in note 4:
...so thin...Vincent will also not have had it easy at the Loyerses’ – I’m glad he’s no longer...
034 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 31 May 1875.
in translation:
There are 3 Corots at the Salon, very beautiful, the most beautiful one, painted shortly before his death...
...see the small Rembrandts there, the ‘Supper at Emmaus’, and two pendants, ‘The philosophers...
...all his poems. He has a beautiful painting at the Salon, ‘The feast of St John’, peasant girls...
...dance, As you sing your songs of love! Tomorrow, at break of day, You’ll go, hastening to ply...
in note 3:
The Corots at the Salon of 1875 were: Women cutting wood, Pleasures of the evening (danse antique) and...
in note 5:
Rembrandt, The pilgrims at Emmaus, 1648 (Paris, Musée du Louvre) measures 68 x 65 cm. Ill. 1710.
035 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 19 June 1875.
in note 5:
...the print was sold in the department of Chalcographie at the Louvre. Cf. Henriet 1875, pp. 124-125, no. 73.
in note 6:
...The little shepherd) (titled Landscape, sunset at the Salon of 1840, no. 308) was published by...
in note 8:
...Jacque. In Theo’s scrapbook, however, there are at least nine etchings by Charles Emile Jacque, which...
036 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 29 June 1875.
in translation:
...for Helvoirt. Please send it on after looking at what’s inside. There are a few lithographs &c...
...Well, I don’t know whether it was Gréville or Granville where the man I once told you about died. At any rate, I looked at Millet’s drawings of ‘The cliffs at Gréville’ with redoubled attention. A painting of his, ‘The church of Gréville’, is now in the Luxembourg. Adieu Vincent
in note 3:
...An old Huguenot, 1875 (private collection) was exhibited at the 1875 Salon and sold on 1 June 1875 for 2,000 francs to Uncle Vincent van Gogh at Princenhage. Reproductions of it were published in various...
in note 8:
This refers to the two works sold at auction on 11 June: Cliffs at Gréville and The sea seen from the top of the cliff at Gréville. See Piedagnel 1888 (n. 5 above), p. 75, cat. nos. 22 and 23 (Falaise à Gréville and La mer vue du haut de la falaise de Gréville). The first pastel is Cliffs at Gréville, 1870-1871 (Kurashiki, Japan, Ohara Museum of Art). Ill. 1721. The second is most likely The view from the hills of Landemer...
in note 9:
Jean-François Millet, The church at Gréville, 1871-1874 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay). Ill. 1723. This painting and the Bathers were acquired at the Durand-Ruel sale of 10 and 11 May 1875 by the French state for the...
037 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 6 July 1875.
in note 15:
...at the exhibition of Belgian watercolourists held in 1863 in Brussels. Ill. 1678. It is less likely to be a print after the smaller version in sepia of this work (The Hague, Kunstmuseum) or after The baptismal procession, 1873 (Utrecht, Centraal Museum), especially since the latter had been sold early on and was in the United States at the time...
in note 19:
The oeuvre of Nicolas Toussaint Charlet contains at least three works titled L’Hospitalité (Hospitality...
038 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 15 July 1875.
in translation:
...opportunity to get you here, into the Paris branch. At first he wouldn’t hear of it, and said it was much...
...Your loving brother Vincent Do you have the photos of the Meissoniers in the gallery? Look at them often; he painted men. You may well know The smoker at the window and The young man having lunch.
in note 5:
...will in the light of God’s love and inner peace, at the same time offering the reader a guide to...
in note 10:
...Meissonier, Le fumeur à la fenêtre (The smoker at the window) and Jeune homme déjeunant (Young man...
039 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 24 July 1875.
in translation:
I hear that Anna and Lies are at home; I’d like...
in note 1:
...concluded that the work Van Gogh is referring to here is Victoria Embankment in London, 1875 (sold at auction at Sotheby’s New York, October 1989). Ill. 1729. See Van Gelder 1974. There is however a...
in note 3:
...a sorrowful ghost who resembles him like a brother. At the end the ghost reveals his identity: he is...
040 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 13 August 1875.
in translation:
...with Anna. I’d also have liked to be with all of you that Sunday at Helvoirt; have I already told you that I was with Soek and his family at Ville-d’Avray that day? I was surprised to find 3 paintings by Corot...
in note 2:
...time being she would spend three months with Anna at Welwyn (Hertfordshire), a village north of London...
in note 3:
...24 and 25 July, Theo had gone to visit his father at Helvoirt; Anna, Lies, Willemien and Cor were also...
in note 4:
Frans Soek, a Goupil employee, worked at the place de l’Opéra branch. The village of Ville-d’Avray is...
in note 5:
Around 1849 Corot presented the church at Ville-d’Avray with the painting Saint Jerome (1837), and in...
in note 11:
...Museum of Fine Arts). The print was exhibited at the 1795 Salon and was offered for sale in 1873 in...
041 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, between Monday, 16 August and Wednesday, 1 September 1875.
in date note:
Van Gogh says at the beginning of the letter: ‘On Sunday I went again to Monsieur Bersier’ (the italics...
in note 9:
Mrs van Gogh’s birthday was 10 September. The birthday present had still not arrived at Helvoirt on 12 September. The Reverend Van Gogh told Theo that he had asked about it at the post office (FR b3572)
042 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 2 September 1875.
in translation:
...after Bonington will no doubt be to your liking. At the same time I’m sending a couple of photos for...
...with blue curtains and blanket. Rembrandt’s ‘Supper at Emmaus’, of which I wrote, has been...
...just once or twice can do no harm. How are things at the gallery? I know all about how it can be...
...Herewith a note for Borchers. Regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and to all who ask after me. B...
in note 5:
...in The Hague, of Christ on the Cross (Mary and John at the Cross) by Jan Symonsz. Pynas; it was exhibited...
in note 8:
Regarding The pilgrims at Emmaus by Rembrandt, see letter 34.
in note 9:
Rembrandt, Les pélerins d’Emmaüs (The pilgrims at Emmaus), engraving from 1875 by Amadée and Eugène...
in note 10:
...first lived at Lange Beestenmarkt 32, later, among other places, at Van Limburg Stirumstraat 81, Trompstraat 120 and Jacob van der Doesstraat 57 (later no. 62); the dates of these moves are not recorded. Borcher’s mother, Haika Borchers-Middel, and his sister, Boukje, were registered as living with him at Jacob van der...
in note 11:
...of the publican Johannes Willem Frederik Kraft at (Kleine) Bagijnestraat 3 (GAH, Adresboeken...
in note 12:
Jeanette Geertruida Marda ran a tobacconist’s shop at Kneuterdijk 3 (GAH, Adresboeken 1871-1874).
043 To Egbert Borchers. Paris, Thursday, 2 September 1875.
in translation:
Thanks for your letter, which I received this morning and which gave me pleasure. I hope to come to Holland at Christmas and, if I can, immediately to The Hague, and we must then make sure not to miss each...
in note 1:
It is not known who this employee of Goupil at Paris was, though possibly it is the same person mentioned in...
045 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 7 September 1875.
in note 4:
On Rembrandt’s The pilgrims at Emmaus, see letter 42, n. 9.
046 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, on or about Thursday, 9 September 1875.
in translation:
...the Bible) until we’ve seen each other again at Christmas, and do what I told you, go often in the...
050 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 25 September 1875.
in translation:
...ll tell him that I don’t have much money at the moment, because I’ve asked our cashier to keep...
in note a:
Means: ‘de deur niet plat lopen’. Vincent here warns Theo not always to go knocking at Borchers’s door.
051 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 27 September 1875.
in translation:
...and few there be that find it. Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many will seek to enter in, and...
053 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 30 September 1875.
in translation:
I do know that things aren’t easy for you at the moment, old chap, but remain steadfast and be brave; ‘Not to dream, not to sigh’ is also necessary...
in note 2:
...at the fountain, after which the engraving Marguerite à la fontaine, made by Léopold Flameng, was published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts of 1 March 1864 (vol. 16, facing p. 196). (Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum). Ill. 1739. Other known engravings in which Margaret features are Marguerite (Margaret) by Hermann Eichens of 1862 and Marguerite à l’église (Margaret at church) by Alphonse François of 1864 (both in Bordeaux, Musée Goupil); for the reproductions after Margaret at the spinning wheel, Margaret at church, Margaret leaving church, Margaret on the sabbath, Faust and Margaret in the garden and Margaret at the fountain, see Ewals 1987, pp. 258, 262, 283, 296, 308, 339...
054 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 6 October 1875.
in translation:
...including Rembrandt, Reading the Bible and The supper at Emmaus (an old engraving, by De Frey, I...
in note 1:
...Christina Georgina Rossetti, which was very popular at the time. See The complete poems of Christina...
in note 5:
...pélerins d’Emmaüs after Rembrandt’s Pilgrims at Emmaus is indeed by Johannes Pieter de Frey and is...
055 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 11 October 1875.
in original text:
...eerste weken dat hij hier was geweldig onbehouwen; at b.v. s’morgens, s’middags en s’avonds voor 4...
in translation:
...The labourer and his children Millet, The church at Gréville Daubigny, Spring and Autumn Français...
...qui Me reçoit, reçoit celui qui m’a envoyé. At the gallery I simply do whatever the hand finds...
in note 1:
...in paintings and prints. His firm was located at 21 Gracechurch Street in London. See Bailey 1990...
in note 9:
Louis Cabat, The pond at Ville-d’Avray, 1833 (Paris, Musée du Louvre) and Autumnal evening, 1852 (Paris...
in note 24:
...1864) is about a conscript who is called to arms at the end of the Napoleonic War; the sequel, Waterloo...
056 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 14 October 1875.
in translation:
...who wanted to fly to the sun and, having arrived at a certain height, lost his wings and fell into...
...one can’t become simple and true all at once. But let’s persevere nonetheless, but above all be...
057 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 9 November 1875.
in translation:
...I went to see them quite often. I’m sorry I didn’t see them at the train yesterday when they left. Herewith a letter, give it to Uncle when you see him, it explains why we didn’t see each other at the station.
in note 1:
Mr van Gogh’s induction to the living at Etten took place on Sunday, 24 October 1875. He expressed his pleasure at Theo’s presence (FR b2370, 3 November 1875).
058 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 15 November 1875.
in translation:
...a note for Uncle Haanebeek. I hadn’t written since Annet died, and felt the need to do so at last.
059 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 4 December 1875.
in note 2:
Their sister Willemien was also not going to be there at Christmas.
in note 3:
Theo’s co-workers at Goupil’s; see letter 19, n. 11.
060 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 9 December 1875.
in translation:
...I’ll also send you the little book by Jules Breton, at least if I can get it back. I’ve lent it out.
061 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 10 December 1875.
in translation:
...everyone at the Rooses’ especially that I bid them good-day; you and I have had a lot of good times in their house, and have met with much loyalty. We have ‘Sunday morning’ by Emile Breton here at present. You know it, don’t you? It’s a village street with farmhouses and sheds, and at the...
in note 1:
...heavy shroud, To that first refuge where, young and at peace, It heard itself amid the silence sing. How...
in note 3:
...whereabouts unknown); the painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1873 (no. 180). Eugène Louis Pirodon...
062 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 13 December 1875.
in translation:
...also Van Iterson. We have a beautiful painting by Schreyer here at present, a wagon with horses in an autumnal landscape at sunset. Also a splendid Jacque, a sombre landscape with sheep. What...
in note 7:
...had been sent from Goupil’s in Paris, arriving at the Hague branch on 13 September 1875. It was...
063 Willemien van Gogh to Vincent and Theo van Gogh. Welwyn, Sunday, 19 December 1875.
in translation:
How wonderful it will be at home at Christmas. It’s been very cold here, but now it’s very mild. Theo, how awful about your leg, is it now completely better? We’ll...
in additional details:
Willemien, who was 13 years old at the time, wrote in an unpractised hand and made several peculiar mistakes.
064 Anna van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Welwyn, Thursday, 30 December 1875.
in translation:
...this way. Here chocolate is also thought of as Real Consolation, especially by Nelly. The pictures have also been put to good use. We got a great deal of satisfaction from our Christmas tree at school. It was a great joy to see such happy faces,
065 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 10 January 1876.
in date note:
...187]5.’ Van Gogh mistakenly wrote ‘1875’ instead of ‘1876’ at the beginning of the new year.
in note 2:
...at half past eight, and thought it better not to decide straightaway about changing jobs. He has promised, however, to keep a close eye on what awaits him there, and to try and act wisely. We hope for the best, but are not without worry. There is a lot of eccentricity in him, but much good as well. We keep our sights fixed on God. He can put worries and troubles to shame’ (FR b2225, 4 January 1876). Mr van Gogh also wrote about this matter to Lies, who then told Theo: ‘Pa says that although he is irreproachable, he lacks the strength to get ahead on his own and to get a grip on himself’ (9 January 1876, FR b2226). When Vincent had had his talk with Boussod and had told his parents of his dismissal, Mr van Gogh again poured his heart out to Theo: ‘This business with Vincent continues to worry us terribly. On the 4th of this month he wrote to say that when he went to wish Mr Boussod a happy new year, the meeting turned very unpleasant. For one thing, his going home at the end of the year had been very much resented. Indeed, he should not have done so, but it seems he was very determined. After that meeting, according to him, he had no choice but to resign as from April 1st...Though we do not forget that God can be our support and help even now, we are terribly grieved about everything. How much he has spurned! What bitter sorrow for Uncle Cent. What a bitter experience. We are glad that we live in relative isolation here and would really like to shut ourselves in. It is an unspeakable sorrow. I advised him today – after making it clear to him that he should not have left his work for any reason whatsoever at the end of the year, when it became apparent to him that he was needed – that he should tell Mr Boussod frankly that he regretted his error.’ Later in the letter Mrs van Gogh takes the pen: after first expressing her disappointment, she writes: ‘what a disappointment for you too, dear Theo, we can understand you commiserate with us, we see no light, but know that the good Lord has so often given it, when things were very bleak. We will hope for it; Uncle Cor, to whom Vincent also wrote, sent us a very sympathetic answer, but could offer no help either, certainly not in his firm’ (FR b2227). The close of the letter seems to indicate that Uncle Cor had said he had no place for Vincent in his own art dealership in Amsterdam. Four days later it became apparent that Vincent had had another talk with Boussod, about which Mr van Gogh wrote: ‘I had advised him to speak to Mr Boussod, and he did so, and was not received unfavourably ... There is certainly a lot of good in him. If only he could acquire a bit more tact to make an agreeable impression’ (FR b2228). Vincent had not intended to resign, as emerges from a remark made by Mr van Gogh on 3 January 1876 in a letter to Theo: ‘he means to stay there, but will decide later what seems best’ (FR b2224). His dismissal was not rescinded, however....
066 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, on or about Monday, 17 January 1876.
in translation:
...one a pond with trees around it in the autumn at sunset, and the other the evening of a grey autumn...
...and shake your hand in thought. Regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and if anyone else should ask...
in date note:
...at Etten during the holidays at the end of 1875. In January Van Gogh also wrote, in addition to this letter, letter 67. Letter 66 seems to have been written before 67, because in this letter there is still no mention of finding a new position, whereas the subject crops up repeatedly in letters 67-70. Lacking a clear indication of the amount of time that elapsed between the two letters, we have placed them at equal intervals in the intervening period and dated them on or about Monday, 17 and on or about Monday, 24 January 1876. In the case of letter 67, this does accord with the fact that it must have been written shortly before the end of January...
in note 6:
Louis Cabat, The pond at Ville-d’Avray and Autumnal evening. See letter 55, n. 9.
in note 7:
...by Léon Gaucherel, which Mr and Mrs van Gogh had at any rate known in November (the etching was...
067 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, on or about Monday, 24 January 1876.
in translation:
...Gladwell is going to move. One of the employees at the printer’s has persuaded him to come and...
...sorry he’s going. It will be soon now, probably at the end of this month. For a few days now we...
...hoping for a godsend. And now, regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and to any others who might ask...
in date note:
...move will probably take place ‘soon now, probably at the end of this month’ (l. 38) means that this...
068 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 2 February 1876.
in translation:
...The one for Pa can no longer arrive at Etten in time, but send it as soon as possible anyway.
069 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 7 February 1876.
in translation:
...and in thought a handshake, and regards to everyone at the Rooses’. I heard from home that Mr...
070 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 19 February 1876.
in translation:
...had badly cooked mutton and watery potatoes. He died at about the age of 34, and was nursed during...
...of herself and found peace for her soul. And at his funeral they read the chapter with the words...
...ever, Your loving brother. Vincent Regards to everyone at the Rooses’, and also to Van Iterson...
in note 2:
...he was intending to visit that he stopped off in at least 14 cities. He also made a note of the hotels...
in note 8:
...who finally dies of tuberculosis. The text recited at the funeral comes from John 11:25. Eliot quotes only...
in note 10:
Theo’s co-workers at Goupil’s; see letter 19, n. 11.
071 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 15 March 1876.
in note 1:
...une lande (Cows on a moor), were to be exhibited at the Salon of 1876. See exhib. cat. Paris 1876, p...
in note 5:
...in which we find a lot that is beautiful. At first that young man couldn’t get along in real...
072 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 23 March 1876.
in translation:
And now you’ll be ‘boarding in many inns’, that’s also a singular pleasure at times. You know that I once went to Brighton on foot. I always think back on it with pleasure. Lodging-houses in England are often so pleasant...
...2 large Xavier de Cocks, one of them an evening at the beginning of summer, a meadow surrounded by...
in note 4:
The beginning of Tales of a Wayside inn (1863) contains an evocation of the interior of an inn at Sudbury.
in note 5:
Constant Gabriël was represented at the Salon of 1876 with the works L’Aube, dans les polders de la...
in note 6:
Xavier de Cock had two works at the Salon: Forêt (Forest) and Vaches (Cows) (present whereabouts unknown...
073 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 28 March 1876.
in translation:
I’ll probably leave here on Friday evening to be home on Saturday morning at the same time as at Christmas...
...upper sky a gentle blue. I saw these paintings at Durand-Ruel’s. There they have no fewer than 25...
...opportunity arises. I hear that Mr Iterson is coming to live at the Rooses’, he’s the youngest, I believe. Write again soon. Regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and to Mr and Mrs Tersteeg and to...
in note 1:
...at 20.00 and arrive the following morning before 11.00 at Etten; Mr van Gogh, who was extremely disappointed, had suggested that, ‘if he continued to love his profession, he could even set up in business himself...If only he were keen and energetic and could make a start by himself’ (FR b955, 31 March, to Theo); see also FR b956. Regarding Van Gogh’s visit to his parents at Christmas, see letter 63, n. 2....
in note 2:
...what follows, Van Gogh saw Michel’s paintings at Durand-Ruel’s gallery. It is impossible to say...
in note 4:
...Jules Dupré Van Gogh is referring to here, because at the time Durand-Ruel had a number of titles with...
074 Anna van Gogh-Carbentus, Vincent van Gogh and Theodorus van Gogh to Theo van Gogh. Etten, Tuesday, 4 April 1876.
in translation:
...without pay) in order to see whether he can use me at the end of that time. You can imagine that I...
...Friday evening. On my birthday he came in the morning at half past six already, and brought a very...
in note 5:
The teacher William Port Stokes. His school was at 6 Royal Road in Ramsgate, a coastal town in the...
in note 7:
...Gogh previously mentioned the Louvre’s Pilgrims at Emmaus, Philosopher in meditation and Philosopher...
in note 12:
...Après la pluie, à Vaujours (After the rain at Vaujours) is similar to Van Gogh’s description...
075 To Theodorus van Gogh and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Ramsgate, Monday, 17 April 1876.
in date note:
...18 April 1876 from Mr van Gogh to Theo. He writes that the telegram had arrived the previous day, and had been ‘handed in at Ramsgate at 7.24 a.m.’, so it would have been sent the same day, Monday, 17 April 1876.
076 To Theodorus van Gogh and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Ramsgate, Monday, 17 April 1876.
in translation:
...me for the first time. And that first homecoming at Christmas. Saturday and Sunday. How much I...
...the sun rose I heard a lark. When we arrived at the last station before London the sun rose. The...
...hilly region. The hills have a sparse covering of grass at the bottom and oak woods on the top. It...
...watching well ahead of time for Ramsgate. I arrived at Mr Stokes’s around 1 o’clock. He was...
...in London. I saw Mrs Stokes in the afternoon at table. There are 24 boys between the ages of 10 and...
...Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’. The boys go to bed at 8 o’clock and get up at 6. There’s another assistant teacher, 17 years old. He, 4 boys and I sleep in another...
in source status:
...and Mrs van Gogh had sent him the letter to read, at which time he copied it. He crossed out the...
in note 4:
...1864 to 31 August 1866 Van Gogh was registered as a pupil at the boys’ boarding school for primary and secondary education run by Jan Provily at Zandweg A40 (now Stationstraat 16) in Zevenbergen, a village c...
in note 7:
This should be 3½ hours. Brown assumes that Van Gogh left London at 9.00, taking the train from Victoria Station and arriving in Ramsgate at 12.30. Meyers thinks that he took the alternative connection (which Brown thinks less likely), leaving London from Charing Cross Station at 7.50 and arriving at Ramsgate at 11.35. See Ruth Brown, Happy days here in Ramsgate for Vincent van Gogh. Unpublished undergraduate thesis. Ramsgate 1982, and Meyers 1989, pp. 195, 244 (n. 5).
077 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Monday, 17 April 1876.
in translation:
I arrived here safe and sound yesterday afternoon at 1 o’clock, and one of my first impressions was that...
078 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Friday, 21 April 1876.
in translation:
...build a sand-castle like those we made in the garden at Zundert. How much I’d like you to be able...
...everything there again with a calmer eye. Saying farewell at home on Good Friday is something I won...
...is the advertisement in question. Regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and to anyone else who might...
in note 2:
...for a new situation (FR b954, b2765 and b2769). See the text of the advertisement at the end of the letter.
in note 3:
Willemien had been staying with Anna at Welwyn since mid-August 1875; on 13 May 1876 she travelled back to...
079 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Friday, 28 April 1876.
in note 4:
Willem Valkis entered the employ of Goupil & Co. at the end of April. On 29 April 1876, Mr van Gogh wrote to...
080 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Monday, 1 May 1876.
in note 4:
...his marriage on 26 November 1874, in any case – at Alexanderplein 19 (old numbering) in The Hague. See...
081 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Saturday, 6 May 1876.
in translation:
...today: the sea is very calm and it’s low tide at the moment, the sky is a delicate whitish blue with...
...with families; in Amsterdam she would find this at once through Uncle Cor and Uncle Stricker. Do...
...good Sunday morning, and give my regards to everyone at the Rooses’, also to Mr and Mrs Tersteeg...
082 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Friday, 12 May 1876.
in translation:
...and also on 21 May. Regards to everyone at the Rooses’. In haste. Your loving brother. Vincent.
in note 3:
...of the service held in The Agricultural Hall at Islington appeared in The Graphic 11 (20 March...
in note 4:
...Tell me the story often, For I forget so soon; The early dew of morning Has passed away at noon.’
in note 6:
...Après le départ. Plage de Scheveningue (Pays-bas) (After the departure. Beach at Scheveningen (Netherlands)), which was exhibited at the 1875 Salon (Bordeaux, Musée Goupil). Ill. 1768. Two years later Anna...
in note 8:
...catalogue published to accompany an exhibition held at Goupil’s, where, according to The Art Journal, 170...
083 To Theo van Gogh. Ramsgate, Wednesday, 31 May 1876.
in translation:
...in Etten on 21 May, happily there were 4 of the 6 at home. Pa wrote to me in detail about everything that...
...evening. You should have seen them then, standing at the window looking out, it was really rather...
...with the rotten floor where there are 6 basins at which they wash themselves, with only a feeble...
...see him, and also Willem Valkis and everyone at the Rooses’. A handshake in thought from Your...
in note 5:
The oil stain is visible at the lower right.
084 To Theo van Gogh. Welwyn, Saturday, 17 June 1876.
in original text:
...nu: The early dew of morning has passed away at noon. U vooruit dank zeggende voor wat U voor mij...
in translation:
...it remained so until the evening, when I arrived at Canterbury. That same evening I walked a bit...
...t speak about this to anyone, Theo. My salary at Mr Stokes’s will be very small. Probably only...
...time, at most 20 pounds a year. But to continue: I spent one night at Mr Reid’s and the next at...
...like 10 miles (each taking 20 minutes). In the afternoon at 5, I was with our sister and was very...
...a living, has no money and no time to study at King’s College, and who, besides that, is already...
...going to school and stayed there until I was 16. At that time I had to choose a profession and didn...
...of engravings, I was given a position in his branch at The Hague. I worked for the firm for 3 years...
...and have since taught for 2 months at Mr Stokes’s school at Ramsgate. As my goal is a situation...
...rich and poor, religious and not religious, working at a variety of jobs, days of manual labour in...
...and that which concerns the church, which has at times lain dormant, though it awakened repeatedly...
in additional details:
...probably enclosed with this letter. See n. 1 below. At the end of the letter Van Gogh included a Dutch...
in note 3:
...Fisher, the vicar of St Mark’s in Kennington. At that time this parish also had four curates, who...
in note 4:
This letter is included at the end of the present letter.
in note 7:
...see if funds could be obtained, but it would take at least 8 years. For that matter, it would perhaps be...
in note 11:
...Hogere Burgerschool (HBS) (high school) Willem ii at Tilburg from September 1866 until March 1868. Cf...
RM08 Prose passage copied from Henri Conscience’s Le conscrit (The conscript). Ramsgate or Isleworth, between about July and November 1876.
in translation:
...effort she makes to hide her sorrow. She smiles at her child to comfort him, but her smile, forced...
...young man. The cowshed is open; the bull looks sadly at his master, and from time to time makes a...
...moment of separation has not yet come. At a certain point on the way to the village, at the place where the roads cross, stands a lime tree, on which is hung an image of the Holy Virgin. Trine put it there on a beautiful May evening, and Jean made a prie-dieu of turf at the foot of the tree. It is...
...already be seen the lime tree, the point at which the inevitable separation must begin. The young...
...you! Jean is deeply moved by his mother’s soft, penetrating voice; he dare not look at her, so much is he struck at this solemn moment by the worthy woman’s clear look: it is with bowed head that...
...anxiety and love, and she weeps on his shoulder. At last, the poor woman, worn out, exhausted and...
...walks rapidly in the direction of the village, until at the corner of the wood, he has disappeared...
085 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Monday, 3 or Tuesday, 4 July 1876.
in translation:
...more and more. To do this, however, one has to be at least 24 years old, and so in any case I still...
...will be the first to know. Last week I was at Hampton Court to see the splendid gardens and long...
...people who have lived at Hampton Court, of Charles i and his wife (she was the one who said ‘I thank Thee, God, for having made me Queen, though an unhappy Queen’, and at whose graveside Bossuet...
...situation I have my eye on, I nevertheless have at the same time such a feeling of thankfulness, of...
in date note:
...at the time this letter was written (l. 38 and l. 74), which must therefore have been some time after c. 25 June. This letter also mentions the fact that Mr Stokes cannot offer Vincent a salary (l. 50); on 5 July, however, Mr and Mrs van Gogh had received word that Stokes had meanwhile offered to pay Vincent 25 shillings a month (FR b2757). This offer was therefore made at the latest on 4 July 1876, before which date the present letter must have been written. The date of 5 July that Jo van Gogh-Bonger gave in Brieven 1914 cannot therefore be the date the letter was sent. If she was relying on a postmark it must have been the date of receipt. We have accordingly dated this letter to Monday, 3 or Tuesday, 4 July 1876...
in note 1:
...the last week of June, Van Gogh had been living at Linkfield House, 183 Twickenham Road, where William...
in note 5:
...to nothing for want of proper training, and mean returning home at great expense’ (FR b2756, 1 July).
in note 11:
Portrait of a man, attributed at the time to Giovanni Bellini and later to Francesco Bissolo, who worked for...
in note 14:
...At that time it was assumed that these nine canvases were cartoons: ‘The purpose for which these pictures were originally intended has been sometimes misconceived. They are not properly called cartoons at all...
in note 18:
...delivered by Bishop Bossuet on persons famous at the time. The book, which was compiled in 1689, was...
086 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Saturday, 8 July 1876.
in translation:
...to a catechist, Hillen, who was living in Bagijnestraat at the time. He took great pains over me...
...sometimes when I went to see him and took a look at him I couldn’t help thinking that the end of...
...and to everyone at the Rooses’, and anyone else you might see. Don’t tell them about me, though. Tell Jan and Piet I bid them good-day as well. As you see, I’ve ended up at the other school...
in note 1:
...school ‘Holme Court’ (now ‘Garvin House’) was at 158 Twickenham Road; William Port Stokes’s school (‘Linkfield House’) was in the same street, at no. 183. See exhib. cat. London 1992, pp. 12-13 (with...
in note 4:
...catechist Johannes Hillen lived at Bagijnestraat 31 – in any case until some time in...
in note 7:
Co-workers at Goupil’s; see letter 19, n. 11.
in note 8:
...at the schools of both Stokes and Slade-Jones; on 6 July 1876, Mr van Gogh wrote to Theo: ‘Yesterday evening we received another letter from Vincent. Thank God! Better news. He made the acquaintance of another gentleman, a schoolmaster at a somewhat more distinguished school, who did appear to want him and would ask Mr Obach for a reference. Vincent meanwhile told this to Mr Stokes, who is now offering him 25 shillings a month, and paid him 1 month in advance. It’s not a lot of money, but encouraging nonetheless, and now, if Stokes gives him the time, Vincent can give 2 lessons a week at that other school as well – it’s a start. May God bless him! He was completely disheartened. He sent back the 25 guilders I sent him, and asked me to save it for travelling expenses at Christmas. I hasten to tell you this now, because I’m so very grateful for this, even though it’s only a modest start. I found it so terribly discouraging for him, earning nothing and not knowing if anyone took an interest in him – feeling that is something I always find so extremely difficult’ (FR b2757...
087 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Wednesday, 2 August 1876.
in original text:
...ging henen, en deed naar het woord van Elia; zoo at zij, en hij, en haar huis vele dagen. Het meel...
...koek op kolen gebakken, en eene flesch water, alzoo at hij, en dronk en leide zich wederom neder...
...voor U te veel zijn.─ Zoo stond hij op, en at, en dronk, en hij ging door de kracht der spijs...
in translation:
...beautiful all the same; there were lots of bedbugs at Mr Stokes’s, but that view from the school...
...a handshake in thought, give my regards to everyone at the Rooses’. How is Willem doing? And give...
...the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table, and the prophets of Baal...
...the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud...
...trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice...
...thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this...
...Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth...
...a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him...
...Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him...
...to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him...
in note 2:
The boys at the boarding school were still on holiday.
088 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Friday, 18 August 1876.
in translation:
...was at home. I left here yesterday morning at 11 o’clock, and had a long walk to Lewisham, the road went from one end of London to the other. At 5 o’clock I was at Gladwell’s. I’d gone to their gallery first, but it was closed. They had all just come back from the funeral, it was a real house of mourning and it did me good to be there. I had feelings of embarrassment and shame at seeing...
...was a beautiful, almost solemn, evening; I got home at quarter past 10. Thanks for your last letter...
...sing and pray, and that is good. We did that at Ramsgate, too, and when those 21 sons of the London...
...to bow my head, probably even lower than they did, at the words Do not lead us into temptation but...
...little walking is done here at school. When I think of my life of struggle in Paris last year and now here, where sometimes I can’t leave the house for a whole day, or at least no further than the...
...safe doing the former. And now, regards to everyone at the Rooses’, and if anyone else should ask...
in note 13:
...The Hague, Mrs Vintcent-De Lezenne Greve was living at Hofstraat 13, where she had resided since c...
in note 20:
...bookseller and publisher in The Hague. The family lived at Buitenhof 36. The couple had four sons and four daughters, though several of them no longer lived at home, one being Willem Jacob, the husband of Caroline...
089 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Saturday, 26 August 1876.
in translation:
...for most of the year, though it’s not there at the moment. It’s nice to walk around like that...
...Mariënhof? I still remember very well that evening at Christmas-time when I rode from Den Bosch to...
...higher than your thoughts. When Lies came home at Christmas we had such a nice reunion. She and...
...with rows of trees on either side, and the fields. At the end of the road the church, dark against...
in arrangement:
...return to England, which happens to be the date at the top of the letter. The supplement to the first...
in note 1:
...Van Gogh corresponded frequently with H.G. Tersteeg at this time emerges from the following remark made by...
in note 6:
...of her daughter, who has been claimed by Death. At first prepared to go to any lengths to recover her...
RM09 Copies of poems. Probably Isleworth, about September 1876.
in translation:
...a cheerless winter morn Of sunlight not a glimmer. At intervals a death-knell rang And pierced the...
090 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, between about Saturday, 2 and Friday, 8 September 1876.
in translation:
...m a child of the pine-woods and of that beach at Ramsgate? And seek to please the poor, and to find...
...eat your bread with singleness of heart, I do so at least, I cannot do otherwise, God help me, if...
...a good time after all. Regards to everyone at the Rooses’, Haanebeeks’, Tersteegs’, Borchers...
in date note:
...l. 263). This implies that the letter was written at least two days before Mrs van Gogh’s birthday on 10 September, i.e. on Friday, 8 September at the latest. Vincent’s request that Theo send ‘that page...
091 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, between Saturday, 16 and Friday, 22 September 1876.
in translation:
I hope to walk to London on Saturday morning at 4 o’clock to visit Gladwell and others. I wish you could...
in date note:
...basis of l. 13, the letter could have been written at the earliest on the previous Saturday, 16 September...
in note 4:
...referring to Henry William Gladwell’s gallery at 20-21 Gracechurch Street, London, since the...
092 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Tuesday, 3 October 1876.
in original text:
That God at their...
in translation:
...behold it Do wonder and know not That God at their fountains Far off has been raining. Dear Theo...
...m sending herewith a letter from the aunts at Zundert. You know that Aunt Bet hurt herself so badly. I wrote and told them that, if possible, you and I would walk to Zundert sometime at Christmas. Herewith I’m copying out a few psalms, you might like to read them at this time. Write a few words...
...so magnificently red against the houses, and it was foggy. At 7 o’clock I was in Kennington, and...
...how you’re doing and at the same time send back the aunts’ letter, poor Aunt Bet, what old friends we are. Oh that Zundert, the thought of it’s almost too much at times. Adieu, old boy, may God...
...well indeed. Give my regards, too, to everyone at the Rooses’, from Your most loving brother...
...the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only...
in note 1:
...they that behold it Marvel, and know not That God at their fountains Far off has been raining!’ This...
in note 3:
...visits to the church at Richmond, no earlier mention of it has been found in the surviving correspondence, which could mean that a letter has been lost. The prayer meetings took place at the Wesleyan Methodist...
in note 7:
...when he was living at Ivy Cottage, 395 Kennington Road (Lambeth), i.e. from August to October 1874 and from December 1874 to May 1875. Cf. letter 84, n. 3. The nearest church, St Mark’s, at the corner of...
093 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Saturday, 7 and Sunday, 8 October 1876.
in translation:
...my soul disenchanted, my body sickly. I, whom God has at least endowed with moral energy and a vast...
...spent, days of ineffable joy for my soul: smiling at the sun when, in all its majesty, it casts its...
...out to me; or, sunk in a vague reverie, to look at the fire, watching the flames come to life, grow...
...ll tell you about my walk to London. I left here at noon and arrived where I had to be between 5...
...Strand, I met a lot of acquaintances; it was right at lunch-time and so there were a lot of people...
...to preach here and with whom I became acquainted at that time, then Mr Wallis’s clerk and then...
...Richardson, who are old friends by now. Last year at this time Mr Richardson was in Paris, and we...
...one felt, as it were, the need for and joy at the approach of Sunday. Oh those Sundays and how much...
...and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord...
...everyone at the Rooses’ and to everyone I know, especially everyone at Mr Tersteeg’s and at the...
in note 9:
...b2630). Vincent could also have met Thomas Wallis at the end of 1873 when the latter visited a number of...
in note 13:
...his training at Goupil’s in The Hague (1864-1866) and in Paris (1866-1874). He and the art dealer Daniel Cottier were business partners in London in the years 1874-1882. Their gallery was at 8 Pall Mall. See...
in note 16:
Goupil’s London branch, located at 25 Bedford Street (Strand); see letter 29, n. 3.
in note 18:
Henry William Gladwell’s gallery was located at 20-21 Gracechurch Street.
in note 19:
The Congregational Church at Turnham Green, which was ‘a prefabricated “tin tabernacle” of a type...
094 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus and Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Friday, 13 October 1876.
in translation:
...will let me go. Besides wanting so much to sit at Theo’s bedside, I should also like so very much to...
...to it, old boy, to make my rounds here and there at Turnham Green when it’s cold. When I think of...
...he didn’t want to give his consent and said at last, write to your Mother, if she thinks it’s...
...my dreams are no longer, Another now leads me, at times ’gainst my will, Teaches my hands to...
...that we found ourselves alone, my mother and I, at an open window, where we had a view of the garden of the house to which we had betaken ourselves at the harbour of Ostia. There, far from the crowd...
...which one is all the more eager to look at now that the flowers have gone. A sumptuousness of art...
in note 1:
...evenings Van Gogh attended the prayer meetings at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Richmond. See also...
in note 4:
...money (probably from the parents of the boys at his boarding school). The Gladwell family happened...
in note 6:
...by prayer. The hot tears of love that flow at their reunion thaw the lump of ice and melt the...
095 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, between Monday, 23 and on or about Wednesday, 25 October 1876.
in translation:
...plate of Luther’s marriage. Last Monday there was a ‘tea-meeting’ at that church, it had been one year since the church was opened. There were at least 250 people at the reception, and afterwards Mr Jones and several other preachers spoke until late in the evening. But again, old boy, who would be able to collect his thoughts at all if the feeling of duty did not join everything together...
...one another is so strong that the heart is at times uplifted and our eyes look to God, beseeching...
...you the very best, give my regards to those at the Rooses’ and to any other acquaintances you...
in note 22:
...in the Minutes of Resolutions of the Sunday school at Turnham Green (London, Metropolitan Archives, ref...
in note 23:
...shows the wedding ceremony in Amdorff’s house at Wittemberg on 13 June 1525. The print was published...
096 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Friday, 3 November 1876.
in original text:
...him who is poor and sorrowful and who trembleth at My word. Gisteren avond was ik weer te Richmond...
...those who have learnt and are learning to look at Jesus Christ there is always reason to rejoice...
...waves become higher, the wind more violent, we are at sea almost before we are aware of it ─ and...
...any other. Let us see how the Psalmist describes a storm at sea, He must have felt the storm in his...
...And now let us read a description of another storm at sea in the New Testament, as we find it in...
...received Him into the ship and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. You who have...
...behold it Shall wonder and know not That God at its fountains Far off has been raining. My peace I...
...us forgotten the golden hours of our early days at home, and since we left that home ─ for many...
...saw a very beautiful picture, it was a landscape at evening. In the distance on the right hand side...
in translation:
...Helps not, there is God – In death and agony at life’s end, Yes, everywhere is God. How I long...
...those who have learnt and are learning to look at Jesus Christ there is always reason to rejoice...
...waves become higher, the wind more violent, we are at sea almost before we are aware of it – and...
...any other. Let us see how the Psalmist describes a storm at sea, He must have felt the storm in his...
...And now let us read a description of another storm at sea in the New Testament, as we find it in...
...received Him into the ship and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. You who have...
...behold it Shall wonder and know not That God at its fountains Far off has been raining. My peace I...
...us forgotten the golden hours of our early days at home, and since we left that home – for many...
...saw a very beautiful picture, it was a landscape at evening. In the distance on the right hand side...
...a handshake in thought – yesterday evening I was at Turnham Green in place of Mr Jones, who wasn...
in arrangement:
The part of the letter that begins at l. 96 is the text of a sermon delivered by Van Gogh in English...
in note 1:
The sermon was delivered at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Richmond on Sunday, 29 October 1876. The church...
in note 14:
...19 November, Van Gogh was officially accepted as a co-worker at Turnham Green. See Taylor 1964, p. 419.
in note 92:
The little church at Turnham Green was ‘not so much a wooden building as an iron one’; see Taylor 1964...
097 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Friday, 10 November 1876.
in translation:
...need to enclose a few words to you. You’ll be having pleasant days at home, I almost envy you, old boy.
...have liked you to be in the little church at Turnham Green last Thursday evening; I walked over...
...David had ashes on his head many a time. There’s a new assistant teacher at the school, because I’ll have to work more at Turnham Green from now on. He has never been away from home before, and...
in note 1:
Theo was at home in Etten, recovering from his illness.
098 To Theodorus van Gogh and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Isleworth, Friday, 17 and Saturday, 18 November 1876.
in translation:
...to drop by and see Gladwell. It will be late at night before I’m home again. Where do Mr Jones...
...evening and in my spare moments I write in my sermon book. Last Sunday I arrived at Turnham Green early to teach at Sunday school; it was a real, English, rainy day. In the morning Mr Jones delivered...
...son or Ps. 42:1. Mornings and evenings Sunday school at Turnham Green. And so the weeks pass and we...
...were railway tracks on a rather high embankment, and at that moment a train came, and that was a...
...it’s so very, very quiet and I look around at your portraits and the prints on the wall, Christus Consolator and Good Friday and the Women at the sepulchre and The old Huguenot and The prodigal son...
...of L. I bid you all good-day! I left this morning at 4 o’clock, now it’s 2. I just came through...
in additional details:
...last letter; I’ll get it back from you at some point’ (FR b2797, 24 November 1876). Probably...
in note 3:
Slade-Jones had one son, Edward C., who was 10 years old at this time.
in note 7:
The Methodist chapel at Petersham, a small village one mile south of Richmond. Van Gogh made a small drawing...
in note 14:
...Scheffer, The entombment of Christ (The Holy Women at the sepulchre), 1845 (Manchester, Manchester City...
in note 17:
...Unlike the other ‘little boats’ by Dupré sold at this gallery, this etching displays water that is...
in note 23:
...was under the impression that Theo was still at home in Etten, which might explain why Mr van Gogh...
099 To Theo van Gogh. Isleworth, Saturday, 25 November 1876.
in original text:
...But she answered: Father, no, not yet; For I look at them, and I forget That the children went away...
...leaden bullets casts While Mary her patchwork sows; At evening time three childish prayers Go up to...
...though empty now, And every time when alone we bow At the Fathers throne to pray, We’ll ask to...
in translation:
...letter, which I received at the same time as one from Etten. So you’re back at the gallery. Do...
...But she answered: Father, no, not yet; For I look at them, and I forget That the children went away...
...leaden bullets casts While Mary her patchwork sows; At evening time three childish prayers Go up to...
...Petersham. In the morning I had been at the Sunday school at Turnham Green, and went after sunset...
...on the hill covered with gnarled elm trees and shrubs. At last I saw below the rise a light in a...
...journey to London, I left here at 4 in the morning, arrived at Hyde Park at half past six, the mist...
...Then from there to Lewisham, where I arrived at the Gladwells at half past three. It was exactly 3...
...at half past ten, I went part of the way with the underground railway. Fortunately I’d received some money for Mr Jones. Am working on Ps. 42:1, My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. At...
...m still doing a bit of work for the Gladwells at Lewisham, copying out one thing and another etc...
in sketch A:
Small churches at Petersham and Turnham Green (F Juv. XXVIII / JH Juv. 8), letter sketch
in note 17:
At this time Charles Obach and his wife Pauline had two daughters, Malchen (7) and Lena (4). Since 1875 the family had been living at 314 Brixton Road (Lambeth), around the corner from Van Gogh’s old lodgings (LAL).
100 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Sunday, 31 December 1876.
in translation:
...it up. Pa’s spirit is so great and many-sided, and at all events I hope that something of it will...
...then, that I’ll go there. Yesterday evening I was at Uncle Vincent’s to tell him that I’d...
in note 1:
Like Theo, Vincent had spent the Christmas holidays at home in Etten.
in note 4:
...at the end of the year. Mr van Gogh wrote on 6 December 1876 to Theo: ‘I long so much to speak with Vincent when he comes at Christmas, to see what will become of him. I sometimes fear that the Rev. Jones exploits him a little as an errand boy and cannot believe that his present path will lead to a proper livelihood’ (FR b2800). Mrs van Gogh also wrote to Theo of the need for a change: ‘He himself did not see much light in his future, but imagined he had to persevere because he thought he must – though I see no grounds for that ‘must’ without study, but it’s good he’s coming and we can talk about it again properly’ (FR b2803, 18 December 1876). Theo, for his part, got involved in the matter and told his parents of a vacancy, upon which Mr van Gogh wrote to him: ‘I responded immediately to the advertisement you mentioned – but no answer. It is intended for someone who is at least 24 years old’ (FR b2802, 18 December 1876). Even though Braat conferred with Uncle Vincent, and both Vincent and Theo were acquainted with his son Frans, Mrs van Gogh maintained that the position had materialized without intercession or mediation: ‘You can understand that we positively recognize it as a ray of light from above and the answer to our prayers. By no means did we or anyone else, Uncle Cent included, have a hand in it – it is through meeting Vincent and having faith in him, so to speak, that it was offered to him. He himself sees no prospects in what has gone before and in his own wishes, so why look for something else abroad and not take this wonderful opportunity near us and you?’ (FR b2804, to Theo, 18 December 1876...
in note 5:
...about it. It’s like a ray of hope, the more so at the end of the year. I should so much like to have...
101 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Sunday, 21 January 1877.
in translation:
You’ll have expected a letter sooner; things are going rather well in the shop, and it’s so busy that I go there at 8 o’clock in the morning and come back at 1 o’clock at night, but I’m happy about...
...Allebé, an old man by the stove. Will we look at them together some day? The first Sunday I was...
...see it with the morning sun on it. When I look at it I sometimes think of a letter of yours in...
...no doubt be busy. Give my regards to everyone at the Rooses’, and accept a handshake in thought...
in note 1:
...Etten for Dordrecht on Wednesday, 3 January (FR b2499) and had meanwhile started work at the firm of Blussé & Van Braam at Voorstraat C 1602, located in Scheffersplein in Dordrecht. The firm sold books and...
in note 8:
At that time the museum was housed in the upper room of the Boterbeurs (Butter Exchange) in Wijnstraat. See...
in note 11:
At that time the museum had five (undated) drawings by Scheffer: Christus Consolator; The deathbed of Saint...
in note 12:
...at that time were in the Dordrechts Museum: The large studio of Ary Scheffer, rue Chaptal, 1851 (two versions); The small studio of Ary Scheffer, rue Chaptal, 1851 (Ill. 1785) and The small studio in the Roquelaure Pavilion at Scheffer’s house in Argenteuil, 1858. See exhib. cat. Dordrecht 1990, p. 53, cat. nos. 38-39; pp. 69-70, cat. nos. 25-28...
in note 20:
...at that time was free-thinking (BWPGN, NNBW, and E.H. Cossee, ‘Vincent van Gogh en kerkelijk Dordrecht’, Kwartaal & Teken van Dordrecht 6-1 (1980), p. 5 (n. 6)). The small church is the Lutheran Church at Vriesestraat...
in note 22:
...house (see letter 102, n. 4) was on the first floor at the back of the house, looking out over the gardens...
in note 24:
...De Katholieke Illustratie’ at ’s-Hertogenbosch. It was eight pages long and...
in note 25:
...Een koffiehuis te Whitechapel (A coffee house at Whitechapel) (Ill. 1796) and Een onderaardsche...
RM10 Passages copied from the Bible. Dordrecht, probably February-March 1877.
in translation:
...was wont, to the mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him. And when He was at the place, He...
...Thee? And Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee...
in date note:
...opens here with Psalm 27:14, and he does the same at the beginning of two letters written from Dordrecht...
102 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Wednesday, 7 and Thursday, 8 February 1877.
in translation:
...here. Coming from the shop between 12 and 1 at night, I took another turn around the Grote Kerk...
...filled to the brim. At 3 o’clock in the morning we were all rushing around at Rijken’s, the...
...beginning to grow light, one saw a group of men at the end of the street, wading one after another...
...and two English woodcuts, namely the Supper at Emmaus: ‘But they constrained Him, saying, Abide...
...worketh a choice not to be repented of’? And at such times, in which one feels tired of oneself...
...and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’ At such times one may well reflect upon: ‘Except a...
...countries, such as the French coast which I saw at Dieppe – the chalk cliffs with green grass on...
...O Zundert! Who knows but that we may go walking at the seaside together this summer? We really must...
...remember how they used to sit on the church at Zundert? I haven’t seen any here yet – though...
...Do keep well, give my regards to everyone at the Rooses’, and especially to Mr Tersteeg and his...
in date note:
...ll. 108-109). The fact that this remark occurs not at the beginning but much later on in the letter...
in note 4:
...at Tolbrugstraat (Waterzijde) A 312; on the ground floor they ran a greengrocer’s shop. Van Gogh was their lodger from January to May 1877. They sometimes had as many as four or five lodgers at a time...
in note 55:
...and Exercices au fusain, see letters 136 and 156). At the Burgeravondschool, housed in the former Armhuis...
103 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Monday, 26 February 1877.
in original text:
...sorrowful I once again Will rejoice at what they sing. On this man will I look, saith the Lord, even on him that is poor and needy and sorrowful and that trembleth at My word.– Vader wij bidden U...
in translation:
...duty, who would be able to collect his thoughts at all, but a sense of duty sanctifies things and...
...sorrowful I once again Will rejoice at what they sing. On this man will I look, saith the Lord, even on him that is poor and needy and sorrowful and that trembleth at My word. Father, we pray not...
in note 3:
...Palais de Justice shall sound upon the great bell at daybreak, then each good Catholic must bind a strip...
in note 6:
...at Blussé & Van Braam. He registered officially as a resident of Dordrecht on 18 November 1875, and went to live with the Rijkens in Tolbrugstraat. Two years later he was living in the house of J. Henning at Vriesestraat, Wijk D 1030, which was next to the Lutheran Church. Henning was the sexton and lay reader of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. At the time he had plans, which he outlined to Theo, to go and work as an assistant for Goupil (FR b2529). Civil registration records show that Mager left Dordrecht officially on 6 May 1879 and moved to Arnhem. Cf. Molendijk 1990, p. 5...
104 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Wednesday, 28 February 1877.
in translation:
...read it sometime. Last night I left the office at 1 o’clock and walked around the Grote Kerk...
...my dreams are no longer, Another now leads me, at times ’gainst my will, Teaches my hands to...
...And yet, O Lord, at present we are poor, and full of sorrow, and we quake at Thy word. Yea, we love...
...them or when we are mindful of them. We quake at Thy words with inner emotion. God so loved the...
...And the Son of man, that Thou visitest him? We quake at Thy words with inner emotion, we who are...
...scriptures speak, in Thee all things can become new at all times. We also think that we desire a...
...from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy...
...way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. The...
...the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only...
in arrangement:
...at hand, namely Theo’s infatuation, which the two brothers had discussed on Sunday, 25 February (see letter 103). The plea for a suitable wife (in ll. 255-256 and ll. 371-372) points to the heart of the matter, and the prayer includes both brothers – Vincent says he has enclosed something ‘for us’ (l. 5). Cf. also n. 2. Powers Erickson 1992 dated this prayer – particularly on the basis of the biblical quotations – to the same period as letter 90: ‘most likely from the school in Isleworth’ (p. 213), meaning the second half of 1876. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that, if indeed this text stems from Van Gogh’s English period, he included no text in English (apart from one line taken from a work of Charles Dickens). She views this text as ‘the strongest evidence to date of an evangelical religious conversion’ and ‘a personal testimony of faith’ (p. 210), and argues that Vincent ‘is urging Theo to make a kind of evangelical “decision” to follow Christ, just as he had done’ (p. 213). Powers Erickson printed an incomplete version of the text, in which several quotations as well as statements made by Van Gogh are missing. That Vincent is seeking comfort in religion and using God’s words to appeal to Him are the defining elements of this prayer; at the same time, Vincent is attempting to give Theo the courage to decide what he really feels for this woman...
in note 3:
...to the well-known gate called Groothoofdspoort at the beginning of Wijnstraat, close to the Nieuwe...
in note 5:
In those days a watchman with a rattle walked the streets at night, calling out the hour.
105 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, on or about Tuesday, 6 March 1877.
in date note:
At its first publication (in De brieven 1990), this short letter, which was accompanied by a piece of rye bread and a print titled Ecce Homo, was roughly dated to ‘winter 1877 (?)’. However, a more precise dating is possible. In letter 108 of 16 March 1877, Vincent reported that a print sent by Theo – ‘Mater Dolorosa’ – was now hanging on his wall. This is the print requested in the present letter (l. 9), which means that it cannot have been written very long before 16 March. It is unlikely to have been enclosed with the letter of 8 March (letter 106), because in that letter Vincent writes mainly about himself, whereas in this letter he expressly addresses Theo. Moreover, it is unlikely that this note was a postscript to letter 103 or 104, since both of these letters already had texts appended to them. The mention of ‘our Father’s house’ (l. 4) in this letter, however, is in keeping with the subject matter of letter 104, which was written on 28 February, and that in itself suggests that the present letter was written some time between 28 February and 8 March. At all events, Van Gogh also enclosed an Ecce Homo and a palm branch in a letter written to his mother on 6 March 1877. She wrote to Theo about it: ‘Sweet of Vincent, thinking I was alone, he wrote to me very affectionately yesterday evening, and sent an ‘Ecce Homo’ and a palm branch from his roof terrace’ (FR b2511, 7 March 1877). We think it conceivable that Van Gogh made a similar gesture around the same time, also sending his brother a note with an ‘Ecce Homo’ and an extra present. This theory seems to be confirmed by the somewhat sentimental mood Vincent appeared to be in at the time: not only had he written ‘very affectionately’ to his mother, but, exceptionally, he also signed the present letter to Theo ‘your most loving and affectionate brother’ (l. 6...
in note 2:
The parental home, but at the same time alluding to the heavenly Father’s house: cf. hymn 207:5, hymn...
in note 3:
From the prayer said at the beginning of a meal.
106 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Thursday, 8 March 1877.
in translation:
...about everything which I undertook and failed at, that torrent of reproaches I’ve heard and felt...
...thanks. A handshake in thought and regards to everyone at the Rooses’, ask it for me in this thy...
in note 5:
Hotel De Toelast at Groenmarkt in The Hague. Evidently family members frequented this hotel: Mr van Gogh...
107 To Cornelis Marinus van Gogh. Dordrecht, Thursday, 8 March 1877.
in translation:
...a walk together and also went to the museum to see the paintings by Scheffer. I’m doing well here, at the beginning of the year there’s a lot of work in the shop, so I’m there until 12 or 1 o’clock at night.
in note 1:
...at the railway station, and he was given time off for as long as I was there. Again I received a very favourable impression of Mr Braat. He is certainly an upright and amiable man. Together we visited Rev. Keller van Hoorn, who received us so charmingly. Then we went to his lodging-house for a little while. We also saw the museum with paintings by Ary Scheffer, extremely beautiful. Then we walked for a bit – and ate together, steak and potatoes and a glass of beer for 1.90 guilders for two, it was really good there. Dordrecht is positively beautiful. You must also go there some time, for I fear that Vincent does not have enough money at present to go and visit you. You could do it sometime on a Sunday. But then you should write to him in advance. Then you and he would have a pleasant day. I did my best to press some money into Vincent’s hand – but he won’t have anything to do with it. He had to pay 9 guilders to have his trunk sent from England, so he won’t have anything left over for a while. He really is such a good fellow, I enjoyed his company, and at the museum he was really in his element’ (FR b2507...
108 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Friday, 16 March 1877.
in translation:
...something good in all labour. Am still busy until late at night, but glad it’s like this. Be sure...
...is. Do you remember it hanging in Pa’s study at Zundert? Now Theo, I wish you the very best, we...
in note 4:
...at the Pole, or God everywhere: a new Christmas story). This 32-page book cost 0.25 guilders. Another edition is Het kerstfeest aan de pool, of God overal. Een nieuw kersverhaal, translated from the French by J.P. Hasebroek, Utrecht n.d. [possibly 1873]. The original title was Noël au Pôle ou Dieu partout: quelques pages pour les enfants. Lausanne 1864 (Christmas at the Pole or God everywhere: a few pages for children). This edifying children’s book tells the story of the crew of a ship stranded on the North Pole. Several members of the crew have already died, and the morale and faith of the survivors is seriously weakened. By putting up a Christmas tree, the crew’s leader manages to restore trust and faith in Christ...
in note 9:
...was the husband of Adriana van Eekelen and lived at Tiggelt 131 in Rijsbergen (see letter 110). This...
109 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Friday, 23 March 1877.
in translation:
...you receive a letter on your trip. What a good day we spent together in Amsterdam, I stood there watching the train you left in as long as it was still in sight. We’re such old friends, aren’t we? How long we’ve walked together, starting in the black fields with the young green wheat at Zundert, where we heard the lark at this time of year with Pa.
...about. Arriving here I found a letter from home at Rijken’s. Pa was unable to preach last Sunday...
...cloak in the storm of life, keep it in mind at this time, now that you’ve experienced so much...
...May Pa get better soon, try to be in Etten at Easter, things will be all fine once more when we...
in note 12:
...institutions and also published devotional works. At least eight portraits of him are known, including a...
110 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Sunday, 8 April 1877.
in translation:
...other stars were visible too. It was still very early when I arrived at the cemetery in Zundert, where it was so quiet, I went to have a look at all the old places and paths and waited for the sun to...
...with Hein Aertsen to Etten and am now at home, leaving early tomorrow morning. Goodbye, old boy, it...
in note 17:
...Johanna Belet, who was seven years his junior, at Katerstraat A 186 (later 190) in Zundert. Their son...
111 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Sunday, 15 April 1877.
in translation:
Remembered that when we were at the Van der Hoop Museum we talked about the book by Bürger, which you’ll...
...that he cannot help me in this matter. A letter came at the same time from Mr Gladwell, in which he...
...a teaching post at Leur. I sincerely hope he’ll get it. Today was the first early sermon, which I attended, the sermon was very beautiful, about Jesus showing himself to the disciples at the sea of...
in date note:
...period – the whole family were together in Etten at Easter, on 1 April – it is unlikely that the...
in note 15:
...sermon delivered in the early-morning service held at 7.00 am. No details have been found about the...
112 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Sunday, 22 and Monday, 23 April 1877.
in translation:
...of joy such as the woman must have had who found the piece of silver she had lost, namely, you wrote that Aunt Koos’s little reading-desk containing Pa and Ma’s letters was found at the Rooses’ when the house was being cleaned.
...had given a sermon on Jacob who slept in the field at Bethel, and he had found it all so moving. I...
in note 9:
...to live in Amsterdam with his Uncle Jan, who lived at Grote Kattenburgerstraat 3 on the Marinewerf (naval...
in note 11:
...Jésus-Christ. With reflections by F. de Lammennais at the end of every chapter. Inscribed below it, in...
in note 19:
...to the clerk Christiaan van de(n) Broek, who lived at Groenmarkt A 209 and is recorded in the 1873...
113 To Theo van Gogh. Dordrecht, Monday, 30 April 1877.
in translation:
...he had received from many of them, especially at difficult times, in the beginning, four years ago...
...and kept on walking until I came to the cemetery at the end of a black cinder road running through...
in note 8:
...been the minister of the Waalse Kerk (French Church) at the corner of Visstraat and Voorstraat since 1873.
in note 22:
Biblical; Van Gogh was possibly thinking of 1 Kings 19:4, which he quotes at length in letter 118.
RM11 Prose passage copied from ‘Scheveningen’ by Henri Alphonse Esquiros. Probably May 1877.
in translation:
...Scheveningen. The beach at Scheveningen is frequented by bathers during the summer. At that time of...
...are beached on the sand, or riding at anchor, or scattered out at sea like the thoughts of the sea...
...Hague come on Sunday evenings to listen to music. At nightfall, when the sea steals from the sky...
...which a silent and wretched population conceals itself. At the doors of these poky cubby-holes, in...
...of both sexes. The children leave this first school at the age of about six, and then enter the...
...and a little history. They leave this second school at between ten and twelve years of age: the...
...calico, bent slightly downward on either side and rising at the back and the front like a boat...
...of the waves that run, without a bit and foaming at the mouth, about the boat’s keel. On land...
...at the very least say that for them was written Ovid’s line: He gave man a face that looks at the...
...a prayer of thanks. On Sunday, if the men are at sea, they abstain from fishing, and if they are on...
114 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Saturday, 19 May 1877.
in translation:
...from Etten. You’ll certainly have had a good time at home, write soon to say how you spent the...
...choosing what I wanted from a large batch, and not at all expensive, 13 for 70 cents. Thought I’d...
...full of ivy. It was somehow similar to Ramsgate. At the station I turned left where all those mills...
...It won’t be easy, but taking it one step at a time and doing it well must surely produce results...
...for His aid in times of peril, Will find protection at God’s side, Be saved as by a miracle. He...
...the same thing. Yes, we can observe it, or at least traces of it, in nearly everyone, to a greater...
...those who shall come after us. Whenever I look at a painting by Ruisdael, Van Goyen, Bosboom and so...
...church at Scheveningen? I hope so. Give my regards to your housemates, and accept in thought a handshake from Your most loving brother, Vincent Yesterday I saw a portrait of Michelet and looked at...
...myself to do so. On Whit Monday I hope to be at Uncle Stricker’s in the afternoon and evening.
in note 8:
...Ill. 1811; Het klooster te Boxmeer (The cloisters at Boxmeer) by Frederik Hendrik Weissenbruch Dzn., in...
in note 22:
...at first, eventually fetched 700 francs and was finally sold – many years later – for 12,000 francs. In Corot’s words: ‘the buyer was so pleased to have it that he gave a party for its unveiling. I was graciously invited and showered with kindnesses… And yet, it was the same thing as before, when nobody wanted it; I’m doing the same sort of thing at present, but one has come to accept it, and that has taken only forty years’ work. It is not I who have changed, but the consistency of my principles that has triumphed, and I am overjoyed!’ (l’acquéreur était si heureux de l’avoir qu’il donna une fête pour son inauguration. J’y fus convié gracieusement et comblé de gentillesses...C’était pourtant la même chose qu’autrefois quand on n’en voulait pas, à présent je fais encore de même, seulement on y est venu, et il n’a fallu pour cela que quarante ans de travail. Ce n’est pas moi qui ai changé, mais bien la constance de mes principes qui a triomphé, et je nage dans le bonheur!) See Dumesnil 1875, p. 52...
in note 41:
...room in the house of Uncle Jan van Gogh, who lived at Kattenburgerstraat 3, on the grounds of the...
115 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 21 and Tuesday, 22 May 1877.
in translation:
...one’s innermost desires and wishes may be fulfilled. At 10 in the morning I heard Uncle Stricker...
...around the time we came home yesterday, for example, at the wharf and the dockyard and the shore of...
...engraving ‘The vicar’s daughter’? It’s hanging at Baarn and struck me yesterday; look out...
...Homo. The latter is hanging in your room, surely, at least I thought I noticed it there. Do make a...
...but God disposes’. Were you at the gallery in the mornings over the Whitsun holidays? I do hope you had a good time all the same. 22 May. Yesterday evening I was at Uncle Stricker’s, where it was...
...other things, which I do, of course. Yesterday at the Strickers’ I had to tell them about London...
in note 3:
Two early services were held on Whit Sunday at 7 a.m.: the Rev. Theodorus Matthijs Looman, an adherent of...
in note 5:
J.P. Stricker preached at 10 a.m. in the Zuiderkerk.
in note 8:
The Schreijerstoren is located at the corner of Prins Hendrikkade (in those days the Kamper Hoofd) and the...
in note 10:
At that time the Zuiderzee was still connected to the sea; it is now called the IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel).
in note 11:
The modern-day Zeeburgerdijk, called at that time the Sint Anthoniesdijk.
in note 17:
...about Vincent: ‘I remember him so well. I met him at the Geldersche Kade [where the Stricker family...
in note 18:
...this refers to. It could be the print published at the front of the book Procrastination; or, The...
in note 19:
...at least 60 nineteenth-century songs that have the word Abendglocke(n) or Abendglöcklein (Evening bell) in the title or in the first line. Eleven of them became known through popular literature or were passed on by word of mouth. The one most likely intended here is the folk song Die Abendglocke (also Die Abendglöcklein), known from 1825 and set to music by Friedrich Silcher. Not only is it included in a number of songbooks and pamphlets (by 1877 it had appeared in around 12 collections), but it also occurs most frequently in the oral tradition. The song has three couplets and begins as follows: Look how the sun is now sinking Behind the wood at night-time! Little bell, rest to us signalling, Listen to its pretty chime! Trustworthy bell, oh how lovely you ring! Ring on, my bell, with all zest, Ring in the hour of sweet rest! (Seht, wie die Sonne dort sinket hinter dem nächtlichen Wald! Glöckchen schon Ruhe uns winket, hört nur, wie lieblich es schallt! Trauliches Glöcklein, du läutest so schön! läute mein Glöcklein, nur zu, läute zur süßen Ruh’!) See Großer Schulliederschatz oder 1000 Jugend- und Volkslieder...Ein Buch für evangelische Lehrer sowie für alle Freunde gesunden Volksgesanges. Gütersloh 1868, p. 326, no. 706 and Franz Magnus Böhme, Volksthümliche Lieder der Deutschen im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. Leipzig 1895, p. 180, no. 228....
in note 24:
...The old woman dozing had to be approached in stockinged feet: ‘I think one has to look at this print in silence, or at least one mustn’t speak loudly, for fear of disturbing a sleep so deserved and so...
116 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 28 May 1877.
in translation:
...going to Etten, that will be nice for them at home. Pa wrote that the church had been whitewashed...
in note 3:
The Oosterkerk is located at Wittenburggracht 25, near the Marinewerf (naval dockyard) where Van Gogh lived...
in note 4:
On Sunday, 27 May, the Rev. Gerardus Johannes Vinke preached at 10 a.m. in the Oosterkerk.
in note 8:
At the beginning of 1885 the Rijkswerf was ‘a government enterprise with more than 2,000 employees’. See...
in note 11:
...Jacobus Lips was married to Maria Leentje Silvius. They had two sons and lived at Bremberg G 10 (RAW).
in note 12:
...married to Maria van Eekelen. They had two daughters and one son. The family lived at Haansberg J 61 (RAW).
117 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Wednesday, 30 May 1877.
in translation:
...that we have struggled? When one labours at difficult work and strives for good results...
...deep in your heart. If only I had worked at it sooner with all my might, yes, it would be...
...sees a lion lying at the side of the road he must traverse – and yet he continues on his way – there is nothing else he may or can do – and when he arrives at the place he...
in note 17:
...with the words of the gatekeeper Watchful, directed at Christian, the protagonist: ‘Is thy...
118 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Thursday, 31 May 1877.
in original text:
...op kolen gebakken, en eene flesch met water; alzoo at hij, en dronk, en leide zich wederom neder...
...voor U te veel zijn. Zoo stond hij op, en at, en dronk, en hij ging door de kracht dezer spijs...
in translation:
...churches. What you’re thinking of is not bad at all. Be aware, though – we must both make sure...
...Taken by surprise and overwhelmed, rigid with terror at the extraordinary noise of the tempest and...
...in liberating not a single besieged city. At these counsels of human caution, the citizens...
...and Katwijk. The beach at Scheveningen is frequented by bathers during the summer. At that time of...
...are beached on the sand, or riding at anchor, or scattered out at sea like the thoughts of the sea...
...which a silent and wretched population conceals itself. At the doors of these poky cubby-holes, in...
...calico, bent slightly downward on either side and rising at the back and the front like a boat...
...of the waves that run, without a bit and foaming at the mouth, about the boat’s keel. On land...
...at the very least say that for them was written Ovid’s line: ‘He gave man a face that looks at...
...abstain from any form of intemperance when they are at sea. Swearing is unknown on board a boat...
in note 14:
At that time the Oosterspoor (eastern railway) had its station on the Oosterdoksdijk; in 1876 work began on...
119 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 4 and Tuesday, 5 June 1877.
in translation:
...unintentionally at his little daughter, ‘Doesn’t it look good?’ 5 June. Last night I was at...
...who was at his service day and night, makes us privy to his every word and thought. Words spoken at...
...brought him to this dwelling-place at the beginning was bursting forth at his end. He talked only...
...he had deposited this document at Hampton Court, people went to look for it, but found nothing, and it was not mentioned again. Richard, who was still living in the country at his wife’s father’s...
...that I have been in a perfect state of grace at a certain time in my life.’ All his problems were...
...to grow old and die, impenitent for that murder, at Vevay, on the shores of Lake Geneva, where his...
...too superior a notion of my strengths, others will rejoice at my death. This is of no import, o God...
...to my Father. At sunrise he lost the power of speech, but could be seen still praying in a low voice. The equinoctial gales, which had been blowing since the previous day, at that moment turned into...
in note 2:
...guests arrived on a ‘foggy day’ in coaches at the Church of Sainte-Margareth. Ed. Pierre Laubriet...
in note 8:
...chapel of ease in Amstelveld, near Reguliersgracht and Kerkstraat. Stricker’s service was held at 10 a.m.
120 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Tuesday, 12 June 1877.
in translation:
...again as I remember Pa and Uncle Jan doing at that little church in Zundert, once when Uncle came...
...leave. Even though there seems to be no opportunity at present, such a thing may soon come about...
...and I saw them at the station of the Oosterspoor. While I was waiting for them there, I read the following in Lamennais: At the head of a small inlet beneath a cliff hollowed out at its foot by the...
...manly joys delight me. And yet, my mother, when at night the squall suddenly shakes our cabin, what...
...great. A terrible storm blew up here this morning at quarter to 5, a little while later the first...
...the birds are singing, there are rather a lot of them at the yard, and all kinds, in the evenings I...
...can go in again. There were a lot of foreigners at the time, French and English, hearing them speak...
...see him, give him my regards, also to everyone at the Haanebeeks’ and Rooses’. Now I must get...
...so clearly in my mind’s eye, and I believe that at such moments I should be able to talk about it...
in note 2:
...I had the opportunity to explain everything at length. Uncle noted it all with interest. For the...
in note 10:
Jacobus Cornelus Kroes, at that time sexton of the Oosterkerk, lived with his wife, Maria Delvendiep, at Grote Wittenburgerstraat 25, behind the church (SAAm, Adresboek 1876-1877 and G.D. Brom H.Gz., De Oosterkerk te...
in note 12:
...in Paris 1831’ (the first appearance of cholera at a fancy-dress ball in Paris 1831). Ill. 1831.
in note 14:
On 10 June, Eliza Laurillard preached at 7 a.m. in the Noorderkerk.
in note 20:
J.P. Stricker conducted the 10 a.m. service held at the Oosterkerk.
in note 28:
...Reinier Posthumus Meijjes was married to Willemina Petronella van Maanen; they lived at Prinsengracht 1003.
in note 30:
...in The Hague in connection with a vacancy at Goupil’s, for which position he wished to apply...
in note 36:
...Costa, who tutored Van Gogh in Latin and Greek, lived at Jonas Daniël Meijerplein 13 (on the third floor).
121 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 9 July 1877.
in translation:
...because he paints, as it were, and his work is at once lofty and noble art. He has the feeling of...
in note 1:
...of the firm of Van Houten & Ledeboer, lime-burners at Leiderdorp (Nederland’s patriciaat 44 (1958), p...
122 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Sunday, 15 July 1877.
in translation:
...do, and hear each Sunday again. I’m doing my best to become skilled at it with all the power in me. Last week I spent an evening at the old Rev. Meijjes’s and met his son there, the Rev. Jeremie...
...The latter helped to build those roofs here at the dockyard (underneath which the ships are built...
in note 1:
The early sermon at 7 a.m. on 15 July could have been either the one preached by the orthodox minister...
in note 7:
...Christiaan Bernard Tilanus, a professor of medicine at Amsterdam University. One of the two sons Van Gogh...
in note 10:
Between May and November 1878, Mauve worked at Kranenburg farm near Loosduinen, where he had a studio built...
in note 19:
...1870 (private collection). Ill. 1839. Van Gogh could have seen the painting on 24 April 1875 at the Samuel Mendel sale at Christie’s in London. See exhib. cat. Nottingham 1974, p. 19; exhib. cat. London 1992, p...
123 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Friday, 27 July 1877.
in translation:
...found them this morning at a Jewish bookseller’s. Is that one after Bosboom the church in Scheveningen? The other is the Grote Kerk in Breda, the third after his painting that was at the large exhibition in...
...well. Mendes has given me every reason to believe that at the end of three months we’ll be as far...
...was recognized by the father, who’s a stoker at the dockyard, and the little body was taken home...
...the time passes, and quickly too, already we’re almost at the end of the week again. How are you...
in note 2:
...at Scheveningen), in Kunstkronijk 5 (1844-1845), p. 20. Ill. 1840. Bosboom made various ‘portraits’ of the church at Breda. Several reproductions of these works appeared in Kunstkronijk, including the lithograph Kerk te Breda met de tombe der graven Engelbrecht i en Jan van Nassau (Church at Breda with the tomb of the counts Engelbrecht i and Jan of Nassau) by Frederik Hendrik Weissenbruch Dzn. (Kunstkronijk 19 (1858), facing p. 46). Ill. 1841. Cf. Marius and Martin 1917, pp. 123, 127, 134, 141, 144-147. Bosboom had three works at the Paris World Exhibition of 1855: Monks of the order of Saint Francis, singing a ‘Te Deum’; The Lord’s Supper room in a Protestant church and Consistory room at Nijmegen. See exhib. cat. 1855, p. 156, cat. nos. 1526-1528. Only the first was reproduced as a lithograph, Franciskaner monniken het Te Deum zingende (Franciscan monks singing the Te Deum) by Frederik Hendrik Weissenbruch, in Kunstkronijk 17 (1856), no. 3, so this must have been the one Vincent sent. Ill. 1842...
in note 3:
...de Nieuwe Haven te ’s-Gravenhage (The ‘hofje’ at the Nieuwe Haven in The Hague) (Amsterdam, Van Gogh...
in note 5:
...for the entrance examinations will need to take at least 2, if not 3, years, but provision was made for...
in note 11:
...built on Bickersgracht, at the edge of Bickerseiland – first opened its doors on 9 December 1736; it was demolished in 1950. On that Sunday morning J.P. Stricker conducted the 10 a.m. service at the Eilandskerk.
in note 17:
...a sister of Mr van Gogh. Fanny (a teacher) and Bet were living at the time with their parents in Helvoirt.
124 To Hermanus Gijsbertus Tersteeg. Amsterdam, Friday, 3 August 1877.
in original text:
...opstaan van de aarde, maar hij wilde niet en at geen brood met hen.– En het geschiedde op den...
...brood en zij zetteden hem brood voor en hij at. Toen zeiden zijne knechten: wat is dit voor een...
...op kolen gebakken, en eene flesch met water, alzoo at hij, en dronk, en leide zich wederom neder...
...zoude voor u te veel zijn. Zoo stond hij op, en at, en dronk en hij ging door de kracht dezer spijs...
in translation:
...a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him...
...on thy way. Then he closed the Bible and spoke at length and with incredible feeling about how our...
...was it, faith. Those words have a special sound coming at such moments from such lips: I am the...
...I recently stood early one morning in the cemetery at Zundert next to the little grave on which is...
...has been his (namely my Father’s) experience at least, and in everything that has befallen him...
in note 11:
This visit to the cemetery at Zundert took place in the early morning of Sunday, 8 April 1877; see letter...
in note 13:
...of the French writer Laurence Louis Félix Bungener at the time of the first Vincent’s death, in 1852, in...
125 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Friday, 3 August 1877.
in original text:
...het volgende gedeelte van dat hoofdstuk: Jezus at met tollenaren en zondaren.─ Die gezond zijn...
in translation:
...him again. Yesterday a letter from Anna, who arrives today at 12:45 with Van Houten, am very much...
...he did on everyone at home, we must simply consider it an asset. So you were at Mauve’s and had a...
...how much the artists would be able to find here at the dockyard that’s fit to be painted. The Rev...
...IX:9 &c. Jesus saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him...
...was completely golden due to the rising sun, and at 5 o’clock one saw all those hundreds of...
...money for the collection at church, for example by exchanging stamps for cents at a tobacconist’s...
...that was sad and downcast; at times he appeared dreamy, at others he had something that was either very determined or excited and agitated. At first he hardly listened to Telemachus’s question, but at last he replied: You are not mistaken, Ulysses was received at the home of King Alcinous, as in...
...to worship what we know, give my regards to those at Mauve’s and anyone else you might see...
in note 2:
The studio was in Weissenbruch’s birthplace at Haagse Kazernestraat 112, where the painter – together...
in note 3:
...the building of the Academy of Arts in The Hague). At this exhibition, held in the month of August, 112...
in note 6:
...the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Navy), was converted in 1875 at the Rijkswerf (national dockyards) into a lodging-ship. On 11 April 1876 the ship was put at the disposal of those training to be ship’s boys and...
in note 9:
...the Réveil, was scheduled to conduct the early service held at 7 a.m. on 29 July 1877 in the Zuiderkerk.
in note 10:
The Reformed minister Jacob Cornelis van Marken preached at the 10 a.m. service in the Oudezijdskapel.
in note 12:
...Waarin muntte Socrates bijzonder uit?’ (At what did Socrates particularly excel?) and ‘Hoe...
in note 13:
...came from Helvoirt because Mr van Gogh had preached the previous Sunday at his former parish (FR b2547).
in note 14:
...at Plaats 14, next to the building which housed Goupil’s art gallery, where he also bought works for his collection. Theo, who must have known Blom Coster through his work at Goupil’s, could report to his parents at the beginning of November that the bill had been paid. See Stolwijk 1998, p. 337 and FR b2566. The bill was presumably for the doctor’s expenses incurred during Theo’s illness in October and November 1876. Mr van Gogh had asked about it on 19 January 1877: ‘Have you already paid Dr. Coster’s bill...I still have money of yours, which is at your disposal, old boy!’ (FR b2502)....
in note 19:
Uncle Vincent had been in Amsterdam at the beginning of August; from there he went with Uncle Cor to an...
126 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Sunday, 5 August 1877.
in translation:
...Stricker, who has some money of Pa’s to be put at my disposal if necessary, and I hope to go on...
...which would pull me away from the studies necessary at the moment, even now it isn’t always easy...
...thy reward’. A strong word spoken from the heart at the right time can give comfort and do good...
...to have you with me. You know the painting (at least the lithograph and woodcut made after it) by...
...The church was very full, and when one looked at those faces one saw something of the faith, for it...
in note 5:
...He has recently seen many members of the family at Uncle Jan’s and occasionally experienced stressful...
in note 6:
For Uncle Cor’s villa at Baarn, see letter 158, n. 11.
in note 22:
For the print after Jacob van Ruisdael, The bleaching fields at Overveen, cf. letter 37, n. 3.
in note 26:
The early service attended by Vincent at 7 a.m. on 5 August could have been either the one conducted by the...
in note 28:
...of the shops where ‘sea-charts, books and instruments’ were sold was located at the corner of Nieuwebrugsteeg and the quay; at Warmoesstraat 96 was the printing house of De Roever-Kröber-Bakels (UBA...
in note 29:
Christoffel and Kee Vos lived at Prinsengracht 158, opposite the Westerkerk.
in note 30:
...the Lord’s Supper, and is aimed especially at the younger members of the congregation who wish to...
in note 34:
The sentence added in pencil was most likely written at the post office. It refers to the receipt of the...
127 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Saturday, 18 August 1877.
in translation:
...shall live by faith. It was a pleasant evening at Uncle Stricker’s on Aunt’s birthday, that...
...town to go to Utrecht, and at 7 o’clock I had to be at the Strickers’, because Jan was leaving...
...one thinks at such times. You would like the curious sight of that stream of black figures, large and small, first in the narrow street into which the sun shines only briefly and later at the yard...
...while at least. And even if one isn’t exactly in such a mood, it’s nevertheless good to do it now and then, and to think at the same time of, for example, Rembrandt’s painting of the supper at...
...in Dordrecht. It was nice to see activity beginning at that early hour. Wrote a text in which all...
...today until late at night and in the morning. Having been in England and France for so long, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t gradually master the languages more thoroughly and at least keep them...
...thought from Your most loving brother, Vincent Tomorrow at 10 o’clock the Rev. Laurillard will...
in note 7:
Regarding Ten Kate’s sermon at the Eilandskerk, see letter 126, n. 30.
in note 8:
On Sunday, 12 August, J.P. Stricker preached at the 10 a.m. service in the Oudezijdskapel.
in note 12:
...similar causes (as very many men do), they look at both sides of the question, applying a magnifying...
in note 13:
With regard to Rembrandt’s Pilgrims at Emmaus, see letter 34, n. 5.
128 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 27 August 1877.
in translation:
...suggested it, and even much more expensive is Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt. Enfin, you know it too...
...12 and 12a, This is the stone which was set at nought of the builders, which is become the head of...
...is; when one looks at him one immediately thinks of a priest and a saint. His son came here yesterday and spent a while in the little study, he came in fact to ask if I would visit them at home this...
...and on Mary of Bethany who sat at Jesus’ feet and had chosen that good part, which would not be taken away from her. I spent the afternoon and part of the evening at Uncle Stricker’s and so had a...
...to do today, are you busy in the gallery? Last week at the dockyard a ship (monitor the Draak) was...
...craft; whenever I go there I take a good look at them, if one wants to learn how to work oneself...
...very good to me that you spent those days at Mr Tersteeg’s. Believe me ever Your most loving...
...little study. You know that old Father Lips died. At the funeral Pa spoke about The burial in the...
in note 3:
For Rembrandt’s Pilgrims at Emmaus, see letter 42, n. 9.
in note 12:
Jeremias Posthumus Meijjes lived with his family at Prinsengracht 851.
in note 13:
Reinier Posthumus Meijjes lived at Prinsengracht 1003.
in note 14:
On 26 August, J.P. Stricker preached at 10 a.m. in the Eilandskerk.
in note 19:
...very low freeboard, used in naval warfare – was laid down on 15 November 1875 at the Rijkswerf and launched on 22 August 1877 at 13.30 (The Hague, Collectie Instiuut voor Maritieme Historie, Marinestaf). Ill...
129 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Tuesday, 4 September 1877.
in original text:
...when ye neither shall Upon this mountain, nor at Jerusalem Worship the Father, for the hour is...
in translation:
...book a few days ago, perhaps because I look at that lithograph after Ruipérez so often, and asked...
...one cannot read them without emotion and almost fear, at least if one reads them with a sincere...
...and on all sides, which is why I have at least the impression that ‘the days are evil’. Because...
...especially if one looks at them with love as I do? And yet – the Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt is...
...or at least think of the man who beheld a mote in his brother’s eye but did not consider the beam in his own eye – and then I shall answer, there is possibly something of that, but these at least...
...which he was accustomed to keep with him at home on winter evenings, very good, Israëls would have...
...standest is holy ground’. Also spent an evening at the Strickers’ and heard Uncle preach last...
...Van der Hoop, do your best to make him do it, at least if it can happen in this way and he doesn...
...when ye neither shall Upon this mountain, nor at Jerusalem Worship the Father, for the hour is...
in note 10:
...Jeremie Richard, the minister of the Hervormde Gemeente (Reformed Congregation) at Vlissingen (GAB).
in note 31:
For Rembrandt, Pilgrims at Emmaus, see letter 34, n. 5.
in note 39:
On Sunday, 2 September, J.P. Stricker preached at 10 a.m. in the Nieuwe Kerk.
in note 43:
...the former Oude Mannenhuis (Old Men’s House), was at that time one of Amsterdam’s most popular museums...
130 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Friday, 7 September 1877.
in translation:
...and he alone to Van der Hoop, and he was also at Uncle Cor’s gallery (who isn’t in town, however...
...the story of Elijah by the brook Cherith and at the widow’s – because when we lived together in...
...be attached to him as I feel attached to him at the moment, and accept in thought a handshake from...
in note 1:
The bookshop and art dealership of C.M. van Gogh was located at Keizersgracht 453.
in note 2:
At that time an exhibition was being held on the top floor of a special wing between Haarlem’s Prinsenhof and the Stadhuis, at which seven works by Frans Hals were on display: a canvas with the regents and...
in note 23:
Mrs Richard died on 4 September 1877 at 2 a.m. Mr van Gogh had kept watch at her deathbed. On the day she died, he sent Theo a detailed report of her fateful accident and the tragic circumstances of her death...
131 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Tuesday, 18 September 1877.
in translation:
...for a while, quietly and calmly, I was thinking of at least one whole day. Mendes was out of town...
...s etchings. Such as the flight into Egypt at night or the entombment of Jesus. That collection in...
...ahead to be free and at your disposal when you come. I can’t see anything of that kind, paintings either, for example, without thinking of you and of Pa and everyone at home. Am otherwise up to my...
...lives the Lord commands His blessing. It’s nice at their house, only a great pity that he couldn...
...of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of...
...the silver bowl be loosed, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the...
...after Jazet that were in the Galerie photographique at one time but have now been destroyed...
...are described with so much feeling in that book. At Jesus’ feet sits Mary, who had chosen that...
...Monday a telegram that the Madura had arrived at Southampton. The day of their departure Uncle left...
in note 5:
Rembrandt, The flight into Egypt, at night, etching, 1651 (B 53,I) (Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet). Ill...
in note 7:
...in 1863) at Keizersgracht 609-613 in Amsterdam concentrated on paintings, drawings and prints by nineteenth-century artists, though it also owned works by old masters, including 25 drawings attributed at that time...
in note 11:
...the ministry. He subsequently took up an editorial post at the newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad (FR b2638).
in note 19:
On Sunday, 16 September, Jeremias Posthumus Meijjes preached at 10 a.m. in the Oudezijdskapel.
in note 35:
...Mary and Martha (c. 1650) was also called The house at Bethany (London, The British Museum). Ill. 345. Van...
in note 36:
...for example, ‘All were gathered in a group at the window, the child being held on her father’s...
in note 53:
...father of Marie, was deputy director of the navy at Amsterdam. From 1876 until his death, Vos was a member of the Hoog Militair Gerechtshof (Supreme Court Martial) at Utrecht. See Adelborstopleiding te Delft...
132 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Sunday, 21 October 1877.
in translation:
...again soon, yesterday a good letter from Etten from which I understood that you had already been there and are expected back on Saturday evening, to spend Sunday at home as well. So you’re probably there now too, and it will be a good Sunday.
...NB: the woman at the station had been slightly surprised at our hasty departure.) It was nice that we saw Mauve there. Coming back home, I sat up working for a long time. That was a week ago already, the days fly by. How beautiful that engraving after Ary Scheffer is, The holy women at the tomb of...
in note 2:
...Presbyterians in the Begijnhof. On 21 October 1877, the Rev. William Macfarlane preached there at 10 a.m.
in note 11:
...after Ary Scheffer, The entombment of Christ (The holy women at the sepulchre): see letter 98, n. 14.
in note 18:
A young citizen of the year v was exhibited at the 1873 Salon; it was also on display at the exhibition held to mark the opening of Goupil’s London branch in May 1874. See exhib. cat. London 1992, p. 129, cat. no...
in note 23:
Jules Goupil likewise painted, among other things, In 1795, which was exhibited at the 1875 Salon.
in note 24:
...The war of 1798, 1876 (Neuchâtel, Musée d’art et d’histoire), which was on display at the 1877 Salon.
in note 27:
...tale of two cities (1859), a historical novel about London and Paris at the time of the French Revolution.
133 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Tuesday, 30 October 1877.
in translation:
...done. I keep my work together, everything aimed at getting through the exams, I consult Mendes on...
...and use the means at one’s disposal to make the most of it and gain from it. (You can see from my handwriting that it had grown dark, but now the lamp is on.) Ate hotchpot at Uncle Stricker’s one...
...muddy boots or wet, dirty clothes. May we all at sometime enter into that kingdom which is not of...
...and of neglecting people. Looked through that book at Uncle’s, the engraved oeuvre of C. Daubigny...
...in London for a while and is going back there. At 10 o’clock Uncle came home soaking wet, for it...
...I do it. Today, for instance, I was at Schalekamp’s and at C.L. Brinkman’s in Hartestraat (that...
...Society, of which there are around 100 at a stuiver apiece, including the Netherlands in every...
...outstanding sermon from the Rev. Gagnebin: the house at Bethany. ‘One thing is needful and Mary...
...your clear description. Saw a small painting of his at C.M.’s, also one by Mauve, very beautiful...
in note 21:
...NS, no. 21. Ill. 1353. The depiction displays a close resemblance to Steffens’s painting Consolation of 1863 (present whereabouts unknown; sold at auction at Sotheby’s, Mak van Waay, 21 February 1983). Ill. 1856.
in note 22:
...soi-même (The arrival of the vicar. Charity begins at home), lithographed by Alphonse Léon Noël (1846...
in note 23:
...UCLA Hammer Museum, California), exhibited at the 1868 Salon (no. 817). There is another version...
in note 25:
...at this time he often provided prints with inscriptions (cf. Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 1, p. 171 and vol. 4, p. 330) – or he might have had a copy on which the text was already added (cf. the Pilgrims at Emmaus...
in note 49:
...Keene and others. He took over the premises at 6 Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, EC, which he...
in note 50:
...London News and The Graphic were both located at 190 Strand. In letter 307, Van Gogh remarked...
in note 51:
...house and adjoining bookshop, located (in 1877) at 54 Fleet Street. The magazine Portfolio, published...
in note 59:
...his glass clichés and the works he exhibited at the Salon. The book contains nine engravings by and...
in note 60:
Claas Meyboom was at that time lieutenant at sea of the second class. See ‘In memoriam Claas Meyboom’, Marineblad. Orgaan der Marine-vereeniging 26 (1911-1912), pp. 337-339. Margreet, who was engaged to Paul...
in note 62:
...could refer either to the bookshop of J.M. Schalekamp at Haarlemmerstraat 69 or the bookshop belonging to the firm of Schalekamp, Van de Grampel & Bakker at Spuistraat 157-159, which specialized in textbooks and...
in note 63:
The bookshop of C.L. Brinkman at Hartenstraat 24.
in note 65:
...28 October, the Rev. J.P. Hasebroek conducted the early service held at 7.30 a.m. in the Zuiderkerk.
in note 66:
...Eglise Wallonne) – the old Walloon church, at which services were held in French – in...
in note 73:
In the autumn of 1877, Jozef Israëls, The potato harvest, 1877 (present whereabouts unknown) was on display at Goupil’s in The Hague under the title Bringing in the first crop. Ill. 185. See exhib. cat. Groningen 1999, pp. 196-197, cat. no. 34a. Sold at auction at Christie’s (New York), 29 October 1987, no. 166.
134 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 19 November 1877.
in original text:
...v. Engeland die Gij met Kerstmis zien zult: If you look at a map of the world, you will see, in the...
in translation:
...it remain so. An entrance exam has been held at the university here for the first time — it’s...
...a cousin of Mendes, Teixeira de Mattos, a teacher at the Jewish School for the Poor. He gives me...
...finally has something of what I wanted it to have, at least Mendes sees it in it, namely that it...
...Come on, do your best to take a look at that atlas sometime, likewise the one by Stieler in...
...that I stood. Spent two evenings at Uncle Cor’s, once to look at old books (including volumes of...
...it is in itself, are good words). Then I was also at Uncle Cor’s on Aunt’s birthday, i.e. last...
...an old castle on a rock with autumnal woods at twilight, with the black fields with a peasant...
...excitement was seen to seize the Christians, incensed at the haughty words of the Turkish commander...
...three o’clock in the afternoon, the very hour at which the Saviour expired on the Cross; an empty...
...that map of England that you’ll see at Christmas: If you look at a map of the world, you will see...
in note 2:
This entrance examination to the Faculty of Arts at the University of Amsterdam took place on 9 November...
in note 3:
...at the Israëlitische Godsdienst Armenschool (Jewish School for the Poor), from 1871 a continuation of the Nederlandsch-Portugeesch-Israëlitische Armenschool (Dutch-Portuguese-Jewish School for the Poor). In the account-book of the Portuguese-Jewish community, Isaäc Teixeira de Mattos occurs frequently as a moneylender. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, two members of the Teixeira de Mattos family had been members of the board of governors of the Portuguese school for the poor. Another candidate is a nephew of the aforementioned, another Isaäc Teixeira de Mattos (in 1881 an office clerk), who felt compelled to become involved in the care of the poor. See SAAm; I. van S. Mulder, Verslag van de commissie belast met het toezigt over de Nederlandsch-Israëlitische godsdienstige scholen binnen het synagogaal ressort van Amsterdam. Amsterdam 1863, p. 11; W.Chr. Pieterse, Inventaris van de archieven der Portugees-Israëlitische Gemeente te Amsterdam 1614-1870. Amsterdam 1964, p. 18 and Wim Heijen, ‘Teixeira de Mattos. Bankschandaal tastte goede naam aan’, Ons Amsterdam 49-6 (1997), pp. 160-164...
in note 18:
...of Wales). Ill. 1860. This painting was owned at the time by E.J. van Wisselingh, who lived in...
in note 21:
...back on Wednesday evening. There seemed to be some change then, but at last he was released from his suffering and died yesterday morning at 4 a.m. Fortunately he has been relieved of that heavy burden. The last...
in note 23:
...Johan had left on 6 January 1877 for the Dutch East Indies, where he worked on Java as a planter. Vincent Wilhelm was an administrator at the Cinchona and Tea enterprise at Payung (Madjalengka, Cheribon). It is not known what was wrong with Wilhelm, who had married Maria Christina Elisabeth Musch on 25 July 1877 at Cianjur.
135 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Saturday, 24 and Sunday, 25 November 1877.
in translation:
...when it was raining in the hope of finding him at home, yet he was out, who knows whether he hadn’t gone at that very moment to visit someone else for the same reason. But his wife was at home, sitting at work in a small room like the back room at Etten (only this one was on the street). She...
...for example. They’re such nice people, met them recently at a lecture and they stood out from the...
...the crusades (Histoire des croisades, Gruson) at the beginning of next month. Read it sometime, and then the two of us will give it to Pa. Was reading it this evening at the station, waiting for the...
...von Bremen and pendant that are also hanging at home, mothers with children, put them aside and...
...s room, that’s also really beautiful, I look at it so often, it has a stormy or thundery expression, something like the way I imagine Cromwell. Saw at Uncle Cor’s a new engraving after Erskine...
...very concerned there about Paul, there’s a telegram at the Ministry for the Colonies that he must...
in note 18:
In those days Uncle Cor’s bookshop and art dealership were located at Keizersgracht 453.
in note 19:
The haulage firm of Van Gend & Loos had its offices at Dam 2-4, opposite which there was a departure point...
in note 37:
...of this painting, which fetched 1,550 guilders at the auction of Uncle Vincent’s estate. See auct...
in note 60:
Rudolph Herman Christiaan Carel Scheffer was the director of the botanical gardens at Buitenzorg (Java) from 1867 until his death. Paul Stricker had been hired in February 1876 as both a teacher at the agricultural school and an amanuensis at the botanical gardens. After being given a leave of absence in December 1877 owing...
in note 64:
Johan Christiaan Schröder, a bookseller whose business was located at Kalverstraat 174.
136 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 3 and Tuesday, 4 December 1877.
in translation:
...to look at those who have succeeded and have got through the difficulties more than at those who...
...s good for you to have them to look at for a while. At the Rev. Meijjes’s I also heard them talking about Stieler’s atlas. His son, who’s at the institute in Den Helder, has the complete atlas...
...t have time to read it from beginning to end, at least leaf through it from beginning to end, then...
...arsenal are completely green and weathered at the bottom at water level. Then, below, the little...
...Also heard the Rev. Laurillard a while ago at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, speaking so...
...outcome. Their ranks, however, were sorely depleted, and at last only one man was left. Moved by...
...ensure his entrance to the heaven barred to him. But at the gates of heaven he was told that he...
...and dismounted at a stream there, his horse sweating and panting. His face wore a fierce expression, and all his features had something shocking about them, something that spoke of anger. But at the...
in note 3:
...Marine (Royal Navy); he later became lieutenant at sea of the first class. See Gedenkboek honderd jarig...
in note 34:
...105 x 175 cm (present whereabouts unknown; sold at auction in Amsterdam (Mak van Waay), 23 February...
in note 35:
...at this time; four drawings with ‘sacristy’ in the title are known. Since Sacristy of the church at Bergen (1848) was already in Fodor’s collection when the Museum Fodor first opened in 1863, this cannot have been the one intended (see cat. Amsterdam 1863, p. 46, cat. no. 293). The others are Sacristy at Boxmeer (1850 or slightly later, ‘large watercolour’), Sacristy with a pillar in the middle (c. 1860, no mention of measurements) and Sacristy at Alkmaar (31 x 42.4 cm). See Marius and Martin 1917, pp. 130, 132, 138; and exhib. cat. Delft 1958, p. 13, cat. no. 22...
in note 38:
...to be fascinated by maps; a year later he made, at his father’s request, five maps of Palestine for...
in note 49:
...of life. Old boy, don’t forget to look at your book for the lesson for the day, and to...
137 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Sunday, 9 December 1877.
in translation:
...map by Stieler, namely Scotland alone. At present I can get them singly at Seyffardt’s, but there...
...Teixeira. Uncle Jan spent the evening at Uncle Cor’s. Was at Uncle Stricker’s service this...
...names etc. on the map of Brittany. Bring it along at Christmas, you know that I did that on the one...
...I once saw him myself at Goupil’s, he has something very unpretentious about him. ‘At last, he...
...house was founded. Man is depraved by nature, at best a thief — but — with God’s guidance and...
...hope he’ll be able to go to Lewisham at Christmas. You know that painting by Cuyp in the museum here, an old Dutch family, when he saw that he stood looking at it for a long time and then spoke of...
...each other at the station in Dordrecht. In that case I would even spend two nights at the Rooses...
...Now make sure they don’t go to any trouble at the Rooses’. If I can’t stay there you’ll...
...Anne of Brittany, yes, man is depraved by nature and at best a thief, but in the battle of life he...
in note 4:
The bookshop of Julius Lodewijk Willem Seyffardt at Damrak 99 specialized in atlases, guidebooks and maps...
in note 10:
...gave me a copy of De imitatione Christi, but not at all with the unspoken objective of converting me; he...
in note 11:
A traditional confectionery eaten at the feast of St Nicholas, consisting of puff pastry with an...
in note 28:
...Catechism, Lord’s Day 3, Question 7. The whole sentence – ‘Man is depraved by nature, at best a thief’ – seems to be a quotation, especially since it is repeated in its entirety at the end of the letter.
138 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Sunday, 30 December 1877.
in translation:
...were good days, when you were here, though they didn’t last long. My holiday will be over soon, too, but I’ll stay at least a day longer because Pa’s so busy these days, and it would be good to discuss calmly how best to pursue further...
...the road with him and a girl who was staying at the Hackstrohs’. Today Pa, Ma, Cor and I took a...
...a number of children kneeling in a corner of a church at dusk, there’s a large etching by him of...
in note 3:
Johannes Kuylman was a minister at Princenhage.
in note 5:
...and 142 it appears that Gladwell had quit his job at Goupil’s and returned to his parents’ home in...
in note 8:
...to Elisabeth Clara Johanna de Bock. They lived at de Baai F 25 and were friends of the Van Gogh family...
in note 9:
...by a number of artists, including Jozef Israëls: Sewing school at Katwijk (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum).
139 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Wednesday, 9 and Thursday, 10 January 1878.
in translation:
...evening and found Uncle Cor’s family playing cards at Uncle Jan’s. When Uncle Cor heard that...
...all that preaching hasn’t worn Pa out. Was at Uncle Stricker’s yesterday, Paul left with the...
...if one works at something from early in the morning till late at night, and so I hope to be ready for the exam around October. Saw a great many good drawings at Uncle Cor’s, including a new one by Rochussen, a diplomatic soirée, very clever. Mauve is giving that art presentation at Arti this...
...hang up The oven by T. Rousseau and the Trekweg at Rijswijk by Weissenbruch which I got from you. I...
...good that Uncle Cent is away (because he left today at 3 o’clock to be in Paris tonight). If you...
...experience of life and trial and error, or sorrow. At C.M.’s there was also a beautiful drawing...
...he wasn’t well at Christmas. So write soon, and I wish you the very best, and bid good-day to your housemates. Just received a good letter from Pa, everything is all right at home, adieu, accept in...
in date note:
...to be given by Anton Mauve ‘this evening’ at Arti et Amicitiae; the Amsterdamsche Courant of 8...
in note 1:
...I heard yesterday from Uncle Cor, whom I met at Princenhage, that you are not well and were staying indoors and were feverish. I’m glad that you immediately stayed at home, and I cannot urge you too strongly to be...
in note 2:
...from Etten to Amsterdam (FR b960), stopping off at The Hague, where he met Theo, who later informed his...
in note 6:
Lectures on art, illustrated by examples, were given at regular intervals at artists’ societies. Anton Mauve was to speak on Thursday, 10 January at Arti et Amicitiae, Rokin 112. See Groot and De Vries 1990, p. 80.
in note 14:
...59, 210-211, 308, cat. no. 132 and cat. no. S.2. At the exhibition held to mark the opening of...
140 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Sunday, 10 February 1878.
in translation:
...a favourable impression on Pa as well. In the evening, at Uncle Cor’s, we saw drawings and books...
...to do so and not give it up easily. Afterwards, at home, translated a passage from Caesar, and this...
...Tuesday. You’ll certainly have a lot to do at the beginning of the year, like most people. Wierda...
...Kunstkronijk? It’s really good. How are things going at Mauve’s? Very well, I hope. Have you...
in note 1:
...to Amsterdam ‘to put my mind at ease a little about Vincent’s future’ (FR b965 to Theo, 2 February 1878). Before returning to Etten on Thursday, 7 February, he stopped at The Hague (FR b967). A short while...
in note 5:
Jan Willem Wierda lived at Weteringstraat 26, above Arend Jan Rolff’s grocer’s shop.
141 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 18 and Tuesday, 19 February 1878.
in translation:
...it, it’s most certainly a good work. Yesterday evening at C.M.’s I saw a whole year of that...
...the whole afternoon and evening of Sunday, 17 Feb. at Uncle Cor’s, where Aunt Antje is staying...
...an impression on other hearts. Afterwards, at 1 o’clock, I had to be at a Sunday school given by...
...s hanging on the wall there. Had met him at Mr Macfarlane’s, the minister of that little English...
...t look at all well and Kee looked rather tired and pale too. Spent a long time there, they have a lot of worries, he brings up blood now and then and coughs a lot. Jan is staying at Uncle Stricker...
...If now, meaning by October, there was a vacancy at Goupil’s, that would help him out immediately...
...and that you won’t be too busy. Was just at the Rev. Gagnebin’s, but was told he was too busy...
...I’ll pass, i.e. all of the requirements, 5 years at the least is a long time, if one begins...
...walked a lot today. What would it be like at Vos’s? At night he probably often has a bad time of...
in note 13:
On Sunday, 17 February at 10 a.m., Monsieur Dussauze, minister at Sens and a representative of the Société Évangélique de France, preached the sermon in the Eglise Wallonne, in the place of the Rev. Gagnebin. Van...
142 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Sunday, 3 March 1878.
in translation:
...result one will continue to live in the memory of at least a few, and having left a good example to...
...for them sometime, since he didn’t know them at all. Was at the Rev. Gagnebin’s last Monday evening and also saw his wife and daughter, and was also in his study, where I talked to him until about 11 o’clock. He said, among other things, that at certain times in his life he had benefited from...
...green! One must say that over and over again. Was last Sunday evening at cousin Vrijdag’s in Houttuinen, there are still 7 children at home, it was a pleasant little circle, most of them are still...
in note 1:
Laurillard preached on Sunday, 3 March 1878 at 10 a.m. in the Oudezijdskapel.
in note 10:
...town of Waterloo that took place on 18 June 1815, at which Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by the allied...
in note 14:
...a novel about village life in the English Midlands at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its...
in note 21:
...and fuels, as well as their house, was located at Haarlemmer Houttuinen 25. In 1877 the family had...
143 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Wednesday, 3 April 1878.
in translation:
...s by persevering in those ideas and things that one at last becomes thoroughly leavened with a good...
...to be our duty and how we should arrive at something good, and we rightly came to the conclusion...
...well, one gains at the same time insight into and knowledge of many other things into the bargain. It’s sometimes good to go about much in the world and to be among people, and at times one is...
...amidst everything, in all circumstances, in all places and at all times; one can do this with the...
...he is satisfied with nothing less and doesn’t feel at home until he has acquired it. That is the...
...give up after all but to let down the nets again at dawn. So let us simply go on quietly, each his...
...way, and God be with you in all things, and make you succeed at that, that is what is wished you with a hearty handshake at your departure by Your most loving brother Vincent It’s only a very...
in note 4:
The constitution that was drawn up at the time of the French Revolution.
in note 14:
...Weeds) (present whereabouts unknown), exhibited at the 1869 Salon, was once part of the Wilstach...
144 To Theo van Gogh. Amsterdam, Monday, 13 May 1878.
in translation:
...and for everyone at home, and yesterday was perhaps a less cheerful Sunday. Pa nevertheless wrote again, and in his mouth that is the truth, that with all disappointment and at every serious moment...
...You’ll soon notice that in the summer it’s at times rather warmer there than it is here, and...
...misery and loathsome things, because in the evening and at night one sees all manner of those dark...
...their faces equally pale, looking out of the window at the Church and the trees across the street...
...clearly evident from what he said that he trembled at and recoiled from each new day and night, and...
...shall be on the morrow? Saw his son yesterday at the early service, if one can compare the faces...
...glorious in Paris in the autumn, well, you’ll be seeing something of it at the end of September. Give my warm regards to everyone at the Soeks’, I still think so often of an excursion I made with...
in date note:
...cf. ll. 52-53), and mentions Elisabeth’s arrival at home in Etten on Sunday, 12 May, after having failed...
in note 1:
Theo travelled to Paris on 1 May – he turned 21 that day – where he was to assist at Goupil & Cie’s stand at the World Exhibition, which opened on 1 May and lasted for six months.
in note 5:
Upon his arrival in Paris, Theo took up residence at 46 rue de la Tour d’Auvergne, south of boulevard de...
in note 17:
...King Willem iii laid the first stone of the new, imposing accommodations at Prins Hendrikkade 189-190).
in note 22:
On Sunday, 12 May, early services were conducted at 7 a.m. by the Rev. H. Steenberg in the Noorderkerk and...
in note 25:
Rembrandt lived from 1639 to 1658 in the house at Jodenbreestraat 6, now known as the Rembrandthuis.
145 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Monday, 22 July 1878.
in translation:
...in Holland the study would take another 6 years at the very least. And one is not even required to...
...as much as possible. It’s for this reason that at present I shall continue here in Etten to do...
...s house’ in the Louvre). Yesterday Pa had to preach at Zundert, and I went along. The Aunts sent...
...the Ropsentuin to put a tannery there. Was also at Jan Doomen’s, who has been suffering a lot...
in note 2:
...at the Flemish training college for evangelists was discussed. This college, which had been founded in 1875, was located at Sint Katelijneplein 9. See Fagel, ‘Van Gogh in Brussel’, pp. 23-27; Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 1, pp. 180-182 and Lutjeharms 1978. Mr van Gogh had, incidentally, done some preliminary spadework, having corresponded in June with the Rev. Hendrik van den Brink at Roeselare (FR b981, b982 and b997); this was the same Van den Brink in whose house Theo had been a lodger at the beginning of 1873 (see letters 3 and 9). Mr van Gogh’s letter, which was enclosed with Vincent’s, gave Theo a detailed and illuminating account of the visit: ‘I recently sent you a postcard saying that I would be going with Vincent to Brussels. We were there last Tuesday and Wednesday, and spoke to and visited a great many people. We have determined that, with payment from us for his keep, we shall embark on a trial period of three months to see if there is a chance of his succeeding. Vincent spoke perfectly well, and I believe he made a good impression. His stay abroad, and the last year in Amsterdam, have not been wholly fruitless, and he does manage, if he opens up, to give proof that he has already learned and observed much in the school of life. Meanwhile the matter of evangelization in Belgium cannot yet count on permanent funds, but is mostly begun and continued in faith. In general, however, when funds were necessary, they were not lacking. The Rev. Pieterszen of Mechelen joined us there and took us to see the Rev. de Jonge in Brussels, who had invited us to stay with him. But because the annual fair was taking place in his neighbourhood and there was a chance that we wouldn’t be able to sleep at night because of the noise in the street, he found us accommodation with an elder of the congregation, a certain Mr Geerling, Architect. A most delightful family who received us so cordially. Evangelists in Belgium are not required to obtain a certain degree or qualification after earlier training, but can be appointed if they give proof of suitability. It was nice that we were accompanied by the Rev. Jones, for whom Vincent had worked in England. He came to visit us the previous Saturday and stayed until Tuesday, at which time he went with us to Brussels. He’s a kind man who made a good impression on all of us. In Brussels he also spoke well on Vincent’s behalf and his very presence meant that these matters were usually discussed in English, which gave Vincent the opportunity to show that he spoke it readily and correctly, for which he received a pat on the back. We are now waiting for a letter with details of when and how, after which he will begin. May there be something for him. It seems, after all, that he has a certain vocation for this kind of work, though I pointed out all the dark sides to him. But he remains adamant’ (FR b985, 22 July). Cf. Hulsker 1974-1, pp. 31-32...
in note 9:
The ‘aunts’ at Zundert: Elisabeth Petronella and Louisa Christina van der Burg.
in note 10:
...1879. Van Ginneken had been Vincent’s classmate at the village school in Zundert. The families of the...
in note 11:
...his brother Willem – operated a tannery located at Molenstraat 47. In 1878, Charles bought the rest of...
in note 16:
...for us by contemporary memoirs, almost amazed at finding themselves alive on the morrow of so many...
in note 19:
...at Etten-Leur for his help in identifying these people. The text Van Gogh wrote on it is in italics. [1] Schuitemaker / Schuitemaker / Cornelis Schuitemaker (1813-1884), married to Johanna van Peer (1812-1887), living at Luie Hoek A 274, next to Sprundel and Sint Willebrord. [2] 't Heike / Het Heike [3] de Hoeve / Hoeven [4] naar Oudenbosch / to Oudenbosch [5] De Jong (landmeter) / De Jong (surveyor) / The surveyor Cornelis de Jonge (1837-after 1881), married to Trijntje Poldermans (1838-?), living at Moleneind B 38 in Hoeven (on the municipality’s border with Etten). [6] Frans van Put / Frans van Put / The farmer Frans Cornelis van der Put (1843-1906), Lage Donk K 51. On 9 May 1875 he married the farm-woman Anna Gelijns (1847-?). At the time this map was made, they had one son: Frans (1876). Frans Cornelis van der Put’s father was Frans van der Put [43]. [7] Geleens / Geleens /Frans Cornelis van der Put probably moved shortly after his marriage to the house of his parents-in-law at Lage Donk K 51. Johannes Gelijns (1820-1875) died on 7 April, one month before this marriage. His daughters Anna (1847), Maria (1848), Willemijna (1853), Johanna (1857) and Elisabeth (1858) were also registered as living at this address; the first three as ‘farm-women’. The farmer Lambregt Gelijns (1812-1885) lived at Lage Donk K 55. [8] Lage Donk naar Zevenbergen / Lage Donk to Zevenbergen [9] Sprundel / Sprundel [10] Marechaussées / Marechaussées (military police) [11] Binnenweg naar de Hoeve. / By-road to Hoeven [12] Weg naar de Hoeve / Road to Hoeven [13] Nil [or Nel] v. Eekelen. / Nil (or Nel) v. Eekelen / If the Christian name is in fact Nil, this person could be the farmer Jan Cornelis van Eekelen (1837-1918); in the case of Nel, it could be Cornelia van Eekelen (1850-1923). Both are recorded as farmers living at Bankenstraat I 104. [14] Bankenstraat. / Bankenstraat [15] Lam v. Eekelen / Lam v. Eekelen / Lambregt van Eekelen (1845-1912), Geerstraat I 83. [16] Kees v. Eekelen / Kees v. Eekelen / Cornelis van Eekelen (1833-1879), farmer, Geerstraat I 82. [17] naar de heide & Zundert / to the heath and Zundert [18] naar Rijsbergen / to Rijsbergen [19] Döritz / Döritz / The family of Karel Willem (Wilhelm) Doelitzsch (1830-1908), born in Saxony and without profession, married to Adelaida Paulina Ellinga (1832-?). They had two daughters and two sons. Dorp A 120. [20] School / School [21] Klaas / Klaas / The carpenter Johan Daniël Claas (1833-1906), married to Gerardine Catharina van Aken (1832-1888), living at Dorp A 187. [22] Raat / Raat / Possibly Anna Cornelia Boot (1822-?), widow of Adriaan van Raak (1813-1873), Dorp A 65. [23] Jan Kerst / Jan Kerst / The farmer Joannes Kerstens (1840-1900), Haansberg I 74. He is the son of Cornelis [26] and was married to Maria Cornelia van Uijthoven (1852-1911). [24] Slikgat / Slikgat [25] Haansberg / Haansberg [26] Kerst / Kerst / The farmer Cornelis Kerstens (1806-1886), living at the corner of Goorstraat and Haansberg I 34, on a farm belonging to the Maatschappij van Welstand (Welfare Society). He was married to Joanna Maria Sagius (1819-1903). [27] Ko van Put / Ko van Put / The farmer Jacobus van der Put (1836-1911) was married to the farm-woman Cornelia Bakker (1834-?). They lived at Haansberg I 66 (now Haansberg 41) and had a daughter called Francijna Cornelia (1874) and a son named Jacobus (1877). Also living with them were several children from Cornelia Bakker’s previous marriage to Rombout van Eekelen. Jacobus’s father was Frans van der Put [43]. [28] Willem v. Eekelen / Willem v. Eekelen / The farmer Willem van Eekelen (1808-1887), married to Maria van Eekelen (1806-1884) and living at Haansberg I 61. [29] Geestestraat / Geestestraat / Probably meant to be Geerstraat. [30] Kerst / Kerst / Cornelis Kerstens (1806-1881), married to Maria Hendrikx (1804-?), living at Geerstraat I 86. [31] Dries Oostenrijk / Dries Oostenrijk / Driver and church organist Johannes Andries Oostrijck (1843-1888), widower since 28 February 1878 of Cornelia Verhoeven (1832-1878), lived with his father, Johannes Oostrijck (1804-1880), and his sisters Marie (1832) and Cornelia (1846) at Dorp, A 142. He remarried Cornelia Kaufmann (1850-?). It is not clear when his brother-in-law Arie Schuurwater [48] came to live with them. [32] Johanna / Johanna / The farm-woman Johanna Claas (1827-1898) was married to the farmer, shopkeeper and elder Lambrecht Oostrijck (1836-1903); they lived with their sons Johannes Andries (1870-1944) and Jacob Benjamin (1875-1956) at Dorp A 141. [33] Dien Klaas / Dien Klaas / The seamstress and cap-maker Gerardina (Dien) Maria Claas (1840-1922), married to the carpenter Alexander de Graaf (1848-1938), who was the sexton of the Nederlands Hervormde (Dutch Reformed) Church. He stood model for Man with a saw (F 878 / JH 16). See Stokvis 1926, pp. 9, 19. They lived with her mother, Johanna Oostrijck (1798-1881), sextoness, and their two sons Reinier (1875) and Jacob (1876), at Dorp A 142. [34] Breda / Breda / This perhaps refers to the ‘maker of fretwork’ Jacobus van Breda (1801-1879), widower of Adriana Leeflang (1789-1874), at Dorp A 143. Living at this address later on were the carpenter Servaas van Breda (1810-1888), his wife Adriana de Visser (1809-?), their daughters Elisabeth (1847) and Maria Wilhelmina (1849) and their son Marinus Wilhelmus (1853), who was registered as living at Dorp A 150 before their move. Andries van Breda and his wife Anna Maria van Eekelen, Dorp A 153 had died by 1878. [35] Lips / Lips / The carpenter Marinus Lips (1848-1921), married to the farm-woman Cornelia Oostrijck (1846-?), living at Dorp A 173a. They had three children: Jacobus (1873), Johannes Cornelis (1875) and Maria Leentje (1877). [36] Kaufman. / Kaufman / The farmer Cornelis Kaufmann (1817-1902), married to Catharina Gelijns (1821-1906) and their son Piet Kaufmann (1864-1940), Leurse weg, Dorp A 102. For Piet Kaufmann, see also letters 170 and 172. [37] Station / Station [38] Hackstroo / Hackstroo / Stationmaster Marinus Hackstroh (1830-1901), married to Elisabeth Clara de Bock (1827-after 1895). They lived at Baai F 25. See also letter 138. [39] Prins (Piet) / Prins (Piet) / The labourer – later railway employee – Pieter Prins (1851-1892), married to Tanneke van Eekelen (1854-?), living at Baai F 26. Brother of Adam Prins [47]. [40] Slagveld / Slagveld [41] Marinus v Eekelen / Marinus v Eekelen / The farmer Marijn van Eekelen (1821-1888), married to Francijna van Eekelen (1831-?), Slikgat I 64. [42] Zure of oude Lam v Eekelen / Sour or old Lam v. Eekelen / The farmer Lambregt van Eekelen (1809-1894), married to Willemijna Kerstens (1811-1894), Slikgat I 65. [43] Oude van Put / Old van Put / The farmer Frans Adriaan van der Put (1798-1882), who lived at Sander I 56. He was the widower of Cornelia Kerstens and had six sons: Hendrik (1831), Servaas (1834), Jacobus [27], Johannes (1838), Lambregt (1840) and Frans [6]. [44] Dirk Kerst / Dirk Kerst / The farmer Dirk Kerstens (1834-1896), married to Catharina van Eekelen (1833-1913), Slagveld F 44. [45] Ko v. Eekelen / Ko v. Eekelen / The farmer Jacobus van Eekelen (1821-1895), married to Cornelia Brouwers (1834-1909), Slagveld F 43. [46] Willem de Bakker / Willem de Bakker / The veterinary Willem de Bakker (1822-1880), Slagveld F 49. [47] Prins (Adam) / Prins (Adam) / The labourer Adam Prins (1839-1892), married to Catharina Kaufman (1844-1927), Slagveld F 52. Brother of Piet Prins [39]. [48] Schuurwater / Schuurwater / The farmer Arie Schuurwater (1822-1915), married to Maria Oostrijck (1832-1910), living since 27 November 1877 at Dorp A 154b. [49] naar de Leur / to Leur [50] Lips / Lips / The farmer Willem Lips (1842-1907), married to Adriana Johanna Kerstens (1840-?), living at Bremberg, G 10, a farm belonging to the Maatschappij van Welstand (Welfare Society). [51] Bremberg / Bremberg [52] de Leur / Leur [53] naar Prinsenhage / to Princenhage Brother Cor wrote on it: ‘Dit hebben Vincent en ik in ’t mastbosch gemaakt / van Cor / Ik moet naar bed, goeden nacht.’ (Vincent and I did this in the pine wood, from Cor. I must go to bed, good night...
146 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Monday, 5 August 1878.
in translation:
...here for Pa so that Pa and Ma could stay at Zundert a bit longer for once, and weren’t in such a hurry and could also stop at Princenhage on their way home. They returned around dinner-time, just...
...Anna is married things will be quiet again here at home. The fields here are so beautiful now, the...
in note 3:
Aunt Cornelie at Princenhage, the wife of Uncle Vincent, had serious stomach complaints and was undergoing a...
in note 7:
...make hanging nets etc. for them. He is always hard at work here, in the classroom, in which he is now...
147 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Thursday, 15 August 1878.
in translation:
...so much like to see it. Things are very sad at Princenhage, Aunt suffers a lot, and they’re all...
...as soon as I’m in Brussels, also about the exhibition, at least if it isn’t over yet. Give my...
in note 2:
...more of a wooden lion than ever and is very annoyed at the preparations. For Pa and Ma’s sake I hope so...
148 To Theo van Gogh. Laken, on or about Wednesday, 13 and Friday, 15 or Saturday, 16 November 1878.
in translation:
...those carts standing by the so-called sludge works at the beginning of Trekweg. Some of those old...
...day go through that which we call dying, and that at the end of human life there are tears or grey...
...their extremity — the thought of God comes to mind. At least this is the case with me, and doesn...
...good days at home, that you also will have stayed over Sunday and found things well at Princenhage...
...brushed my request aside and said I had to be at least 25 years old. You surely know that one of...
...for that matter, thank God — where one feels at home more than elsewhere, where one gets a...
...to speak, than those we saw in the park, and at the side of the sunken road leading to the cemetery...
...by père Corot of the same subject; I saw it at the exhibition of his work shortly after he died...
...Bokma, they say there is no opportunity to be at the school under the same conditions they offer to...
...therefore, I would need to have more financial means at my disposal than I do now, which is none...
in date note:
...a decision had been made about Van Gogh staying on at the training college: ‘I kept this letter for a...
in note 1:
...at 6 Chemin de Halage (Trekweg in Dutch). Plugge was a member of the church council of the church at Kathelijneplaats (place Sainte-Catherine), where the training college was then located. See Lutjeharms 1978, pp. 83, 105. Pieter Jozef Chrispeels, one of Van Gogh’s fellow students, recalled the strict regimen Vincent imposed on himself: in his lodgings at the Plugges’ he refused to use the bed, preferring to sleep on the floor, on the carpet next to his bed. See Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 1, pp. 180-182, and cf. Plan guide de Bruxelles & de ses faubourgs, novembre 1869 (SAB, Plan 102...
in note 2:
...15 November (see Date). After his work for Goupil at the World Exhibition in Paris, Theo returned to the...
in note 3:
...Canal, ending in boulevard d’Anvers. Barges laden with coal moored at the Steenkoolkaai and the Koolmijnenkaai, which lay at the end of Trekweg. The gasworks beside the Willebroek Canal used coke to...
in note 7:
...sanitation’ (SAB 2903 83). It was located at the quai de la Voirie, near the Willebroek Canal...
in note 11:
...This remark – famous in France – which was made at Waterloo, is treated in detail in Pierre Larousse...
in note 15:
...Degroux were Franciscus Junius secretly preaching the Reformation at Antwerp (1860); The drunkard (c. 1853); The pilgrimage of Saint Guido at Anderlecht (c. 1856-1857); Saying grace (c. 1860); The conscript’s...
in note 16:
...worship in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk at Antwerp (1845); The thirty-day Mass for Berthal de Haze (1854); Archduke Charles of Austria, the later Emperor Charles v, taking the oath at the triumphal entry in 1514 (1863...
in note 17:
...Coosemans’s The artists’ path at Barbizon, 1878 (Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts) was not purchased until 1889, so the brothers might have seen this landscape elsewhere – at Goupil’s, for example.
in note 27:
...from Vincent. He is working hard, attending classes at the training college from 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, and sometimes until 8 o’clock at night. Last Sunday he was in Mechelen and Lier and held...
in note 31:
...station. ‘Ancien barrière’ likely refers to the Barrière Ancien Porte de Hal. At that time there was also a ‘Barrière’ at the fork of the Chaussée de Waterloo and the Chaussée d’Alsemberg – a map of...
in note 33:
...registered as a ‘mustard merchant’, lived at Chaussée de Waterloo 117 in Saint-Gillis. (GASG).
in note 41:
...of the training college at this time was Dirk Rochus Bokma of Friesland. In his capacity as director, he was responsible for the curriculum and the supervision of the students. Enrolled at the same time as Van Gogh...
149 To Theo van Gogh. Wasmes, Thursday, 26 December 1878.
in translation:
...to you again, first of all to wish you happiness at the beginning of a new year. May much good be your...
...and by so many others who were so good at expressing the singular effect of red and green, black...
...the pages of the gospel. I’ve already spoken here at various times, both in a fairly large room...
...big chimneys and the huge mountains of coal at the entrance to the mines, the so-called coal-pits...
...Do write again soon. Again and again I look at that etching of A young citizen. The mine-workers...
...resembles their dialect, which is spoken amazingly fast. At a gathering this week I spoke on the...
...countless narrow streets and alleyways with the small houses of the workers, at the foot of the hills as well as on their slopes and at the top. It can best be compared to a village like Scheveningen...
...loving brother Vincent Give my regards to everyone at the Rooses’ and wish them all, and anyone...
in note 1:
...at the Flemish training college at Brussels had become impossible (see letter 148), Van Gogh left for the Borinage to seek a position as an evangelist. Around the beginning of December 1878 he went to live in Petit-Wasmes, a village in the south of Belgium. Mr van Gogh had meanwhile written to Theo about this on 15 December: ‘A week ago we received a rather good letter from Vincent. Good inasmuch as he has found good lodgings with a Protestant farming family at Pâturages. For 30 francs a month – so little because he instructs their children in the evenings. He has been received there with kindness by many people, and associating with those people appears to fulfil his expectations. Moreover, the Rev. Péron at Dour has promised his assistance. In mid-January there will be another meeting of the Committee, of which the Rev. Péron is secretary, and he will try to further Vincent’s interests. Meanwhile he spends his free time drawing large maps of Palestine which could be of use to schools and confirmation classes – and which he hopes to dispose of for money. I received one from him and ordered 4 more copies, for which I will give him 10 francs each. So now we are relieved inasmuch as he has good accommodation for the present – and otherwise we’ll wait and see. Especially now that it’s so wintry, we’re glad that he has initially ended up there, and in that colliery country there will certainly be no lack of opportunity to warm oneself. Accordingly, he writes that in his room, too, he has a fire in the grate, and clothing, and simple but healthy fare’ (FR b2448). The above-mentioned ‘Rev. Péron’ is Pierre Péron, who worked for the Eglise protestante unie de Belgique from 1869 to 1882. A new situation for Vincent had thus been arranged fairly quickly. On 5 December, Mr van Gogh had sent a frank letter of recommendation to Péron at Dour, in which he said that Vincent had refused to take money from him, not wanting him to bear the expense. (See Documentation, 5 December 1878). Evidently two more letters followed, addressed to Nicolaas de Jonge and Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen, because on 8 January 1879 Mr van Gogh confided to Theo: ‘I wrote again in his behalf to Brussels and Mechelen’ (FR b2455...
in note 4:
...and ‘Le temple du Bébé’, was located at what is now rue du Bois 257-259 in Petit-Wasmes. See...
in note 10:
...was in the possession of C.M. van Gogh; Vincent and Theo doubtless saw the drawing at his house.
in note 23:
...Mr Péron suggests employing him in this way, at the modest salary of 600 francs. There will be a...
in note 25:
...150). According to archival records, he lived at rue de la place St Pierre 12 in Pâturages; Mr van...
150 To Theo van Gogh. Wasmes, between Tuesday, 4 and Monday, 31 March 1879.
in translation:
...foreigners who are homesick may come to feel at home here. How are Mauve and Maris? Have you seen...
in date note:
...l. 3), who would have been able to refer to it here at the earliest on 4 March. This letter precedes letter...
in note 2:
...at first, but it’s a beginning for which we and he are very grateful and glad. He is indeed so pleased and describes his work – extremely varied and among many people – with great satisfaction, and would like to walk with you, too, in that beautiful countryside. It’s a wonderfully heartening idea that he now has a steady position, which could lead to better things’ (FR b2456). Mr van Gogh repeated the news a day later, working out for Theo that Vincent, after paying 30 francs for board and lodging, would have 20 francs left for himself, and went on to add: ‘He also went down a mine shaft 635 metres deep’ (FR b2457, 20 January). The venture was not entirely successful, however. Mr van Gogh, thinking he had good reason to worry, left for Mons on Wednesday, 19 February. Mrs van Gogh wrote a detailed letter to Theo on Thursday, 27 February: ‘And now I must tell you that Pa has gone to see Vincent, this week with all that bad weather, we weren’t at ease, especially because while I was away we received a very grim letter from him, which confirmed all our worries that he had no bed, no bed-clothes, no one to wash his things. But he wasn’t complaining at all, saying instead that it didn’t concern anyone and so on. We were getting a package ready for him, but we both thought it would be so much better if Pa were to take it himself. Rev. Pieterszen’s answer was so long in coming. So there was no waiting for it. On that awful Wednesday, Pa left at half past two, to be at Mons at half past eight in the evening. He left, with wishes and prayers that the faithful father wouldn’t be taken ill. I had ordered the trap to take him to the railway station, and does it surprise you we were sad following his [Vincent’s] footsteps? And just imagine, that same evening we had a letter from Vincent and one from Verhaegen, a colporteur to whom Pa also wrote in the beginning, who had received Vincent warmly his first week there, and who found him those good lodgings with Denis. Vincent said in his letter that one of these days we would probably hear an unfavourable report of him, resulting from a visit, an inspection visit, I think, made by Rev. Rochedieu of Brussels, which led to a meeting of gentlemen from the district and the church council of Wasmes at which they talked about him, and he wrote, what shall we do now, Jesus was also calm in the face of the storm and evil can turn to good, and perhaps things would have to get worse before they got better, he wrote no more than that. And Verhaegen wrote a very sweet, personable letter – saying that Vincent, despite all the advice he and many other concerned people had given him, had left Denis, where he had been so well taken care of, and was now living in that hut, and had no bed and no clean clothes. It had been decided that if he refused to listen to their advice, he would lose his post. And that’s why he wrote, hoping that fatherly advice would keep him from going astray. So you can imagine, no matter how worried I am, how grateful I am that Pa has gone there, it’s as though he was sent, may God bless. Pa’s visit will certainly be useful, I think Pa will take him back to Denis. I was so deeply grateful that Pa hadn’t read those two depressing letters before his journey. But you can understand how much we’re longing for his return, keep this to yourself, who knows how it will turn out – but it can’t go on like this anyway, even if things are now put to rights. He is too obstinate and pigheaded and doesn’t listen to advice. You don’t know, dear Theo, what sorrow it gives us, and how much we worry about so many things...It does seem, dear child, that apart from Vincent, who is very strong, you do not come of strong stock ... Pa hoped to come home this evening, but now, since there is surely so much for Pa to discuss, I don’t expect him before tomorrow’ (FR b2463). In the ‘3rd report of the Belgian Christian missionary church of Wasmes, 14 March’, Van Gogh appears one last time as a ‘young man’. This report was drawn up by Augustin Lefèvre: ‘The young man of whom I already spoke recently at the departmental meeting, that he was looking for a post as a gospel teacher, this young man has been placed by the Pastors of the national church to evangelize among the divided choristers, who are still split into two groups.’ (Le jeune homme dont j’ai déjà parlé dernièrement à la reunion sectionnaire, qu’il cherchait une place comme instituteur évangélique, ce jeune homme est placé par les Pasteurs de l’église nationale, pour évangéliser aux chanteurs separés, qui sont encore divisés en deux bandes.) Van Gogh fulfilled this function between January and July 1879: ‘In 1877, a singing group was set up within the church at Grand-Wasmes. As it met in the same premises as the Sunday school, and wished to occupy them at the same time, Lefèvre advised them to look for another place in which to practise, or to change the time. That caused discontent, and two factions formed in the church, one supporting the evangelist, the other supporting the choirmaster. An inquiry was even undertaken in the name of the administrative Committee of the Belgian Christian Missionary Church, and the authorities retained Lefèvre at the head of the community. There was a split. The dissidents joined other Protestants in the church at Pâturages, and they rented a disused room there, the Salon du Bébé, and held their meetings there. From July 1877, they asked minister Péron to preach the gospel to them and during the months from January to July 1879, the synodal committee of the Belgian evangelical Protestant Church sent them Mr Vincent van Gogh’. Information from Yvon Brohez, Bureau du Synode, Eglise protestante Unie de Belgique, Brussels, 5 February 2003....
in note 3:
...n. 3). See a report on L’Eglise de la rue du Bois at Wasmes (Archives of the Protestant communities...
in note 7:
...at rue du Petit-Wasmes 81. Denis was married to Estere Fiévez (AEM; Wilkie 1978, pp. 56-68 and Eeckaut 1990, ‘Annexes’, p. 23). At first Van Gogh wanted to live on his own, but his parents were against the idea and managed to dissuade him: ‘I’m afraid that he is completely wrapped up in nursing the injured and sitting up with them at night. That is very good of him, but he already has so much to think about, for which he needs a clear head. He also mentioned a plan to rent a labourer’s cottage and live there alone. We advised against it. We’re afraid that he wouldn’t keep it very tidy and that it would again lead to eccentricities. At any rate, perhaps he’ll listen to advice, but again there are worries on the horizon’ (FR b2460, Mr van Gogh to Theo, 12 February 1879). A month later Mrs van Gogh enlightened Theo: ‘You will also approve of Vincent’s letter, but he sent back the money intended for Denis, for taking care of him, so how can those people launder his clothes?’ (FR b2464, 10 March...
in note 8:
For Bosboom’s Lime-kiln at the quarry of Chaudfontaine, see letter 149, n. 10.
151 To Theo van Gogh. Petit-Wasmes, between Tuesday, 1 and Wednesday, 16 April 1879.
in translation:
...and so on. It’s a sombre place, and at first sight everything around it has something dismal and...
...suit, dingy and soiled as a chimney-sweep, chipping away at the coal by the dim light of a small...
...with sombre, deep-set eyes. They’re skilled at many things and work amazingly hard. Very nervous...
...and could never win their trust. Did I tell you at the time about the miner who was badly burned...
...similar to one’s first time on a ship at sea, but worse, though fortunately it doesn’t last...
in note 1:
Theo’s sales trip took place at the end of March. At all events, when Uncle Vincent wrote to Theo on 2 April, he referred to the trip in the past tense: ‘I’m glad your trip proved better than expected, because...
in note 3:
...occurred on 17 April in the L’Agrappe coal mine at Frameries, just east of Wasmes. See Eeckaut 1990...
152 To Theo van Gogh. Wasmes, on or about Thursday, 19 June 1879.
in translation:
...s unique to be noticed by those who look at things closely. Wouldn’t it be remarkable for someone...
...you’re coming and whereabouts I can find you, at which station and on which train. I’ll give...
...of the subject. It’s so humble and simple but at the same time so truly sublime, so noble and so...
...no one, they would listen to no one but him, and at the critical moment no one was obeyed but him...
in date note:
...date from on or about Thursday, 19 June. It was given to Mrs van Gogh at the end of June (ll. 23-24).
in note 2:
...FR b2480). Although his father was disappointed at the low salary, he encouraged him none the less (FR...
in note 4:
...She must therefore have visited Vincent in Mons at the end of June (FR b2478 and b2484). On 21 May...
in note 8:
...went to stand in the middle of the fields to look at God’s great wonders and in that way coming back...
153 To Theo van Gogh. Cuesmes, Tuesday, 5 August 1879.
in translation:
...and what time, and in all likelihood I’ll see you at the station. If you have time to stay here for a...
...who’s well portrayed and extremely likeable. Was recently in Brussels and Maria-Horebeke and Tournai, partly on foot. Am at the following address at the moment Mr Francq. Evangelist in CUESMES (at Marais, near Mons). There have been a lot of storms here lately. Come on, old chap, if you can...
...s type. Often sit up drawing until late at night to have some keepsakes and to strengthen thoughts...
in note 1:
...to witnesses, other drawings Van Gogh made at the time must have included the following: ‘The...
in note 2:
...25 centimes – is printed on the cover. The book was reprinted at least six times between 1857 and 1879.
in note 4:
...at which the community could be uplifted by hearing the message of the gospel. Van Gogh’s successor, Hutton, would succeed within two months in turning around the deteriorating situation, as emerges from the minutes of a meeting of the church council of Wasmes: ‘The trial made in accepting the services of a young Dutchman, Mr Vincent Van Gogh, who believed himself called to evangelize in the Borinage, has not yielded the expected results. If to the admirable qualities he displayed among the sick and injured, to the devotion and spirit of sacrifice of which he furnished many demonstrations, watching with them at night and divesting himself for them of most of his clothes and linen, had been added a gift for speaking, indispensable to anyone placed at the head of a congregation, Mr van Gogh would certainly have been an accomplished evangelist. It would not, of course, be reasonable to ask for extraordinary talents. But it is a fact that the absence of certain qualities may render the performance of the evangelist’s primary function totally deficient. Unfortunately, that was the case with Mr van Gogh. Therefore, once the trial period had expired, we were obliged to abandon the idea of keeping him longer. The evangelist currently employed, Mr Hutton, took up his post on 1 October 1879. The work he has done so far is extensive and has already borne fruit. Mr Hutton has re-established the meeting that had been established by Mr Péron in Warquignies and had lapsed under Mr van Gogh. But it seems to have been seriously compromised due to that neglect, because it is continuing with difficulty.’ (L’essai qui a été fait en acceptant les services d’un jeune homme Hollandais, M. Vincent Van Gogh, qui se croyait appelé à évangéliser dans le Borinage, n’a pas donné les résultats qu’on en attendait. Si aux admirables qualités qu’il déployait auprès des malades et des blessés, au dévouement et à l’esprit de sacrifice dont il a fourni maintes preuves en leur consacrant ses veilles et en se dépouillant pour eux de la meilleure partie de ses vêtements et de son linge, s’était joint le don de la parole, indispensable à quiconque est placé à la tête d’une congrégation, M. Van Gogh aurait certainement été un évangéliste accompli. Sans doute il ne serait pas raisonnable d’exiger des talents extraordinaires. Mais il est constant que l’absence de certaines qualités peut rendre l’exercice de la principale fonction de l’évangéliste tout à fait défectueux. C’était malheureusement le cas de M. Van Gogh. Aussi le temps d’essai expiré, a-t-il fallu renoncer à l’idée de le conserver plus longtemps. L’évangéliste actuellement à l’oeuvre, M. Hutton, a pris possession de sa charge le 1er octobre 1879. Son activité jusqu’ici a été grande et a déjà porté des fruits. M. Hutton a rétabli à Warquignies la réunion qui avait été inaugurée par M. Péron et était tombée sous M. Van Gogh. Mais son abandon parait l’avoir sérieusement compromise, car elle se soutient avec peine.) See Vingt-troisième rapport du Comité synodal d’évangélisation 1879-1880. Etterbeek-Bruxelles 1880, pp. 17-18 (Union des églises protestantes de Belgique). Excerpts printed in the Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 1, pp. 227-228. In his recollections of the l’Eglise Protestante of Petit-Wasmes, the chronicler Antoine Denis remarked that Van Gogh was ‘losing his mind [and] becoming...a responsibility’ (perdait la tête [et] devenait ... une charge). (An extract from the archives of this church was kindly supplied by minister Ruben Quenon in 1973; a copy of the manuscript is to be found in the Dossier Pièrre Secretan-Rollier, Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh Foundation). Vincent’s parents saw no way out of the situation, and Mr van Gogh complained to Theo: ‘We are sorely tried by this and are literally at our wits’ end’ (FR b2487, 19 July). A letter written by Mr van Gogh to Theo on 5 August makes it possible to reconstruct events: ‘We’ve had another letter from Vincent. He has left Wasmes, and is now at Cuesmes, near Mons. He writes that last Friday he went to Maria-Horebeke in Flanders, arriving there Sunday afternoon – mostly on foot – to meet Rev. Pieterszen, who was in Brussels. He then went there and met him on Monday morning – after consulting him, he is now back in Cuesmes, and there he’s found accommodation and hopes in future to find a small room ... In Brussels he visited the various families he had become acquainted with there. What kind of impression will he have made? Like a ?.... Oh, we can imagine almost anything! His letter was written in a rather cheerful tone – mixed with bitterness. Tomorrow it will be ten years since he left our house and I brought him to The Hague to work in Goupil’s firm. What troubles we’ve had since! ... We are tired and all but despondent ... I wrote this morning to Vincent and to others in his behalf. In the main I do not object to or condemn what he is doing. I think it best to leave him to his own devices, but we watch him with trepidation and remain ready to come to his aid if necessary. We invited him to come home, but he definitely doesn’t want that’ (FR b2488). One of the ‘others’ to whom Mr van Gogh had written in Vincent’s behalf was the Rev. Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen, whose answer arrived in Etten on Sunday, 7 August (FR b2491, 10 August, Mrs van Gogh to Theo). Pieterszen had no solution. Vincent had arrived at his place on Sunday evening [i.e. 3 August], weary and flushed: ‘He was given good accommodation and invited to breakfast the following morning. He made the impression on everyone who saw him that he is someone who gets in his own way. He had lost a lot of weight. I sent Pieterszen 50 francs to give him, without his knowing that the money had come from me. Pieterszen had advised him to go to us, but he didn’t want to. Then, however, he went to Cuesmes ... Can he go on evangelizing on his own account? P. thought that would be best. But where would the financial means come from? Should I go and visit him to try and get him to come here? What will become of him?’ (FR b2488). This letter was probably one of the reasons Theo decided to visit Vincent (see letter 154). In Brussels, Van Gogh had also gone to see the family of Otto Geerling, at whose house he showed up looking dirty and bedraggled. See Lutjeharms 1978, p. 106. Vincent knew Geerling from the time he and his father had stayed with them during their visit of 16-17 July 1878 (see letter 145, n. 2). It is assumed that Van Gogh went to Tournai to visit the Rev. David Bonte. Cf. Lutjeharms 1978, p. 106. The family lived at Rue de l’Activité (Werkzaamheidstraat) 24, Sint-Lambrechts Woluwe (SAB, municipal register, 1876 - U fol. 47). Bonte’s recollections make no reference to this visit, however (quoted in Verzamelde brieven 1973 vol. 1, pp. 224-225)....
in note 5:
Edouard Joseph (or Joseph Edouard) Francq, ‘traceur maître’ (a foreman in the coalmine) at Cuesmes, was married to Céleste (Celestine) Julie Batalje (Bataille). They lived at rue du Pavillon 5 (AEM).
154 To Theo van Gogh. Cuesmes, between about Monday, 11 and Thursday, 14 August 1879.
in translation:
...by being legally dead, it smacks of hypocrisy or at least childishness to pose as such. Childish in...
...hat. The hours we spent together in this way have at least assured us that we’re both still in...
...as I wished that we not drift apart, this is also the case with regard to those at home. Even so, at the moment I really dread going there and am strongly inclined to stay here. It could, however, be...
...it’s a hard journey, I’m going to Etten for at least a few days. As I think back on your visit...
...out that is, however, impracticable. The time spent at Amsterdam is still so fresh in my memory...
...the whole business, how grossly stupid. I still shudder at the thought. It was the worst time I...
...it has cooled considerably, and I now look at things from a different perspective, even though it...
...it was indeed ‘it’ but still not yet ‘it’ at all. Do you blame someone if he fails to be...
...I’m annoying or burdensome to you or those at home, useful for neither one thing nor another, and...
in note 2:
...fully. He eats and sleeps well and is completely at ease, though he pulls ugly faces now and then. Even...
in note 3:
...Pâturages, was a ‘Protestant minister’ living at rue Mitoyenne de Wasmes 10 (Pâturages). Between...
in note 7:
What he means is: ‘It’s something, at least, but not all it’s cracked up to be.’ Van Gogh said this...
155 To Theo van Gogh. Cuesmes, between about Tuesday, 22 and Thursday, 24 June 1880.
in translation:
...t try to understand at least what it’s about, and here I still don’t know anything at all about...
...ones are more thinly scattered than one would believe at first glance. Now one of the reasons why I...
...day, also while taking a walk together, we looked at for a long time in the Haarlem museum. Good...
...comes to warm themselves at it, and passers-by see nothing but a little smoke at the top of the...
...have attended, for a time only, the free course at the great university of poverty, and will have...
...s read, then! Now, afterwards, we may well at times be a little absent-minded, a little dreamy...
...comes up out of it again. And the absent-minded man, at times he too has his presence of mind, as...
...ages as if tossed on a stormy sea arrives at his destination at last; one who has seemed good for...
...from what he had seemed at first sight. I’m writing you somewhat at random whatever comes into my...
...he needs in his cage, after all — but he looks at the sky outside, heavy with storm clouds, and...
in note 1:
...tried has had any effect. Do write back to him. At the end of June I sent him 60 francs, upon which he...
in note 3:
...financial support now and then from his parents; at the end of June they sent him 60 francs (FR b2494).
in note 16:
Vincent often talks about their walk to the mill at Rijswijk; it is first mentioned in letter 11.
in note 18:
...in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen – still housed at the time in the Schielandshuis – was, as far as we...
in note 19:
...Oeuvres de Charles Dickens. It had been reprinted at least seven times by 1880. Here Van Gogh confuses...
in note 20:
...of a scholar, which they might have seen together at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Ill. 1886. It was also...
in note 31:
Van Gogh rented a room (‘atelier’) at rue du Pavillon 3 in Cuesmes from the mine-worker Charles Louis...
156 To Theo van Gogh. Cuesmes, Friday, 20 August 1880.
in translation:
...I believe you could find just what I need at the Alliance des Arts, where they have the lithographs...
...after Ruisdael, The bush, which is on sale at the print-shop in the Louvre. I’ve done a...
...d prefer to see me doing something good than doing nothing at all that I’m writing to you on this...
...But perhaps he’ll do me the favour of sending me at least some sheets, if not the whole course.
in sketch A:
Miners in the snow at dawn (F - / JH Juv. 10), letter sketch
in note 3:
...Museum) and a pastel which Van Gogh could have seen at the Emile Gavet sale in 1875 (cf. letter 36, n. 5...
in note 7:
...since c. 1 November 1879. The publisher Marchant at rue de Rivoli 140 put numerous reproductions on the...
in textual note 26:
At the bottom of the page: ‘t.s.v.p.’ (tournez s’il vous plaît).
157 To Theo van Gogh. Cuesmes, Tuesday, 7 September 1880.
in translation:
...but keep an eye open for it nevertheless, and tell me at what price one could still get it. One of...
in note 8:
...is the letter sketch Miners in the snow at dawn in letter 156, which was done after an earlier...
in note 10:
...Stal met vrouw aan pomp (Cowshed with woman at the pump). The lithograph made by Jan Mesker after...
in note 18:
...Dumont (p. 277); Cour de ferme, la nuit (Farmyard at night), drawing by Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel (p...
158 To Theo van Gogh. Cuesmes, Friday, 24 September 1880.
in translation:
...brushwork that’s apparently easy and light but at the same time accurate and refined, with an...
...you are, I wasn’t able to get a look at the inside. Because I didn’t dare to introduce myself...
...I don’t know who they were by. But at any rate I saw the Courrières countryside then, the...
...Even there, at Courrières, there was a coal-mine or pit; I saw the day-shift coming up at dusk...
...their original character, mainly that of the miners at least. And more and more I find something...
...drunkards, brigands here as elsewhere, but that’s not at all the true type. In your letter you...
...be able to work as one should, it would take at least about a hundred francs a month; you can live...
...But one can very certainly find more easily at Barbizon than elsewhere, if one perhaps were to have...
...beside any print by Viollet-le-Duc or by anyone at all who does architecture. Then you’ll see...
...with Jongkind and perhaps Seymour Haden, because at certain moments these two artists were very...
in note 8:
...Channel. Later he writes that he made this long journey on foot at the beginning of March (see letter 391).
in note 9:
...at rue Louis Breton 10, but was destroyed during the First World War. See L’écho du passé. Bulletin du Club d’histoire locale de Courrières (1996), no. 8, pp. 25-27. Cf. The garden of ‘The brewery’ at Courrières...
in note 11:
Jovinda was the name of Uncle Cor’s villa at the corner of Prins Hendriklaan and Amalialaan G 72b in...
in note 14:
This ‘Café des Beaux-Arts’ was located at the corner of present-day rue Louis Breton and rue Massenet.
in note 20:
...the only one to attribute the saying to Palissy: at the end of the nineteenth century, Palissy’s...
in note 23:
...Une vieille maison, à Blois (An old house at Blois) (Ill. 1895) and Beffroi (Belfry) (Ill. 1896...
159 To Theo van Gogh. Brussels, Friday, 15 October 1880.
in translation:
...to have good things before one’s eyes, and also to see artists at work. Because that makes me feel more strongly what I lack, and at the same time I’m learning the way to remedy it. For a long...
...Ruisdael’s Bush, I’d above all like to work at it in pen, and am preparing myself for that by...
...seems. At our meeting Mr Schmidt spoke to me about entering L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts here, but I told him frankly that it seemed to me that it was far more preferable in my particular case to work at...
...not expensive. But my goal must, for the moment at least, remain to learn as quickly as possible...
...first I must acquire a modicum of skill. Mr Schmidt asked at length for news of you and pays you...
in note 1:
Van Gogh had meanwhile installed himself in Brussels in a small lodging-house at 72 boulevard du Midi (Zuidlaan). He was not registered at this address, however. For a photo of this location (from the Archives de la...
in note 3:
...contains many portraits, the majority of which (at least 22) are after Hans Holbein. The copy consulted...
in note 10:
Schmidt had his shop at rue du Marché aux Herbes 89; he himself moved house on 12 December 1880 from...
160 To Theo van Gogh. Brussels, Monday, 1 November 1880.
in translation:
...who understands it well. And he, and others too, seriously advised me definitely to go and work at a drawing academy, at least for a while, here or in Antwerp or anywhere I could, so I think I should...
...fact, a pen drawing of a skeleton, rather large at that, on 5 sheets of Ingres paper. 1 sheet...
...Cor will do something, if not as a concession to me at least as a concession to Pa. It’s my plan...
...must know in order to be able to draw anything at all. If one lacks that knowledge, it will always...
...Also went to see Mr Van Rappard, who now lives at rue Traversière 64, and have spoken to him. He...
...by Millet after a photo by Braun that I found at Schmidt’s and which he lent me with that of The...
...that which is mediocre, in my opinion one must at least begin by having some respect for the...
in note 3:
...was enrolled as a student at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) at Brussels for the course ‘Dessin d’après l’antique: torse et fragments’ (Drawing from antiquity: torso and fragments), under registration number 8488. See exhib. cat. Brussels 1987, pp. 239-242; and De Bodt 1995, p. 278. Van Gogh’s failure to write anything at all about his experiences at the Academy led Hulsker to...
in note 6:
...that they had met in Brussels at 9 o’clock in the morning in his room. See Pickvance 1992, p. 102. The emphasis Van Gogh places on the report that Van Rappard ‘now lives’ at rue Traversière (Dwarsstraat...
161 To Theo van Gogh. Brussels, end of December 1880 - beginning of January 1881.
in translation:
...at least a little strange to me and a little inexplicable that you’ve never written, after a single letter that I received on my arrival here. So be it. The question remains, could you not have acted a little differently? Not to write is good, but all the same, to write at the appropriate time isn’t always bad either; in certain cases it’s even a very desirable thing...
...for your silence, you could at least have waited to be silent at the time when somebody tried to squeeze something out of you, as the saying goes. However, I don’t wish to lengthen this letter unnecessarily by making you a list of heaps of things that come into my head at times when I think about...
162 To Theo van Gogh. Brussels, January 1881.
in translation:
...me when you realize that I wrote you my last letter at a bad time. My drawings weren’t going well, and...
...a change for the better. I’ve just finished at least a dozen drawings, or rather, pencil and pen...
...to me a change in the composition of the staff at the firm of G&Cie, and of another change in your...
...and nobler spirit than that of those who have at last just cleared off. Perhaps the position that...
...would find work there to earn at least 100 francs a month — be sure also, however, that since I’ve made a start with drawing, it isn’t in order to leave it at that; consequently I would mainly...
in note 9:
...at 19 boulevard Montmartre. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1999, p. 33. Theo’s father congratulated him and offered encouragement: ‘It is as though the melancholy that had taken hold of us because of our sadness about Vincent has eased greatly since we heard the good news about your promotion. I can well understand that the firm and the firm’s interests sometimes keep you awake at night’ (FR b2235, 14 February 1881...
in note 12:
...acquainted with Victor Horta through a colleague at Goupil’s. The colleague was probably Thomas...
163 To Theodorus van Gogh and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Brussels, on or about Wednesday, 16 February 1881.
in translation:
...me for a day or two in order to copy it. At first he objected, probably because he thought that I...
...not to demand absolutely that I pay in advance, at least not a whole month in advance. As regards...
...it’s by no means my plan to buy all of this at once, but most certainly to gather this and that...
...as good at it as possible. In Paris there are many draughtsmen who earn 10 or 15 francs a day, and in London and elsewhere just as much or even more, but one can’t achieve this all at once and I am...
...to earn some money, that wouldn’t be disagreeable at all, even though the main thing is that I progress and become better at drawing. Then much will fall into place later on, whether it takes a long time or not. Models are expensive, relatively expensive at any rate, and if I could pay them and...
...Anna’s birthday, and believe me Your loving Vincent At the moment that painter with whom I now...
in note 4:
...95 guilders so far: ‘At the beginning of January [I sent] 40 to him, 22 January 20 guilders, 7 February 35...So he’s still got enough to be getting on with, but will be needing more at the beginning of March....
in note 5:
At this time the ‘employee and shoe shop owner’ Pierre Gustave Moons, who married Thérèse Kirkels on 10 September 1881, was living at boulevard du Midi 72. It is not known whether this Moons was also the...
164 To Theo van Gogh. Brussels, Saturday, 2 April 1881.
in translation:
...and although I’ll certainly not grow rich by it, at least I’ll earn the 100 francs a month...
...find in a certain sense quite correct and true. At any rate, I whole-heartedly agree with you that...
...purpose. Naturally this doesn’t have to happen all at once, though I’ve already made a start...
...my letter in that way, since you had also spoken at one time of ‘idling’. And just as I now...
...by any chance you can recommend the painting of Madiol at the Salon, do so, for there’s much that...
...If I mention that it would be desirable for at least the general public, but in fact even more so...
...m mad, and naturally laughs at me. A young lady who turns up her nose at a workman in his patched...
...As far as expenses go, I reckon them to be at least around 100 francs a month, less isn’t...
...one thing and another, and will work at Rappard’s in the meantime. Rappard has really painted some spirited studies, including a few from the models at the academy which are vigorously conceived. A...
in note 20:
Madiol did not display any work at the 1881 Salon; the painting mentioned has not been traced.
in note 26:
...work by Van Rappard made during the time he spent at the Brussels Academy (autumn 1880 to May 1881). See...
165 To Theo van Gogh. Brussels, Tuesday, 12 April 1881.
in translation:
...eagerness, also because I sketched two drawings at Rappard’s, ‘The lamp-bearers’ and ‘The...
166 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, on or about Saturday, 30 April or Sunday, 1 May 1881.
in translation:
...to imagine wasn’t there in order to see any of the other drawings, at least that’s how it was with me. The beach at twilight, stormy weather, sky with grey clouds with a ruddy glow from the sun...
...s succeeded all the same, those two drawings, at any rate, were excellent. Then there were drawings...
in note 7:
...acquaintance with (reproductions of) The beach at Scheveningen, 1658 (Kassel, Staatliche...
in note 9:
...The village lane), Ferme au bord de l’eau (Farm at the waterside), Ferme sous des arbres (Farm beneath...
in note 19:
...which was in an outbuilding behind his house at Nieuwe Haven 240. See exhib. cat. The Hague 1997 and...
in note 21:
...the other titles in the catalogue are A la foire (At the fair), Rêverie (Reverie) and Dans les dunes (In...
167 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, second half of May 1881.
in date note:
...written in Etten, some time after Theo’s visit at Easter. In letter 166 of on or about 30 April or 1...
168 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, end of June 1881.
in translation:
...of excursions together, several times to the heath at Seppe, among other places, and the so-called...
...he seems to have been given a well-furnished studio at home. This week he’s going to Loosdrecht...
...so. Rappard appears to keep his own boat there at Loosdrecht, that’s rather jolly. He intends to...
...I know of no better remedy for that disease. If I, at any rate, am ever completely cured of it, I...
in date note:
...days (cf. ‘around 12 days’, l. 3), he must have left Etten on Thursday, 16 June (at the earliest) or by Saturday, 25 June (at the latest). Another clue as to the date of the letter, however, is that Willemien has...
in note 5:
...which date from this period are: The parsonage at Etten, dated ‘Etten, 14 Juni ’81’ (private...
in note 8:
Van Rappard’s parents lived at Heerenstraat, A 1173 (now Herenstraat 23 and 23 bis) in Utrecht.
in note 14:
...the widow Adriana Maria Scheffer-Michielsen, living at Herensingel 21 in Weesp (near Amsterdam), who had...
RM12 Probably Etten, second half of 1881. Possibly sent to Anna van Gogh. Copy of the poem ‘St Jerome’s love’ by Thomas Moore.
in date note:
...heirs of Van Gogh’s sister Anna, and was bought at auction by the engineer V.W. van Gogh on 2 May 1973...
in note 1:
...or less the same differences, twice in Saint-Rémy: at the end of letter 832 to Willemien van Gogh, and on...
169 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, between about Friday, 15 and on or about Wednesday, 20 July 1881.
in translation:
...on the heath during the day, and I’m working at home these days, copying drawings by Holbein &c...
170 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Friday, 5 August 1881.
in translation:
...brought you to the station, also because of some things we talked about during our last moments at the...
...of Millais or Boughton or Herkomer. I found it at Princenhage and read it in three days, even...
...of it. Reading books is like looking at paintings: without doubting, without hesitating, with...
...try to keep abreast of modern literature, to some extent at least. Sometimes I very much regret not...
...Kaufmann the labourer, though I think it will be better not to have him pose here at the house, but either in the yard at his place or in the field with a spade or plough or something else. But what...
in note 1:
...together and that Theo had also visited friends in The Hague. His holiday therefore lasted at least a week.
in note 5:
...uncertain whether Van Gogh had even read Jane Eyre at this point. For a long time it was customary to...
in note 11:
...Kaufmann, a gardener and clog-maker in Etten, lived at Leursestraat, Dorp, A 82. He looked after the garden...
171 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Friday, 26 August 1881
in translation:
...got back from a short journey to The Hague, I’m at home alone this evening, because Pa and Ma are...
...now it’s Friday evening. Have been in The Hague at Mr Tersteeg’s, Mauve’s and De Bock’s. Mr...
...work. I spent an afternoon and part of an evening at Mauve’s and saw many beautiful things in his...
...faults but immediately aroused sympathy, at least that’s how it was with me. Speaking of that exhibition, there was a superb drawing by Israëls, Sewing school at Katwijk. Mauve, a plough (superb...
...t compare with it. Still, one could clearly see at this exhibition that there are a great many...
...talent, reminds me of Rochussen in some respects. At Mr Tersteeg’s I also saw many beautiful...
...and a mill in the snow. I also saw Willem Maris at De Bock’s, who has a beautiful sketch by him...
...it was raining, and so at least I’ve brought home a souvenir from my outing. At Stam’s I found...
...I might not have done it, because of the expense, or at least put it off. Ever yours, Vt De Bock...
in note 2:
Mr and Mrs van Gogh spent a week at Uncle Vincent van Gogh’s (see Mrs van Gogh’s letter on the same...
in note 3:
The painter Théophile Emile Achille de Bock worked at Zuid-Binnensingel 128 in The Hague. From 1877 to 1881...
in note 12:
Jozef Israëls, The sewing school at Katwijk (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 200. This was exhibited as...
in note 13:
Four works by Anton Mauve were exhibited at the ‘Zesde tentoonstelling’: Schapen in het duin (Sheep in...
in note 14:
...vieillards à Katwyk (Hollande) (Old people’s home at Katwijk (Holland)) of 1882. See letter 295, n. 8.
in note 17:
...and his brother Jozef Neuhuys were represented at the exhibition. Considering what follows and the...
in note 19:
...Mark’s in Venice) and De brug te Naäs (Zweden) (The bridge at Naäs (Sweden)) (p. 12, cat. nos. 77-80).
in note 20:
In August-September 1881 Van Gogh could have seen at Goupil’s six paintings (nos. 10541, 10542, 13176...
in note 21:
...exhibited Winter (Winter), Strand (Beach) and Aan de piano (At the piano) (p. 10, cat. nos. 53-55). The latter was perhaps the watercolour Two girls at the piano, c. 1880 (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum). Ill. 1109, or The...
in note 23:
There were four drawings by Johannes Bosboom on display: Kerk te Hoorn (Church at Hoorn), Kerk te Hoorn (schets) (Church at Hoorn (sketch)), Deel in het Gooi (Barn in the Gooi) and In het weeshuis te Delft (schets) (In the orphanage at Delft (sketch)) (p. 8, cat. nos. 25-28).
in note 25:
...Hendrik Stam, ran a shop selling drawing materials at Papestraat 15 in The Hague. See Hefting 1976, p...
172 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, mid-September 1881.
in translation:
...much to be desired, certainly more so than in the actual drawings at any rate. I’ve had a good letter from Rappard who seems to be hard at work, he sent me some very nice sketches of landscapes. I...
in note 1:
...at the willows, under the apple tree’, as a ‘sower’, ‘as a man with a spade... under the apple tree at “De IJzeren Pot”, the farm where I lived’, and ‘in Roosendaalseweg with a hoe’ ... Whenever I posed and the work was finished, Vincent asked how much he owed me. I answered: “Nothing, Vincent”. “Well, Piet, then we’re done,” he would say, satisfied...’. Kaufmann, in any case, is assumed to have posed for the following drawings: Boy cutting grass with a sickle (F 851 / JH 61), Digger (F 855 / JH 43) and Digger (F 859 / JH 29). It is also possible that he appears in Sower (F 866a / JH 27) and Kneeling man, planting (F 879 / JH 62). Kaufmann also names another model: ‘On Minus van Oostenrijk’s land, where he was ploughing, he drew Minus as a ploughman’. Although Minus’s son later stated that Van Gogh had made a ‘large painting’ of his father ploughing, as well as a portrait of his mother, it is very doubtful whether Van Gogh was already making paintings during this period. See [Anonymous], ‘Tuinman van dominee Van Gogh vertelt zijn herinneringen over Vincent’, Gazet van Antwerpen, 8 December 1953; Stokvis 1926, included in Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 1, pp. 291-293; and Kerstens 1990. The Minus referred to is either Johannes Andries Oostrijck or Lambregt Oostrijck, who were both peasants living in Etten at Dorp, A 140 and A 141 (RAZ)....
in note 3:
At this time Van Gogh made a number of figure drawings of sowers on large sheets. Letter sketch K is derived...
in note 11:
A rolled-up piece of chamois or paper, pointed at both ends, used to rub the drawing medium in pencil or...
173 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, beginning of October 1881.
in translation:
...from The Hague. Anyway, you see that I’m hard at work. Uncle Cent will be going to The Hague...
in note 6:
...and manufacturer in Paris; his shop was located at Faubourg St Denis 132 (Almanach du commerce de Paris...
in note 9:
The thicker kind of ‘Ingres paper’, which he had bought at Stam’s (see letter 171).
174 To Anthon van Rappard. Etten, Wednesday, 12 October 1881.
in translation:
...In my opinion, Gavarni is a very great artist, and certainly very interesting as a human being as well. Without doubt, at times he did things that weren’t good, his behaviour towards Thackeray and Dickens, to name but a few, but there are...
...women. I’m working a lot with charcoal and Conté at the moment, and have also tried sepia and...
...to stay in Etten this winter — this is my plan at least, anyway not to go abroad. Because I’ve...
in note 2:
...at night, scarcely responding to his overtures and like a man far away from what is said to him. Thackeray invited him to dine, Gavarni in turn invited him for the following day, in so doing wounding the gentleman who, in his future relations with the artist, maintained his reserve. More or less the same thing happened with Dickens, whom the misanthrope kept at a distance with his coldness’ (trouvait Gavarni affaissé au coin d’un énorme feu de charbon de terre, les yeux rouges et larmoyants de la fatigue du travail nocturne, répondant à peine à ses avances et comme un homme loin de ce qu’on lui dit. Thackeray l’invitait à dîner, Gavarni le contre-invitait pour le lendemain, blessant par ce procédé le gentleman qui, dans ses rapports futurs avec l’artiste, se tint sur la réserve. Cela se passait à peu près de même avec Dickens, que le misanthrope tenait à l’écart par sa froideur) (Goncourt 1873, pp. 310-311...
175 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, between Wednesday, 12 and Saturday, 15 October 1881.
in translation:
...s one more stimulus to go on fighting, and at bottom nature and an honest draughtsman see eye to...
...roses on moss-covered ground, then I saw it at the exhibition and indeed, it’s very beautiful and...
...have no spine, or at least one that’s too weak. Millet and Corot, whom we both like so much, could they paint a figure or couldn’t they? I mean, those Masters balked at nothing. And he admitted...
in date note:
...he is replying ‘at once’ to Van Rappard’s letter. The fact that he also conveys Theo’s regards in that letter (l. 133) means that he must already have written the present letter, at the latest on 15...
in note 5:
...healthy, strong, juicy with sap; and you understand at first glance its strength and weightiness. Some...
in note 6:
...at the end of the letter. No. 1 is Road with a man and pollard willows (F - / JH 58), of which no corresponding drawing is known, and the same applies to no. 2, Man putting potatoes in a sack (F - / JH 60). For the location depicted in the first sketch (with Leursestraat and the Roman Catholic Lambertuskerk at the end of it), see Kerstens 1990, pp. 24, 26...
in note 9:
Van Gogh is referring to his short trip to The Hague at the end of August, at which time he must also have visited Rotterdam (see letter 171), where he saw the Self-portrait by Carel Fabritius (see letter 155, n. 18...
in note 11:
...works by Sientje Mesdag-van Houten were on display at the Sixth exhibition of drawings (see letter 171...
176 To Anthon van Rappard. Etten, Saturday, 15 October 1881.
in translation:
...Rappard, Your letter, in my opinion, must be answered at once. First of all, let me tell you that...
...have my reasons for thinking that you’ve arrived at a point of revolution and reform. It’ll go...
...count on your stopping over till the next train, whether at the station in Breda or the station in...
...Worn out’ and several others that you don’t know at all. I needn’t tell you that I hope that...
...don’t know if I told you that my uncle at Princenhage saw the sketches in your letter and thought...
...a digger, a sower, a lady in the street or at home, you find them all too beautiful not to get...
...those fortnights well, I also had them this summer. At the time I did nothing with drawing directly...
...seen much, it’s certain that I’ve seen no less, at any rate, of all kinds of art than you have...
...and landscape). Then we’re ourselves, then we feel at home, then we’re in our element. The more...
...Lantsheer. I’m glad, at any rate, that he spoke as he did about your painting at Arti. He’s a...
in note 4:
...the sketch Sower with a sack mentioned later in this letter (see n. 7) was probably sent at the same time.
in note 10:
...Amicitiae in Amsterdam. The two paintings of his that were displayed at the exhibition of Levende Meesters (Living Masters) were both priced at 150 guilders: Op eenzame paden (On lonely paths) and De botanische tuin te Brussel (The botanical gardens at Brussels) (cat. nos. 268-269). See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1881, p. 22...
177 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, on or about Monday, 17 October 1881.
in translation:
...ve got it only now, after having drawn exclusively for at least a year, than if I’d started with...
...with it. But in the long run I don’t think you’d feel at home there, at least it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that, speaking for myself, I wasn’t really in my element there. I really do feel much more at home here in Holland, yes, I think that I’ll again become a Dutchman through...
178 To Anthon van Rappard. Etten, Wednesday, 2 November 1881.
in translation:
In response to a certain question that I noticed at the bottom of your postcard, I’d just like to say...
...it grieves me and causes me so much pain that at times I can’t keep quiet about it. It provokes...
...When you make strong studies of nudes, whether at the academy or elsewhere, like those of yours...
...think it very good that you’re painting nudes at the academy, precisely because I trust that you...
in note 1:
Van Rappard lived at rue Lombard 17, around the corner from Zuidstraat, where the Academie voor Schone...
in note 3:
...and drawing at the Brussels Academy. See exhib. cat. Brussels 1987, pp. 228-229. Van Gogh’s impression of Stallaert must have been based on a meeting that took place when he registered as a student at the academy...
in note 11:
...to separate drawings, the drawing of the woman could be Woman sitting at the fireside (F 1216 / JH 64) and the drawing of the man Man sitting at the fireside, reading (F 897 / JH 63), though he says nothing about the...
179 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Thursday, 3 November 1881.
in translation:
...Uncle and Aunt Stricker and to Uncle and Aunt at Princenhage. The only one who said to me, though very informally and in private, that I did indeed have a chance if I worked hard and prospered, is one from whom I didn’t expect it at all, Uncle Cent. He was amused at the way I took Kee’s no, nay...
...renew the old ties where they were in need of repair. At any rate, I hope to go on like this and to...
...her mind but when I become someone who earns at least 1,000 guilders a year. Again, forgive the...
...more she appears. Theo, aren’t you in love too, at times? I wish you were, for believe me, the...
180 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Monday, 7 November 1881.
in translation:
...one. First of all, I must ask if you’re at all surprised that there is love serious and ardent...
...it a right to exist. And then I began — at first clumsily, awkwardly and yet resolutely, and it...
...even though I wasn’t unprepared for it, still, at first it was as shattering as damnation. And...
...is at first not pleasant but terrible. But as Uncle Jan rightly says, the devil is never so black that one can’t look him in the face, it’s also like that with a no, nay, never. For my part, at...
...of the general indispensability of a ‘she and no other’. At any rate, write to me soon now, and...
181 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Tuesday, 8 or Wednesday, 9 November 1881.
in translation:
...love us, especially you, with all their heart, and at bottom we, you and I both, love them truly...
...the qui vive in the sense that you look at girls somewhat more seriously and observantly, and see...
...the righteous man. And — and — I and possibly you too, at least a little bit, were in our view...
...after her, even if this might incur her displeasure at first, once I clung simply and solely to the...
...to prove that an energetic ‘love on’! from you, directed at Pa and Ma, would be doing me a true...
in date note:
...180). It could therefore have arrived on the 8th at the earliest. The next letter Theo wrote was...
in note 7:
Theo was 24 at the time.
in note 10:
...point de vieille femme’ it says: ‘Every woman, at every age, if she loves and if she is kind, can give...
in note 20:
...have drawn a fairly large number of rural types at this time. Cf. the remark he made in letter 186...
182 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Thursday, 10 or Friday, 11 November 1881.
in translation:
...good may it do you, old boy! Fortunately for you, at least you haven’t committed a ‘meanwhile...
...have? Some I know partly or wholly, others not at all. Do you also have petty miseries involving a...
...if people tell me that it’s dangerous to sail at sea and remark that one might drown; I don’t...
...the hearts of their respective daughters ‘in question’ at the same time? Do they open or close...
183 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Saturday, 12 November 1881.
in translation:
...to my heart. He who shrugs his shoulders or shakes his head at this, I wish him happiness with his...
...a step backwards, but then, too, something gnaws at them. There’s something fatal about that as...
...Do I have grounds for my assertion? Or am I tilting at windmills? How can one know whether or not...
...to say about it is possibly a great deal worse. At any rate, I’ll now venture to continue. If a...
...ambition and avarice. But now we, you and I, at our present ages, can to some extent do something...
...without rocking the boat until – until at last – at last circumstances arise in which he...
...like that between her and me). If we were to play at being brother and sister we’d be acting like...
...as you say in your letter, having something good at bottom. But, dear brother, that’s wholly...
...but before that time I see only something good at bottom. Now, though, my third sheet of paper is...
...If I don’t do it soon, something might happen at the big celebration that could do me much harm...
in note 10:
...after the word ‘ontdooien’ (thaw, which comes at the end of the Dutch sentence), he wrote the word...
184 To Anthon van Rappard. Etten, Saturday, 12 November 1881.
in translation:
...perhaps Rappard didn’t like my last letter at all, there seems to have been something in it that...
...later appear to be less coarse and harsh than you at first thought? Rappard, why do you think it is...
...is this: Rappard, I believe that even when you’re working at the academy you’re striving to become more and more of a true realist, and at the academy, too, you stick to reality. However, without...
...marble, plaster, what can I say — a sleep-walker, at most. Alive — no. So you say: where...
...and the sublime. But, look, you’re sincere at least, and without knowing it you’re fully in...
...on the heath or in private, by the fireside, no, not at all. Don’t sing me that tune, Madame the...
in note 8:
Evidently Van Rappard had finished in 11th (and last) place at a competition, probably having submitted one of his works that was shown at the ‘Levende Meesters’ (Living Masters) exhibition at Arti; the archives of Arti give no further information (cf. letter 176, n. 10). The number eleven has to do with ‘Carnaval...
185 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Friday, 18 November 1881.
in translation:
...of pride and say, Enough!), and this had stopped at my express request not to use those expressions...
...patience, with feeling, that this wasn’t the case at all. This helped for a time, but then it...
...me out of the room and – and – cursed me, at least that’s what it sounded like! It causes me...
...s promptings. Well, I’ll gladly believe that at times I couldn’t hide my indignation upon...
in note 3:
...lived in a kind of supervised freedom. With regard to this place and what was known at that time about the patient care at the institution, see H.A. Banning, ‘Een uitstapje naar Gheel’, De Katholieke...
186 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Friday, 18 November 1881.
in translation:
...and Ma and myself aren’t so terrible, aren’t at all of the kind that would keep us from staying...
...so you must remain silent. I can’t accept that at all, on the contrary. And if I write to her or...
...to curse me and put me out of the house, at least he said so this morning. The reason is that I write letters to Kee Vos. As long as I do that, at any rate, Pa and Ma will always find something to...
...that to work and be an artist one needs love. At least someone who strives for feeling in his work...
...call it. If it were a question of marrying at once, I’d most certainly agree with them, but now...
...don’t think that Pa and Ma love her deep down, at any rate in the mood they’re in now they can...
...that they curse me and want me out of the house at this very time. There are no grounds for it and...
...seem on the surface. She didn’t realize that immediately. At first, for a time, she really had an...
...in vain! If I have but 20 or 30 francs, at least I can see her face once again. And write a word or...
in ongoing topic 2:
Mr van Gogh’s past plans to have Vincent committed to the asylum at Geel (185)
in textual note 43:
...Gogh crossed out the word ‘Moe’ that he added at first, and changed ‘zien’ into ‘ziet’, but...
187 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Saturday, 19 November 1881.
in translation:
...I mean by that. A position with ‘something good at bottom’ cannot endure in the long run. Still...
...again! Pa and Ma get annoyed again and again at words and expressions of mine or their tone, and...
...not any longer. We really wouldn’t want to discover at the end of our lives that we’d gone...
...faithful to the modern than to the old. Looking back at the old is fatal. We mustn’t get upset if...
...and women who may be considered to stand at the forefront of modern civilization, for instance...
...for ever. Yet I won’t win it all at once, not even if I win it all at once in the eyes of some. Just between you and me — I don’t think it at all impossible that, despite their grand appearance...
...make a good match, though J.P.S. and T. v. G. at Etten are, in spite of their position as clergymen...
...but I throw myself flat on the ground, being at an advantage because I’m calm and they’re...
...be certain, though, that if I go she will be at home. I’m now corresponding continuously with our...
in ongoing topic 2:
Mr van Gogh’s past plans to have Vincent committed to the asylum at Geel (185)
188 To Anthon van Rappard. Etten, Monday, 21 November 1881.
in translation:
...your studio one day, then I most seriously doubt whether he and I have at bottom exactly the same thoughts. Is he small of stature, with black or at least dark hair and a rather pale complexion, and very smartly dressed completely in black worsted, at least on the occasion that I saw him? I should tell you that I’m...
...works regularly at the academy as you do must feel rather out of his element when, instead of knowing in advance, today I have to do this or that, he must daily improvise or rather create his working environment. Looking for and finding work isn’t at all easy, especially in the long run. At any...
...That open sea is your native element, and even at the academy you can’t deny your true character...
in note 1:
...persuaded Van Rappard to attend a winter semester at the Brusselse Académie Royale in 1880. See exhib...
189 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, Wednesday, 23 November 1881.
in translation:
...I’m certain – at least make an impression on His Hon. Perhaps resulting at first, however, in a...
...to ‘conventions’. Well, I smiled to myself at this warning, thinking, You little know that...
...J.P.S. cornered Pa but at the same time gave him an opportunity to defend his proposition, but Pa stuck to his guns and ‘ignored’ being cornered, which was indeed a fact, and at last J.P.S. fell...
...explicitly said that in future they would be at most ‘brother and sister’ to one another. But I...
...anyway, gentlemen art buyers, and those ladies laugh at you behind your back. Who is it who’s...
...This much, at least, will become clear to Mr J.P.S. this evening, that he miscalculated this summer to some extent, thinking at first that he was dealing with a slight, sentimental passion that would wither and bleed to death! Others besides J.P.S. thought so too; they thought so at Princenhage...
...them! She first, she and not ‘the others’ at all, ‘the others’ can get along very well...
190 To Anthon van Rappard. Etten, Wednesday, 23 November 1881.
in translation:
...I thank you for that revelation, yes, thank God, at first I didn’t dare believe it myself but you’ve...
...in that position by Him, and for the time being, for at least as long as you and I shall live, will...
...continue to rend asunder with flashes of lightning. Until at the end I’ll stand with a single eye...
...for a bit. But we’ll discuss this in more detail at some point. It’s beginning, however, to be...
191 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, between Thursday, 1 and Saturday, 3 December 1881.
in note 3:
...close to Uilebomen 198 (now the Zuid-Oost-Buitensingel) in The Hague, where Mauve was living at the time.
in note 6:
Willemien, who was 19 at the time, had meanwhile moved to Haarlem and was keeping Vincent up to date...
192 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 18 December 1881.
in translation:
...room somewhere, somewhat larger than the little studio at home. Then I can potter about by myself...
...interested in, about the way of working from a model at Etten, but as I already said, I’ll write...
in date note:
...at the end of the week’. She goes on to talk about the search for a studio in Etten (FR 2239), which is a point Vincent discusses in the present letter (ll. 17-21). He also mentions his intention of returning home in three or four days (he actually returned on c. 23 December) and expresses the same optimism about his work. These parallels suggest that the letter to his parents and this letter to Theo were written at approximately the same time. The letter to his parents arrived on 19 December in Etten, so we assume that this letter to Theo was written around Sunday, 18 December 1881...
in note 3:
...sees riches in store; for us it’s enough that he’s hard at work and receiving capable instruction; he didn’t know yet but thought he’d come home at the end of the week. We have no studio in mind as yet, but...
193 To Theo van Gogh. Etten, on or about Friday, 23 December 1881.
in translation:
...because I have to do them at least as well as what I did at M.’s. But even though...
...so that at the end of the evening they said to me that if I wanted to stay at...
...inexpensive. I didn’t want them to come at all but they insisted on showing me...
...I went to The Hague, and I landed up at M.’s around seven o’clock. And I said...
...good things about them, far too many, at the same time voicing some criticism...
...I’m only human, and a human with passions at that, I need a woman or I’ll...
...out of the ordinary. Every woman, at every age, if she loves and...
...down the street – often all alone and at loose ends, half sick and destitute, with no money in my pocket – I looked at them and envied the people who could...
...goes without saying. I sometimes shudder at the thought of K.V...
in note 12:
Of the exhibitions held in 1881 at the artists’ society Arti et Amicitiae...
in note 14:
...at loggerheads with their pious wives. The harmony of the home is threatened by those whom Michelet describes as ‘enemies of the modern spirit’. Van Gogh was ‘wildly enthusiastic’ about this theory, as evidenced by a letter from the previously mentioned J.A. Stricker to Jo van Gogh-Bonger, in which he writes about ‘a trip Vincent made to Amsterdam about ten years ago now’ to show his drawings to Uncle Cor. ‘At the time I had two long visits from him, during which we did a lot of talking. On that occasion he spoke to me of Michelet’s “Le prêtre, la femme et la famille”. He was wildly enthusiastic about it’ (FR b2917, 17 February 1892...
in note b:
Meaning: ‘arriveerde ik bij Mauve’ (I arrived at Mauve’s).
in note 16:
...of this. Van Gogh claims to have met Sien only at the ‘end of January...
in note 29:
...Asia Minor, which converge at Korna and then flow into the Persian Gulf. The...
in note 30:
...Mauve’s presence at the wedding can be explained by the fact that he had...
194 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 29 December 1881.
in translation:
At Christmas I had a rather violent argument with Pa, and feelings ran so high that Pa said it would be...
...be it, but even supposing that to be the case, then at least now it’s over and done with. I went...
...now, and the fact is there’s no turning back. At an inconvenient time, but what’s to be done? I...
...and once, the last time, for such a long time. It’s true that I ate and slept at home, but Pa himself said at the time that he could spare it. You understand that I’m now extremely worried, and...
...to get by on it? I have to stay at the boarding-house until 1 January. Just address your letters...
in note 5:
...239. The canvas, measuring 115 x 172 cm, was shown at the 1882 Salon, which opened on 1 May 1882. Its title was Sur la plage à Scheveningue (On the beach at Scheveningen). See exhib. cat. Paris 1882, p. 157, cat...
195 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Friday, 30 December 1881.
in translation:
I don’t like it at all, but still, you wrote it at a time when, as you yourself say, you weren’t quite normal. Nothing or next to nothing in your letter holds...
...3 studios and will decide which one to take before 1 January, but at the moment I don’t have a fixed address, you’ll learn of it at some point. I left Etten because I was having too much trouble...
in note 1:
Van Rappard had studied for a time at the Brussels Academy (see letter 178, n. 1). He had meanwhile returned...
in note 2:
Joseph van Severdonck taught at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts, giving lessons in drawing and painting...
196 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 3 January 1882.
in translation:
...the time being he’s really done enough. It happens to everyone at some point in life that he has to set himself up in his own house, and although at first I couldn’t face being in debt, I do feel...
in date note:
...Theo (ll. 2-3) suggest that the letter was written at the very beginning of the month, since the following...
197 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 5 January 1882.
in translation:
...of you?(5) It’s your duty to set things straight at all costs, and I assure you that some day you...
198 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 5 or Friday, 6 January 1882.
in translation:
...I stand with you? Surely you’ve received my last letter, in which I told you one thing and another about what happened at home and how that resulted in my leaving home and going back to The Hague, and am now in my own studio, address SCHENKWEG...
...reason or another you can’t send the 100 francs all at once, send me part of it by return of post...
199 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 8 or Monday, 9 January 1882.
in translation:
...Mauve’s help, I’m in far more trouble here than at home, and I truly don’t know how I’ll...
...and smoking his pipe. So I take such expressions at their face value. Or else Pa gets incredibly...
...angrily in salty language. Only it didn’t help me at all, and Pa took it badly. Does Pa mean that...
...like and should be able to if I had more at my disposal. But my studio is turning out well. I wish...
...to make watercolours, and if I become adept at it they’ll become saleable. But Theo, you can be...
...I was patient and it didn’t seem to help at all, and sometimes I grew so impatient that I...
...I must do it sometime, because I took a look at it this summer, and here in the dunes I could make...
in note 7:
...of the Binnenhof’, who had a stall in Grote Markt and a book storeroom at Herderstraat 10, and his brother, David Blok, who had a shop at Stationsweg 3. Jozef – who sold collectors’ items, magazines and...
in note 12:
...at Chelsea hospital / Chelsea pensioners), 1875 (Port Sunlight, Lady Lever Art Gallery). A print titled Sunday at Chelsea hospital, after a drawing which Herkomer later used for the painting, was published in The Graphic 3 (18 February 1871), p. 152. There is an impression in Van Gogh's estate. Ill. 171 (t*163). An engraving of a detail from the painting, depicting two men and titled The last muster. Sunday at the Royal hospital, Chelsea, appeared in The Graphic 11 (15 May 1875), Supplement, between pp. 480-481. Ill. 1910 (cf. also letters 303 and 304). It is also possible that Van Gogh is referring to Herkomer’s Rome – On the steps of St. Peter’s – ‘Per carità, signori’, in The Graphic 5 (24 February 1872), p. 172, a copy of which is also to be found in the estate. Ill. 1911 (t*575...
in note 15:
At The Hague artists’ society Pulchri Studio, located in the ‘Hofje van Nieuwkoop’ on Prinsengracht, artists drew from dressed models. The society also organized art viewings and mounted exhibitions. At first...
200 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 14 January 1882.
in translation:
...to you in even more detail about what happened at home, to try and explain how things stand from my...
...to a couple of small watercolours, I’ve just started a large one, at least as large as one of those figure studies I made at Etten. Naturally it doesn’t automatically go well and easily straightaway. Mauve himself says that I’ll ruin at least 10 drawings or so before I know how to handle the...
...that drawing the way I’d like it, I’d make at least 3/4 of it in yellow soap style and treat...
...money I do or don’t have in my pocket, whether I can set to work at full speed, half speed or sometimes not at all. Now, for instance, I’m negotiating with a mother with a little child, though I...
in sketch B:
Woman at the window, knitting (F - / JH 92), letter sketch
in date note:
...but the letter appears to have been written at the latest during the weekend starting Saturday, 14...
in note 3:
...but it is assumed to be the watercolour Woman at the window, knitting (F 910a / JH 90), which...
in note 4:
...the so-called ’s-Gravenhaagsche Volksgaarkeukens at Torenstraat 19 and Stationsweg 26, and several...
in note 6:
...Maria Wilhelmina Hoornik; cf. letter 207, n. 2 and letter 228: ‘at the end of January I met Christien’.
201 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 21 January 1882.
in translation:
...that this is what determines whether I can work at full speed or half speed. And now that I’m...
...write to me soon. Mauve was just here again and I at his place too, he again had this and that to...
...if they succeed, than ask him to lend me money. At least as long as there’s no definite agreement...
...writing soon, you don’t have to send a lot all at once, if only I can go on from week to week...
in note 2:
The letter sketch at the end of the letter is Scheveningen woman sewing (F - / JH 96), which was based on a...
202 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 22 January 1882.
in translation:
...depths. But it happens often enough that I’m at my wits’ end. This morning I felt so miserable...
...or replace, and naturally it needn’t be all at once, but it means that nearly every day little...
...certainly do, though not all of it can be done at once. You know that my clothes are mostly altered...
...that one can’t help being terribly depressed at times, even if only briefly, just when one is in...
...must, I must be able to stay composed and calm when at work, it really is hard enough as it is. And...
...be settled. Now that I can draw from the model at Pulchri two evenings a week, if it’s necessary...
...you talked about wanting me to start working in watercolour. At the time I saw no way to do it and...
in note 1:
...l. 121) of ‘Artz’s model’ was probably made at Pulchri. There are no other indications of drawings...
203 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 26 January 1882.
in translation:
...and at such moments one...
...things which I more or less taught myself, and to look at things in a completely different way. A great effort must be made before one can look at the proportion of things with a steady eye. It’s...
...other takes hold of me, and then it doesn’t work at all. But then, too, the message is to keep on...
...for a day, and now there’s something thwarting me at every turn, even if it isn’t so bad. In...
in note 4:
Mauve’s Fishing boat on the beach was presented at the 1882 Salon. Apparently the canvas had previously...
in note 7:
...by David Adolph Constant Artz. This figure drawing was presumably made at Pulchri (cf. letter 202, n. 1).
204 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 13 February 1882.
in translation:
...And I believe it’s better than last summer’s, at least it has more tone. When I have a couple...
...more at home with my model, and that’s precisely the reason why I must continue with her now. In the last two studies I captured the character much better, everyone who saw them said so. At the...
...or the waiting room &c. He sometimes comes to my studio to look at woodcuts, and I go to see the ones he has as well. He has the studio that Apol used to have at Siebenhaar’s. Last week I went to an art viewing at Pulchri which had sketches by Bosboom and Henkes. Very beautiful; there were a...
...it’s already nearly the middle of February. So at all events I’m expecting a letter from you...
in note 5:
...Rochussen advised Breitner to attend classes at the Academy in The Hague. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam...
in note 7:
...was a fencing teacher who had a fencing hall at Juffrouw Idastraat 16. Other rooms in this house were rented out as studios. Breitner was registered as living at this address in 1882-1883. See Adresboek...
in note 8:
...by Bosboom and Henkes were on display at this viewing, which must have taken place on...
205 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 18 February 1882.
in translation:
...be ill. But Mr Tersteeg told me you’d recovered, at least he hadn’t noticed anything wrong with you...
...the one Mr Tersteeg bought, I’ll be much better at it when I’ve improved my drawing so that it...
in note 2:
...10). It is possible that he is referring to Woman at the window, knitting (F 910a / JH 90), which...
206 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 25 February 1882.
in translation:
...as they are for the present. When I was still at home I worried about it, but now that things have...
...you to show that my working with watercolour at some point wasn’t an impossibility. But there...
207 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 3 March 1882.
in translation:
...with 3 seamstresses, for example, one must draw at least 90 seamstresses. That’s how it works. I...
...because I find working without a model totally wrong, at least as far as I’m concerned. I say...
...are coming to visit whom I must amuse and draw at the same time. I want some life in my studio, and...
...of these days. It needn’t be the 100 francs all at once, just as long as it’s something to be...
...for which he thought you might still be angry at him. For he still has a drawing that belongs to...
in note 5:
At the time Breitner was working on a painting of a flower market, which he never finished. See Hefting...
in note 6:
...Het Geneeskundig Gesticht voor Krankzinnigen) was at the corner of Slijkeinde (also called Geest in those...
208 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, between about Monday, 6 and on or about Thursday, 9 March 1882.
in translation:
...upbraid someone who works hard and constantly at difficult, painstaking work with such rebukes as...
...to his argument ‘take fewer models to economize’ at the very moment when, after much hunting, one has found models who aren’t too expensive. Working without a model is the bane of the figure painter, especially at the beginning of his career. If Tersteeg told you he was surprised at some of the things I’d said to His Hon., then perhaps he’ll also be surprised at this, but I wish that he...
in date note:
...at least several days later. Moreover, it certainly dates from before 11 March, because in the letter written that day Vincent told Theo that he should meanwhile have received the present letter (and letter 209). Even though this does not offer an exact date, we assume that this letter was written on or about Monday, 6 March at the earliest and on or about Thursday, 9 March 1882 at the latest...
in note 1:
Mauve’s painting Fishing boat on the beach was exhibited at the Paris Salon (cf. letter 194). Prior to that it was on display at Goupil’s branch in The Hague (see letter 211).
in note a:
Read: ‘juist op het moment dat’ (at the very moment that).
209 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, between about Monday, 6 and on or about Thursday, 9 March 1882.
in translation:
...to you I was in two minds about something that has been a great source of worry to me, though for the moment my mind is at rest on that score. I have a bit of bad news to tell you, namely that Mauve is in fact very ill again – the usual, of...
...gradually succeed then it will have been quickly, considering the short time I’ve been working at it. But I won’t succeed at it instantly. As soon as Mauve is better and comes to see me again or...
...of various things precisely by seeing someone at work and by experimenting a little myself. I’d...
in note 2:
Weissenbruch had a studio at Haagse Kazernestraat 112, the house he was born in (see letter 125).
210 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 11 March 1882.
in translation:
...so as not to feel the pain you suffer at not being able to make watercolours. Now then, that’s...
...friendship than agree with him about this. Although at times I’m overwhelmed by worries, all the...
...last summer. Theo, I’m counting on your looking at my work with sympathy and with confidence, and...
...It interests me so much that I wake up at night and light the lamp and go on reading. Because during the day I have to work. Do send me something soon if it’s at all possible. I wish that for once...
...change his mind – I sincerely hope so, because being at odds with His Hon. pains me very much and...
in note 10:
Uncle Cor ordered another set of six detailed townscapes at the beginning of April (see letter 214).
211 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 11 March 1882.
in translation:
...spoken to Tersteeg before he came to see me, at any rate began talking about things like ‘earning...
...his crust — but as for not earning it at all, while at the same time deserving it, oh, that! is a...
...with the pen. Jules Bakhuyzen had also looked at the thing and recognized the spot immediately...
...him, sits beside him – those two old creatures look at each other, they look each other in the...
...Millet’s Death and the woodcutter, that one can see at the same time, on the other hand I know of...
...Death and the woodcutter hanging close by, one at one end and the other at the other end of a long...
...5 or 6 figures, I think, a labourer’s family at table. There’s a Mauve, the large painting of...
...other paintings – I must say I scarcely looked at them, I had enough with the above-mentioned...
...simply become painters, we’d be able to make a living at it. For the figure one must be more of a...
...the chain tying Tersteeg is very beautiful to look at, but anyone who thinks about it doesn’t...
in date note:
...when tableaux vivants and a farce were presented at Pulchri (ll. 122-123), which was Saturday, 11 March...
in note 9:
...at half past seven in the evening (Hofje van Nieuwkoop)’, according to the announcement in Het Vaderland of 9 March 1882. The Dutch painter, musician, improviser and speaker Anton (Tony) Lodewijk George Offermans produced the farce presented that evening at the Hague artists’ society Pulchri. According to Gram, this was ‘a kind of revue, in which current events were criticized in the most entertaining way’, displaying ‘extraordinary humour and wit’. See Gram 1881, pp. 1-2; Van Gelder 1947, pp. 41-44, 53-54; and Van Kalmthout 1998, pp. 336-342...
in note 15:
...poem ‘My lost youth’, in which the line quoted recurs at the end of every verse. See letter 126, n. 19.
in note 17:
...at table, 1882 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum) Ill. 188. This canvas measures 71 x 105 cm, however, and he speaks of ‘a small [one]’, so perhaps he is referring to one of the two variations of it, namely the version with six figures which was formerly in the Alexander Young Collection, 53.5 x 85 cm (present whereabouts unknown) or a smaller variation on panel, 48 x 69 cm (Sotheby’s London, 17 November 1985, no. 224). See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1993, pp. 78-80, cat. no. 3 and Van Gogh Museum Journal 1995. Amsterdam and Zwolle 1995, p. 189. Cf. in this context the composition in the photogravure Peasants at table, published by Goupil (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 193. This print was made after the painting The frugal meal (Glasgow, Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove); see also letter 257, n. 18. Silent dialogue was, incidentally, the only work by Israëls at the Salon...
in note 20:
...became the manager of Goupil’s Hague branch, at which time he and his wife, Maria Magdalena Alida...
212 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, between about Thursday, 16 and on or about Monday, 20 March 1882.
in translation:
...rightly got angry at me and said: that’s not the way, tear those things up. And at first that...
...how is it with those who are at bottom serious, even though they often have something unpleasant about them? – one begins to love them and starts to feel at home with them – one gets bored with...
...teach you. I hope that you won’t object – at worst you’ll be bored that morning, but perhaps...
...I must also – though it can’t all be done at once – draw hands and feet, it’s really high...
...to be overcome when approaching someone about posing. At least I’ve had this experience here more...
...m not even enthusiastic about Decamps, I’m not at ease in front of their paintings, and can’t...
...though, considering I have to get up tomorrow at half past five, because the carpenter is coming to...
...back I’m afraid that when the landlord comes round at the end of March I won’t have much for...
...sometimes makes lovely things, not without charm and grace at any rate, but is that enough? So much...
in date note:
...Gogh says that ‘tomorrow’ the carpenter will be coming at half past five in the morning ‘before he goes to work’ (ll. 222-224). A remark made at the end of the letter (ll. 230 ff.) seems to be a later...
in note 11:
In 1882 De Bock was living at Kanaalweg 9 in Scheveningen. He did not have an adequate studio there, however, so he also rented a room on the first floor of the house at Van Stolkweg 20, now 22 (‘Villa Germania...
213 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 24 March 1882.
in translation:
...working hard these last few days, and have been at it from morning till night. First, the small...
...gave me enough trouble, more than 30 guilders’ worth at the very least. If people understood that...
...which allows me to keep my head above water at this difficult time, or make me faint-hearted by...
...one evening at Pulchri about my collection of woodcuts after Herkomer, Frank Holl, Du Maurier &c. I’d very much like to do it, I have enough for two evenings if necessary. At any rate, I’m well and I feel I’m progressing in my work. I have to draw for about a year more, or at least several months yet, until my hand is steady and sure, and my eye, and then I see no reason at all why I...
214 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 2 April 1882.
in translation:
...at Goupil, your knowledge of many things, means that you have exactly what it takes to catch up with many who ‘started early’. Because those early starters often have a period of staying at the...
...isn’t necessary for someone who starts energetically at a later age. Painting is just as good a...
...your way up, no less so in any respect than at present. A mediocrity in the bad sense of the word...
...I didn’t have to worry at all – but in less than a month they’d turned around and were talking completely differently. Perhaps thinking that I’d collapse. At first that grieved me – and...
...talk about a viewing of the woodcuts. Sat here looking at them for 3 hours, and was angry because...
in date note:
...at the latest on 27 April (see Date of that letter). The chronology of the letters can be determined on the basis of their contents, our reasons being given in the Date for each letter. At the beginning of the month it is financial matters which help to establish the chronological order, whereas in the second half of the month it is the weather conditions and Vincent’s state of mind which yield the most clues. On 11 March Vincent received 100 francs (letter 211), 10 guilders (20 francs) of which he owed to Tersteeg. Later in the month (letters 212 and 212) he again asks Theo for money. When it is not forthcoming, he again borrows money from Tersteeg, this time 25 guilders. Theo came to know of this (see letters 214 and 215), which explains why he sent 100 francs at the beginning of April (letter 214) and again, later that month, the large sum of 150 francs, because Vincent had still not paid off his debt to Tersteeg (letter 217). The fact that Vincent’s letter-writing proceeded apace as the month wore on is attributable in part to the bad weather, which hindered him in his work, and in part to his need to blow off steam in an attempt to raise his low spirits, caused by Mauve and Tersteeg’s negative attitude towards him (letters 218-220). It is impossible to date these letters precisely, so we have distributed them evenly over the month, providing them with a more exact time frame when allowed to do so by certain details (e.g. the weather conditions mentioned in letters 215, 218, 219 and 222. This strategy has yielded the following dates: on or about 2 April (214), on or about 6 April (215), on or about 10 April (216), on or about 14 April (217), 18 or 19 April (218), on or about 21 April (219), on or about 23 April (220) and on or about 26 April (221); the weather conditions mentioned do not contradict these dates). The present letter must date from the very beginning of April, as suggested by ll. 117-125, which undoubtedly refer to the allowance for the first half of April, mentioned here for the first time...
in note b:
Meaning: ‘meteen’ (immediately, at once).
in note 6:
...March to 17 June 1882 George Breitner was a patient at the Gemeentelijk Ziekenhuis (Municipal Hospital...
in note 8:
The plan for Van Gogh to show his woodcuts at Pulchri had been proposed by Blommers shortly before this (see...
in note 9:
...known as ‘Het Zuid’ – had opened in 1882 at Haagse Groenmarkt 37. It featured a reading table...
215 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Thursday, 6 April 1882.
in translation:
...the present. It’s a wonderful thing to look at something and find it beautiful, to reflect on it...
...I wish you worked in your own studio instead of at a reading-desk in the office. There you have it...
...I can only think: work one has slaved away at and done one’s best to imbue with character and...
...I couldn’t work with a model, and would remain at the same level, making no progress. I see this...
...he tells of a great lady who can’t sleep at night because during the day, when she went out to...
...has twinges of remorse about her wealth and wakes up at night in panic. In short, it’s a slender...
...won’t be so severe as not to understand that at the moment 25 guilders are worth more to me than...
...therefore less original? Perhaps it’s because I learned to look at nature through the Bargues...
in date note:
...at the top of the letter. (This dating is also given in Brieven 1914; De brieven 1990 makes no mention of it.) The present letter follows letter 214 of on or about 2 April: ll. 3-4 refer to an idea proposed there that Theo should become a painter; moreover, Vincent accounts for the money he has spent since receiving the 100 francs that was the first of two allowances for April. This letter must therefore precede letter 216, in which Vincent mentions the money sent for the second half of April which has meanwhile arrived. Regarding the date assigned to this letter – on or about Thursday, 6 April 1882 – see letter 214, Date. The remark ‘What gorgeous weather we’re having’ (l. 56) accords with the rise in temperature of several degrees occurring at this time in the coastal region (KNMI...
in note 8:
The postscript was written later in pencil at the bottom of the first page.
216 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Monday, 10 April 1882.
in translation:
And now you see at the same time that I’m hard at work. Now that I’ve started, I’d like to make around 30 studies of the...
...other two and wouldn’t like to part with them. At the same time you’ll see from this that it...
...on top of it. The model I have isn’t at all expensive, but because the expense recurs day after...
in note 3:
Van Gogh thus had at this time three versions of Sorrow: the actual study and two copies made by tracing...
in note 4:
It is not impossible that Van Gogh, who at this time was reading Edmond and Jules de Goncourt’s Gavarni...
217 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 14 April 1882.
in translation:
...for my part I have an empty, lonely feeling at home. Our ways of thinking and occupations are...
...vexations. I’ve just received a letter from Rappard; was at odds with him for a while, but now we...
in note 5:
In 1881 Blommers was living and working in The Hague at Spui 58. See Adresboeken 1878-1881; his name does...
in note 6:
Concerning the intended viewing at Pulchri, see letters 213 and 214.
218 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 18 or Wednesday, 19 April 1882.
in translation:
...have a figure of mine and a landscape. And I think you’ll see that I’m not staying at the same level.
...t heard anything from Mauve, sometimes he’s ill, at other times he needs to rest or is too busy...
...duplicates of several nice things. But you must look at them when you come this summer. Though I...
in note 4:
...called rue de Laval, now rue Victor Massé), in the ninth arrondissement. The exact date of this move is not known, but it definitely took place at the beginning of April. Theo lived at this address until June 1886.
in note 7:
The branch of Goupil’s where Theo worked was located at 19 boulevard Montmartre.
219 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 21 April 1882.
in translation:
...s sorrow which I believe is really not my due – at least I don’t know what I’ve done to...
...the cause of the following and can enlighten me. At the end of January – about a fortnight after...
...I became extremely upset and fell ill, as I wrote to you at the time. Mauve then came to see me and...
...you talk’, in a hateful way, but he’s very good at it, and I must admit it was a striking yet...
...my predicament. At any rate, he was again very friendly to me – but although I still went to see Mauve, Mauve remained uneasy and rather unfriendly. And a couple of times I was told he wasn’t at...
...me about drawing from plaster casts in a tone that even the worst teacher at the academy wouldn’t have used, and I held my peace, but at home I got so angry about it that I threw the poor plaster...
...else’s life because of a difference of opinion, at any rate those aren’t honest weapons. Do you...
...t know as much about these things as I do. At first he did that, as I heard from Weissenbruch. And...
in note 1:
...were mentioned as early as letters 202-203; Van Gogh wrote at the time that it actually made him ill.
in note 5:
...diggers (F 930 a / JH 131), drawn from the house at no. 16 where Sien and her mother lived. See exhib...
220 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 23 April 1882.
in translation:
...a sandpit in the Geest district where the dredgers are at work laying a water or gas pipe – I’d...
...neighbourhood, provided there’s something to draw, than at a tea party with nice ladies. Unless...
...manners that wouldn’t fit me. I – who wasn’t at ease in a reasonably good coat in a...
...looking at and which not everyone knows. I refuse to believe, Theo, that I’m such a monster of rudeness or incivility as to deserve to be cut off from society or, in the words of Tersteeg at any...
in note 5:
...2 April 1882 Mr van Gogh was called to the ministry at Nuenen, a village in North Brabant, where he went to...
221 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 26 April 1882.
in translation:
...the time I both handed in and was given my notice at Goupil’s and the moment I finally started to draw...
...he sent me a box of paints – but no money at all. I’m willing to believe that those first...
...me, and wasn’t at all inclined to take back what he’d said. When I came to The Hague anyway, without asking His Hon.’s advice, he tried to trip me up, I heard that he laughed at my becoming a...
...dealer I don’t see any point in it – or at any rate something in this vein. And pretended to...
...continue to receive that money from you for at least another year. When one forsakes someone in the...
in note 2:
Van Gogh left his job at Goupil’s on 1 April 1876 (FR b2227).
222 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 1 May 1882.
in translation:
...struggle has come into both of them almost inadvertently. At least it seemed to me that there was...
...wind came sailing over the flat pastures directly at my window. The fence below was also knocked...
...if you’d been here, would make them dizzy at the very least. Adieu – I wish you the best. Ever...
...I didn’t understand English drawings either at first, as little as any other foreigner, but ‘I...
in note 3:
Theo had moved at the beginning of April; see letter 218, in which Vincent promises to send drawings to...
in note 21:
...JH 139). A ‘boarder’ was a person living in a hostel or boarding-house at the community’s expense.
223 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 2 May 1882.
in original text:
...has been slightly damaged in 2 or 3 places as I worked through it, please have this seen to at once, else it might get worse. I think it wants a grey mount. Good bye, hope to hear of you at yr early convenience.
in translation:
...has been slightly damaged in 2 or 3 places as I worked through it, please have this seen to at once, else it might get worse. I think it wants a grey mount. Good bye, hope to hear of you at yr early convenience.
224 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 7 May 1882.
in translation:
...made it clear to me that Mauve and I have parted ways for ever. Mauve has gone so far that he can’t retract it, or at least certainly wouldn’t want to. I asked him to come and see my work and talk things over afterwards. Mauve refused...
...with courage. As it is, I can’t even look at a brush, it makes me nervous. I wrote: Theo, can...
225 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 10 May 1882.
in translation:
...that was to be received during my visit to Amsterdam. At that time I was told that I wanted to...
...are those who completely misunderstand me. As proof that at the time I didn’t want to force the...
...because it turned out this way? I’m amazed at the sight of her getting stronger and more cheerful...
...have a tacit agreement, as it were, not to carp at each other. If you know the large drawing from...
226 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 12 or Saturday, 13 May 1882.
in translation:
...melancholy, perhaps it’s happened with him as well? At any rate, I’m very much looking forward...
...on the sheet of paper or the canvas, where at first there was nothing, so that later one hardly...
...the occasion arises. The rest I’ll get back at your convenience. If I thought you’d come soon...
...that I’m not living a life of leisure at your expense. Viewing it superficially, you’d perhaps...
in date note:
...probably not based on a postmark but was arrived at on the evidence of the remark that the two letters...
227 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 14 or Monday, 15 May 1882.
in translation:
...this side of the grave. The world takes no account at all of the other side of the grave. This is...
...his position and his family &c. Christien was young at the time and met him after her father’s...
...help. You have my drawings, and during the first year at least my living and hers depend on you and...
...s something disagreeable about her, and leave it at that. Needless to say, though, I have...
...a draughtsman. But I shan’t visit my family at home or anything like that, either alone or with...
...wardship, I made my feelings about that clear enough at the time of the Geel affair: that sort of...
...mine are different, in that I’ll be quietly working at a craft while you’ll hold a post which...
...great eagerness and in good spirits, because then I at least know: I won’t lack the essentials to...
in note 1:
At the end of the month (Theo was not to write again until then) Van Gogh says that the letter was written...
in note 5:
...Sien’s father, died in The Hague on 7 June 1875. At the age of 24, on 3 July 1874, Sien had had a...
228 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 16 May 1882.
in translation:
...and it’s no wonder that later H.G.T. might have looked at my hand. But they blew the lamp out, I...
...being of age, I ask: am I at liberty to marry, yes or no? Am I at liberty to put on a working man...
...for them and that they’ll also be at peace with it at the end — well, let them go ahead — I...
...smock and smoking my pipe and looking at the deep blue sky...or at the moss or the grass. That...
...and I light my pipe and get on with drawing. But if at such a moment, sooner or later, someone from...
...be like those in a worker’s household. I’m more at home with that, I wanted to do it before but...
...I left Goupil, except for occasional travelling. And at Goupil I first had thirty guilders and...
...to you late at night. Christien is unwell and the time of her departure for Leiden is at hand. You...
...lunacy to persist. But should I have despaired at that point? Jumped into the water or something...
...wanted to save her, even though my head might be at stake. And now I still don’t know whether it...
in additional details:
...here, as in previous editions. It is possible nonetheless that the letter was continued at a later date.
in note 18:
...as there was no adequate way to provide for them at home.’ Sien ‘relied on prostitution to...
229 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 18 May 1882.
in translation:
...the hospital to mid-June. This time he asked her at length about who she was with, and because of what...
230 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 23 May 1882.
in note 3:
Both Sien and her mother were registered as living at Noordstraat 16 and Slijkeinde 31. In May (the exact...
231 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 27 May 1882.
in translation:
...of the courtyard or back yard at the house where Sien’s mother lives. I would like you to see that one, as well as another of a carpenter’s shed and yard with small figures at work. The perspective is rather...
...ll produce even better ones. And at that price, he can’t go wrong. You know all about it: I’ll be in good spirits as long as you don’t desert me because of Sien. I’m at work on the dot of 4...
232 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Sunday, 28 May 1882.
in translation:
...done what you said, namely looked more closely at the side with the ditch and the water in the...
...height like the carpenter’s shed, and now it’s 1 at night but it’s all done thank God, and I...
...I mean like that painting, The bleaching grounds at Overveen). But perhaps you know The Hague and...
...a fishing pink on the beach and where it catches the light, I have only to say, be at such and such a place at such and such a time, and she’ll be there. I hear gossip about how I’m always...
...friend, could know, and certainly contains new information, at least it was new to me, despite the...
in note 1:
...Van Rappard had lent him (see letter 231). He paid this back at the beginning of June (see letter 236).
in note 13:
...see letter 122, n. 19. Mauve may have seen this work at the Paris International Exhibition of 1878.
233 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 30 May 1882.
in original text:
...get that money early enough. I say again – let us at all events avoid irregularity & public scandal and...
in translation:
...get that money early enough. I say again — let us at all events avoid irregularity and public scandal and...
234 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 1 and Friday, 2 June 1882.
in original text:
...dat het groot geworden was bij hem in huis – het at van zijne bete en dronk van zijn beker en...
in translation:
...If you think that ‘a few witnesses (false ones at that) need only state that you can’t manage...
...that, it being known to you that I protest at all times against anything of the sort, if sooner or...
...they’d really resort to such a measure, but if at some time you learn that steps are being taken...
...shop at 5 in the morning when the street-sweepers came to drink their coffee. That would be a thing to draw, old chap!!! However, the posing of the various figures would cost me quite a lot, but at...
...I have the use of them. I now have at least a thousand prints, English (mainly SWAIN’S), American...
...inflate it, take it to an extreme, arrive at a judgement or decision about someone, sometimes...
...For my part, when I saw that kind of thing at home, I said often enough to Pa, This will bring you...
...d caught me committing a crime! They have no feeling at all in Princenhage; they’re bored, so an...
...he has no respect for life but just hacks at it savagely. A person without money should be done...
in date note:
...for the rent to be paid on 1 June (ll. 1-6). So at the earliest the letter was written on that day, but...
in note 6:
...of insanity, the ward of court could be cared for at home, or in a hospital or institution (pp. 111-112...
in note 16:
...continuation of the Albums Boetzel 1869-1870, in which the principal works exhibited at the Salon over the last two years have been reproduced’. The albums were available at the Bureau of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts.
in note 21:
Uncle Vincent and Aunt Cornelie lived at Princenhage.
235 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 3 June 1882.
in translation:
...and drank milk at the mill there. It may be that this influenced me somewhat when I did these drawings, in which I have tried as naїvely as possible to draw things exactly as I saw them. At the time of the...
...of nooks and crannies. It lacks that ruggedness as yet, at least doesn’t by any means have that...
...it possible to compare the proportions of objects close at hand with those on a plane further away...
...on his luck. My everyday clothes, however, aren’t at all shoddy, because now I have Sien to keep...
...there is nothing. I believe there is literally no money at home. The only person from whom, in very...
in note 10:
...in which horizontal and vertical threads placed at equal intervals together formed a grid of squares...
in note 18:
...Breton’s Cimetière de Courrières (Churchyard at Courrières) from La Vie Moderne 1 (20 September...
in note 38:
...Bazett Murray, Opium-smoking at the East End of London, from The Illustrated London News 65 (1 August 1874), p. 101 (Ill. 1925); John Charles Dollman, London sketches – An opium den at the East End, from The...
236 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Tuesday, 6 June 1882.
in translation:
...best interests at heart and was so kind to you and helped you so much, that it’s your own fault’ &c. &c. &c. My dear friend Rappard, I really don’t know whether to laugh or weep at this sort of...
...studio, sometimes in the early morning, sometimes deep at night, sometimes in the heat of the sun...
...people begin so kindly and manage to be so winning at first that you’re all the more amazed when...
237 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 8 June 1882.
in translation:
Should you come here towards the end of June, I hope you’ll find me back at work, but at present I’m in hospital, although I’ll only be here for about a fortnight. For some 3 weeks I’d been suffering a good...
...from you would of course give me great pleasure at the moment. Sien is getting ready to leave. I...
...I must tell you again that the precedent of Geel, at which time they were minded to make me a ward...
in note 2:
...forward to since March, would eventually take place at the beginning of August (see letters 252 and 253).
in note 6:
...contradicts letter 236, in which Van Gogh writes at length to Van Rappard about how he replied to Uncle...
238 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 9 June 1882.
in translation:
Sien came to tell me that a package had arrived at my studio and I asked her to go and open it and see what...
...in the evening I can’t resist going over to look at it. Write to me soon. It was so kind of home...
239 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 22 June 1882.
in translation:
...rest and stay here. The treatment didn’t stop at instillations: he’s been rummaging about inside...
...without curtains, and especially in the evening or at night there are curious effects. The doctor...
...talk about anything. I would rather he had visited at another time, when it could truly have been...
in note 5:
A gibe at the doctor in the Hague, Tuimen Hendrik Blom Coster, who had treated Theo in 1877 and evidently...
in note 6:
...Folklorique d’Auvergne), which was shown at the Salon of 1882. The journal L’Art had written...
in note 7:
...at length to Theo about this visit: ‘You will want to know how I found Vincent. On Saturday evening we received a letter from him written in the hospital in which he said that he was ill and had gone there. He had just received a package from us with a 10-guilder coin as well. He wrote in a mild tone and said that he was reassured by our letter, etc. etc. If it had been possible for me, I would have gone on Sunday, but I had to preach in Minister Kam’s place, since he is ill. I left Roosendaal early on Monday morning. Immediately on arriving I called at the institution, but could not see the director, who is also a doctor, before 2 o’clock because he was engaged in an operation. I couldn’t see the patient either before 3 in the afternoon. Then to Mauve, who was away travelling and his wife out shopping. Then to Tersteeg, also not at home before 1.30. Then I did speak to Mr. Tersteeg, but he knows nothing about Vincent. V. had broken off all relations, since Tersteeg had pointed out to him that it was not fitting that at his age he should be supported by his brother. Vincent had concluded from this that Tersteeg and Mauve had urged you to not to send your contribution any more, and that idea seems to have made him agitated again. Tersteeg knew these details from you or from your letters. At 2 o’clock I spoke to the doctor. When I enquired about the patient, he said that his illness was catarrhal in nature, and that he appeared to be in need of rest. But he saw no objection and allowed me to go to him and to speak to him again (the doctor) after my visit. Vincent was somewhat surprised to see me, a little touchy, but I put him into a normal mood and promised to return the next day. He does not look at all wasted, his pulse is calm and otherwise quite normal. He had complaints about Uncle Cor, that he had judged his drawings so coolly. Van Rappard had seen them and thought them very good. That Rappard remains loyal to him and had later written to him again to encourage him. We spoke for quite a long time and then it was time for me to go to Leiden. I told Vincent that when he was allowed to leave the hospital he could come to us to get his strength back but, while he appreciated the offer, he thought it better not to avail himself of it, because he wanted to get back to work. Yesterday morning at 10 o’clock I returned from Leiden and went to see him again. And I asked the doctor to let me know if, Heaven forbid, there was a change for the worse. Before that, however, I drove to his house, where the people said they didn’t really know where the gentleman was. He had said he was leaving the city for 14 days, but they believed he was in the hospital. They couldn’t show me his studio because they hadn’t got the key. Now I heard from him that he had heard from his model about that package we had sent. He had got my letter and the enclosure, but that letter was inside the package, so the model must have opened the package. Can there be any danger in that so-called model? When I left I secretly gave him a piece of paper from Anna with some ox-tongue, but not a lot, to which I added a 10-guilder coin. He had refused to take money from me. There he pays 10.50 guilders per 14 days, always in advance. He had been there eight days and he showed me his receipt. As I left I whispered to him that he must be careful with the small packet I had given him because there was something else in it (I meant that coin). He stuffed the packet under his mattress. He remains singular, and I have no great expectations. But if only he does not sink lower and lower and does not throw himself away on an unworthy person. That avoidance of people who want to help him along is an unfavourable sign. When the time came for other visitors to arrive, I noticed him looking towards the door uneasily. Can it be that he was expecting a visitor, someone that he would rather I did not meet? Don’t say that I think the worst. I say this to no one else but you and you will understand – how I mean it, truly not to burden him, but in part out of fear. There is in him an inclination towards the lower classes, and sometimes a person can enter into an improper connection out of perversity or a sense of desolation. You understand, though we are not now afraid of this illness turning out badly, we continue to be concerned about him and that concern has not diminished. He also talked about wanting to take another house – in the same neighbourhood – where he would have better opportunities...What a support you are for Vincent. Bye, old chap!’ (FRb2240)....
240 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Saturday, 24 June 1882.
in translation:
...my normal self for some time. I must tell you your letter reached me not at my studio but in the hospital, where I’ve been for 3 weeks now. So your letter was doubly welcome at the time, and what you say about...
...in the garden for an hour a day, and there I began scrawling again yesterday. And at least I’m starting to look again, whereas at first I was too miserable even to see. I’ll have to take things...
...It’s far more practical, in my view, than lying ill at home, at least in circumstances like mine. I feel as if I’m now almost completely cured, but the problem is that as a result of too much moving and walking &c. I may have a relapse at any moment, which is what happened to me last week...
...were it not to succeed). When I’m back at work, I’ll write again soon. Thanks again for your...
241 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 1 July 1882.
in translation:
...longer, possibly shorter, depending on what’s needed. At any rate I would be absolutely delighted...
...hadn’t yet given birth but was expecting to at any hour, and I feel very worried, because this...
...garden into a short leave of absence, if it was at all possible. So tomorrow morning I’m going to...
...in the hospital and how I long for her now, and at times I wasn’t sorry that I had to cope with...
...better. I’m longing for tomorrow and dreading it at the same time. The first person I came...
...the studio I wrote to you about. His boss was just at the yard (the drawing of which you have, with...
...yourself in public. If you send me something at the beginning of this month, you should address...
in note 4:
For the perspective frame used by Van Gogh at this time, see letter 235.
in note 5:
...Antonie de Zwart. In 1881-1882 Michiel lived at Westeinde 33; later he moved to Kleine Laan 131. Van...
in note 9:
At that time Johannes van Gogh was not registered as living in The Hague. On 30 September 1881 he had himself registered the birth of his second child, Frans Abraham Antonie, at Helvoirt, where he and his wife Jeanette Louise Vos were staying at the time. The birth certificate states, however, that they resided at Java. From 1883 to 1885 Johan’s father, Uncle Jan, lodged with his sister Truitje and brother-in-law Abraham Anthonie...
242 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 2 July 1882.
in translation:
...hear when we enquired after her from the nurse at the hospital, and how delighted we were to be told...
...cured. And he says that she had been at death’s door more than once, especially during her...
...I’m sitting writing to you next to Sien’s mother at a window looking out on a sort of courtyard...
in note 1:
...van Wijk (deceased 12 March 1916) at Rotterdam on 4 September 1901, he recognised Willem as his son. Willem van Wijk, as he was known from then on, died on 4 November 1958 at Maastricht (GAM). See also letter 224...
in note 4:
...the second is the larger. Van Gogh wrote his letter in this house at Slijkeinde, corner of Breedstraat 31a.
243 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 4 July 1882.
in translation:
...namely by letting me have a few men from the yard at the end of an afternoon to carry all my things, because I’m not allowed to lift much, in fact nothing at all. And then that I won’t pay him any rent until...
in note 8:
...version of Sorrow that Theo had in his possession at this point are not known. See also letter 216, n. 3.
244 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 6 July 1882.
in translation:
...So I hope that you’ll read this letter at your ease and with patience, because for me so much...
...struggle. At the same time, though, I feel a great calm and clarity and cheerfulness at the thought...
...it were, I was in The Hague this winter. At that time there was a sense of inexpressible melancholy...
...in me that has healed but is still palpable. At that time — in that winter — could I feel...
...So at first Sien was a fellow human being to me, as alone and unhappy as I was. Yet, not being in despair, I was in the right state of mind to be able to give her some practical support, which at the...
...with which I believe you’ll be satisfied, or at least like. A young studio, a still young, fully...
...out of it because I’m afraid of them or am at a loss for words. Also, I’ve often noticed that...
...t really have a job, sorrow with friends and family were at least 3/4 of the cause of some of my...
...putting it in such a way that they take offence at some expression or other. There you are. I think...
in note 5:
...of Millet when Zola writes: ‘[Lacour] looks at the ground and his body is bent in the pose in which...
in note 6:
At that time Van Gogh had been discussing his plans to marry Kee Vos with his parents.
in note 10:
...and children?.. A fine legacy!” And Millet looked at me.’ (Par deux fois, j’ai pu croire que cette...
245 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 6 and Friday, 7 July 1882.
in translation:
...the greater. Brother, how I wish I had you here at this silent hour — how much I would have to...
...cradle with a green coverlet. I can’t look at the last piece of furniture without emotion, for it...
...whether you know that feeling, when you’re alone at certain moments, that causes one to feel a...
...the same sadness must be present in some measure, at least at times. And I don’t know whether you...
...at the baby we were so anxious about this winter. And just listen, between ourselves, without being preachy, it may be true that there is no God here, but there must be one not far off, and at such...
...And can tell you that I’ve been to the doctor at the hospital and he said that since I had been...
...mend. So, this afternoon I at once sent a drawing (not to the director) as a small gesture to the doctor who treated me. It was a Scheveningen woman knitting that I did at Mauve’s studio and in...
...now and the last time I was sitting in the dunes at Scheveningen. I would like to succeed in making...
246 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 15 and Sunday, 16 July 1882.
in translation:
...come. She’s now still in considerable pain at times, mainly as a consequence of the operation...
...a recovery of her body and a recovery of her soul at the same time. And here there is now an...
...be in pain for at least 6 weeks after the birth, and mustn’t overdo things at all. I believe that...
...be able to resume posing the woman and child at home. My weakness is a disappointment, but the sort...
...me, though, that I must still keep working mainly at pure drawing, which is the foundation of all...
...I would like to make a more serious attempt at a particular watercolour on Harding, because that...
...of watercolour. But at present I can’t work for long enough at a time on a piece, which is very frustrating because I long so much to work and to go outdoors. Meanwhile I’m glad that at least I...
...my health deteriorates (which I hope won’t happen), at any rate now I’ll have enough material...
...on what she’s doing so that I can chance to be at hand if she needs help. For she really is very...
in note 9:
...The studio of Adriaen van Ostade. Van Gogh made a similar gibe at academic studios in letter 253.
in note 10:
...the two unknown versions of Sorrow which he had at this time (see letters 216 and 222), as well as from...
in note 15:
...cat. no. 122), Heide bij ondergaande zon (Heath at sunset) (cat. no. 34), Berglandschap (Mountain...
in note 17:
...referring to Vijver bij Ville d’Avray (Pond at Ville-d’Avray) (p. 5, no. 8) from the J...
247 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 18 July 1882.
in translation:
...Sien and the children. I would have wished that he could at least have put on a friendly face for a...
...by a friendly invitation from me to come here at my expense to discuss the very same matter. This...
...moment, just when they’re in the middle of moving at home and the woman is in such a state that...
...thing can spoil her milk and lead to far worse, at least in the first six weeks. I tried to turn...
...at home and by sowing unrest in Princenhage (and Princenhage has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with it), and upsetting everyone. Can’t this be stopped??? Things are all right with home at the...
...t yet bear visits like the one this morning. You at least know more about the matter than Tersteeg...
...better sets her and me aglow, the desire to be back at work in a very short time and to be entirely...
...us. This is that if we can’t live together, at least we can emigrate together. It’s 10 to one...
...the subject with him again. But there’s no doubt at all that few things can do either the woman...
in note 2:
Rev. Van Gogh was called to the Reformed Congregation at Nuenen and accepted the call on 7 June 1882, after which he took up his duties on 12 August. The family must have moved at the beginning of August, and on 7 August Rev. Van Gogh, his wife, Cor and two servants were registered at the Civil Registration in Nuenen as living at the address De Berg F 523. They were followed by Willemien on 22 November. See De Brouwer 1984, p. 13.
248 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Wednesday, 19 July 1882.
in translation:
...of me, &c. I wrote to you about a few thing at the time, saying that I didn’t agree with you...
...of that so directly any more. But I did say at that time there is a promise of marriage between...
...in any case. Rest assured, the woman will soon be at ease with you. You, after all, won’t observe...
in note 7:
...at Hoornbrug at the end of the Trekvliet or the Broeksloot mill – had disappeared. There were plans in 1882, however, to replace the Laak mill by a steam pumping station. These plans came to nothing, but modifications were made to the mill instead. It may be that Van Gogh saw this activity as a sign of impending demolition. Another possibility is that he means that the café was (temporarily) closed, possibly because of this work. At this time Van Gogh painted a watercolour of the underside of this mill (Archief Rijswijk and Archief Delftland; see also exhib. cat. The Hague 1990, pp. 34, 36-37...
249 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 21 July 1882.
in translation:
...I regard art. One must work long and hard to arrive at the truthful. What I want and set as my goal...
...the Fish-drying barn are also small beginnings. At least they contain something straight from my...
...is more important than feeling paintings, at least more productive and life-giving. Because I now...
250 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 23 July 1882.
in translation:
...and then do our best, on both sides, to be in the same sort of mood as in the past at the Rijswijk mill?
...intended to show you that if I work at drawing, the correctness of perspective and proportion, it...
...posing. She posed for my very best drawing, Sorrow, at least I think it’s the best thing I’ve...
...ill for the fun of it. So you must imagine me sitting at my attic window as early as 4 o’clock...
...is by calmly looking through my little window at the things in nature, and drawing them faithfully...
in date note:
...begun his journey to the Netherlands around 30 July at the latest, and letter 251 was sent before his...
in note 10:
...was widely shared. Critics also referred to Zola at that time as the new Balzac. The publisher...
in note 12:
The character Mme François is a vegetable seller at the market of Nanterre. At the beginning of Zola’s Le ventre de Paris she is riding with her merchandise to Paris early in the morning, when she sees Florent...
in note 14:
...The emphasis on ‘old’ is due to the fact that at that time Scheveningen was increasingly turning into...
251 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Wednesday, 26 July 1882.
in translation:
...but the dense or double is nowhere to be found. At the time I bought all that Stam had left, and it...
...morning. I’ve also done a bleaching ground at Scheveningen, on the spot in one go, entirely in...
...hour you can spare. I think we’ll be more at ease if we’re completely taken up by painting and...
...will probably continue to do so, at least for some time yet. Sien and the child are also well; they’re getting stronger and I love them dearly. I must have another go at the cradle (when it’s a...
...I’ll take no steps to bring that about, none at all, for it must come through the work. What has...
...one of the leaders. I mean things remarkable at once for their reality and their style, drawn like...
in sketch B:
...Notation: ‘Rijswijksche Weilanden & Timmermanswerf’ (Meadows and carpenter’s yard at Rijswijk).
252 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 31 July 1882.
in translation:
...up if I keep hacking away at it, so that my hand doesn’t hesitate in drawing and perspective. But when I see young painters composing and drawing off the top of their head — then daubing on all sorts at random, also off the top of their head — then holding it at a distance and putting on a...
...at random on a piece of paper, but I attach no more value to this than to a rag or cabbage leaf. And I hope you’ll understand that if I go on just drawing, I do that for two reasons. Because at...
...association of people with conflicting interests, each one at odds with the rest, two or more of...
...While I care about the good will of those at home, Princenhage matters much less to me. Would you...
...to you for everything you can do to reassure those at home and to keep them calm. I hope that you...
...adieu, and believe me that I sometimes laugh heartily at how people suspect me (who am really just...
in arrangement:
...namely that he wants nothing more than peace at home – could refer to the conclusion of the letter...
in note 1:
...letter to Etten. Theo’s visit of a day or two to The Hague must have taken place in the period 2-4 August; he spent at least one night there and left the city on Friday, 4 August at the latest (see letter 253).
253 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 5 August 1882.
in translation:
...have one it will last you for a long time. At the same time I bought a supply of watercolour and...
...at Scheveningen, sand — sea — sky — is something I certainly hope to express one day. Of course I didn’t spend everything you gave me all at once — although I must say the prices of things greatly took me aback, especially bearing in mind that more items are needed than appears at first...
...like a Delft bargee, for example, and I don’t at all object to my place being like a cosy tow...
in sketch B:
Beach at Scheveningen with perspective frame (F - / JH -), letter sketch
in note 1:
...Vincent must have taken place on 2, 3 or 4 August; at all events before the weekend of 5-6 August. There...
in note 7:
For a similar gibe at academic studios, see letter 246.
in note 9:
...dealers and Lithographers, Publishers of Maps’, located at Spuistraat 55. The warehouse was at Laan 3 (both addresses are in the centre of The Hague; Laan then ran from Grote Markt to Assendelftstraat.) It is not clear whether the printing works was also at Laan 3. See S. de Vries, 125 jaar vakmanschap. The Hague 1969...
in note 11:
...cf. letter 259); they were in the middle of moving at this time. On 7 August they were officially...
254 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 5 or Sunday, 6 August 1882.
in translation:
...With CONSIDERABLE practice and with lengthy practice, it enables one to draw at lightning speed and, once the lines are fixed, to paint at lightning speed. It’s in fact especially good for painting...
...came, I’m now fully prepared to face the elements. At the same time my aim is to learn a couple...
255 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 10 and Friday, 11 August 1882.
in translation:
...of it being a powerful means of expression. And at the same time one can say delicate things...
...to this as a change. And should anyone express surprise at seeing painted work by me, to say: Well...
...of sand, sea and sky like we saw together at Scheveningen. Then I kept my letter back and marched...
in date note:
...By Saturday, 12 August these have been joined by at least one work with ‘lumps of dune earth’ (F 2a...
256 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Sunday, 13 August 1882.
in translation:
...Drenthe is interesting — I don’t know Drenthe at all from having been there myself, only through what...
...see a new tavern with a red tiled roof at many places where I remember seeing a wattle-and-daub hut...
...poetry to it. You probably know that at present there’s an exhibition here by the Dutch Drawing Society. There are some truly beautiful things. There’s a woman at the loom by Mauve that I can...
...Jules Breton, Courbet, Diaz, Jacque, T. Rousseau — which at once stimulated me and yet made me...
in date note:
...those mentioned in letter 255, with the addition of at least one new work. So the letter must have been...
in note 8:
...took place from 11 August to 12 September 1882 at the Academy of Fine Arts building on...
in note 11:
...in the exhibition by Voor den spiegel (Before the mirror), Binnenhuis te Laren (Interior at Laren) and Bij een schoenlapper (At a shoe repairer’s), and his brother Jozef Hendrikus Neuhuys by Avond (Evening), Molen...
in note 18:
...works by Mesdag depict scenes in Norway: Waterfall at Trolhetta (Norway) (private collection) (Ill. 1939...
257 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 14 August 1882.
in translation:
...that the first things would look like nothing at all, although they would improve later, I thought...
...and materials, I have toiled and laboured, so that at the moment I’m dead tired, having done 7...
...Society. There’s one Mauve — a woman at a sort of loom, no doubt from Drenthe — that I think is superb. You’ve probably seen some of them at Tersteeg’s. There are wonderful works by...
...is splendid. Israëls has another 4 large drawings, a girl at the window — children at the pig-sty — the drawing of the small Salon painting — a little old woman stoking the fire in the twilight, which was etched for the Kunstkronijk at the time. It’s stimulating to see something like this...
...enthusiasm, and believe that it’s going well at the moment. (Before 3 months have passed, however...
...in nature strikes me I now have more means at my disposal with which to express it more forcefully...
...a rest’. But yesterday, Sunday, I didn’t do much, at least I didn’t go out of doors. I want...
in note 15:
For Mesdag’s drawings, among them Waterfall at Trolhetta (Norway), see letter 256, n. 18.
in note 17:
...an etching of Kinderen bij het varkenskot (Children at the pig-sty) (Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet). Ill...
in note 18:
...The frugal meal, 1876 (Glasgow, Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries), which was shown at the Salon of 1876. In fact, at 88.9 x 138.7 cm it was not particularly small. Cf. letter 211, n. 17. The print after it...
in note b:
Van Gogh may mean: ‘and must believe that it’s going well at the moment’.
258 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 20 August 1882.
in translation:
...about one thing and another than I yet deserve. At home they seem to be very pleased with their new...
...as you’ll understand, it isn’t entirely over. At times, mainly in the evening when I’m tired...
...all — but I declare I don’t know. At any rate, I know for sure that drawing with charcoal is something I must now study more closely than in the past — at any rate I have enough to do and can...
...much better and is much more pleasing to look at. And at the same time more accurate. In a word...
...Gerard Bilders. He died at the age when I was more or less beginning. When I read it, I don’t regret making a late start. He was certainly unhappy and was often misunderstood, but at the same time...
...night it’s struck to the root and withers away. At first he does well — he’s a master as in...
...It seems to me that at any rate the painted studies are more agreeable to look at than what I’ve...
...household needs. I’ve had to spend a lot all at once on painting materials, but much of that will...
in note 10:
...Burty 1877, pp. 120-160). It is not known, however, whether Van Gogh knew these publications at this time.
in note 17:
The fact that Van Gogh’s attempts at painting six months earlier were not successful was due, he believed...
259 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 26 August 1882.
in translation:
...results you know about, which now force me to stay at home for a few days. In the meantime I’ve...
...they should see me slogging and toiling away at my work — scratching out and altering — now...
...be unable to understand that painting isn’t done at a stroke, and they’ll always fall back on...
...to see as you and I have learned. They look at different things from us, and we don’t see the...
...the cause lies elsewhere, namely the desire, at all costs, to pursue what I must have for my work. Now they may be waiting expectantly for ‘painting in oils’. Now it will come at last, and oh how...
...beach, the Rijswijk meadows close by, and thus literally a subject at every footstep. It would also be for the sake of living more cheaply. But at the moment there’s no particular reason, as far as...
...makes me deeply happy. It’s been so beautiful at Scheveningen the last few days. The sea was...
...noise. The sea was the colour of dirty dishwater. At that spot there was a fishing-boat, the last...
in note 1:
...is unknown (cf. Date). The other is View of the sea at Scheveningen (F 4 / JH 187). See cat. Amsterdam...
in note 6:
...beside it at Nuenen as a subject. When Vincent later settled in the village, he did indeed draw and paint this location, for example in The old church tower at Nuenen with a ploughman (F 34 / JH 459), The old tower (F 88 / JH 490), The old tower in the snow (F 87 / JH 600) and The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The...
in note 10:
The aristocratic Rougon family, who are at the core of Zola’s cycle of novels, are marked by physical and...
260 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 3 September 1882.
in translation:
...brightly and is very difficult to get. There at last you have a sketch which — whatever may be...
...board before the spot that strikes me — I look at what’s before my eyes — I say to myself...
...feeling a kind of fear, I take a look at it — then I’m still dissatisfied — because I have...
...get paint, panels, brushes, &c. for the net price? At present I have to pay the retail price. Are...
...makes it self-evident that they must be impasted. At Mauve’s — who paints very soberly in...
...as the empty bottles in the corners of rooms at a soirée or meal such as Zola describes, for...
in sketch A:
View of the beach at Scheveningen (F - / JH 227), enclosed sketch
in date note:
...the enclosure. This would have been the allowance at the beginning of the month September. The sentence...
in note 4:
View of the beach at Scheveningen (F - / JH 227).
261 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 9 September 1882.
in translation:
...of the countryside at Nuenen. It does seem to be really beautiful there. I’ve asked her for more information on one or two points about the weavers, who especially interest me. I saw that at the time in the Pas...
...well. I mean A. Lançon. I had another look at the woodcuts I have by him — how clever that chap...
...things it contains. If I can’t sleep at night, which often happens, I always rummage among the...
...good, so to speak, daily, and do so regularly. At present hardly a day passes without my making a...
...I sincerely hope you aren’t hard pressed yourself. At all events, I hope you’ll be able to send...
...to enter any of the houses and sit down at the windows without further ado. Anyway, it’s Saturday...
262 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 11 September 1882.
in translation:
...by the fact that a fellow behind me, or probably at a window, suddenly spat a wad of tobacco onto my paper — life can be very trying at times. Well, there’s no need to take it personally...
in note 5:
...At the lock (p. 55); Coke-burning (p. 56); A blast-furnace (p. 57); Steel-works – Puddling (p. 58) Ill. 1227; Emptying the crucible (p. 59) Ill. 1943; From the pulpit (p. 60) Ill. 1944; Rolling steel plates (p. 61) Ill. 1945; View corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, Pittsburgh (p. 62); Window-glass blowers (p. 63) Ill. 1946; Oil-refinery (p. 64); Pipe-making (p. 65) ill. 1947; Stephen C. Foster and Grave of Stephen C. Foster (p. 66); The arsenal (p. 67) and Saturday evening at the variety (p. 68...
in note 6:
...p. 180) Ill. 1226; Going to church (p. 183); At evening (p. 184); The umbrella – A curious present...
263 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, between about Tuesday, 12 and Sunday, 17 September 1882.
in translation:
...You’ll see, though, that these too are rather tattered at the folds. That’s not because of going...
...me he still had more of that jumble of magazines at home (from which I took these and my own) which...
...rarely been painted by others, if at all. But because one has to deal with all sorts of difficulties in a region like that, there’s every reason to go together. At present my circumstances don’t...
...of the matter at all, were completely unaware of what’s going on in that sphere. And were also not to be persuaded, or rather chose not to even take the trouble to look at a few things. Or if...
...distribution, a gathering of rag-pickers, gang of snow-shovellers — which made me get up at night to take another look at them, that’s how strong an impression they made on me. And especially...
...I find it highly interesting that you’re toiling at various subjects that I also think are most...
in date note:
...262 of 11 September he tells Theo too that he is at work on this subject. In addition, to Van Rappard he...
in note 7:
...are such beautiful things to do there, which as yet have rarely been painted by others, if at all’ later.
264 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 17 September 1882.
in translation:
The weeks pass quickly — and we’re at Sunday again. Have been to Scheveningen quite often lately, and...
...with the heads and shoulders one above the other at the top, while in the foreground the legs of...
...arrival of a boat, or a crowd of people at the soup kitchen — in the waiting room, the hospital...
...and it’s doubly beautiful there, as everywhere, at this time. I’m a little concerned about...
in note 1:
...so-called Zeekant, on the south side of the coast at Scheveningen, the ‘Obelisk in memory of 1813...
in textual note 92:
hoop < Text lost due to wear at the edge of the paper.
265 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 17 or Monday, 18 September 1882.
in translation:
...types from the common folk (such as a painting At the pawnbroker’s). It’s more or less the...
...in such a way that one can reproduce at will whatever one sees on a larger or smaller scale. We’re having very beautiful bad weather at present — rain, wind, thunderstorms — but with splendid...
...make. The greater their variety, the harder one labours at them, the easier one works later when it...
...Knaus, Schuler, Saal, Van Muyden, and many others surely — at the same time as a group of writers...
...raised to a much higher standard. I have at least 10 different events surrounding the arrival of...
in note 1:
A reference to the subject of ‘saleable’ work raised at the beginning of letter 262.
in note 10:
...te Douvres and In ’t gras, Hydepark te Londen (The Pont-Neuf in Paris; Old Paris; Beach at Ramsgate, England; Morning at Dover and In the grass, Hyde Park in London) (present whereabouts unknown). See exhib. cat...
in note 11:
...At the pawnbroker’s (present whereabouts unknown). This painting was exhibited in 1880 at the Musée Moderne in Brussels. The work is known through the accompanying catalogue, which included a drawn reproduction. Ill. 934. See Catalogue illustré de l’exposition historique de l’art belge et du Musée Moderne de Bruxelles. Brussels and Paris 1880, p. 97. The work had also been on view as In de bank van leening at the Exhibition of works by living masters. See Tentoonstelling van kunstwerken van Levende Meesters. The Hague 1881, p. 17, cat. no. 144...
266 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 18 September 1882.
in translation:
...his thought or conception precision, or to arrive at a thought. Thus studies belong more in the studio than in the trade, and shouldn’t be looked at from the same viewpoint as paintings. Well, I...
...from direct contact with things than when one looks at things with the aim of finding this or that...
...doing. It’s already late — I sleep so badly at present — but it’s that wonderful nature of...
...that renew and sustain one’s strength. It’s only at times when I’m overtired that I feel...
in note 5:
...works, were Beach with fishing boats (F 2 / JH 173) and View of the sea at Scheveningen (F 4 / JH 187).
267 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 19 September 1882.
in translation:
...very welcome, has just arrived, and I’m answering at once because I’m longing to talk to you again.
...work 10 or 12 years ago, I was with Goupil at the time, I thought it was splendid, and even found...
...really beautiful by them, put in an order at the offices of L’Illustration for L’Album des...
...it was just as beautiful as, say, the scene at Dr Wagner’s in Madame Thérèse by Erckmann-Chatrian. I know that you didn’t greatly appreciate Rochussen at the time, but I’m sure that when you...
...taken by all of it that my whole life is aimed at making the things from everyday life that Dickens...
...infinitely better, than many a person who scoffs at him like a conceited know-all — witness, for...
in date note:
...He responds to Van Rappard’s thank-you letter ‘at once’ (l. 3). This letter will have been written...
in note 3:
...of Dutch Watercolourists. Gothic Room, Noordeinde at The Hague): see letter 265, n. 5. Five Italians were...
in note 8:
...who replaced Van Gogh when he left Goupil in Paris at the end of March 1876 (cf. letters 71 and 72).
in note 16:
...1981. The estate has his The Mediterranean fleet at Sigri – The annual regatta: Start for the...
in note 27:
...for her fiancé; Léonore’s despair; Death at the little girl’s door, moonlight; Walk in the...
in note 28:
...reader in a night refuge, see letter 129, n. 36. At the beginning of June Vincent had expressed to Theo...
in note 34:
...have seen drawings still attributed to Frans Hals at that time or reproductions after them somewhere; no...
in note 36:
...at the sixth annual exhibition by this society, from 7 January to 8 February 1882 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, namely Un livre (7 dessins), Mon vieux (7 dessins), L’hiver (7 dessins), Dessins, Marée basse (A book (7 drawings), Old chap (7 drawings), Winter (7 drawings), Drawings, At low tide). Van Rappard, himself a member of L’Essor, was represented by two (unidentified) paintings, Jardin botanique à Bruxelles (Botanical Garden at Brussels) and En Hollande (In Holland). See L’Essor Bruxelles. Catalogue de la vie exposition annuelle. Exhib. cat. Brussels 1882, p. 13, cat. nos. 137-141 (Lynen) and 201-202 (Van Rappard...
268 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 23 September 1882.
in translation:
...you can send me if you like, for example in stamps at your convenience. Then you needn’t have any...
...else who might enjoy them and collects them (though at the moment I don’t know of anyone for them...
...like him. Do you know Montbard? I believe you do at least have landscapes by him. But lately I got...
...sincerely hope that you’ll take pleasure in your painting at Arti. I don’t think I’ll see the...
in note 10:
...This must be a case of conflation. Montbard did at least one work about Jersey, namely a view of...
in note 11:
...had submitted a painting of a Drenthe woman at the spinning wheel (present whereabouts unknown) for the exhibition of ‘Levende Meesters’ (Living Masters) at the artists’ society Arti et Amicitiae, of which...
269 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 25 September 1882.
in translation:
...reports from others. If people visit me, then at least their impression is original, but I don’t...
...s necessary to continue doing this if it’s at all possible. I received a letter from Rappard the...
in note 5:
The reference is to ‘the church in the field’ at Nuenen which Van Gogh was later to paint several times...
in note 9:
It is not clear which work is meant. At the end of August Van Gogh painted View of the sea at Scheveningen (F 4 / JH 187), as well as another (‘small’) seascape, which is not known. See cat. Amsterdam 1999, pp...
270 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 1 October 1882.
in translation:
...You may remember Mooijman’s state lottery office at the beginning of Spuistraat. I passed it one rainy...
...or watercolouring comes in. Well, I’m toiling away at it. I count on you to write again, of...
in note 2:
...of the brothers Cornelis Josephus and Jacobus Wilhelmus Mooijman was at Spuistraat 17 (Adresboek 1882).
271 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 8 October 1882.
in translation:
...you must control and keep an eye on several things at once. The small drawing of the beach is more...
in note 7:
...one of the watercolours of the beach mentioned at the beginning of the letter as representing summer...
272 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 15 October 1882.
in translation:
...As for the one by Roll, I myself was present at such a scene in all its vivid reality. What I find...
...Géricault, namely the Raft of the Medusa, and yet at the same time of Munkácsy, for example. This...
...left a view of extensive, damp green meadows, cut off at the horizon far away by a grey band in...
...there’s grace in the figure, or rather expression at any rate, and character. I think I’ll get...
...of imagination, but it’s precisely the constant looking at nature and the struggle with it that...
...I can even work with more than one person at a time, for example two children under an umbrella...
in note 6:
...to a man who managed to restrain striking workers; it is not known when he himself was present at a strike.
in note 16:
...for by workers from De Zwart’s carpenter’s yard at this time may include Carpenter (F 1043 / JH 206...
273 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 22 October 1882.
in translation:
...but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. In Harper’s Weekly there are beautiful...
...in them. I have only a few of them at present since they’re quite expensive, and one hardly ever...
...in some of his large compositions. In Belgium at one time, Félicien Rops and Degroux, among others...
in date note:
...Moreover, it leads to the strange situation that, at a time when Van Gogh and Van Rappard are...
in note 18:
...October 1881), p. 696 and Shutting off the Croton at the Central Park reservoir, in Harper’s Weekly 25...
in note 28:
...social, moral and religious teachings, was aimed at the proletariat. The Cottager and Artisan, a related...
in note 31:
...work under the title Un déjeuner d’amis (Friends at lunch) it was offered by the French newspaper Le...
in note 35:
...on the market by Bradbury & Evans in 1882 priced at sixpence. Mrs. Caudle’s curtain lectures appeared...
in textual note 21:
The names Keene and Du Maurier inserted later in the open space at the end of l. 23 have now been placed at the end of the second column.
274 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 22 October 1882.
in translation:
...sympathy. However, I well remember being particularly struck at the time by a drawing by Daumier...
...the case if there were rather more joining together. At the moment a wonderful effect can be seen...
...it, if I hadn’t spent the whole afternoon toiling at figures of peat carriers which are still too...
...that wall? — since hammering on it doesn’t help at all. In my view, one must undermine the wall...
...what you’ll think of the figures I’m doing at present, when you see them sooner or later. It...
...old chap, how I wish we could look at drawings and sketches for an evening sometime — and...
in note 4:
...that this is an allusion to the following passage at the beginning of Charlotte Brontë’s novel...
in note 7:
...and music – it is extravagant and theatrical. At first money and romance are the central concerns...
275 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, between about Tuesday, 24 and about Friday, 27 October 1882.
in translation:
Lerolle At the...
...Rochussen In the dunes Edelfelt At the artist’s – A merry Xmas Emslie Nearing home. Vierge Exhibition of electricity Kauffmann A school at Wissembourg Heywood Hardy The village...
...there’s an opportunity next time you come here, at some point, you could take them with you like...
...lately, and this is the drawing I’m working on at the moment. I’ve had models from Geest here...
in note 2:
...Beresford falls in love with Lieutenant Frank King. At first she feels a strong urge to be independent, but...
in note 4:
...such as Maude and Virginie examining old prints at the towers, engraved by Richard and Edward Taylor...
in note 5:
Henry Lerolle, Au bord de la rivière (At the riverside), engraved by Jules Louis Laurent Langeval, in Le...
in note 19:
...Dans les dunes de Scheveningen (In the dunes at Scheveningen) 1848 (present whereabouts unknown...
in note 20:
Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt, Chez l’artiste (At the artist’s), engraved by Charles Baude after the painting with the same title at the Salon of 1881, in Le Monde Illustré 25 (17 September 1881), p. 181. Ill...
in note 26:
...Christmas in Canada – Amateur carol singing at Longueuil on the St. Lawrence, in The Graphic 14 (30...
in note 33:
Arthur Hopkins, “Charity en fête” A sketch at the fancy bazaar in the aid of the Royal National...
in note 39:
...Les dernières courses à la voile (Autumn regatta at Argenteuil – The last sailing races), engraved by...
in note 41:
...la porte d’une mosquee (Algerian beggars at the door of a mosque), engraved by Eugène Froment...
in note 44:
...Staniland in the estate: Landing fish at Billingsgate market, in The Illustrated London News 79 (12 November 1881), p. 484 (two copies: t*438 and t*595); The war, waiting at Le Mans for a train to Tours, in The...
in note 45:
...1880), p. 496 (t*220), Ill. 1983, and London sketches, an opium den at East End (see letter 235, n. 38).
in note 47:
...Sketches in Scotland: Arrival of the coach at the Fife Arms, Braemar; engraved by Joseph Swain, in...
in note 53:
...p. 368 (t*33) as Consulting the priest: A sketch at Claremorris, County Mayo, in The Illustrated London...
in note 58:
...wife Françoise Virginie Seynave had a ‘Boucherie modèle et bouillon’ at 15-17 rue Chapeliers (SAB).
276 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 29 October 1882.
in translation:
...or another to come to the studio to look at something, which very rarely happens, but I’ve never...
...and hangs downwards. The corners at the bottom are tied together and this creates that charming sort of monk’s cowl. (The hands grasp it at 1 and 2.) I often had a woman pose with a sack and it never came out well. I learned about it from a man who loaded coal at the Rijnspoor yard. This week I...
...over a railing at a collapsed bridge. Do you have the Dagnan, Bird charmer in the Tuileries Gardens and the Montbard, Arab beggars, I wrote to you about? — you know that they’re at your disposal...
...those artists who consider it beneath them to look at them. I find the reasoning of your friend, or...
in note 10:
...The Tay bridge as it appeared on Monday, Dec. 29, at ten o’clock, in The Illustrated London News 76 (3...
in note 11:
...Jardin des Tuileries and Montbard, Algerian beggars at the door of a mosque, see letter 275, nn. 40 and 41.
277 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 29 October 1882.
in translation:
This morning, when I at last got round to sorting out my drawings, namely the studies...
...say.) I haven’t seen anything at all of the latter since I visited him in hospital when he was ill — by chance I heard something about his having become a teacher at a secondary school — but I...
...other things, of having one of his paintings refused at Arti. I say only this: if the likes of he...
...scratch of a potato market): ‘I must have another go at tackling that bustle on the street’. The result is now some 12 watercolours that I’m working on at the moment. So I do not mean by the...
...all, that is, that one must have a real love of people. At least I hope to do my best to be in that...
...one can’t just sit cosily by the stove, look at drawings or prints and liven each other up that...
in note 6:
On Van Rappard’s work at the Institute for the Blind in Utrecht in the autumn of 1882: exhib. cat...
in note 10:
...Uncle Vincent van Gogh in Princenhage – he was not very well at that time: see letters 168 and 170.
in note 16:
Van Gogh had earlier expressed his regret at having given away wood engravings in letter 267; cf. n. 8 there.
278 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Wednesday, 1 November 1882.
in translation:
...after all, is made for the people, in my view — at least I believe that is the highest, noblest...
...with around 100 sketches that I’ve gathered together. At best I fear I would be told ‘did you...
in note 1:
...to the article says: ‘This paper was delivered at the London Institution in January, 1882’. The...
in note 8:
...tot Nut van ’t Algemeen (1882) was aimed at the lower classes. It included four folio pages in...
in note 15:
...fashion, horse racing, sport, hunting and at the beach). He also illustrated an edition of...
279 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Wednesday, 1 November 1882.
in translation:
...Small, and in my view that isn’t the case at all. He speaks of decadence, and not without reason...
...of each other’s work. It struck me at the last splendid Pictura exhibition that although Israëls...
...on their own but in connection with an exhibition at that time when today’s leading lights were...
...to repeat my congratulations to you on your refusal at Arti. If you were to be a rising star in the...
in note 9:
...from the original draughtsman: ‘You marvel at the handling of the engraver, and forget the artist...
in note 11:
...1871-1873) John Forster deals with this matter at length, especially in vol. 1, chapter 19: ‘First...
in note 14:
...members of the Dutch Drawing Society), held at the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague; see letters...
in note 20:
Particularly at the beginning of his career, Charles Degroux was fiercely criticized for his realistic...
280 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 5 November 1882.
in translation:
...come, then we could discuss what to do with them at that time. I think it possible that within a...
...one realizes one needs. One can’t do everything at once, but it will be absolutely necessary for...
...come to me for a morning, a daalder at the very least at his place, provided I came on Sunday. And...
...use requires at least half an hour, say, so one always comes back to actual posing. At Scheveningen...
...turn it was always had models at their disposal in a studio at the offices. Dickens has some nice...
...and vigour to your ideas and inspiration. Look at the French (Ary Scheffer, for example) and see...
...learn it, and would like to do my best at it. Adieu, with a handshake. Ever yours, Vincent...
...vivid pleasure after one has long been looking at newer things. I really didn’t deliberately set...
...of old woodcuts by Jacque that I saw at least 10 years ago at C.M.’s. It was a series, The months...
...final goal being, for example, to have bacon and eggs at an old inn way out in the country. Those...
in date note:
...wish that Theo should send money again by the tenth at the latest (l. 157), means that the letter can be...
in note 7:
...Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (Ill. 58), which was sold at auction in Paris on May 8, 1882 (no. 7). The version...
in note 8:
...send you’. From this it is clear that it was at Theo’s instigation that Vincent began to make...
in note 10:
The headquarters of Goupil (later Boussod, Valadon & Cie) was at 9 rue Chaptal in Paris.
in note 19:
The series of woodcuts that Van Gogh saw at his Uncle Cor’s (‘C.M.’) was Les douze mois de l’année...
in note 20:
At that time Hampstead was still outside London (to the north-west) and was known for its rural setting. The Heath is 800 acres of open ground with a hill offering a fine view of the city; it was a favourite destination for day trips. Forster writes about Dickens’s enthusiasm for walking on Hampstead Heath and the tasty food at ‘Jack Straw’s’ pub; the specifying of bacon and eggs and of what was discussed are additions by Van Gogh. See Forster 1872-1874, vol. 1, pp. 112, 184 and vol. 2, pp. 77-78...
281 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 7 November 1882.
in translation:
...what I bought from Smulders. It’s very expensive at S., 1.75 guilders a sheet, but is nice to work with...
...not laboured but vigorous — that we’d had printed at our own expense, this would make us more...
...so with a handshake, Ever yours, Vincent If at all possible, send no later than the tenth, for I...
...I got from what I heard there and at other firms was that lithography was rapidly dying out...
...about recently. Yesterday evening I looked again at the Gavarnis with renewed pleasure. I hope...
...namely by using grids. Anyway, we would deal with that. At the same time you see in this print one...
in date note:
...at the earliest. It is also certain that it dates from before 10 November, since Vincent hopes that Theo will be able to send the usual amount on that day (ll. 56-57). In the following letter of 14 November Van Gogh writes that at the moment he has been ‘literally without money for 5 or 6 days now’, thus from about 9 November. In the present letter this money crisis does not appear to be acute yet, so it is unlikely that the letter dates from after 8 November. For this reason the date chosen is on or about Tuesday, 7 November...
in note 1:
It is not known who the printer was at Smulders lithography company. It is not certain that the printer’s was also at Laan 3 (cf. letter 253, n. 9).
in note 6:
...in chromolithography. The firm was located at Pompe 3 (now the Rijksadministratief Centrum, on the...
in note 7:
Van Gogh’s impression was correct: at this time lithography was losing ground to new printing and...
282 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 14 November 1882.
in translation:
...been literally without money for 5 or 6 days now, and so my work is stuck too, at least I can’t work...
...is more natural than that I should work on them. At one point Rappard experimented in the same way...
...we were to have a few of these sheets printed at our own expense. That would make us more credible to the managers of the illustrated magazines. Now it isn’t at all my idea that what we might have...
...you would know all about it, and in no sense at all — in connection either with the work or with...
...turns out well be printed by the maker, then that, at least in my case and that of most people who...
283 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 16 or Friday, 17 November 1882.
in original text:
...geweest. Zeer gaarne verneem ik at your early convenience iets over wat ik heden zend. Verder help ik U eens onthouden ge nog op Daumier zoudt terug komen.– ook at your early convenience want ik...
in translation:
...I immediately reported the loss of the letter at the post office, but they say they can give little...
...on at the moment. I assure you that when there was no letter from you, and I couldn’t think what the reason might be, I was very melancholy. I would very much like to hear something from you at...
...to return to the subject of Daumier — again, at your early convenience, for I understand that you...
in note 8:
...by an earlier letter from Theo about special transfer paper in use at the magazine; see letter 280.
in note 9:
...at this point is impossible to determine. Sixteen sheets from this magazine survive in the estate; they include only one series of three from the same issue, namely Auguste Lançon, Les chinois fumeurs d’opium à Londres (Chinese opium smokers in London); Auguste Lançon, Au music-hall (At the music hall) and Jean-François Millet, Le berger (The shepherd) (t*1348 (2 prints on 1 sheet) and t*914); they appeared in La Vie Moderne 2 (16 October 1880), no. 42. It is odd that Van Gogh talks about a ‘very old issue’ (ll. 45-46): La Vie Moderne had only been published since 1879. He may have been thinking of another magazine...
284 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Friday, 17 or Saturday, 18 November 1882.
in translation:
...I noticed them too. I would like to write at greater length about what you say, ‘one should only...
...subject which will make it clearer to you than I can. It’s campaign time, at least a time in which there’s a campaign to be waged. I’m not talking about drawing nudes in itself, but about the large decoration. I know the Boughton, ‘The heir’, as a painting. I saw it at the Royal Academy and later at Goupil’s. At that time I found it so beautiful that I made a drawing of it for an...
...on festive occasions, in which I see no good at all, either for the artists or for the public, and...
in note 2:
...had sent a second series of drawings to Uncle Cor at the end of May 1882, he had to wait a long time, as...
in note 8:
...was exhibited in 1873 in the summer exhibition at the Royal Academy in London (as no. 1062), which was...
in note 11:
...of which the following prints had appeared at that time: Le banquet des ouvriers mineurs de...
285 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Wednesday, 22 November 1882.
in translation:
...from it. No news yet about the letter. The people at the post office here know nothing about it and...
in note 3:
...1882 Herman Johannes van der Weele was living at Hobbemastraat 17 in The Hague (Adresboeken...
in note 11:
The lithograph Sorrow (F 1655 / JH 259) was sent at the same time as letter 283.
286 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 24 November 1882.
in translation:
But you write that you sent the paper from Buhot at the same time as the letter — yet it wasn’t with it...
...these two sombre ones, Josserand writing his addresses at night, and that tiny maid’s room, made...
...book I read Quatre vingt treize by V. Hugo at long last. That’s entirely different territory. It...
...pleased me very much indeed to see (in the window at G&C) a painting by De Bock that seemed to me...
in note 5:
...and delivery at night in her attic room. She at once abandons the child out of shame and fear of losing her job. See Zola 1960-1967, vol. 3, pp. 366-371 (chapter 18). The detailed and realistic description of the birth was highly controversial at the time. Josserand is the father of three daughters who, together with his wife, spend so much to keep up appearances in their bourgeois circle that he has to work at night as well as...
in note 9:
...his friend but also president of the court martial. At the moment Gauvain is beheaded by the guillotine...
287 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Friday, 24 November 1882.
in translation:
...longer; it’s being investigated. I told the man at the printer’s about the accident, and so far...
...had Van der Weele, painter and also drawing master at the high school here, and he saw the various...
...you on them. 70-76 is precisely the finest period, at least for the English above all. The Black...
in note 6:
Two drawings connected to the lithograph ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268) are known: ‘Worn...
in note 8:
Herman van der Weele was a teacher at the secondary school in The Hague and at the Ambachtsschool (technical school).
in note 13:
Van Gogh had been living at this address since July 1882 (see letter 243). Perhaps Van Rappard was still sending letters to the old address (at number 138), although in letter 256 to Van Rappard Van Gogh talked about...
288 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 26 and Monday, 27 November 1882.
in translation:
...witty, something lively. Yet it’s highly conventional, or at least so this book seems to me (I...
...and make of a writer a man who simply sits at a table full of papers, or don’t even go that far...
...or a dung-heap with a flock of crows picking at it. How you would feel something like that — how...
...so quietly in the corner of his hearth. At the same time something precious, something noble, that...
...knows what those fellows are when one is at work. Now, to stomach that despondency and melancholy...
...or at least that the position is that, as you say, it isn’t certain a buyer will be found, even at a low price. For many a painter this is something intolerable, or almost intolerable, at least...
...honest as one would be if the work was paid for at its natural, fair price. One is afraid to make...
...one has a feeling that one may hit a rock at any moment. One can’t present oneself as somebody...
...a similar enterprise, I would risk it. Precisely because at the moment it’s really only you who...
in date note:
...cf. l. 1*, l. 84 and l. 253). The attempts at lithography described show that it must be 1882...
in note 13:
Seven impressions of the lithograph ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268) are known. Two were in...
in note 16:
The words ‘At the same time...the worms’ were added later by Van Gogh.
289 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 1 December 1882.
in translation:
...does become a question of not being able to continue at all. And I told him how much I appreciated...
...do is absurd, and many who were full of enthusiasm at first end up thinking that too, and are only...
...The price of the prints is not to exceed 10 or at the most 15 cents. Publication shall begin when a...
...and decision on whether or not to continue, and at that point, but not before, whoever so wishes...
...the idea first having become clear to me while I was at work. But I’ve long been in touch with...
...I’ve described to you couldn’t be established. At that point I would have to see what more I...
in note 2:
The lithograph ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268) sent with letter 288.
in note 7:
...The North-West passage (London, Tate) was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1874. ‘Millais accompanied...
290 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 3 December 1882.
in translation:
...still black passages everywhere. But look, for example, at the left leg with the muddy boot. There...
...can be done with this process. Today I was at Van der Weele’s — he took considerable pleasure...
...we’ll be more and more help to each other. At Van der Weele’s I saw an outstanding sketch by...
...open window. Breitner does indeed have a position at the secondary school in Rotterdam. A solution...
...au fusain, because that size is easy to take in at a glance and yet the details don’t become too...
...to make new attempts without being able to say at this stage specifically where or what for, that...
...it distinctive — but sometimes the figure gains by it. At any rate, I’ll send you a few shortly...
...One sees it even better in things he did at that time for L’Illustration and Magasin Pittoresque...
...grace (a family of woodcutters or peasants at table) were created at a stroke in their final form...
...I believe you would be struck by them. With me, at least, it’s often the case that as I learn...
in ongoing topic 2:
Breitner is teaching at the Academy in Rotterdam (277)
in date note:
Vincent thanks Theo for the money sent at the beginning of the month, which he had not yet received on...
in note 5:
‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268).
in note 8:
...the brain. Van Rappard spent July and August 1883 at the health resort Soden in northern Germany to...
in note 9:
George Hendrik Breitner, Council of war at the time of the Batavian Republic, 1882 (present whereabouts...
291 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, between Monday, 4 and Saturday, 9 December 1882.
in translation:
...to assume, even if it isn’t successful immediately or at once: The thing is as true today as it...
...figure comes out light against the black field bounded at the end by a row of pollard willows. This...
...s always very tempting to draw a figure at rest — expressing action is very difficult, and in the...
...too if you set yourself to painting sometime. At first it seems something unattainable, a hopeless...
...the pondering and the willing as unartistic, are at least not equipped for long-term labours. The...
...of nature possessed by those who have looked at the fields with feeling from childhood. Many...
...as soon as Rappard is back on his feet, or at least when his eyes are normal again. Write again...
in note 7:
...pour tout le monde (Paris 1862). They also deal at length with the comparison of human heads with those...
in note 13:
...all interpreters, no matter what their art, have at times allowed their cleverness to mar the dignity of...
in note 20:
...Eugène Antoine Samuel Lavieille that was exhibited at the Salon of 1873. The wood engraving by Léon Louis...
292 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 10 December 1882.
in translation:
...walk taken by the Nabab and Hemerlingue the banker at Père Lachaise in the twilight while the bust of...
...in isolation, this thought seems a little pedantic, at least one could interpret it as a little...
...a silhouette of roofs and chimneys, and a woman at the wash-tub. You needn’t worry that I’ll...
...to me about ‘The accident’ at the time, now I know it and find it very beautiful. They perhaps don’t have the lofty quality, the almost religious emotion of Millet, at least not to the same...
...a sleeping child, for example. The grass trodden down at the side of a road looks tired and dusty...
...group of women I had seen early in the morning at a water and fire cellar in their thin skirts and...
in date note:
...wrote the present letter as well, because he says at the beginning ‘I often get round to writing to you...
in note 3:
...at the centre of Daumier’s painting, unless he was referring to a drawing (possibly unknown). Victor Hugo’s Histoire d’un crime (1877-1878) recounts the events during the coup of December 1851 in Paris. The fourth volume, ‘Quatrième journée. La victoire’, chapter 3: ‘Les faits de la nuit – le Petit-Carreau’ describes at great length how Dussoubs is killed while making a heroic attempt to mediate in a battle between soldiers and republicans. See Hugo 1987, pp. 374-383...
in note 10:
...at the photographer’s), engraved by Auguste Louis Lepère, in Le Monde Illustré 24 (7 February 1880), pp. 88-89. Ill. 38. There was also an engraving by Rouget in L’Univers Illustré 23 (7 February 1880), p. 85, and a photogravure at Goupil, reproduced in Eugène Montrosier, Les artistes modernes, part 1. Paris 1881, p. 112. Auguste Louis Lepère also engraved Un accident (An accident) in Le Monde Illustré 24 (22 May 1880), p. 321. Ill. 735. A print by Charles Baude appeared in L’Illustration 77 (28 May 1881), between pp. 364 and 365; L’Univers Illustré 23 (29 May 1880) p. 341 also had a print. For A bird charmer in the Jardin des Tuileries, see letter 275, n. 40...
293 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Monday, 11 December 1882.
in translation:
...There was a sandpit there where diggers were at work — there were women looking for dandelion leaves, a peasant was sowing — we looked at all this and at the time I was half despairing: will I...
...heavy at times when I think of what’s going on — my pleasure vanishes. I really want to do my best in my drawings, but all those editors and having to present oneself there — bah! I shudder at...
...dejected at present, which is combined with other moments, when I’m making progress with the work, when I feel very cheerful, so that I find it rather like being a soldier who doesn’t feel at...
...do. Not so easy to resolve as may have appeared at first. I wish I had a position through which I...
...ll go bankrupt as a result and be bitterly sorry at the very end, still a long way off. But this...
...less keen to badger people. This isn’t the case at all, though, and as you see from the Graphic...
...It’s like Mesdag’s reasoning about the panorama at the time. I have respect for working, I...
in note 1:
...the magazine, with illustrations of the engravers at work and views of a modern printing establishment...
in note 6:
...of Edwin Drood, the work he was engaged upon at the time of his death.’ Cf. exhib. cat. Nottingham...
in note 11:
...were living in Brussels. Willem Roelofs lived at Chaussée de Haecht 218 in the 1870s. This long...
in note 16:
...11 (26 June 1875), p. 616. Ill. 2016 (t*132); At court; from The Graphic 12 (23 October 1875), p...
294 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, between about Wednesday, 13 and about Monday, 18 December 1882.
in translation:
...if I could pay for them — but I don’t at all mean by this that I don’t appreciate the present...
...the special mood of Christmas and New Year. At that time, in both Holland and in England, there’s still always a religious element, everywhere in fact, at least in Brittany and Alsace too. Leaving...
...fully share in it and even feel a need for it, at least in the sense that, just as much as an old...
...sometimes one doesn’t know which way to choose. But at all events one must work. Yet for my part...
in note 2:
...furrows’ makes it likely that it is the last one; this view may have been overdrawn at the top left.
in note 4:
The lithograph ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268), which Theo knew.
295 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 22 December 1882.
in note 2:
...formed the Tile Club. A social club established at the height of the aesthetic movement in America, the...
in note 6:
...de couture à Katwyk (Hollande) (The sewing school at Katwijk (Holland)), 1881. Photogravure Goupil, 1882...
in note 8:
...Katwyk (Hollande) (Old people’s home at Katwijk (Holland)). Photogravure Goupil, 1882...
296 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 27 December 1882.
in translation:
...once more. I believe I wrote to you recently that at present I’m occupied with large heads because I...
...search for the root or origin of many things at the same time. Thanks for all your loyal friendship...
297 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 31 December 1882 and Tuesday, 2 January 1883.
in translation:
...I was working on. I was carrying out an experiment at the time, the first results of which I can now...
...same ingredients on the grey paper. When I looked at what Buhot had scratched on the one sample, I...
298 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Wednesday, 3 January 1883.
in translation:
...tips as to processes are very welcome. In the window at G&Cie I saw a large etching by Fortuny, An...
...it’s clearly evident that my work is serious, at which time it will have more appeal than this. I...
299 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 5 or Saturday, 6 January 1883.
in translation:
...sometime. Then you could look through them at your ease in your room. And the advantage would be...
...Anyway, let me know about this. Because I had to pay for some things at New Year I’ve now actually run out of money already, at least I have very little left. Try, if you can, to send before...
300 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 10 January 1883.
in translation:
...or two about it, or if you want to talk about the future or confer about anything at all, I’m always entirely at your disposal. The fact that you write that you’re thinking of coming to Holland...
...your trust, and when I think it over I’m fairly at ease about the outcome. Such a thing isn’t...
...Dickens, the original drawings of which I saw in London at the time. There’s a power in them like...
...to have various drawing materials. I’m working very hard at present and I mustn’t stop, but the...
301 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 13 January 1883.
in translation:
...most effective medicine is still love and a home. At least that’s what I felt last winter, and since...
...take years. The woman and the children are with me at the moment. There’s a big difference when I...
...circle. I believe that the main consideration for you at the moment is — this life must be saved...
...to be otherwise, it would seem to me rather unnatural. At any rate I felt that conflict, and it was...
in arrangement:
...lately’ he had been toiling at fishermen’s heads with sou’westers (letter 302), so the fragment must date from before then. The number ‘2’ written on the sheet at the top left presumes an earlier...
302 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 18 January 1883.
in translation:
What I’ve been toiling at in particular lately is heads — Heads of the people — including fishermen’s heads with...
in date note:
...see letter 301). Given that he says that ‘lately’ he has been ‘toiling’ at heads with sou’westers, several days at least must have passed. Accordingly, this letter is dated on or about Thursday, 18...
in note 1:
...bought the 21 volumes, which had remained unsold at a book auction in The Hague, for 21 guilders from...
in note 8:
There were at least three ‘boat races’ by C. Robinson in The Illustrated London News: A sketch at the international boat-race 60 (15 June 1872), pp. 584-585 (Ill. 1282), Sketches at the Oxford and Cambridge boat-race 72 (20 April 1878), p. 369 and The Oxford and Cambridge boatrace: The press boat in a fog on Saturday...
303 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 20 January 1883.
in translation:
I now have The Graphics in my possession. I sat looking at them until deep into the...
...ll get a strong impression if you see them at my place sooner or later. For me, looking through...
...the Foundling by Holl and the old wives by Herkomer. At the same time, though, I had a melancholy...
...ll find that first volume as well, sometime. But how are you? Do write soon, at length or in brief. And if you’re still weak sometimes, and would perhaps like to have a look at some of those early volumes at home, I could send them to you. There’s something cheering and strengthening in those...
in date note:
...them and that they would be delivered ‘this week’ (i.e. by Sunday at the latest) (letter 302, l. 65). Because he says he has been looking at them until deep into the night (ll. 3-4), the reaction in this letter...
in note 2:
The first etchings by James Whistler were made in 1858 in London at the house of Francis Seymour Haden, with whom he worked closely at that time. It is likely that Whistler adopted Haden’s etching methods. Cf...
in note 4:
...at Versailles – Pétroleuses under trial, in The Graphic 4 (23 September 1871), p. 293. Ill. 969 (t*850); The Paris mob – A barricade in Paris, in The Graphic 3 (8 April 1871), p. 313. Ill. 958 (t*87); The Commune of death – Women of Montmartre, in The Graphic 3 (10 June 1871), p. 541. Ill. 968 (t*100) and Paris under the Commune – Women’s club at the Boule Noire, Boulevard Rochechouart, in The Graphic 3 (3 June 1871), p. 520. Ill. 2033 (t*199...
in note 5:
...Hubert von Herkomer’s Old age – A study at the Westminster Union, engraved by Eugène Froment...
in note 6:
...Hubert von Herkomer’s The last muster (Sunday at Chelsea hospital / Chelsea pensioners): see letter...
in note 7:
...Van Gogh had in his possession. Ill. 179 (t*457). In the estate there is also Francis Montague Holl, Shoemaking at the philanthropic society’s farm school at Redhill, in The Graphic 5 (18 May 1872), p. 468 (t*96).
in note 12:
...Outside the poste restante at St. Denis – Letters from Paris, in The Graphic 3 (20 May 1871), p. 457 – this one is in the estate (t* 16); Women trying to see the prisoners at Versailles, in The Graphic 3 (24 June 1871), p. 589; Princess Louise and the Queen’s Prizeman – A sketch at Wimbledon, in The Graphic 4 (5...
in note 18:
Francis Montague Holl, At a railway station – A study, in The Graphic 5 (10 February 1872), pp. 128-129...
in note 19:
...Montague Holl, Sight seeing – A study from nature at Mortlake, in The Graphic 5 (20 April 1872), pp...
in note 23:
For Herkomer’s Old age – A study at the Westminster Union, see n. 5 above.
304 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 25 January 1883.
in original text:
...The last muster onder den titel van Sunday at Chelsea. In een lateren jaargang staat omtrent dat...
...Labourers meeting en Life boat en Sunday evening at sea. Gregory, Hospital en Paris during the...
...toch mooie bladen, onder andere Fildes, applicants at a casual ward (Home & the homeless) en Fildes...
in translation:
...from a ship. Here they come, spectators at the Derby (Buckman also did the same thing with the same title excellently). I didn’t know Gordon Thompson before, spectators at the Derby by him too...
...very first sketch of The last muster entitled Sunday at Chelsea. In a later volume it says of this...
...Labourers meeting and Life boat and Sunday evening at sea. Gregory, Hospital and Paris during the...
...fine sheets from it, among them Fildes, Applicants at a casual ward (Home and the homeless) and...
...Small sketches too, cats — Chinese — mackerel fishing. At last a large print, a corner of a...
...by Fildes (for a novel), two men in a churchyard at twilight. You’ll understand that I’m in two...
...Hague someone like me should be the highest bidder at a public book auction? One would expect other...
...that. Then later he told me he’d bought them at his own risk because almost no one was bidding...
...one guilder a volume. Pleased as I am to have them, at the same time I feel sad that there’s so...
in note 3:
Joseph Nash Jr, At sea – ‘Therefore we commit his body to the deep’, in The Graphic 15 (10 March...
in note 4:
For Francis Montague Holl, At a railway station, see letter 303, n. 18. For this kind of ‘smaller...
in note 7:
Charles Green, Land once more! – A study at the sea-side, in The Graphic 6 (12 October 1872), pp. 340-341...
in note 10:
...The return from the Derby – A roadside sketch at Clapham, in The Graphic 5 (1 June 1872), pp...
in note 17:
...service for shepherds and herdsmen – A study at the Berner’s Hall, Islington, in The Graphic 5 (20...
in note 18:
In all probability Van Gogh here means A sketch at a concert given to the poor Italians in London, in The...
in note 26:
Hubert von Herkomer, Anxious times – A sketch at Tréport, France, in The Graphic 2 (26 November 1870), p...
in note 29:
For Herkomer’s The last muster (Sunday at Chelsea hospital / Chelsea pensioners), see letter 199, n. 12.
in note 30:
...of the “Chelsea Pensioners,” a subject that at first pleased no one but the manager of the paper...
in note 42:
...t*134) and London sketches – A tasting order at the docks, in The Graphic 7 (1 March 1873), p. 204...
in note 44:
Charles Green, An Irish ‘Patern’ at Balla County Mayo – The ‘Long station’, engraved by Eugène...
in note 46:
...of the National Penny Bank addressing hop-pickers at Mereworth, Kent, in The Graphic 18 (19 October...
in note 48:
Joseph Nash, Sunday evening at sea – A sketch on board a British fishing boat, in The Graphic 10 (19...
in note 49:
...theatre of war – The epilogue (‘From a sketch at Beaugency, by Sydney Hall’), in The Graphic 3 (11...
in note 53:
...Ill. 909. A short time later he admits that at first he did not know ‘this sheet was by him...
in note 57:
Mary Ellen Edwards, A swimming-class at Brighton, in The Graphic 4 (23 September 1871), p. 309. Ill. 803...
in note 58:
...to elsewhere in the issue as ‘A hunting party at Paddington station’ (p. 263). Ill. 802 (t*149).
in note 59:
...at the defence of Plevna (Plewen), where he was forced to surrender on 10 December 1877. Various prints of him appeared in The Graphic, including His Excellency Osman Pasha sketched from life in his tent Septr 21st 1877 by Victor Lorie, in The Graphic 16 (24 November 1877), p. 481. Ill. 504. Judging by the next engraving Van Gogh mentions, he probably had in mind Osman Pasha brought before the czar at Plevna, in The Graphic 17 (5 January 1878), pp. 8-9. Ill. 2049...
in note 63:
...the artist, and means Joseph Nash, Amateur navvies at Oxford – Undergraduates making a road as suggested...
in note 70:
...print At court (‘Heads of the people’, no. 3), which is in the estate; see letter 293, n. 16. The commentary accompanying it reads as follows: ‘Certainly, for most young ladies, the first presentation at Court is a trying ordeal and though doubtless you have diligently rehearsed so many times at home, making...
in note 71:
William Small, At the Royal Academy, in The Graphic 21 (26 June 1880), pp. 648-649. Ill. 1343.
in note 74:
Charles Green, The Derby day. Betting at Epsom – Outsiders, in The Graphic 19 (31 March 1879), Supplement...
in note 78:
...year 1876 later. Herkomer’s Old age – A study at the Westminster Union was in the magazine a year...
in note 80:
...at the Crystal Palace, in The Graphic 4 (16 December 1871), p. 584. Ill. 2054. Persian, Siamese and Abyssinian cats are depicted among others; Van Gogh refers to ‘Chinese’. Because these are ‘small sketches’, Kittens at the Crystal Palace cat show, in The Graphic 5 (25 May 1872), p. 496 is ruled out...
305 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 26 or Saturday, 27 January 1883.
in translation:
...an encounter has something of an apparition about it, at least if one thinks back one sees a pale...
...it. I’m thinking of the two women now, and at the same time I thought of a drawing by Pinwell...
...in my mind as when I first became acquainted with it. At that time it was said of that group of...
...of him when you wrote about the Barricade by Daumier. At the time he also did the pétroleuses and...
...way, namely Goya-like, but then sometimes all at once something runs underneath that recalls Meryon...
...well enough that many etchings, and beautiful ones at that, are published these days too. But I...
...I believe that both he and I must do our best at thorough study of the figure; the more one has...
...I can get a breath of fresh air instead of working at home, which has made me a little dull. I’m...
in note 7:
For Houghton’s The courts martial at Versailles and The Paris mob, see letter 303, n. 4
in note 14:
...after the painting at the Salon of 1861, appeared in the first volume of Eaux-fortes modernes, publiées par la Société des Aquafortistes (September 1862), no. 2; the etching was exhibited at the Salon of 1865...
306 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 3 February 1883.
in original text:
...is zijn titel). Dit personaadje heet in Punch nooit anders dan the Seldom at Home secretary. Wat zijn er veel van die Seldom at home menschen. En hen allen te zamen noemt Dickens het circumlocutie...
...het eerste idée van the Last muster at Chelsea Hospital, zijnde eene teekening die betrekkelijk...
in translation:
...at home’ reminded me of the name that Punch gives to the secretary of home affairs (the Home Secretary is his title). In Punch this personage is never called anything but the Seldom at Home...
...colour of dirty water, it’s like a rubbish dump. At those times one would like to have a friend...
...point even that the first idea for Last muster at Chelsea Hospital, which is a drawing that differs...
...administration approved of it, except for the manager at the time. (I’d be most surprised if he...
...the old men. A little like The sewing school at Katwijk by Israëls. Well, write soon if you haven...
in note 2:
...the avoidance and even obstruction of any action at all. See Dickens 1979, p. 500. See also letters 155...
in note 10:
...Gogh compares Herkomer’s engraving with The sewing school at Katwijk by Jozef Israëls (see letter 295, n. 6), he must have in mind Old age – A study at the Westminster Union (see letter 303, n. 5). Cf. for The...
in note 12:
...Old man drinking coffee (F 1657 / JH 266) and ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268), which...
307 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 4 February 1883.
in original text:
...toen het voorval met de ruwe schets van Sunday at Chelsea Hospital plaats had) hij zijn best deed...
...SCHOOL van Frank Hol. Claxton printing van Small, Barque at sea van Nash, Old Gate van Fred Walker...
in translation:
...to express what you feel, I do believe that at any rate you have no prejudice about it. The one...
...War (Paris under the red flag ((I didn’t know at first that this print was by him)) and an...
...tell you about. Perhaps I wrote to you about it at the time but I don’t remember for sure. Do you...
...nothing, of course, about the ways of the world. At any rate, a sick painter like me struggling to...
...or saying, ‘What’s it to do with me?’ is criminal? At any rate, I said to the woman, when you...
...heard more of the details, he looked at it differently from at first. The disagreement I had with...
...painter, Breitner, with whom at first I occasionally went out drawing in the street, and who was in the hospital at just about the same time as I was, has become a teacher at the secondary school...
...paintings or drawings is good in a sense, and at any rate fair, but we shouldn’t become personal...
...I live close by Rijnspoor station), looking at them could revive and strengthen you. Anyway, do as...
in ongoing topic 7:
Breitner is teaching at the Academy in Rotterdam (277)
in note 1:
Both offices were just a few minutes’ walk from Goupil’s: The Illustrated London News was at 198 Strand and the Graphic at 190 Strand.
in note 4:
...at the Dudley Gallery in London, where nine drawings by Léon Augustin Lhermitte were shown. We quote the whole passage here because Van Gogh comes back to it in more detail in the following letters (the numbers between parentheses are those in the original catalogue): ‘And though we should be disposed to put Léon Lhermitte at the head of all those who exhibit here for the most potent secrets of strength and command of effect in black and white, there are English designers, both of the figure and landscape, such as Gregory and Small, who come but little behind him in these points, and English landscape painters like Powell and Hunter, to say nothing of departed masters like George Cattermole, whose mastery of broad and strong effect does not fall below his. To such qualities in his black and white, as delicacy of draughtsmanship, exquisiteness and sweetness of effect, and refinement of expression, Lhermitte’s work makes no pretension. It assails the imagination by a rude, massive, and primitive strength akin to that which impresses us in the monuments and buildings, the life and faith, of that Brittany from which he derives most of his subjects, and in which his genius seems most at home. How eminently favourable this stern simplicity is to effect, in such materials as chalk and charcoal, we may test by noting the distinctness with which the memory retains that simple street in Dauphiné (461) – with its broadly distributed masses of black and white; those grim grey-black fortress-like houses at Landerneau (311), in which we trace the kinship of Brittany and Wales, so irresistibly do they remind us of Caernarvon; or those grave, prayerful women (259), kneeling round the rude coast-shrine (the Ker-Saint, or “holy-house”), on the naked rock that goes plumb down to the angry sea of Finisterre; or – almost more remarkable for its strong, simple grasp on the picturesque elements of the subject – that corner of a Breton market-place (194), with the satisfying harmony got out of the white caps and dark dresses of its gossiping and bargaining commères, the deep hollows of the doorways, and the light and shadow playing on stalls and booths, and overhanging pent-house roofs; or the “Procession” (114), with the canopied host, marshalling cross, and waving banners, the white-veiled communicants at the head of the train, and the more darkly and humbly clad forefathers and foremothers of the hamlet bringing up the rear, on the winding way along the hollow road up the hill-side to the rustic church that crowns its brow; or those robed and tonsured priests in the cloistral half-shadow of their stalls at Notre-Dame (172); or that gaunt and grim Breton beggar-woman over her never-grudged écuille of soup, or that Breton house-wife at her sleepless wheel. It is impossible to forget Lhermitte’s work. He is at once the Millet and Jules Breton of Black and White; and it would be a curious and not useless artistic problem to work out upon his drawings what is the secret of the pathetic effect obtained without delineation – indeed, with hardly even indication – of feature, and only the rudest suggestions of form. A. Legros has something of this power, but his style is at once dryer and more distinct (see his “Beggar and Worshippers at a church-porch of Bruges”) (92).’ Van Gogh uses the plural ‘comptes rendus’, which may be a reference to other favourable reviews of Lhermitte’s work, such as those by Tom Taylor in The Graphic 15 (23 June 1877), p. 594 and The Graphic 18 (6 July 1878), p. 6, and the anonymous contribution to The Illustrated London News 72 (22 June 1878), p. 582. For the works exhibited, see Le Pelley Fonteny 1991, p. 508...
in note 7:
...26 October 1878), in which The last muster (Sunday at Chelsea hospital) is also mentioned: letter 306, n...
in note 9:
...wood engraving Our allies – Scene on board ship at Jellah koffee, in The Graphic 9 (14 February 1874...
in note 14:
For Herkomer’s Old age – A study at the Westminster Union, see letter 303, n. 5.
in note 19:
See for Joseph Nash, Sunday evening at sea – A sketch on board a British fishing boat: letter 304, n. 48.
308 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 5 February 1883.
in translation:
...washed my head often with cold water &c. &c. But at a time like this one feels so ill — I have a...
...new ideas. I wanted to get something from my studies for watercolours, for instance, but that’s not working at all well at the moment. In my eyes and my face I now look as if I’ve been having a...
...sometimes so silly that I can’t help laughing at them. When the sun sets in the evenings there...
in note 3:
...Ill. 151. The title Hille Bobbe was also current at the time: E.J.T. Thoré (writing under the pseudonym...
in note 5:
...Une procession à Mont-Saint-Père (A procession at Mont-Saint-Père) (present whereabouts unknown...
in note 6:
...161. The only work by Legros discussed in the review is Beggar and worshippers at a church-porch of Bruges.
309 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 8 February 1883.
in original text:
...net penteekening gebleven is – it does not look cut at all, evenmin als de Brighton promenade van...
in translation:
...poverty but not her will consents. My dear friend, at present I recall no less than 4 women here...
...to imagine. Especially because for 3 of them, at least, the chance of pulling through is almost...
...based on something that I don’t speak of — at any rate not now. However — it’s only fair I...
...awareness of that in one like a mortal, or at least irreparable, wound, and to still go about one...
...like a pen drawing — it doesn’t look cut at all, nor does the Brighton promenade by Caldecott...
...Caldecott. Bracebridge Hall „ „ „ „ „. Two books at sixpence apiece, published by...
...worked hard this winter. Had some very real models. At the moment I’m not working very hard, for...
in note 5:
...and Kunstkenners op een tentoonstelling (Art lovers at an exhibition) both engraved by Charles Maurand...
in note 19:
For Montbard’s Algerian beggars at the door of a mosque, see letter 275, n. 41.
in note 23:
...Une procession à Mont-Saint-Père (A procession at Mont-Saint-Père) letter 308, n. 5. The two other...
in note 28:
...wife of Redlaw’s servant can cure the villagers. At the end Redlaw regains his own memory when he...
310 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Thursday, 8 February 1883.
in translation:
...make one shudder. May it now be overcome — and at least the crisis over. Poor woman! If women...
...and there’s a sort of goodness in women at times that is entirely peculiar to them. It must be a...
...of its own accord. And work remains difficult at times throughout one’s life, I believe, but not...
...and when one takes a look at it — — — one is amazed that someone evidently working with so much emotion and becoming completely absorbed and lost in nature at the same time has that presence of...
...in the studio or letting it in as desired. At present not enough comes from above, I believe, and...
...progress. As a working man, at the age of 30 one is at the beginning of a period in which one feels steadiness in oneself. As such, one feels young and full of zest. Yet at the same time a period...
...but for the better-off they’re hardly events at all, and don’t generally make much difference...
...she do well. What a difficult operation that is, at least I was shocked when I read the description...
in note 13:
...were the row of dwellings with gardens for the poor at Hogezand 2-24. The originally seventeenth-century...
311 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 10 February 1883.
in translation:
The print I’m most pleased with at present is The light of other days by Lucas. Isn’t it just like one...
...is. There’s a lot of life in Marchetti, At the weigh-in, resembles Small especially. I have two...
...with boys? I’ve just got it in duplicate. At the same time I found a particularly fine large...
in note 5:
...prix de Paris. Au pesage (The Grand Prix de Paris. At the weigh-in) engraved by Clément Edouard...
312 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 11 February 1883.
in original text:
...Ik vind het spreekwoord heel leuk, When things are at the worst they are sure to mend, doch nu...
in translation:
...Michelet says, singularly, that love is a spider’s web at first and grows to be as strong as a...
...could I discuss it here in the present circumstances? At the moment there isn’t a single person...
...things are at the worst they are sure to mend, but I sometimes ask, Are we by now at ‘the worst...
...more at home in that period than in this — that’s to say, you or I, for example, would feel at...
...people will be too drowsy to think about it at all, and if things improve — so much the better...
...want, then the whole period will be good, or at least energetic. Yes, I think a great deal about...
...misfortune in common, and the fact of being women, at any rate. Once people are so tied to each...
...and beautifully felt. It’s a modest book, but deep at the same time. If you don’t know Mme...
...and sand against the grey sky. At any rate the colour in the meadows at present is often such that...
...fact that, for example, he went to make studies at the institution for the blind before his illness...
in note 3:
Van Gogh began working at Goupil’s in 1869.
in note 10:
...The woman, very pale and very thin, appeared to be asleep; you could hardly hear her breathe. But after a moment she opened her eyes, and looked at us in turn, as if amazed, then at the end of the alcove, then at the windows, white with snow, the wardrobe, the old clock, then at the dog, who had stood up, its paw on the edge of the bed. This lasted a good minute; finally, she closed her eyes again, and her uncle said, very...
in note 12:
...of the work Van Rappard did in the autumn of 1882 at the Institute for the Blind in Utrecht are known...
313 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 12 February 1883.
in translation:
...be expected if she isn’t reassured on that point at all costs. Now I know that, out of discretion...
...delivery, she was terribly weak but still safe at first, and the child alive and peaceful. 12 hours...
...came in with the child on her arm, all at once there again came over her that heart-rending quality...
...attuned to each other that they can no longer be at ease and calm alone, then there’s no question...
...expressions in your letters from which I see, or at least believe I see, that as regards the future...
...when her mind was put at rest, she was reassured precisely through the certainty of a new love, and thus felt hope and appetite for the future — she soon recovered in body, at any rate from the...
314 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 13 February 1883.
in translation:
...have, return them at your convenience...
in location:
Unknown. The letter was auctioned on 10 June 1974 at Hôtel Drouot in Paris. See cat. Lettres et manuscrits...
in note 7:
...1882), pp. 76-77. When the painting was shown at the Salon in 1870, the Album Boetzel. Le Salon 1870...
in note 8:
...such that Dadd’s Consulting the priest: a sketch at Claremorris, County Mayo is also a candidate, see...
in note 9:
...engraving is Michael FitzGerald, A pawn-office at Merthyr-Tydvil, in The Illustrated London News 66...
in note 10:
...cottage, Barford; the second A labourer’s home at Whitnash. There is a copy in the estate with both...
315 To Michiel Antonie de Zwart. The Hague, Tuesday, 13 February 1883.
in translation:
I am sorry that you came to see me yesterday and did not find me at home — I did not know you intended to come that day...
in date note:
...Tuesday, 13 February 1883; this tallies with the words at the top of the letter: ‘Tuesday afternoon’.
in note 1:
We cannot say for sure whether the landlord at this time was Pieter Willem de Zwart, or his son Michiel...
in note 2:
...person in question is Willem Kiesenberg. He lived at Schenkweg 134 (later Schenkstraat 15), very close to...
316 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 15 February 1883.
in translation:
...one can hardly speak of, so strong are the emotions? — at any rate when you wrote to me about the...
...s a description of Christmas in a village at the beginning of this century. Those small drawings...
in note 4:
...into trivia and superficiality, and how expectations at the beginning of a marriage end in disappointment.
317 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 20 February 1883.
in translation:
...to an agreement with him whereby I’ve got at least some of the privileges. He’s having some...
...with your recovery? And are you already back at work? Adieu, write soon. I received your roll but...
in note 3:
...a humorous fashion, and both the oppressed peasants at the beginning of the century and the landowners...
in note 8:
...Paris under the Commune – Women’s club at the Boule Noire, Boulevard Rochechouart, see letter...
in note 17:
George du Maurier, The Eton and Harrow cricket match at Lord’s – “The lookers on”, engraved by...
in note 21:
James Dromgole Linton, The feast of tabernacles at the North London synagogue – The reader taking the palm...
318 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 20 or Wednesday, 21 February 1883.
in translation:
...d expected (he hadn’t seen it since July last year); at any rate I got it approved while in the...
...ll get new ideas in my head through being busy. At Voorburg, for example, when I went with him to...
...curious, dimmed light that no longer seems to exist, at least there’s a tendency to make it cold...
...up, and at all events one must be very much on the alert. Just last week I read Notre-Dame by Hugo, which I had read before over 10 years ago. Do you know who I recognized in it, or at least was so...
...is, I believe, that even now they still laugh at Thijs Maris. I think there’s something as dismal...
in note 5:
Theo had sent Vincent this description at the beginning of September 1882: see letter 260.
in note 7:
...involves the arrest of Esmerelda, her hanging and Quasimodo’s wretched misery at the loss of the girl.
in note 10:
At the time he was living in Paris (1869-1877), Matthijs Maris was inward-looking, depressive and difficult...
319 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 23 February 1883.
in translation:
At the moment I’m in a complete mess. Enclosed a scratch dashed off when the blinds were put in place. On...
...effect of harsh light that the three windows would give at present without blinds and you’ll well...
...in another house I can re-create it fairly well at home if I pay attention to the lighting, and...
...in those small houses one can’t stand back at the proper distance to draw the figures, one can in...
320 To Michiel Antoine de Zwart. The Hague, Friday, 23 February 1883.
in translation:
...that I absolutely cannot ask such a thing of you at this point. But still I would like to have it...
...say. But this would be the utmost I could do at the moment. And since I am not absolutely sure...
...should like to ask you if you could see, at your convenience, whether there might be wood available...
321 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, between about Friday, 23 and Monday, 26 February 1883.
in original text:
...wat ik voor hem staan heb: Herkomer at deaths door Menzel Siesta – Hunting...
in translation:
...for the painter Van der Weele, the drawing teacher at the high school here. He’s made some 10 etchings himself — a little thin but still good — and at his studio I saw an excellent sketch of a...
...what I have ready for him: Herkomer At death’s door Menzel Siesta — Hunting...
...all, you can retouch in ink on the stone itself. At the same time I’m sending you 2 samples of...
in note 4:
...certain whether Herkomer’s Old age – A study at the Westminster Union (letter 303, n. 5) or Low...
in note 9:
Hubert von Herkomer, At Death’s door, in The Graphic 14 (26 August 1876), Supplement, between pp. 206 and...
322 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 2 March 1883.
in original text:
That God at its...
in translation:
And they who behold it, Shall wonder and know not That God at its fountains,Far off — has been...
...one has to do those 20 or 30 heads practically at once, one after the other. Here are a couple of...
...So that is in part why I’m not watercolouring at the moment. But nonetheless I’m working on it...
...things for a few months. Because now, using models at home, I can study some of the effects like...
in date note:
...before ‘1 March’ if possible (ll. 87-91). But at least one day extra must have passed between its...
in note 5:
...attention and a great deal was written about it. At the end of December 1878 Whistler published a...
in note 8:
...the sketch what he meant. We have placed this note at the end of the letter as a postscript. On the...
323 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 3 March 1883.
in translation:
...t sit still if you can’t send anything extra at the moment. For that matter, you sent something...
...there’s still a similarity in the level we’re at. I concede to him as to painting, but I don...
...more chiaroscuro in them, which is something rarely if at all found in my studies of this winter...
in note 1:
...the ‘’s-Gravenhaagsche Volksgaarkeukens’ (one at Torenstraat 19 and one at Stationstraat 26), where the poor could get food for very little money. There were also private establishments, the so-called ‘soepkeukens’ or spijskokerijen’, at Westeinde 175 among other places. See Visser 1973, pp. 73-76...
in note 2:
The sign ‘P’ refers to the sign at the top right in the open window in letter sketch A.
in note 3:
...again, in a small sketch (letter sketch B). His first attempt at this was a failure and he crossed it out.
in textual note 12:
The sign ‘P’ refers to the sign at the top right in the open window in letter sketch A.
324 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 4 March 1883.
in original text:
...but some people are and find it difficult to feel at home with such persons as have them not. Ik...
in translation:
...morning I began a watercolour of a boy and a girl at a similar soup distribution with another female...
...you see this band of people together that I feel at home with them? Lately I read the following in...
...to feel at home with such persons as have them not. I wouldn’t have put it in those words myself, but I’ve sometimes felt the same. As a painter I feel completely at home with them and not just content, yet I find a character in them that sometimes makes me think of gypsies — at any rate...
...and which he’ll let me have cheap, supposedly at cost price. Above all, there are some sheets of...
in note 6:
...materials, Hofsingel 1; idem in 1883-1884, but at Practizijnshoek 1; and in 1884-1885 tradesman in...
325 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Monday, 5 March 1883.
in translation:
...can surely be found at all lithographers. The scraper I used is this shape and I bought it at Smulders. There’s also what’s known as a point, for scratching in hairs, say, at all events for...
...arrangement, because the printer himself didn’t know at that point — and there were failures &c...
...I bought at least 6 expensive, special penholders and various pens — it was all rubbish. But at...
...did a drawing with it, women and children at a hatch at the public kitchen where soup is sold. And...
...that De Bock is working on a very large painting at present. This winter I saw a few smaller ones that I thought very beautiful. I didn’t meet De Bock himself at his studio but on the street, twice...
...his bombazine suit who’s sitting eating, his spade at his side? Or would that small part of the...
...in the Louvre. The mills at Van der Hoop. The bleaching grounds at Overveen in the Mauritshuis here...
...of Carlyle — that beautiful one in The Graphic? At the moment I’m reading his ‘Sartor...
in note 11:
...in Paris. The distribution of food to the poor at the entrance to a barracks), in L’Illustration 72...
in note 17:
...derived his information from the caption, which says that the painting was hung at the Salon of 1869 and could be seen in Paris at the ‘Exposition de l’oeuvre de Guillaume Régamey au Cercle de la rue...
in note 24:
...albums with engravings of works that had been shown at the Salon. The Album Boetzel. Le Salon 1869 included...
in note 26:
...A ferryboat in Holland) that Théophile de Bock showed at the Salon of 1883 (see letter 360, n. 3).
in note 29:
Jacob van Ruisdael, The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum). Ill. 1312. Also from the...
in note 33:
...but still there is something in it, and at least it is one aspect of a great and complex truth...
in note 35:
On the criticism of the book at the time: Heffer 1995, pp. 156-157, 183-184. The particular criticism cited...
326 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 6 March 1883.
in translation:
...added later, I believe, but should be more present at once than it is now. Because the freshness...
...is relatively unfinished. However, I’ll naturally work at getting more variation in the tones. I...
...as regards the light. Isn’t everything outside beautiful at the moment, don’t you agree? I have...
...club was started at the time. At any rate, most haven’t made any progress in etching, and when they make one now it’s no better or more complete than what they made years ago. Yet old Israëls is still young enough to make progress despite his grey hairs, and huge progress at that — and I...
in note 7:
...moeder’ (Interior, or ‘The mother’), although at 15.9 x 23.9 cm it cannot be described as large...
327 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 11 March 1883.
in translation:
...really are many and great, and not to be overcome at a stroke. Making headway is a kind of miner...
...dunes too. This week he may come to have a look at my studio, which I would like very much. I saw...
...this with you, though, partly because, should you notice at some point that Pa’s worried about me...
...ideals would be to have more places like the one at The Graphic, say, where people who want to work...
...Plaats, but I’m sure that I got it from you at the time of your visit last summer, or perhaps in Etten still. I found a very small remnant at a chemist’s, about six pieces but all in small bits...
...much more skilled than I am if I’m to be at all content with myself. And I hope that gradually I...
in ongoing topic 3:
Breitner is teaching at the Academy in Rotterdam (277)
in note 1:
...at the Internationale koloniale en uitvoerhandel tentoonstelling te Amsterdam 1883 (International colonial and export trade exhibition at Amsterdam 1883) in De Brakke Grond, which was held between May and October on the occasion of the World Exhibition. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1883, cat. no. 260. See also F.-G. Dumas, Catalogue illustré officiel de la section des beaux-arts de l’exposition universelle d’Amsterdam. Paris etc. 1883, p. 29, cat. no. 260. P.A. Haaxman Jr characterized the work, which according to him was much discussed at the time, as ‘a few skinny, dreadfully worn-out sand cart horses’. See ‘H.J. van der Weele’, Elsevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandblad 8 (1898), vol. 16, pp. 291-305 (quotation on p. 301...
329 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, Thursday, 15 or Friday, 16 March 1883.
in translation:
Last Sunday I was at Van der Weele’s. Saw a painting by him there that I think is by far the most...
...think it would be good to have a look at the most important woodcuts in this way, since if you come to visit we’ll need time for other things as well. Then at least that will be out of the way. As...
...The Graphics but which will undoubtedly please you, at least if you don’t already have them. Isn...
...fire in the dusk and to look through the window at a snow-covered landscape. I’ve also found that...
330 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 18 March 1883.
in translation:
...your descriptions, this time I’m letting you have a look out of my window at the snow-covered yard.
...It shows a gentleman who has had to spend the night at a village inn due to the late arrival of a...
...oddly whimsical shadows. This story is really nothing at all, and the scratch is nothing too, but...
...superficial one of a drawing in natural chalk, the girl at the cradle, done in the same way as the...
...for now that it is. If you yourself were to be at the studio now, I don’t think a week would pass...
...as his old lithographic drawing examples, but nothing at all of his present drawings in black and...
...did them, don’t let that discourage you, and feel at liberty to come back to that point, the more...
...shone brighter and everything had acquired a new charm. At any rate, I believe this is always the...
in note 3:
Van Gogh had written in letter 327 that he had found some natural chalk at a chemist’s.
331 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 21 March 1883.
in translation:
...morning and toiled away at all day. It’s perhaps the best I’ve done so far, at least as regards...
...ago now — I was working on studies of Diggers at the time — one of which I tried to lithograph...
...on, or observed them at work somewhere — anyway, he has taken a close look at diggers in nature...
...that is different’. This time I myself said nothing at all about them. But more and more I begin...
...other way round. To mention just one of many — at the entrance to the Lombard or pawnshop I saw a...
...for very much at times is to work with several models at once. To do drawings that are slightly more complicated. But this desire isn’t pressing — after all, I have enough to do. At Van der Weele...
...that when looking at studies? Bear that in mind when you’re looking at mine — especially when...
...what I said at the end of this letter — here there’s now no foreground at all — at any rate...
...and, for example, a brushwood fence behind, and right at the top something of the sky would be...
in note 3:
...in London in 1874-1882. He left in the winter of 1882 and until the autumn of 1884 he was an independent dealer in Paris at 52 rue Laffitte. He lived at 52 rue Lepic. See Heijbroek and Wouthuysen 1999, pp. 29-30.
in note 6:
...The Hague. Between 1853 and 1872 his work was seen at exhibitions in The Hague in the form of woodcuts...
in note 11:
This entrance gate at the back of the pawnshop was in Korte Lombardstraat. A year earlier Van Gogh had done...
in note 13:
...included in La mascarade humaine. The sign reads ‘AT THE MEETING POINT / OF BROTHERR HOOD’; below the...
in note 14:
At the International Exhibition, which opened in Amsterdam on 1 May 1883, Anthon van Rappard was represented...
332 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 21 March 1883.
in translation:
...you would rather not wait any longer than necessary. At any rate after seeing them, you’ll regard...
...the blocks themselves. In this consignment you’ll at last find something by Boyd Houghton, namely...
...attention to was by Boyd Houghton — I wrote to you about it at the time — it shows a corridor at the offices of The Graphic at Christmas. The draughtsmen’s models come to wish them a merry Xmas...
...with someone else on his back who can’t walk at all — his coat-tail is held by a second blind...
...often ENOUGH??? Van der W. replied: When Israëls was at my studio lately and saw my big painting...
...a place where models would rendezvous each day, as at The Graphic in the past. Anyway, be that as...
...for exhibitions — fine — I myself am decidedly not at all fond of exhibitions. I used to be...
...those artists in whom I see the soul most at work. Israëls, for instance, is a clever technician...
...is another consequence. And what I’m getting at, among other things, is that Eliot is masterly in...
in note 1:
...Van Rappard’s Tile painters, which would be shown at the Amsterdam International Exhibition, see letter...
in note 4:
Arthur Boyd Houghton, Shaker Evans at home, in The Graphic 4 (26 August 1871), p. 213. There is a copy in...
in note 5:
Arthur Boyd Houghton, Landing cotton at Liverpool, in The Graphic 12 (11 December 1875), p. 581. There is a...
333 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 29 March and Sunday, 1 April 1883.
in translation:
...and asked him if he’d like to have a look at the studio. He did so. Since I was working on that...
...Bodmer found that — he is original as an artist and at the same time he has what one might call...
...I mean not only Bodmer’s actual lithographs like At Bas-Bréau and Stags fighting, but the prints...
...that it’s something I think about a great deal while at work, and that I have a great love of it...
...V. Hugo. A book of which I have old memories, but at the same time I felt a need to read it again...
...could describe better than I. And I thought of you at the time. I’ve already written that I’ve...
...I have a sower — a mower — a woman at the wash-tub — a woman miner — a woman sewing — a...
...anything by an American called Abbey? In New York at the moment there’s a club of draughtsmen who...
in note 6:
Jan Frederik van Deventer lived at Schenkweg 88, thus close to Van Gogh (GAH, Civil registration 1880-1895).
in note 9:
...Mouilleron) (At Bas-Bréau. Forest of Fontainebleau) and Combat de cerfs. Forêt de Fontainebleau (lithograph, chez Jourdan et Barbot) (Stags fighting. Forest of Fontainebleau), after the paintings at the Salons of...
in note 12:
...inwardly chastened through remorse and sacrifice. At the same time the book is an indictment of...
in note 20:
This drawing of a woman at the washtub is not known.
334 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Monday, 2 April 1883.
in translation:
...deep tones of black could be obtained, but it was at the printer’s that I found a few of them...
...fire, food, drink and a few quarters to be earned. At present that’s only on a very small scale...
335 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 3 April 1883.
in translation:
...that one can do highly transparent washes with it — at the same time, using it more thickly, one...
...The drawing I’m working on in this way at present is an orphan man standing beside a coffin...
...may already have it, but otherwise you can get it at any book printer’s. In my experience this...
...which Smulders has recently had delivered in two formats. The large one at 3.75 guilders a quire.
336 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 11 April 1883.
in translation:
...must put your heart and soul into it and marry her. At least it seems to me that one must make it a...
...you might have been in two minds over the question at issue. In the above you have my thoughts on...
...can be mixed in at least two ways — namely with the white from the tubes of oil paint — and probably even better with the ordinary zinc white in powder form that one can even get at any chemist...
...Jules Dupré’s work is. In the window at G&C. I saw a small seascape which you no doubt know, and which I’ve been going to have a look at almost every evening — but as regards Dupré and...
...of printer’s ink apart from the one I have at the moment, and the question may resolve itself in...
in note 1:
...to paper. In letters 331 and 339 Van Gogh also hints at a possible marriage between Theo and Marie.
in note 7:
Van Gogh comes back to this remark at the end of letter 417.
in note 17:
...that mourn for they shall be comforted) was shown at the Salon of 1852. The reproduction of it, engraved...
337 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 21 April 1883.
in original text:
...het waren. de groote Herkomer, Last muster Sunday at Chelsea en eene phot. naar dat bewuste schij...
in translation:
...you yesterday at greater length about some difficulties you may encounter shortly, but I was prevented from writing by the sense that I myself sometimes don’t know how to carry on. Moreover, I have faith that where love is true it doesn’t die, at least not when one acts with reason at the same...
...V. once, and he made a good impression on me at the time. I was reminded of the character of Felix...
...bump into him at some point. Rappard was due to visit me last Monday, then his sister fell ill, he wrote, and again he couldn’t come. Perhaps he’ll come this week. Well, at present there are no...
...they were? The large Herkomer, Last muster Sunday at Chelsea and a photo after that painting by Roll, Miners’ strike, which you may remember I wrote to you about at the time. I didn’t know there...
in note 13:
For Herkomer’s The last muster (Sunday at Chelsea hospital / Chelsea pensioners), see letter 199, n. 12...
in note 14:
...Roll’s A miners’ strike, see letter 263, n. 5. Van Gogh discussed the print at length in letter 272.
in note 15:
...von Herkomer. We have been unable to confirm that it was on sale at the time. When Herkomer’s painting won a gold medal of honour in 1878 at the International Exhibition in Paris, however, Arthur Turrell did...
338 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 30 April 1883.
in translation:
...a good one for you, and may you have good fortune at work — and I hope above all that in this year...
...the structure of figures so well to get expression — at any rate that’s how I see it. Edelfelt...
...by him which he suddenly produced, I believe, at the Exhibition in Vienna in ’82. It shows 3...
...Apparently, that painting caused a great stir among artists at the time — I don’t know what’s...
in note 4:
...Gérôme, which was also available in reproductions at the times. See Ackerman 1986, p. 226, cat. no. 194...
in note 8:
...1882, p. 232, no. 97. The women, painted in a church at Dachau, are wearing traditional Bavarian costume.
in note 9:
...de Gassow is known). Karl Gussow was represented at the International Exhibition in London in 1874 by...
339 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Wednesday, 2 or Thursday, 3 May 1883.
in translation:
...and you can rest assured that I won’t let on at home or elsewhere that I already knew something of...
...just about given up responsibility for that. At the moment I have different kinds...
...terribly sorry to have to ask but if it’s at all possible send me another 10 francs, say. A week...
...regards your patient. The weather here is delightful at times; no doubt it’s beautiful where you...
341 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 9 May 1883.
in translation:
...melancholy are often caused by the effort of working — at the same time, though, there’s a kind...
...brothers, maids, servants, and I don’t know what else at home, and they can all be on sentry duty...
...decorations or ornaments — but I’m against them at this time and in the circumstances we’re...
...at a time of great enthusiasm and a spirit of energy and renaissance. But I’m against them at a...
...going well, which is more or less the convention at present, and could end up in a periwig age...
...for example, in shaping them into the final whole. Now at the moment I have many studies and 2 or 3...
...If I have something against a new movement, it isn’t at all that of Israëls, Mauve and Maris. No...
...far I’ll yet advance — but I’ve done my best at it and shall continue to do my best. And this...
...le Salon 1883, of which the first issue is out at 1 franc and which will be complete in 12 monthly...
...them as weak and don’t want to fight, at least not attack. In this respect, too, I CERTAINLY save...
in arrangement:
...to Van Rappard 1936) – a fourth sheet was added at the end of the letter. On the grounds of the...
in date note:
At the time the letter was written, Van Gogh had received both a letter and, a day later, a telegram from Van Rappard; see letter 342. Since there is no mention of this in letter 340 of on or about 7 May, at least two...
in note 1:
In June 1882 Van Gogh had been treated for venereal disease at the Burgergasthuis: see letters 237 ff.
in note 6:
...were added later. Where Van Gogh writes ‘&c’ at the end of the saying, the original was ‘they...
342 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 10 May 1883.
in translation:
...50 francs enclosed. Which were a deliverance for me, at any rate a respite. I’ve also heard from...
...one of the few who have cartridges in their box at the present time. Use them only in cases where a...
...he may speedily return what he owes you. At one time there were big plans to populate the plantation with countless dogs. This livestock farming is highly commendable, but at present I want to say no...
...being as they are — yet even if one looks at the weather and the changing year like this — and...
...our own nature and vision isn’t always and at every moment in harmony and accord with that of the...
...the floor in a corner on a couple of sacks or something, he crows at the drawings and is always quiet in the studio because he looks at the things on the wall. Oh, he’s such an agreeable little lad...
...with a view to what I’m doing myself at present with the printer’s ink and lithographic crayon...
...Fromentin, a battle of fellahs, in the window at G&C. Also saw the nouveautés, perhaps not all of...
in note 10:
...them to a printing plate became ever more advanced at the end of the century, and experiments were carried...
in note 14:
For Van Rappard’s Tile painters, exhibited at the International Exhibition in Amsterdam, see letter 331...
343 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Sunday, 20 May 1883.
in translation:
...in the evening, and we spent the whole day looking at one thing and another, and he did a sketch using...
...of a young surveyor who was trying his hand at drawing. He showed me drawings which I thought poor...
...morning he asked if he might have another go at painting, and that went extremely well now and he...
in note 3:
...was training to become a surveyor; he took his exams at the end of 1883. See Op de Coul and Tellegen 1995.
in note 6:
...at 8 rue Saint-Georges. See Almanach du commerce de Paris 1885. Mauve had dealings with them in the 1880s. See Stolwijk 1998, pp. 214-215 (n. 96). From time to time Arnold visited Jozef Israëls’s studio in The Hague. Tripp replaced Van Gogh at Goupil in London in 1875 (FR b2338...
344 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Monday, 21 May 1883.
in translation:
...s getting on very well and making progress, but at times I’m worried, although I don’t find...
in note 4:
Anthon van Rappard, Old woman at the spinning wheel (private collection). Ill. 330. The painting measures 85...
in note 7:
For Van Rappard’s Tile painters, shown at the International Exhibition in Amsterdam, see letter 331, n...
in note 8:
...Cf. in this connection the drawing Churchyard at Rolde of 1883 (Assen, Drents Museum). Cf. exhib...
345 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Monday, 21 May 1883.
in original text:
...unreasonable to ask that the weaving may be looked at in its complete state, and with the pattern...
in translation:
...in itself and stands by itself — lending itself at the same time to possible reproduction, photos...
...t unreasonable to ask that the weaving may be looked at in its complete state, and with the pattern...
...wanted to say, try splashing and smearing with it — at random and from the imagination as it were...
...one works more and better as a result — and at any rate the point of view from which one sees...
...ll certainly have a lot more prints to look at which, sadly, I don’t have in duplicate. Enjoy...
in note 1:
For Van Rappard’s Old woman at the spinning wheel, see letter 344, n. 4
in note 3:
...autumn of 1882 Van Rappard had done some studies at the Institute for the Blind in Utrecht. See e.g. Van...
in note 5:
...to Van Rappard, one of whose descendants owns this copy with the name ‘Vincent’ inscribed at the front.
in note 9:
...portrait of Van Rappard that Van Gogh drew was done at this time (Van Rappard F 1297r / JH 491). See cat...
in note 10:
...Le semeur (The sower) (1881), which was shown at the Salon of 1881 and illustrated in La Vie Moderne...
346 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Friday, 25 May 1883.
in translation:
...had the money from you, however, I wouldn’t have been able to do this, for example, at this time.
...read it again. Both you and I learned some history at school, but if you’re like me that’s not...
in note 10:
...and cotton lamps, though regularly trimmed twice or trice in the long winter nights, burnt feebly at the best; and at a late hour, when they were unassisted by the lamps and candles in the shops, cast but a narrow...
347 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 30 May 1883.
in translation:
...sort, ‘Winter Tale’, Shadows passing, etc.? You said at the time that you thought the action of...
...it all just about together, it went quite smoothly, and at 4 o’clock in the morning I was already...
...it’s finished to show to the people at the illustrated magazines. And will take greater pleasure...
...movement, though, that’s the order of the day at present, but the sentiment in it is something...
...think his work is really so good, and when I was at his place he also told me that it had refreshed...
...more on what one saw in the studios in the past than on what there is at present. Yet I believe it would still be in your spirit. At the moment Rappard has a sort of forge, and this winter he did the...
...to do something that would otherwise miscarry. So if at all possible, send something extra as well...
348 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 3 June 1883.
in translation:
...off to be able to write quietly to you, at somewhat greater length than has been possible recently...
...a respectable family, and really Pa is greatly at fault, I think. Suppose there were difficulties...
...with her. I’ve hardly talked this over with Pa at all, as a matter of fact, precisely because I...
...in it, and I believe that the second time one looks at it one will be able to find more than one...
...when it’s red-hot and then one must keep going at it. So I’ve had models continually for these...
...they’re small, definitely done after larger drawings) at Rappard’s. Now I think to myself that...
...Herkomer, Green, Boughton (some, however, are in America at present) or others, if they’re in...
...need to have the women too, and also the setting at the place itself. Well, you have your woman to...
...I would take in London as regards the people at the illustrated magazines, I believe, if you could...
...The wretched thing is, Theo, that if we’re poor at some point, they try to upset the woman in...
in sketch A:
The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1028 / JH 367), enclosed sketch
in note 5:
...a second sketch after the same drawing, The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1029 / JH 366); cf. n...
in note 7:
For this visit to a sand quarry at Dekkersduin, near Scheveningen, see also letter 347. On this levelling of...
in note 8:
The enclosed sketch The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1028 / JH 367).
349 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 3 June 1883.
in translation:
...need for me to repeat it — it’s indeed true, at least in many respects, I admit that. Yet there...
...you my opinion once and for all, while you’re at the beginning, that I think it good that someone...
...opinion if, unfortunately, it should not turn out well. At the same time this letter is also to...
...extreme situation, and as long as you can remain at peace with everyone without damaging her, do so...
...my view no longer applies when a human life is at stake. Yet Pa himself is far from obstinate, and...
...great piece of luck both for you and for her at the same time. For hidden powers of energy and life...
350 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 5 June 1883.
in translation:
...use if I worked specially at giving them a decorative character. This morning I was out of doors at 4 o’clock already. My plan is to tackle the rag-pickers, or rather I’ve already begun tackling it. For this drawing I must do studies of horses, and today I did two in the Rijnspoor stable, and will probably get an old horse at the rubbish dump. The scene at the dung-heap is splendid but very complicated and difficult, and will be a hard struggle. I did several drawings at a very early hour...
...carry on toiling energetically. Even if we’re anxious at times and don’t know how we’ll pull...
...a Scheveningen hat and cape with what I still have at the moment. If I can get hold of the patched...
in date note:
...letter 352 that Theo responded to letter 351. So at least a few days must have passed between these two...
in note 1:
...after the second drawing is probably The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1029 / JH 366), which...
in note 2:
...letter 331). He was now an independent art dealer at 52 rue Laffitte in Paris; he lived in the same...
in note 7:
Later in the letter (l. 70) it becomes apparent that at that point Van Gogh had started two drawings of the...
351 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 7 June 1883.
in translation:
...to you directly. And my impression is that for the present you may be entirely at ease on that score.
...funeral of a farm labourer later on. And otherwise that Ma was at Princenhage and domestic details. Well, the reason I’m telling you this at such length is so that you’ll see from it that there...
...I believe that it’s a question here of a fault (at any rate a fault in my view) that lies more in...
...about it directly, and said not a word about it at the time of his visit. But not talking about it...
...I spoke so sharply about it I wanted you to know at the same time that I don’t do such a thing...
...concerned, be of good heart, and put their minds at ease. Adieu, old chap, with a handshake. Ever...
in note 6:
...Oude-mannen-en-vrouwenhuis on Z. Buitensingel 1; at the time this street was also known as ‘Om en...
in note 8:
...wine), 1860 (Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts). Ill. 253. Cf. exhib. cat. Lyon 1993, pp. 96, 122, cat. nos. 16-b, 43. For Bingham, see letter 156. The photograph would have been on sale at Goupil’s at the time.
in note 12:
The parents had sent this lady’s coat at the beginning of October 1882; see letter 271.
352 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Monday, 11 June 1883.
in translation:
Well, since I last wrote I’ve slaved away at that drawing of the dung-heap. It’s a splendid sight...
...and can go in the frame. There is effect in it at the moment, but I fear I’ll spoil it again. But...
...Last winter I saw the old men’s home at Voorburg. Smaller, of course, but almost more typical...
...then that the fatherland is complete and one feels at home. This is now the composition of the...
...sheds where the dung is stored, and the fellows at work with wheelbarrows &c. The first one I did...
353 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 15 June 1883.
in translation:
...the broad outlines of the composition. At the place itself I had a fellow who scrambled up the heaps and stood here and there so that I could see the proportion of the figure at various places. But I...
...at my convenience and do studies of it for the lines of the landscape. The drawing ought to be complete, as a worked-up sketch at any rate, towards the autumn, when the lifting takes place, and I’d only have the tone and the finishing to do. I saw it here last year, and the year before last at...
...diggers should be just a row of dark shapes at first sight or from a distance, but highly finished...
...believe it was a good thing that I toiled away just at studies for such a long time, for it’s the...
...must get back to my coal workers. All the cash I have at the moment is a money order for 1.23 1/2...
in note 3:
This drawing of the coal yard at Rijnspoor station is not known.
in note 6:
...of the two carpenters called Laarman in The Hague in 1883: Dirk Laarman, located at Paveljoensgracht 27a, or Cornelis Johan Laarman, at Visschersdijk 41 (close to the Grote kerk, now Torenstraat). Paveljoensgracht was...
in note 8:
Van Gogh had had a cape at his disposal since the beginning of June; see letter 351.
in note 12:
This painted study of the coal yard at Rijnspoor station (of 1882) is not known.
354 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Friday, 15 June 1883.
in translation:
...letter writing about that. Wanted to inform you that at present I have 4 drawings on the easel...
...worked hard since I visited you, I hadn’t composed for so long and had done a great many studies, so once I began I went at it furiously. Several mornings I was already at work at 4 o’clock. I would like it immensely if you saw them sometime, for I can make no sense of what Van der Weele said...
...And that’s not what I like or what I look at. Well, I thought that was rather well said, but you...
...I saw the sand quarry, but that time he hardly looked at it and I went back alone the next day. I...
...c. so that you can look through them at your leisure. And shall add Erckmann-Chatrian, Histoire d...
...you still have duplicates, add them to the Harpers (at least if you can do without the latter for...
in note 8:
...is not known; it is the same drawing as the one said in letter 353 to have been done at Rijnspoor station.
in note 17:
...is why in the summer of 1883 he took the waters at Soden in Germany; see exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1974, p...
in note 18:
In 1873 Anton Mauve had spent some time at a rest home in Godesberg in Germany; see Engel 1967, pp. 53-54.
in note 22:
...Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society’ at the National Academy of Design, reviewed on p. 71 of...
355 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Saturday, 16 June 1883.
in translation:
...R. says in his letter. Like him, I arrive at the manner of some of the English without thinking of...
...drawing. But it’s very pleasant with a pipe at night when everything’s quiet, and the dawn and...
in date note:
...at least one day and ‘last night’ (ll. 17-20). He also asks Theo to send the third remittance ‘earlier’ if possible (l. 85). There would be no point in this unless the letter reached Paris by 18 June at the...
in note 6:
...diggers in the dunes (F 1031 / JH 363), a sand quarry (‘workmen labouring’), two versions of the refuse dump and a scene at the coal yard at Rijnspoor station. Except for the first, these drawings are not known.
356 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 22 June 1883.
in translation:
...I had since tried watercolour now and then and had several at the studio, but that in myself I felt...
...Well, a telegram came for him then and I left. At any rate the matter of the Bargues is off my mind and I’ve thanked him again for lending them to me at the time, for they had come in very useful...
...one arrives at something original. You also read the remark in Rappard’s letter: ‘I used to do things now in this genre, now in that, without enough individuality. Well, these recent drawings at...
...in question that I took to Tersteeg wasn’t seen at its best in his small office in my view; it...
...he thinks, as you described to me very correctly at the time, ‘now he’s bothered by the way I...
...manner particularly. I didn’t find it at all beautiful immediately and first thought, exactly...
...I would so like to do the old churchyard at Nuenen. And the weavers. To do Brabant studies again...
...setting. Well, I’m certainly starting to feel at home here compared with the beginning, and find...
in note 3:
...Bargue’s Exercices au fusain and Cours de dessin at his disposal since Tersteeg first lent them to him...
in note 16:
...out the attractiveness of the church and the churchyard at Nuenen as subjects; see letter 259, n. 6.
in note 18:
...et l’oeuvre Edmond and Jules de Goncourt write at length about Gavarni’s time in London (Goncourt...
357 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 27 June 1883.
in translation:
...the studio again there will be livelier material. At least I hope so, and that will be the case if...
...it. Don’t you think the painting by Blommers at the Salon is beautiful (November)? I haven’t...
...and a greater dramatic element than B. normally has. At the moment I have no fewer than 7 or 8...
...get it as forceful in proportion as small figures at that size is sometimes very hard labour. Adieu...
in note 4:
...Villerville, Calvados (Waiting – Saturday at Villerville, Calvados) (present whereabouts...
in note 5:
...Villerville (Calvados) (The burial of a sailor at Villerville, Calvados), 1878 (Paris, Musée...
in note 6:
...Novembre (November) (private collection) was shown at the Salon of 1883. As is evident from letter 361...
in note 7:
...dunes (F 1031 / JH 363), a sand quarry (‘workmen labouring’), two versions of the dung-heap, a scene at the coal yard at Rijnspoor station and a row of diggers; only Peat diggers and Potato grubbers are known.
in note 9:
...mentioned in letter 122. The visit probably took place at Mauve’s studio on Alexanderplein in The Hague.
358 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 2 July 1883.
in translation:
...that you’ll write again at greater length no less welcome. I hope you’ll write to me in detail about the hundred masterpieces; it must be good to have seen something like that. And when one remembers — at...
...of someone’s work. So I don’t look much at ‘the bronze statue’. Not because I disapprove of...
...than the other sowers I tried before. I have at least 6 studies of the figure himself, but now I...
...I don’t care to go into in depth. Now at least they have character, something that’s in harmony...
...the action of the figures, will I be blamed if, following this emotion, I arrive not at a watercolour but at a drawing in black and brown only? Yet there are watercolours in which the outlines are...
...the influence of her family obstructs a great deal at times, I wanting to have simplicity and she...
...about it? But in that sort of situation one needs at least one point of contact with the art world...
in note 1:
Theo must have written about the ‘Exposition de Peinture’ at the dealer Georges Petit’s premises at 12 rue Godot de Mauroy. This exhibition opened on 12 June 1883. There were works by Corot (14 pieces), Daubigny...
in note 11:
...several times in Zola’s Mes haines, which at the end Van Gogh says he has read (l. 224). Cf. Sund...
in note 18:
...p. 393). The North Holland island of Marken is on the IJsselmeer (at that time still the Zuiderzee).
359 To Anthon van Rappard. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 3 July 1883.
in translation:
...so be it — not quite clear — so be it — but at any rate it makes one think and is original...
...analysis. Still, through that he (Taine) arrives at curiously deep pronouncements. For example, I...
...subject, and in this case Taine deserves our respect. Well, am glad to be able to look at the Boughtons – Abbeys at my leisure for once. I think In the potato field is the finest of all, and the...
...print by T. Green, the brother or something of C.G. It’s a party at the Foundling Hospital in London, a sort of orphan girls at the table. Oh, you’ll be in raptures over it. Also by him a...
...decipher but whom I assume to be a brother or at least a relative of W. M. Ridley. Both good, but...
...to go. How the poor live. By Hopkins, Children at the beach, very fine in tone; a beautiful sheet...
...ll find the sheets I’m writing to you about more interesting. Diamond field by Régamey isn’t at all gripping at first sight, but one finds it more and more beautiful with time. The T. Greens are...
in note 2:
...cancelled and there were even people who tore it up at the kiosks. This was too much for the publisher and...
in note 3:
...breath of justice and liberty...He is only at ease with the giants of the past, or the simple...
in note 16:
Henry Towneley Green, Sunday at the foundling hospital, in The Illustrated London News 61 (7 December 1872...
in note 18:
For Arrival of the coach at the Fife Arms, Braemar by John McL. Ralston, see letter 275, n. 47.
in note 19:
...McL. Ralston, The ascent of Vesuvius – Tourists at the foot of the cone, in The Illustrated London News...
in note 20:
John McL. Ralston, A game at bowls, engraved by Joseph Swain, in The Illustrated London News 60 (22 June...
in note 22:
...McL. Ralston, The Easter Monday volunteer review at Brighton: Deploying into line, in The Illustrated...
in note 24:
...Matthew White Ridley’s Landing of French refugees at London Bridge, engraved by Horace Harral, in The...
in note 25:
At least two prints by Edwin Buckman that appeared in The Illustrated London News 61 may be meant: The...
in note 49:
...What be you here for?” and Jim stopped at the Kiln, while Mrs. Peach held the horse (pp. 19...
360 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Saturday, 7 July 1883.
in translation:
...Bock, and I wanted to write to you about what I saw at his place. Because you also know him from the past...
...I did a few landscape studies as well, one yesterday at De Bock’s, a potato field in the dunes...
...and has to lug everything around. So that pied-à-terre at De Bock’s and taking the tram more...
...of that? The reviews were rather mixed. I think it will work out, to be at Scheveningen often this autumn with a pied-à-terre at his place. We’ll see — but I yearn very much to do something with...
...to something one has furnished oneself and one feels at home there. See that you send me something...
...of a diamond mine. At first sight it’s no different from one of those superficial drawings the illustrated magazines are full of — one is inclined to skip it — but if one looks at it for a...
in date note:
...l. 36). This wording suggests that he was writing at the end of the week. Partly because the following...
in note 9:
Bernardus Blommers formerly lived and worked at Spui 58. From July to November 1882 he stayed at Kanaalweg 31, before he and his family moved into the newly built ‘Villa Johanna’ at Van Stolkweg 17 in Scheveningen. It is impossible to say for sure which of the two buildings Van Gogh meant by ‘the house where Blommers...
in note 11:
De Bock had a studio at Van Stolkweg 20, now 22: see letter 212, n. 11.
361 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 11 July 1883.
in translation:
...Van der Velden once last year — at De Bock’s one evening when we looked at etchings. I’ve already written to you that he made a very favourable impression on me at the time, although he said...
...closer touch with him at some point, perhaps through Van der Weele. Was at Van der Weele’s...
...of a weaver and of that village cemetery at Nuenen. Again, everything costs money. Well, regards...
...or Urrabieta, the draughtsman for L’Illustration. Well, at times B. reminds me of Vierge, but...
...Imagine, I go to the garret that he has at Siebenhaar’s. It was furnished mainly with various...
...The remedy would be to look at length at the potato leaves that are so deep and elegant in colour and tone at present, instead of driving himself mad looking at lengths of yellow satin and pieces of...
...and just now photos of drawings by Zilcken at the photographer’s. Leaving myself out of it, I...
...diggers by Millet, and that large woodcut by him, The shepherdess. Or at an old horse by Mauve &c.
in ongoing topic 2:
Storage of painting materials at De Bock’s (360)
in date note:
...written: Van Gogh can store his painting materials at De Bock’s (ll. 102-103), which was not yet certain...
in note 1:
The exhibition Les cent chefs d’oeuvre at Galerie Georges Petit. At the beginning of the month Vincent had asked Theo to give him a description. See letter 358, n. 1.
in note 4:
...Gogh had seen the painting in the summer of 1882 at the Academy of Fine Art in The Hague (November): see...
in note 7:
...Wallace Collection). Ill. 404. The work was shown at the Paris Salon under the title Lisière de forêt...
in note 8:
...couchant (The edge of the forest of Fontainebleau, at sunset), c. 1849 (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Ill...
in note 20:
...see letter 204, n. 7. From September 1882 he taught at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Art and Technical Science – from that date he probably lived at Aert van Nesstraat 34 in Rotterdam. See Breitner brieven...
in note 29:
...is not clear which work this is. Van der Weele had at least two portraits that are possible candidates...
in note 34:
At least two photographers in The Hague are known to have photographed works of art in their studio. Maurits Verveer, one of the best known portrait photographers, had his studio at Zeestraat 52 from 1863; he moved in artistic circles and was a member of Pulchri. The other, the landscape painter Willem Frederik Vinkenbos, had his premises at De Riemerstraat 111. See Hans Rooseboom and Steven Wachlin, ‘Maurits Verveer’, in I.Th. Leijerzapf (ed.), Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse fotografie. Alphen aan den Rijn 1999 and GAH, Adresboek 1883...
in note 38:
...348 and 350). The second croquis is probably The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1029 / JH 366).
in note 40:
...Guillaume (p. 90). Ill. 1155. Van Gogh had looked at volumes of this periodical in March 1878 in Uncle...
362 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Friday, 13 July 1883.
in translation:
...with De Bock that I’ll have a pied-à-terre at his place. I may also drop in on Blommers now and...
...day, or otherwise, if I must be at home, allocating that being at home to the afternoon when it’s...
...do your utmost to send me a little more, if at all possible, for I’m already broke because of one...
...the woman along now and then to pose, or at least to indicate the position and size of figures. I...
...ago when I was also living in The Hague — that at first it would be a miserable time but become...
...large number of those figures are something that I at least have in my studio and, I believe, will...
...times are difficult we must give each other moral courage at the least, so that we don’t give up...
...too from his — but the strength I can muster at the moment doesn’t amount to much. Although I...
...my earlier ones he found them decidedly better. I was already ill at the time, and received C.M.’s reply in the hospital. He had looked at them again, yes, there were good things in them and when I...
in ongoing topic 1:
Storage of painting materials at De Bock’s (360)
in note 1:
De Bock’s studio was at Van Stolkweg 20; Blommers lived at Van Stolkweg 17.
in note 3:
The Nederlands Hervormd Oude-mannen-en-vrouwenhuis at Z. Buitensingel 1.
in note 15:
...not certain whether this sketch was made after The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1029 / JH 366).
363 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, Sunday, 22 July 1883.
in original text:
...iets als “the hair that breaks the camels back at last”. De last is wel eens zòò zwaar dat...
in translation:
...Dung-heap, Potato grubber 1 figure, Coal loaders, and at Scheveningen this week I worked on Mending...
...I, too, have an enormous feeling of faintness at times in the dunes or elsewhere, because there’s...
...like ‘the hair that breaks the camel’s back at last’. The burden is sometimes so heavy that...
...potato field, a field with women mending nets, and here at home a chap in the potato field planting...
...after all, I’ve done nothing that could justify this, at any rate not explain why Mauve, say, or...
...than a year has passed, and after repeated attempts at reconciliation, is not kind. Thus I end for...
in ongoing topic 1:
Storage of painting materials at De Bock’s (360)
in note 2:
...have had the same subject as the sketch The sandpit at Dekkersduin near The Hague (F 1028 / JH 367), which...
in note 20:
...te Brabant (A farrier in Brabant) (private collection), Ill. 633, which was shown in 1883 at the Living Masters exhibition at Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam. In view of the date, this was probably the work that Van...
364 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, Sunday, 22 July 1883.
in translation:
...I did do some work today, but I was overcome all at once by a malaise in my very marrow, and I don’t exactly know what to attribute it to. At such moments one would like to be made of iron and...
...heart on it, and that seemed to me a mistake, at least for the moment. Still, old chap, you know...
...s thoughts and mental powers? One must have a stab at it and say, I’ll do something and carry it...
...can do is work; if that doesn’t help one is at one’s wits’ end. And you see, the thing is...
...s precisely because my constitution begins to give way at times and I feel the strength to bear...
...I must renew my strength. And write now if at all possible — and that must be possible — one...
365 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, Monday, 23 July 1883.
in translation:
...yet anyone would feel weighed down and melancholy at the thought of stopping or going short of what...
...done these 10 or 12 large drawings I’m now at a point where I must change my manner rather than...
...who got through the Ecole de Rome, and had that period of ceaselessly grinding away at the figure, come up at the end of the course with rather clever, rather meticulously drawn things which, however...
...and the subjects would be a good thing. After the figure studies I feel a need to look at length at things like the sea, the bronze potato leaves, stubble fields or ploughed earth. So as to gain...
...fruit instead of just letting it wither, and thinks at times that one also has a life oneself that...
366 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 24 July 1883.
in translation:
...remember from that time on you yourself weren’t without your reverses. Nonetheless, at the beginning of the winter, or rather at the end of the autumn, I again received a little extra. Money for...
...with H. van G., and later business was rather at a standstill. Well, I still wanted to do it...
...my heart. Still, not disheartened, we must hammer away at it again. I’ve just brought back some...
...But you’re coming soon — that’s a good thing — at any rate you’ll then see what I still...
...from here to the post, but that’s how it is at present. Oh, I carry on of course, but I must do...
...from Paillard or someone like that in a certain quantity at the net price first hand, thus from the...
...isn’t important. As a dealer you’re probably eligible to buy at net prices. I planned to speak to someone about supplying me with paint at net prices, but now that I’ve raised the subject I...
...care of others and of the work. But now I’m at my wits’ end. Progress in the work isn’t to be...
in note 9:
...Alexandre Joseph Léon Bourgeois was a paint dealer. His shop was at 31 rue de Caire in Paris. In 1882 Bourgeois was the owner of a paint factory at 22 passage Tocanier (= 22 rue Claude Tillier). See AP. Listes...
367 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 25 July 1883.
in translation:
...the lamp for me 3 weeks ago, and from whom at the same time I bought some earthenware that he...
...as I receive money but that I don’t have it at the moment, and that adds fuel to the flames. I...
...is stronger than I am, right? — they aren’t at all ashamed. Well, all the small shopkeepers &c...
...and another. There are a couple of small seascapes at De Bock’s, one with a choppy, one with a...
...thing that it would be good for us to discuss at some point — I’m not saying that there’s any...
...much. That if they found carpets, pianos, antiques &c. at a painter’s, they might not be wrong to...
...s no lack of work. Despite everything, at heart I don’t have a feeling of dejection, and on the contrary I can agree with what I read recently in Zola, ‘If at present I’m worth something, it...
...I write about this very matter because it’s at the beginning, and the manoeuvre of moving to a...
...and for that there would have to be means, and at present the prospect of getting them seems to me...
in ongoing topic 2:
Storage of painting materials at De Bock’s (360)
in date note:
We have dated the letter on or about Wednesday, 25 July 1883; see Date at letter 366.
in note 9:
...from Zola’s foreword in Mes haines: ‘If at present I am worth something, it is because I am...
368 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, on or about Friday, 27 July 1883.
in translation:
...re so much wiser and are so much better at getting where they want. Yes, then it’s sometimes...
...right. That child has very often calmed me down. When I’m at home he can’t be kept away from me; if I’m working he comes up to tug at my jacket or works his way up my leg until I take him on my lap. In the studio he crows at everything, sits playing silently with a piece of paper for hours...
...one of the mediocrities, and feel oneself at heart to be nothing other than an ordinary person among ordinary people, yet despite all that one will arrive at a relatively fixed serenity in the end...
...not become one of the vile mockers. Not at once. Michelet puts it beautifully, and those few...
...one enjoys working on. For it’s a fact that at present ALL my work is TOO MEAGRE AND TOO DRY...
in date note:
We have dated the letter on or about Friday, 27 July 1883; see Date at letter 366.
369 To Theo van Gogh, The Hague, Sunday, 29 and Monday, 30 July 1883.
in translation:
...that have made me feel a need for something different at times. I don’t know whether you’re...
...the dunes &c. in their true character started. At that time things were more Ruisdael-like than now...
...in surroundings just like I imagine Scheveningen was at the time when the first Daubignys appeared...
...to carry on painting continuously this year. That walk alone at a remote spot in the dunes made me...
...in future he also supplied me with the saleable tubes on the same terms. At first he raised objections, but then he took another look at his stock and I reached an agreement with him along the above...
...the whole lot, which would cost over 50 guilders at Paillard’s net price) than Paillard’s NET...
...I needn’t take or pay for the 300 tubes all at once, but in as many instalments as I wish...
...as when one works on one’s knees outdoors. At the moment I have about 7 watercolour studies of...
...It would be good if you could send towards 1 Aug. At all events I’m glad that I’ll have some...
in note 6:
In 1838, at the age of 21, Charles-François Daubigny became a pupil of Paul Delaroche. In that year a...
in note 9:
This painted study of the jetty at Loosduinen is not known.
in note 12:
...father Hendrik Jan Furnée had a chemist’s shop at Korte Poten 8 in The Hague. He also sold artists...
370 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Friday, 3 August 1883.
in translation:
...year, first a few days at home and then straight to here. Let’s agree that at home you won’t talk about problems in the future or the limited chances of placing the work. At least not right away...
...more than staying at home for a fortnight, and I don’t even know how I’ll scrape by at home for...
...Anyway I shall — it’s absolutely impossible for me at present — but as soon as I can spare it...
...there would be a brightening up, and a big one at that. Well, in any case, it’s very good that...
...I heard that he has got the silver medal at Amsterdam for his painting of the sand loaders. When he...
...in part, and at Rappard’s all the studies for the paintings he did last year. So that I can just about imagine what would be involved for the definitive painting. If it’s at all possible, I’ll...
...that we’ll see each other soon, and together look at how to continue with the work. For the time...
...at once, as it were, drawing and painting. When working it up, one again has to deal with both at...
in note 11:
...Burgwal in The Hague. For the exhibition mentioned at the Gothic Room in the summer of 1882, see letter...
371 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Tuesday, 7 August 1883.
in translation:
...different studies so that you can see something of them at the same time. And I feel fine when I...
...that I still feel faint if I’m not actually at work, but I believe that is passing. I’m...
...more through my eyelashes instead of looking sharply at the joints and analyzing how things fit...
...that, and yet up to now that has hardly developed at all. I repeat, I’m curious as to how it...
...of the clouds or of the grass, for instance. At times I’ve been very concerned that I wasn’t...
...s the opposite of some other studies — when I look at it I recognize the mood of that sad, rainy...
...of that mysteriousness that one gets by looking at nature as if through the eyelashes, so that the...
...I dare all the more to assume this because at present there’s no immediate come what may. That...
...for whom I have great respect all the same. He died at the age of 38, and a period of 6 or 7 years...
...will thus seem to you all the more understandable. At the same time a certain resolve to use simple...
in date note:
...that the letter dates from Wednesday, 8 August at the latest. We therefore date it on or about...
in note 5:
...1882 he sent to Theo; see letter 269, n. 2. At this point he may have been working on Edge of a...
372 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 12 or Monday, 13 August 1883.
in translation:
...palpitations as well at times — in the end, with me it may come down to the heart being affected. Well, I don’t know all about it in detail, but I do know that you mustn’t mention it at home or to anyone else...
...you’ve come at last and I firmly believe that our being together will calm me down at any rate. I hope we’ll also go for a long walk together. Did I write to you that I had found thorn-bushes at Loosduinen exactly like Ruisdael’s Bush? That’s the area in which I propose to do studies for the potato grubbers. I hope I’ll soon be completely normal again, I’ll do my best at that, for I...
373 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 14 August 1883.
in translation:
I’ve just received a letter from home (please thank Pa for it, I hadn’t had the letter when I wrote), and I gather you plan to leave Breda at 2.15 on Friday. If there’s any change in your travel plans, let me know, and I’ll meet your train. Because if you’re in a hurry we must make sure not to let slip any time when we can be together. I’m working on a painted sketch for...
374 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 17 August 1883.
in translation:
...have happened since that wouldn’t have taken place if at a certain point I hadn’t been faced by...
in date note:
...to this conversation that was delivered to Theo at the address where he was staying the same day, i.e...
375 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 18 August 1883.
in translation:
...in the various matters we were unable to deal with all at once this time. For I need some time in...
...steps to give us a period of calm. And so work at it; otherwise it will stay like that. I am as my...
...the latter. Things inside me may clear up soon, but at the moment I’d rather not have to navigate...
...of gossip that won’t disappear whatever I do. Anyway. At all events I have the new suit from you...
...even carrying bales, and leave art for better times, at least having a studio and painting. When I...
...it, they feel drawn to it of their own accord. At any rate, if it’s refused or doesn’t please...
...I think you should have said something more adequate at the time when I was calm. Forget about that...
...that they can appear a little like that when seen at a distance, in retrospect. And even if I saw...
in note 2:
...paid him an unexpected visit, which Vincent described at the time as ‘very pleasing’ (see letter 269).
in note 9:
...to be a banker. At about the age of 40 he achieved wide recognition as a painter after winning a gold medal for the seascape Les brisants de la mer du Nord (The breakers of the North Sea) in 1870 at the Paris Salon...
376 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 19 August 1883.
in translation:
...boy is terribly attached to me; these days he’s always at my side wherever I go in the house, now...
...my way completely, and that I’ll arrive at something good, albeit after much searching. And I...
...see something of that, but not that it’s so bad that I ought not to be surprised at times at the long duration of difficulties in finding some trust among people. Supposing my faults were just as...
...where I live, I know that this can be done at more than one place. But of course we do what we do...
377 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 20 August 1883.
in translation:
...grateful for it, in no small measure, although of course at a later stage I’ll return to it if I...
...can carry out a test, or several tests. I’m at your disposal. I believe there’s a difference...
...at the Hôtel Drouot. At the moment you’re in Nuenen. I wish, brother, that there were no reasons for me to be absent. I wish we were walking together through the old country churchyard or at a...
...walk a little with me. For my part I’ll keep away, though my heart yearns to be together. At least, given that I at any rate can’t do without that brief moment of seeing either you or Pa with no...
...Goupil there were motives other than clothes, on my side at any rate. There was a half or whole plan then for me to get a position in paintings at the new branch in London, which in the first place I...
...or harmful. Then I would have asked for a position at the printer’s perhaps, or for the one in...
...sometimes selling nothing and finding life hard, then at times selling and having it easier. That...
in note 1:
...printed (see letter 281 ff), and with the publisher and printer Belinfante at Wagenstraat 100-102 in The Hague. On this firm, managed at the time by Auguste Belinfante, see J.A. Levy, ‘Aug. Belinfante’, De...
in note 3:
Van Gogh had seen Millet’s drawings at Hôtel Drouot in June 1875: see letter 36.
in note 5:
...of those around him. For a long time he works at night on the design of a machine that will make the...
378 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Tuesday, 21 August 1883.
in translation:
...a letter in the next few days which I’ll write at my leisure, and I’ll do my best to write briefly...
...I would rather have an art lover who bought regularly at a low price than one who only bought...
...One would have to be prepared, though, to stay at the inn for a few days, which costs around 1...
...that make someone a half person. What we must work at is getting yet more of a manly element into...
in note 7:
...Loos, see letter 135, n. 19. The branch in The Hague was at that time located close to Rijnspoor station.
379 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, between about Thursday, 23 and about Wednesday, 29 August 1883.
in translation:
This morning I was at Van der Weele’s and saw the studies he brought back from Gelderland. And my desire...
...if you go there it’s associated with whoring in three ways, first because you were living at your mother’s at the time, and she herself urged you to go on the streets. Next because she lives in...
...I see that she’s very unsettled. I believe that at the moment she has no better friend than me...
...made the slightest progress. One can’t fully explain everything in a case like this all at once, nor understand everything all at once. But you can see, can’t you, that she’s a creature who is...
...intention in writing the letter to Pa that you read at home was that both Pa and you would know...
in note 7:
At the University Hospital in Leiden, where Sien was nursed in June-July 1882 before she gave birth.
380 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Sunday, 2 September 1883.
in translation:
...you know what I’ve done? Today I had a quiet day with her — talked with her about it at great length...
...agreement is that, both of us being in a fix at the moment, and making it worse by staying together...
...again with Van der Weele. He spent an afternoon at the studio and saw my studies one by one...
...able to do what the work demands, in painting as well. At a farmer’s in Drenthe one pays about 1...
381 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 5 September 1883.
in translation:
...because I had spent 3 hours in the rain at a spot where everything was Ruisdael, Daubigny or Jules...
...bronze, everything is what one can see in nature only at this time of year, or if one stands before...
...houses very ugly, but some old and elegant. Well, at that moment, high above the meadows as endless...
...definitely separated, and I’ve since been more at peace with that than I expected, because what...
...didn’t care about and paid no attention to at the time. Now, because of the contrast, she’ll...
...to her fate in the future either, for then at least I’ll remain her friend, and sincerely so...
...to do it at that particular time, but that’s what she’s like — up to now at least — so far...
...t succeed all at once but has steps, so to speak, and so, provided she stays at the point where she...
...oneself go is, however, a weakness they share, yet at the same time they’re also patient when it...
...however, and can’t, for the time being at least, give up everything that I’ve struggled so hard...
in date note:
At the end of letter 380 Vincent asked Theo to write ‘immediately’; the present letter is Vincent’s direct reaction to the letter Theo indeed wrote. Given that Vincent wrote two more letters before Monday, 10 September (letters 382 and 383), the frequency in this week was extremely high and we must assume that the two letters followed each other very quickly. This means that the present letter was written on or about Wednesday, 5 September 1883 at the latest...
in note 6:
...practises the use of colour, and that in this way at the same time he achieves the improvement in...
382 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, on or about Thursday, 6 September 1883.
in translation:
...which would be an encumbrance and lead to costs at a time of not knowing exactly where I’ll stay...
...So I’m relieved of superfluous encumbrances, and know at once where to head for if I reach a...
...is the centre of the art world in Holland, and at the same time the surroundings are varied and...
...I stay in touch with someone who knows me and so can at any rate find me a place to live, if I ask...
...if one moved about over there. I would first like to have a look at Katwijk, to do some sea studies, and because that at any rate is within reach, even if the journey to Drenthe has to wait a while...
...and the children, but it couldn’t be otherwise — at the same time all my thoughts are about...
383 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 7 or Saturday, 8 September 1883.
in translation:
...In recent days I again saw clearly how looking at the advertisements was done merely for the sake...
...ve told her this, even got a little of it into her at times. You see, she’s on the edge, isn’t...
...it’s true that she has been and is at times extremely nasty — of course nonetheless. She’ll...
...in storage. But it’s also just the moment at which I can conveniently end the tenancy, and when...
...Eggs may be the best thing for strengthening the stomach, at least if weakness is the cause.
in date note:
...with this request, the letter had to have been sent at least two days before 10 September. It is clear from...
in note 2:
...Musset (as Laurent de Fauvel) gives in to despair at the end. The rest of Musset’s life was marked by...
in note 4:
...biographer Renee Winegarten confirms: ‘Once at Nohant, George plunged into work on a new novel...
384 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Monday, 10 September 1883.
in translation:
...you say yourself, there’s the possibility that he might write to me at this address. If he has already done so, it would be best if he asked at the post office for the letter to be returned for, not knowing exactly...
...I, for one, think that C.M. might just do nothing at all. In any event, brother, it was firm and...
...last year, since in my view I’m now exactly at the point of Drenthe. But one has divided feelings...
in note 2:
...Whether the advance – probably 100 francs – was sent all at once or in two parts is not known.
in note 3:
At that time an internal passport was obligatory because the authorities wanted to have closer supervision...
385 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, Tuesday, 11 and Wednesday, 12 September 1883.
in translation:
...of A. Hartsuiker, lodging-house keeper at Hoogeveen. After that, though, I may go deeper into the countryside, but I’ll wait until I have a little stock of paint. Well, more soon; at the moment I...
...At the lodgings here I saw a barn that’s laid out differently from the ones in Brabant. I may make something of it later, if I stay here, at least. Well, the fields around here are mostly meadowland, with small trees here and there. I think I’ve done well in making Hoogeveen my base. At least...
...to the address A. Hartsuiker lodging-house keeper at Hoogeveen. The village or town here...
in note 2:
...the last train, which arrived in Hoogeveen at 21.00. Working backwards according to the Reiswijzer (Timetable) for September 1883, he left The Hague by the 14.05 train at the latest. See Dijk and Van der Sluis 2001...
in note 4:
...known, but the most likely candidate is the house at Grote Kerksteeg 51 (district A) – later Grote...
386 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, on or about Friday, 14 September 1883.
in translation:
...the same with somewhat more poetry than strikes one at first, but he makes nothing that isn’t...
...just like the ones in Holland, on the Trekweg at Rijswijk, for instance. The heathland is rich. I...
...on the roof, shot outside and threw her broom at the said goat, which leapt down like a chamois...
...woman on the heath with a child in her arms or at her breast my eyes become moist. I see her in...
in ongoing topic 1:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in note 2:
...in the summer of 1882 under de title Avondstond at the exhibition in the Haagse Academie (see letter...
387 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, Sunday, 16 September 1883.
in translation:
...at least — rather monotonous, particularly when it’s afternoon and the sun’s shining, and yet it’s that very effect, which I’ve already vainly tried to paint several times, that I shouldn’t want to miss. The sea isn’t always picturesque either, but one has to look at those moments...
...doubt that he really can be very obliging, at least provided he has gathered his thoughts together...
...be put to rights by continuing to work patiently, and at least it isn’t entirely dependent on C.M...
...with an old capote on, I remember; the women, though (at least those that I saw) didn’t wear men...
...again. Write just a word to C.M. in any event, at least if you haven’t already done so, that I...
in ongoing topic 3:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in note 10:
Theo must have written about Liebermann’s Die grosse Bleiche – Die Rasenbleiche (Bleaching field at Zweeloo), which was exhibited at the 1883 Salon as La blanchisserie de Zweeloo (Hollande). See letter 402, n.1.
in note 12:
...present whereabouts unknown) Ill. 2116, hung at the ‘Exposition Triennale’ (Triennial...
in note 15:
...to his face in 1874 when the house he owned at that time burnt down. This may explain Van Gogh’s...
388 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, on or about Friday, 21 September 1883.
in translation:
...from Rappard in West-Terschelling and he’s hard at work there, having first spent some time here...
...protectors that I regard the whole University (or at least the Theology Faculty) as an unspeakable...
...I discussed with His Hon. at the time. But I do not say, brother, peace at any price, and I would...
...sure that I can make something specific with it. At first I had some trouble here with models on...
...of the models, although I had paid them well, at least for these parts. I stood firm, though, and...
...just as we all are at times. Poor, poor, poor creature is all that I felt at the start and I still...
...you will recall, during your visit and at the moment you left — but something that I felt vaguely then I can now express more clearly, when you speak with Pa, think at the same time of Corot, say...
...far less conflict — I know that for certain — because at the time I jokingly called him ‘the...
...I know that you too have a lot of strife at the moment, although I don’t know precisely the ins...
in ongoing topic 3:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in note 6:
...pen-and-ink drawings are meant here. Farmhouse at night (F 1097 / JH 418) and Landscape in Drenthe (F...
in note 7:
Sien’s mother was registered as living at Korte Bagijnestraat 33 in The Hague.
in note 13:
Van Gogh bases this on Michelet’s ‘Every woman, at every age, if she loves and if she is kind, gives a...
in note 14:
...Duncan of Scotland so that he will become king. At the end of the play she loses her reason and roams...
389 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, Monday, 24 September 1883.
in translation:
...it’s so beautiful here that at the same time a great deal of study is needed to capture it, and only solid work can give a truer understanding of things as they are at bottom, and of their serious...
in note 2:
...his balance and fell, hitting his nose on the frame at the bottom of the bed, the nose bled severely and Pa...
390 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, on or about Wednesday, 26 September 1883.
in translation:
...the work is at stake here. The fate of the woman, moreover, the fate of my sweet, poor little lad and the other child, cut me to the quick. I’d still like to help and I can’t. I’m at a point...
...everything is in my case. And if I look at my things, they’re too poor, too inadequate, too much...
...the most because he’s a friend, and although at this moment I’ve paid off everything that was...
...I can resign myself to the idea of separation, at present I’m still very, very concerned about...
...melancholy — I’m in magnificent countryside, I have a desire, indeed an absolute need to work — at the same time I’m absolutely at a loss as to how we’re going to get on top of it, when I...
in ongoing topic 1:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
391 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, Friday, 28 September 1883.
in translation:
...2 francs in my pocket — three days and three nights at the beginning of March, in rain and wind...
...me that the usual won’t be lacking? And at the same time — although that’s enough and more...
...and everywhere be faced with people who stand gaping at someone but don’t lift a finger to help...
...deeper into the countryside despite the season, not doubting that everywhere (or where I’ll go, at any rate) I’ll find at least as good an opportunity to work as here, and even better space &c. I...
...not having my hands as free as I’d wish at the moment — they’re not free anyway — even if...
...but I’m negotiating about old paint that I can get at 33 1/3 % off, but only for cash. It’s the...
in ongoing topic 1:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in note 7:
...of Wolter Alberts Kok, a serving minister at the time, shows him wearing the characteristic garb...
392 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Wednesday, 3 October 1883.
in translation:
...indeed it’s already a good deal better. But at times — like those moments when you think about...
...you a definite address at the moment because I don’t know exactly where I’ll be for the next few days, but I’ll be in HOOGEVEEN on 12 October, and if you send your letter at the usual time to...
...it very difficult to paint in that same place, at least one usually works too light if one sits in...
in note 1:
...afternoon of Tuesday, 2 October. The barge sailed at 13.00 and the trip of around 30 km took about six...
in note 8:
...and Le pré des Graves; Villerville (The meadow at Graves; Villerville) (1870). Cf. Henriet 1875. In...
in note 18:
...to a description Theo gave. It may have been a work at the Salon – Theo had after all previously written...
in note 20:
...because it was there that volunteers enlisted at the Colonial Recruitment Depot of the Royal...
in note 21:
...sketch A: the little house with the peat walls at top left may have been in Nieuweroord; letter sketch...
393 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Sunday, 7 October 1883.
in translation:
...effect exactly like Ruisdael’s Bleaching fields at Overveen: foreground a high road shadowed by...
...work, personal energy. Tersteeg has it, you have it, and at the same time despite that you have a...
...everything, for example not provide food for someone at first. Very well, all granted, but suppose...
in date note:
...from this village. Moreover the letter was written at least a few days before 12 October, because he says...
in note 5:
...See The rise of the art world in America. Knoedler at 150. S. Hunter and M. de Medeiros. Exhib. cat. New...
394 To Theo van Gogh. Hoogeveen, Friday, 12 October 1883.
in translation:
...this: now, at the very beginning, change course now and no later than now in so far as you work at...
...there rent-free. I’m at a point where there will probably be some income from my work soon. And if we could now reduce expenditure to a minimum, even below what it is at present, perhaps I could...
...a chance in this way — if there’s patience at home, a realization of the necessities, if above...
...circumstances dictates. I had hoped that that was understood at the time, and I didn’t take the...
...hands free, and if it might help for me to live at home for a while, I think that Pa and I would...
...should be reduced to a minimum and I should live at home for a while, I hope that both you and I...
...you or about business nor, should I have to live at home, would I talk about you other than in...
...who are painters. I know that the future is unpredictable, at least I tell you that I don’t know...
...try to restore, even if it doesn’t happen all at once — the rapport between you and nature and...
in arrangement:
...to this letter but we believe that it was not sent at the same time. We have therefore separated it and...
in note 6:
Theo joined Goupil in 1873 at the age of 15.
395 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Friday, 12 or Saturday, 13 October 1883.
in translation:
...have to conceal myself, and I’d rather write to her at her family’s address than have even the...
...perfectly how reasonable it is that he arrives at it. As to colour, things often remind me of...
...order to see it like this one mustn’t look at the local colour in itself, but consider that local...
...any time, so as not to have to sit idle at home. I wish you could just see the countryside; it’s...
...look out of the window or smoke pipes or something, and at any rate behave as reasonably as their pigs, say, which aren’t a nuisance at all, even though they’re pigs, and remain in harmony with...
...have to improve a good deal more, and it will take centuries before they’re in that position. At the moment, any pig at all is much better, to my mind. Well, I’m going out again, do write if you...
in ongoing topic 1:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in date note:
...travelled back on the Friday, he must have caught the barge that sailed at 13.00; if he spent that night in Hoogeveen, he could have left at 9.30 on Saturday morning. The fact that he writes that he is going out...
in note 10:
Liebermann showed his La blanchisserie de Zweeloo (Hollande) (Bleaching field at Zweeloo (Holland)) at the 1883 Salon; Van Gogh mentions this painting in letter 402.
in note 11:
His accommodation address at Scholte’s.
396 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Monday, 15 October 1883.
in translation:
...is just beginning in one’s thirtieth year. Look at the history of those people; even many of them...
...there’s another stretch that one didn’t see at first and which is added on. However, one does...
...a moment that you were at a point where you had to change — (you aren’t at that point yet, I...
...bosses, even new ones, might require, particularly at times when they themselves have got the wind...
...the sky very light. You see, what I’m getting at is that you ought to start in that genre, and...
...spoken about it if everything had remained well at G&Cie, but now, in the circumstances, it’s...
...years. What’s more, we don’t need all the money at once. I think it must be possible to find it...
...able to be here for two years, say, come what may. At the moment I have so little security for the...
...no good now, I’m going to renew myself in nature. At least, that’s how I reason, and although I...
...mightily serious rises up from inside — one looks at the calm shore, very well, it’s very...
in note 1:
...if you can dine on a big scrap of bread bought from the baker at sundown, as has happened to me more than once. The next morning, I would look at myself in the mirror, feeling my cheeks, – they were the same as...
in note 2:
24 x 200 francs makes 4800 francs, which at that time was equivalent to about 2400 guilders (and not francs...
397 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Tuesday, 16 October 1883.
in translation:
...and I don’t know whether at bottom you are a man of business — at the very deepest depths I see...
...there’s a change in me too at this very time. That at this very time I come into surroundings...
...it, prove to have laid a foundation for it, and at the outset you would have company, friendship, a...
...painter than about a new post, or easier than at G&Cie even. And now, old chap, there’s something...
...no, but the Something on high exists, nonetheless; at least if Millet believed in it you’ll...
...what people say about it. What was said about it at the time won’t be brought up later and will...
...disconcerted. I’d feel at home with this plan, always much, much less at home with another plan...
...and respect you as such. Even though I was at least as incapable in the beginning, and now no...
...I’m perhaps a good comrade if you have trouble at first. I wouldn’t be the least surprised if I...
...this and that about a plan I feel at home with — I don’t feel at home with the other. It’s an...
in note 2:
...Obach was the manager of Goupil’s gallery in London when Van Gogh worked there. He started his own gallery at 20 Cockspur Street, Pall Mall, London, in about 1884. Nothing is known about problems at Goupil’s.
in note 5:
...in England who broke away from the state church at the end of the sixteenth century in order to restore...
398 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Monday, 22 October 1883.
in translation:
...into it then. But then the staff increased, and at the same time there gradually came to be fewer...
...out to work as a temporary help. Has to live at her mother’s. Poor souls. We just have to have...
...prices only in recent years, when they were already at the top, and they — Millet and others...
...anyone who can do something that’s worth looking at will always find art lovers who will make it...
...been proved to me at all, on the contrary, if the outcome were to be that you became a painter in your 30th year, say, I should think it a great good fortune. Real life only begins at 30, that being...
...and to want and be awake. But a change at around that time is actually necessary. One has to sweep...
...need to be afraid of opening our eyes and looking at things as they are and occur. That pithy old...
...only point of light. I kept going out to look at it in the evenings, and one muddy evening after...
...year as a rather wretched period of pottering around, but at the end of it you would see everything...
in sketch D:
Farmhouse at night (F - / JH 419), letter sketch
in note a:
Read: ‘Wanneer op zeker moment’ (when at a certain point).
in note 10:
The letter sketches Peasant burning weeds (F - / JH 419) and Farmhouse at night (F - / JH 419) relate to the painting Peasant burning weeds (F 20 / JH 417) and the drawing Farmhouse at night (F 1097 / JH 418).
399 To Theodorus van Gogh and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Friday, 26 October 1883.
in translation:
...Tak touched me too; yes, it could have happened at any time. I sometimes thought that she wasn’t...
...and more interesting, and has more character. Something at least as attractive and orderly as an...
...I’m following the ploughmen a great deal at present and must get back there. Regards, dear...
in note 1:
...daughter, died on 17 October 1883 in Middelburg at the age of 39. She was married to the merchant...
400 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Sunday, 28 October 1883.
in translation:
...alone where there’s no question of any ray at all. Now take the Barbizon painters, not only do I...
...to the conclusion that I don’t know anything, but at the same time that the life we are in is...
...wanted to say is that when I look back at the past generation of painters, I remember an expression...
...heart of the profession itself. I should have done that at the time. The fact that I made a mistake...
...of what I’ll simply call surprising youthfulness — and at the same time a seriousness that was...
...avoid people so that they can’t sap your willpower. At the very moment when one hasn’t yet shed...
...it less seriously. For ourselves, we sometimes feel wretched, at the end of a spell of melancholy...
...financial reasons, now cannot be the moment, but at the same time that perhaps the circumstances...
...would flow together. We might have frightening moments at the outset, we’d prepare ourselves for...
...best thoughts. Think about that idea of looking at things with a certain cool, good heart rather...
in textual note 252:
...inserted later; it is uncertain whether the quotation should be placed here, or at the end of the sentence.
401 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Wednesday, 31 October 1883.
in translation:
...around you so that you no longer have any handholds, at least are able to tie things up less easily...
...wouldn’t only be fighting a losing battle, but at the same time would inevitably result in your...
...path for your feet. My idea is that continuing as at present would prove to be not only more and...
...One isn’t sure of one’s case all at once, one knows nothing in advance other than very vaguely...
...I don’t seek to force you to decide at once. But I just point out to you very, very seriously and decidedly that it seems to me to be a fact that you’re standing at a fork in the road and must...
in date note:
...is a direct response to a letter from Theo. Because at least two days must have elapsed between the...
in note a:
...te vleien’ (I was not supposed to flatter you) (i.e. at Theo’s own insistence in his previous letter).
402 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Friday, 2 November 1883.
in translation:
...for a long time and made studies for his painting of the washerwomen at the last Salon.
...It was still very dark, though, when we got to Zweeloo at 6 o’clock in the morning — I saw the...
...back along the road we had driven down early on. At the moment that area around Zweeloo is entirely...
...old church, just exactly, just exactly the church at Gréville in Millet’s little painting in the...
...inn along the way drew a little old woman at the spinning wheel, little dark silhouette — like...
...sky behind shines through the cracks in the boards at the back. The whole caravan of masses of wool...
...slice of coarse peasant bread and a cup of coffee at the little inn where I drew the spinning wheel...
...One feels exactly as if one had been at an exhibition of one hundred masterpieces, for example...
in note 1:
...Die Rasenbleiche (Bleaching field at Zweeloo), 1883 (Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum). Ill. 1063. The version now known looks somewhat different from when the painting was shown at the Salon in 1883 because...
in note 9:
See for Millet’s painting The church at Gréville, situated by the sea: letter 36, n. 9; for the Musée du...
in note 10:
Cf. for this scene Van Gogh’s drawing Shepherd with flock near a little church at Zweeloo (F 877 / JH 423).
in note 11:
...which inn is being described here. Dijk and Van der Sluis think that Van Gogh stopped at Jan Mensingh’s inn, whereas Kuipers asserts that he called at the inn owned by Jannes Oldenhuizing Abrahamy and that the ‘little old woman at the spinning wheel’ was Aaltien Oldenhuizing Abrahamy. See Dijk and Van der Sluis...
in note 12:
This sheepfold stood at an angle behind Henderikus Lucaszn. Abrahamy’s farmhouse; the local shepherd at the time was Harm Jansen. See Dijk and Van der Sluis 2001, pp. 232-233.
in note 14:
What Theo sent had to be cashed or changed at a post office or bank in Hoogeveen. Cf. Dijk and Van der Sluis...
403 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Monday, 5 November 1883.
in translation:
...Be a peasant — be, if that were fitting at the present time, a village clergyman or schoolmaster...
...you’re saying now is diametrically opposed to what at bottom you also vaguely feel yourself, even...
...Well for my part, knowing what I know, I look at you and ask, What shall he do with it? Theo, when...
...straight’. Millet says to me: put your life straight (at least try to do that first, and to...
...but, as I said, take them for what they are — but at the same time leave them behind me), Pa and...
...of nature. Well, whatever one may say about Millet, at least he brought me back into nature more...
...the black ray is unspeakably cruel — unspeakably. And at this moment I feel as many pent-up tears...
...with those systems. I’ve suffered from them, but at bottom I no longer belong on that side. And...
...in my view they’re not happy themselves, and at bottom I’m certainly not their enemy or their...
...many pent-up tears as the figures by Mantegna or Giotto, at the same time we can have a silent hope...
in arrangement:
...to relate to a visit that must have taken place at an entirely different time of the year – over the...
in date note:
...surer of the rightness of his position. He arrives at the final conclusion in letter 405, which dates from...
in note 6:
At the end of the second part of the letter (l. 295) four lines, rotated through 180o and originally the start of a letter, have been crossed out: ‘Dear brother, today it was a sad, rainy day, as it usually is at present – but it was supremely beautiful outdoors precisely because of it, and for myself I feel drawn, just because of that sad mood, to go and look at things’ (‘Beste broer, Van daag was het/ zooals tegenwoordig meestal/ een triestigen regendag – maar heerlijk mooi was het buiten juist daarom/ en ik voor mij voel mij juist door die trieste stemming getrokken om dan de dingen te gaan bekijken...
in note 8:
...life according to his conscience and – although at first he often had to call on friends for financial...
404 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, on or about Thursday, 8 November 1883.
in translation:
...everything they can to make it impossible for you. At least that’s the story of the departure of...
...that at the thought of standing behind another counter again you’ll simply feel ‘I can’t’, ‘it wouldn’t be any good’, ‘I’m no use as a dealer any more’, ‘it was good at G&Cie...
...up nothing of what we have in hand, but everyone at home, Pa, Ma, Wil, Marie and we ourselves, too...
...those few years we’ll have to see to it that at the end of it you and I together are earning as...
...s faith. They’ll have to understand one thing at home — that, come what may, you and I will...
...should that be needed. Our plan must be respected at home and not interfered with. There you have...
405 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Sunday, 11 November 1883.
in translation:
...for a while in years past. When I look at our temperament and type of physiognomy, I find rapports...
...a need both for principles of simplicity and for motivated work at the same time, I do not admit a...
...forever I would rather not have seen it at all. It’s inexpressibly beautiful. With a handshake...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in date note:
...during the morning of Sunday, 11 November, and at about nine in the evening on Monday, 19 November...
in note 2:
...any straight form indicates strength, rigidity, and at the same time, intelligence’ (Les fronts...
406 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Monday, 12 or Tuesday, 13 November 1883.
in translation:
...in a letter, and so arrive at a very concise form, certainly; at the same time though, a rather...
...cold shoulder, would I fear have been as fatal to me at a critical moment as a cold wind to the...
...yourself to staying at G&Cie. On the contrary, I say — Theo, if you stay at G&Cie, if this is...
...or The Hague, in short at a printer’s or illustrated magazine in a city, at the same time trying...
...But brother, this in the event that you stay at G&Cie, and in the other possible case, that you...
...my intention for the future is fixed; if you stay at G&Cie it’s precisely what will force me to...
...of thinking it good(?) for you to continue at G&Cie, considering the for(?) of the matter — you...
...experiences of G&Cie in the past, a look at that, a look at the present, and a look into the future...
...is here. You can’t see that yet in my studies at all. I still have to learn a lot more to express...
...the month of March for instance, you’re still at G&Cie and on good terms, without the prospect of...
in note 1:
...further is known about this. It could explain, at least in part, why so little family correspondence...
in note 2:
Van Gogh is referring to the first period in The Hague at the beginning of 1882.
in note 3:
Moniteur Universel was a publishing house at 13 quai Voltaire in Paris, where Le Moniteur Universel, Journal...
407 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Monday, 26 November 1883.
in translation:
...hope that you will understand and not misunderstand me. At this moment I don’t suspect you of...
...do you take it amiss that I’m not completely at ease about you? And secondly, do you believe that...
...had taken a more favourable turn. I thought: good — if you people say that you’re at ease, then let you people be at ease. I didn’t think any more of it than that, though. If the single...
...although there may be a time of greater coolness, at least things will, thank God, remain free of...
...do harm (assuming it had existed, and I’m not at all sure of that) that there could hardly have...
...there could be a sort of possibility, I’ll leave it at that and not pursue it any further in my...
408 To Theo van Gogh. Nieuw-Amsterdam, Saturday, 1 December 1883.
in translation:
...am concerned. At the time I thought, for God’s sake, calamity — do your worst! At first I didn...
...melancholy but for me so touching letter, written at a time when G&Cie were being terribly nasty to...
...Ultimatum — YOU speak of it — NOT I (at least my intention was something very different) — if...
...I myself have nothing at the moment — but I’ll see if I can arouse some interest in certain plans of mine — or if no one wants to come back to Drenthe with me later on, then at least see if I...
...in Paris. Again, if I’m wrong you can all laugh at me and I’ll laugh about it myself. If it’s...
...to be able to look at things rather differently from the outset and have a little more certainty in my finances. I have to watch the cents — on a small scale; at present, for instance, obviously I...
...as feeling flush. Things can’t remain as they are at present. I have to find a way out. I don’t...
...work, the more hard-pressed I become. We’re now at a point where I say: at present I cannot go on.
in note 8:
...at the past and how he has broken with natural states, the painful aspects of that must surely make themselves felt? Oh, I can easily imagine how hard it must be for him at times. If only he had the courage to consider the possibility that the cause of much of what has arisen out of his eccentricity can be found in himself. But it doesn’t seem to me that he feels blame himself, but rather bitterness towards others, and particularly towards the gentlemen in The Hague. In his second letter, he says that he is financially embarrassed. He had expected your allowance, but it hadn’t come, and while the last you sent was more than he needed for his keep, he had purchased paints and canvas etc. for his work. Now he had to pay 14 guilders for his board and he noticed that the people were looking at him with suspicion. He asked me if it was possible to advance him the 14 guilders or if needs be half of it. I sent him a 14-guilder postal order by first post this morning. But my dear Theo, you must not put yourself in difficulty because of your generous allowance. I can well understand that you have your own concerns, and wouldn’t it be better if from now on we sent the intended share together? You half and we too? In your last letter you said ‘you don’t have to send him money’. It could also very well be that he has spent an unwisely large sum on requirements, without keeping any cash in hand. I am writing you all this to keep you informed. But let us be cautious towards him, for he is evidently in a perverse mood again. How much better it would be (if people dared risk it with him) if he were to board somewhere at a fixed price. But that would only lead to dissatisfaction again. Ma and I are naturally entirely under the impression of his last letters’. Part of the letter is missing here. Mrs van Gogh added in the margin: ‘we said so often – how we wish he would come without its being necessary, while we still have our health, but now all that illusion has gone again...Goodbye dear Theo, give Marie our regards when you write to her’ (FR b2247, Friday, 30 November 1883)....
409 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 6 December 1883.
in translation:
...me down more than anything else. I thought that being at home again might give me a more accurate...
...no means arrives at a satisfactory conclusion. At one moment it seems more possible than at another...
...I tell you frankly, I do not believe it. Yet at the same time, to me Millet is Millet, Rembrandt...
...Do you really believe that the people at Moniteur Universel will ask something different of...
...oneself at a time when a cooling off and decline could be foreseen is something that one cannot do with any enthusiasm. So do you believe in these times, do you believe that the trade will stay at...
...me to talk about it. I feel rather embarrassed with you at the moment, and I want you to know my...
...things that I now know are in a sorry state at bottom — I thought, these eyes of mine, here on...
...that it disenchants — yes — and banishes illusions — but at the same time — awakens one? I...
...answer me some of these things while I’m here at home; I’m here to get some rest and resolution.
in date note:
...two possibilities, at 8.15 or 11.39, whereas he writes of ‘my long trudge across the heath on that stormy evening’ (ll. 199-201). If he left by the early train on 5 December, he had a choice of two connections: one, via Utrecht, would have got him to Nuenen at 17.10; the other, via Nijmegen, at 15.50. (See Dijk and...
in note 6:
...of the Dutch amateurs of the eighteenth century. At public sales then, Rembrandts sold for 20 florins...
410 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 7 December 1883.
in translation:
...the fact that when I come back now, after an absence of two years, the reception at home was as friendly and kind as could be, yet at bottom nothing, nothing, nothing has changed in what I have to call blindness and...
...s how I think about it when I’m lying awake at night, for instance, or that’s how I think about...
...that I would like it too if I could be at home, but that against all the advantages that this would...
in additional details:
...of two winter landscapes showing the churchyard at the foot of the old tower; they were sent, rolled...
in note 1:
After a disagreement with his father, Van Gogh left his parents’ home at Christmas 1881: see letter 194.
411 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 8 December 1883.
in translation:
...Pa and Ma about the real question of two years ago. I have, though, spoken about a side issue at that time.
...Pa that in my view it was a great mistake that at a certain point (two years ago) I was forced to...
...you’ve always helped me in so far as it was at all possible for you. I pointed out how, if Pa...
...ve only half succeeded. So to that extent I certainly did touch on the past. At the same time I pointed out that at this moment it’s again difficult for me to avoid extremes, since the relationship...
...other go, understanding we didn’t belong together. At present I’m observing Pa — I see, I...
in note 1:
...and family to a union with Kee was the real reason. At the end of December 1881 he wrote to Theo: ‘But...
412 To Michiel Antoine de Zwart. Nuenen, Monday, 10 December 1883.
in translation:
...not convenient at this moment.
413 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 15 December 1883.
in translation:
...else. The dog may actually have been Pa’s son at one time, and Pa himself really left him out in...
...Pa bought because mine weren’t good enough, yet at the same time I’ve repaid the 25 guilders...
...that I fear would create a false position, but at the same time I have an infinite obligation of...
...ended up that the little room at home where the mangle is now will be at my disposal as a storeroom...
...started emptying the room, which wasn’t the case at first, when the case was still pending then...
...the male is very wild’. And because now, at this stage in my life, I know that I have strong passions, and so I should have, in my opinion — looking at myself I see that perhaps I am ‘very wild...
...will go on changing more and more. I forced myself so much at the time, and I was so burdened by a...
...it a great misfortune for me that I couldn’t be at home. Give this some thought, if you will. I...
...many people. Brother, once again — think a great deal at this stage in your life; I believe that...
414 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 16 December 1883.
in translation:
...Mauve said to me at the time, ‘you’ll find yourself if you keep on working at art, if you go...
...view, at a point where one can no longer distinguish white from black — and — and one becomes precisely the opposite of what one is taken to be or thinks oneself to be. For instance — at this...
...Understand me clearly, what I’m saying is that at bottom you’re better than that — I see it...
...wrongly in this case, but I do appreciate exactly that, and I say, at the same time be sensible, direct that anger at something else and fight with that strength against some influences other than...
...is so great that Pa’s way of looking at things seems extremely petty beside it. You will think...
...a difference of opinion. I do not love Pa at a moment when a certain petty-minded pride stands in...
...bah! — I refuse to accept it. Readily or not at all; willingly, or else it’s utterly pointless...
...it if it weren’t to stop at intentions but might at least sometime, albeit very late, lead to a...
in arrangement:
...not include any continuation with the main letter at all.) See further Arrangement in the notes to letter...
415 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 18 December 1883.
in translation:
...the matter was actually (I mean for me personally, at least) of the utmost, utmost import — and...
...not attach importance to any conversations with Pa at the outset, which I chiefly undertook just to...
...be a very good thing if I got a studio at home. It worked very well for Rappard, and Rappard writes...
...t be at home’. And that’s true, and I’ve felt it terribly, not only later but also at the...
...isn’t very sensitive, and Pa still has no idea at all, even now, although I’ve told him now for...
...have regretted it long, long since, whether we were at fault or were right. Should you tell me that...
...I agree with Rappard when he tells me — ‘stay at home for a long time’ — he insists on it...
...I think it desirable and necessary for me to work at home for a while, especially when there are...
...leave it at that, though. I can tell you now that I’ve managed to get Pa to agree that I can fix up a room here. If you approve, that will become my permanent storeroom, and my studio at times when...
in arrangement:
...on his folded sheets. This way the signature comes at the end, and lines 126 and 127, for instance, retain...
416 To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 21 December 1883.
in translation:
...nor wish now that they should spend money on my studio at home. Not that — but that it should be in the simplest way a room where I at least have a pied-à-terre, so that I can get through hard...
...passed it will, I think, be conducive to arriving at a solid result. I’ve seen the woman again...
...t know her or something. And I wished that at home they could realize that the bounds of compassion...
...nothing more for her now, I must at least try to put heart into her and fortify her. I see in her a woman, I see in her a mother, and I believe any man who is at all manly must protect such a one if...
in date note:
...for him to give Theo this address unless he did it at the beginning of his stay. In view of this and...
in note 1:
...to hear how things have been going with Vincent. At first it seemed to be hopeless, but it has gradually...
in textual note:
Part of the sheet has been torn off at the bottom, so text may have been lost here.
417 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 26 December 1883.
in translation:
...you may take as you will — which you’re at liberty to reflect about or to dismiss — that’s...
...so that I was unsettled, and with which you were at least to some extent concerned — were, first...
...in the past. I respected you then precisely because, at a time when other people didn’t want to...
in ongoing topic 3:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
418 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 28 December 1883.
in translation:
...contradict you, but although not everyone would do that, I at least want to tell you that I do hold...
...that of those poor creatures. It’s a sad letter at the end of this year — sad for me to write, sad for you to receive (although you’re at liberty to dismiss it, decide that for yourself), but...
...as you like. I don’t forget, either, that at the beginning you had compassion for the woman in...
...to associate with Pa or you at all any more — I’m not such a zealot). But I feel it when something has been broken. And I say, what’s broken is broken. If I do this, at least I’ll regain my...
...that it is not in my power to help her — at least not right away. So you have power over me...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh looks back at the time he was with Sien (385)
in date note:
...at the beginning of this letter ties in with the end of the previous one. This also increases the likelihood that it was written soon afterwards. The letter in any event dates from before the end of the year (letter 419). Vincent moreover repeats his views about Theo’s attitude to Sien, and says he means what he wrote about this before (letter 417). Since he also remarks ‘It’s a sad letter at the end of this year’ (l. 82) and he has meanwhile received another letter from Sien (ll. 89-91), we have dated the letter on or about. Friday, 28 December 1883...
419 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 4 January 1884.
in translation:
...depends very much on whether or not people look at things with the same eyes — and I pointed this out...
...a human being among human beings. To a considerable extent, then, others could also be at fault here. Well, I try to look at myself as if I were somebody else, objectively in other words, so that I...
...appreciated and understood that if I do indeed wish at times that you might have other ideas about...
...to rescue himself from his difficulties. So that at last he acquired a certain control, although...
...the influence he had on Français. It says, ‘at the age of thirty, Français did not know...
...have also known moments of that state of mind, precisely at a time when I was close to a reversal...
...to me to prevent me. Pa has already hinted at this so often, very vaguely but nonetheless very...
420 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Sunday, 6 and about Sunday, 13 January 1884.
in translation:
...that is proof enough for me that we’re now at a point where more words wouldn’t get us any...
in date note:
...at the beginning of the year – Van Gogh looks back on the previous year (l. 58). In any event it was certainly written before March, as is clear from ll. 51-52: ‘I would wish it to remain the usual until March’. It precedes letter 422, which dates from about 15 January 1884. In that letter Van Gogh wrote about how things should proceed in terms of Theo’s financial contributions, and what changes might possibly take place in that regard from March onwards. The use of the notion of ‘disorder’ in letter 420 (l. 46) and ‘disorderliness’ in letter 422 (l. 10) is a further indication that the two letters were written at around the same time. Since Van Gogh is somewhat less fierce in letter 422 and promises to send watercolours, we think that the present letter preceded that one. This means that it then follows letter 419 of around 4 January, and this is in line with what it says at the beginning of the letter: Van Gogh now writes in a calm tone (while he says that he was rather rash in the previous letter). It is not possible to say for certain whether there was yet another letter at the beginning of January or whether that was letter 419, which crossed Theo’s in the post. For all these reasons we believe that letter 420 dates from between about Sunday, 6 and about Sunday, 13 January 1884. See also Dorn in exhib. cat. Vienna 1996, pp. 154 (n. 1), 162 (nn. 2-3...
421 To Antoine Philippe Furnée. Nuenen, between about Sunday, 6 and Friday, 18 January 1884.
in translation:
...I sincerely hope that you will be able to feel at home in the Indies. Perhaps you will find this...
in note 9:
...his word, since the bill had evidently still not been paid at the beginning of February. See letter 428.
422 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 15 January 1884.
in translation:
...100 francs enclosed. I can tell you that I’m now at a point where I can cover my deficit of last year...
...from you on the same footing, we can stop now at a moment when I can come away without a deficit...
...as generous. And if I had a deficit at the end of the year, I also in no way pretend that this was your fault. I say, however, that I’m glad that now, at this moment, there’s nothing unpaid to...
...I would receive from you after March as money I’ve earned. And I don’t mind at all if it’s not as much at first as I’ve been receiving up to now. For my part I say decidedly that, whatever...
...send it into the world. Rappard did the same at a certain point, and carried it through from the...
...I don’t want to take money from you, or at least absolutely as little as possible, for which I...
...leave it. I do want to be free with you, but at the same time I want you to feel you’re equally...
in note 2:
...appear that this was Van Gogh’s intention, rather than a fact at this time. In letter 428, written at the beginning of February, we read: ‘Before the accident happened, my arrangement with Pa was that I would live here free of charge for a while, so as to get breathing space to settle some bills at the beginning of the year. And the money that you sent at New Year and about the middle of January was ready for that. Because...
in note a:
Read: ‘Op hetzelfde moment waarop’ (at the moment when).
423 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 17 January 1884.
in translation:
...my word that it’s no worse than I say. For the time being I’ll write to you every day. I’m writing to your rue de Laval address by the same post so that you’ll know as soon as possible, whether you’re at home or you’re in the office.
424 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 17 January 1884.
in translation:
Ma hurt her leg getting out of the train — at Helmond — high up near the pelvis — in what’s called...
425 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Friday, 18 and Saturday, 19 January 1884.
in translation:
...doing famously, and it’s fortunate that she’s at home. Lies is rather feeble — she felt very...
...will be needed, and we should also look again at the possibility of doing something with my work...
...you that the doctor said that at best it will be six months before she can walk. I already told you that I’m working on watercolours of the weavers here. I’ll try to get some finished. However, I can’t give all my time to them now, and have to be at home a lot — at least for the next few...
426 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 20 January 1884.
in translation:
...and a serious one at that — since she’s broken her right thighbone.
...can mend — but at best she won’t be able to walk again for six months, and even then one leg will always be shorter than the other. Imagine that there’s no doctor in this village (at least my...
...have lost her footing when she got out of the train at the station in Helmond. She then had to be...
in date note:
...19th, i.e. that recovery will take six months ‘at best’ (letter 425) – leads to the assumption...
in note 1:
...Marianne Louise du Quesne van Bruchem-Van Willis at Villa Eikenhorst in Soesterberg; she was her...
427 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Monday, 21 and Thursday, 24 January 1884.
in translation:
...last few days with reference to your letter, in which you say that you’re thinking of coming. It would certainly be a great joy for Ma to see you, but all the same, looked at from the other side it’s something we have to be careful about.
...time for it, because when I’m not with Ma I’m at a weaver’s nearby, where I’m working on 2...
428 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 3 February 1884.
in translation:
I was glad to be at home in the circumstances, and the fact of...
...in the nature of things, after all, that it’s precisely at a later stage, when Ma will have to be...
...charge for a while, so as to get breathing space to settle some bills at the beginning of the year. And the money that you sent at New Year and about the middle of January was ready for that. Because...
...income. But brother, the poor sisters — without capital, at a time when there’s no great...
in note 4:
...it as follows: ‘the Doctor got us to make a sort of stretcher, by laying straps under her, at short distances apart, at both ends of which was a large loop, through which strong hands were thrust. In this way...
in note 8:
...in Paris in January 1884. There were 179 works at this exhibition. It was followed on 4 and 5 February...
in note 10:
...of Art). They had hung at the Salon of 1873, which Van Gogh had visited (see letter 9). It is possible that he also saw Manet’s Argentueil, 1874 (Tournai, Musée des Beaux-Arts) at the Salon of 1875. The...
430 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between Monday, 18 and Saturday, 23 February 1884.
in translation:
...very few by him, and they’d already struck me at the time. He’s one of the true artists — who...
...meet tomorrow, whom I know not yet, A courtesan, leaning at table ’mid the remnants of a meal, Or...
...are wearied and those who almost fall, there arises at times that infinite renewal of desire, as if...
...need them to finish off other things that I started at the same time. But you’ll get them soon...
...and the doctor said today he hadn’t dared hope at the beginning that it would have gone so well...
...everlastingly. The lost dog. When we go home, at night, through empty city streets, And see upon...
...fancy gloves — But, they took two provinces from us. At your age one’s always proud Of a...
...Your paths will surely cross some day – Don’t look at her, say not a word to her, Don’t let...
...Of one in mourning — in a chill landscape, And the leaves falling at first winter’s wind.
in arrangement:
...at the beginning of this loose sheet: ‘I’ll copy out a few more’ – after which the poems follow – is a logical continuation of the verses quoted before the signature, and is also entirely consistent with the three times repeated formula ‘and then this’, preceding the poems copied out in the letter (l. 62, l. 91 and l. 107) . There are several asides throughout the poems, including the insertion in the poem ‘La première’: ‘Mais pourtant elle m’a quitté (or perhaps je l’ai quittée)’ (But all the same, she left me (or perhaps I left her)) – a further indication that the text was targeted at Theo (l. 165). The same applies to the tentative remarks in ll. 195-197 and the assertion, in a box, ‘This also applies to art’ (l. 223). The sheet was printed, with pages 3 and 4 reversed, in Pabst 1988, pp. 91-94. Van Gogh wrote these poems out again (with the exception of ‘Une femme seule’) in letter 433 to Van Rappard...
in note 11:
...W. Bürger) described Rembrandt’s Jewish bride at length in Musées de la Hollande; he praised it both...
in note 20:
...which begins on p. [2v:6]. Because this poem was interrupted at the end of the page, Van Gogh wrote ‘Une femme seule continued’ (‘Une femme seule suite’) at the top of the continuation on p. [2r:8] (l. 306).
431 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, Tuesday, 26 February 1884.
in translation:
Something else is that my mother is doing much better than could have been expected at first. And the doctor now dares to give us an assurance that she’ll be better in about 3...
...the poems of Jules Breton? I re-read them recently at the same time as another little volume of...
in note 1:
...Brouwer 2000. This is probably The old church tower at Nuenen with a ploughman (F 34 / JH 459), cf. letter...
in note 3:
Aloysius O’Kelly, Departure of Irish emigrants at Clifden, County Galway, engraved by William James...
in note 4:
Alfred Edward Emslie, At work in a woollen factory, engraved by Eugène Froment, in The Illustrated London...
in note 8:
...of 1883-1884. Ill. 2120. The work was exhibited at the National Exhibition (Nationale Tentoonstelling...
432 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 2 March 1884.
in translation:
...the little old churchyard. And yet, neither looking at the little churchyard nor at the sod huts did I think about Michel, I thought about the subject I was looking at. A subject indeed such that I...
...that our relationship might not last almost unbearable at first. And I so very much wished that it...
...when you were on better terms with Goupil again. At first I thought it was only half sincere...
...depressed by the falseness of the position between us. At this moment it’s more important for me...
...first, not as a dealer (I let that pass, and at least don’t take it amiss of you) but, secondly...
...s degenerating into). One can’t do without it at the very, very beginning, but now I must for God...
...you give me a completely free hand, it seemed to me, at bottom, that if I do this or that with a...
...any desire at all, and secondly don’t receive the means from anyone whatsoever, or earn them, to keep up some sort of position or whatever you call it — I consider myself completely at liberty to...
in note 3:
...relates this saying to his own teeth, combining it at the same time with a Dutch expression ‘zijn tanden...
in note 6:
Possibly The old church tower at Nuenen with a ploughman (F 34 / JH 459), see letter 431, n. 1.
in note 10:
...Beuil… the whole house shook.” And they looked at each other with their closed, cold faces...
433 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 2 March 1884.
in translation:
...though, the candle itself were to snigger at the burned wings — — — —. But however that may...
...this by working on steadily, and that at the moment any ‘working at it’ to sell my current work...
...in a chill landscape, And the leaves falling at first winter’s wind. To a Second...
...fancy gloves — But, they took two provinces from us. At your age one’s always proud Of a...
...received a slight blow it would retreat, throwing itself at the cruel one’s feet and filling the...
...other loves. The lost dog When we go home, at night, through empty city streets, And see upon...
...who turn upon us their imploring gaze. At the ambulance Disturbing the convent’s silence, With...
...that’s prologue to eternal life. Rosary swinging at her flannel skirts, And pale — often would...
...breathed it in at length, then — as evening fell, In sanctity, her conscience now at rest, She...
...meet tomorrow, whom I know not yet, A courtesan, leaning at table ’mid the remnants of a meal, Or...
434 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Wednesday, 5 and about Sunday, 9 March 1884.
in translation:
...that’s certain — had nothing to do with real life at all. And if one has to see to it that one...
435 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 8 March 1884.
in translation:
...Drifts Trails tattered wisps of gold And spreading all at once Its splendid rays The sun pours down...
...flame. Then austere The mystery Descends, slowly expands; At dusk The air gives off The wholesome...
...Dawn (To Corot) I took a narrow path, at dawn, among the wheat, Where droplets falling from its...
...on the sill, The girls returning from the spring at noon. Yvonne would come in view, distinguished...
...see, at eventide, The day becoming one with night. On the plain For me the fields, for me the rows of corn, For me the hillsides shrouded all in mist, The reaper-women’s weather-beaten heads At...
...and with the scent of wheat. Slowly he goes, at his unhurried pace, With calm and heavy tread; The...
in date note:
...Van Gogh must have received this reply by 20 March at the latest, because he told Theo about it on that...
436 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 10 March 1884.
in translation:
...this question, you eventually broke it off. Well, at least this is something manly. Here we have a...
...the rest too, but it suits me better to do it at the end of the month if it doesn’t inconvenience...
...convenient to me? You know yourself that last month I used at least 3/4 in one go to pay things off...
...the other part is the little compliment in this form at the end: if I did this and did that, then I...
...to you about the people at the illustrated magazines — particularly Buhot, at the time. And I don...
...my work was shown. But how do things stand at present? You’re doing absolutely nothing to give me...
...Daumier. For my part I believe that, of course, but at the same time I also know that in that case...
...G&C definitely did not concern itself with Millet at the time, before the big Millet sales — and...
...that I’ll be sorry, and even very sorry at times, if we split up. And perhaps — although there...
...years could and ought to have been redressed at the time. Speaking of brotherly, are these things...
in arrangement:
At the end of this letter we have added a sheet that was previously published as part of letter 463 (ll. 190...
437 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 13 March 1884.
in translation:
...weaver with a few scratches and blotches at the place where I saw him. Consequently, I didn’t give the slightest thought to the proportions of arms or legs at the time. When my machine drawing had...
...hands, and would every now and then, when you looked at it (even if I absolutely did not draw him...
...no ideas of this kind would occur to you looking at the design for a loom by a mechanical engineer...
...to, I’d most certainly much rather keep studies, at least, for myself, and I would not want to...
...so very different from those that I do from a model at certain times. I very seldom work from the...
...sensibility free then, far more so than right at the very beginning — getting less dizzy — am...
...shade in my studies was usually more haphazard, at any rate not carried through logically, so they...
in note 13:
...in Paris in the hope that they were marketable, or at any rate that they would build up his reputation...
in note 15:
...at that time and several of these De Louws were labourers or farmers. We consider it most likely that Van Gogh was referring here to Johannes de Louw: he lived in the same district F as the Van Goghs, at De...
438 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Saturday, 15 and about Wednesday, 19 March 1884.
in translation:
...one even has to wait for paint, that is economizing at its most radical, even ABSURD, to my mind. But you...
...thought he was anyway, the short time I knew him at all). Did it slip your mind because of that...
in note 1:
At this time Theo was assisting the seriously ill Frans Braat, who worked for Goupil (FR b2962. Letter from...
439 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 18 March 1884.
in translation:
...that, precisely when I become stronger in what I’ll call power of expression than I am at this moment...
...lucky if there is one, or a very few at most, who are edified by him, because these listeners weren...
...s delightful here at the moment. There’s a village here — Son en Breugel, which is amazingly like Courrières, where the Bretons live — yet the figures over there are at least as beautiful. As...
...it — there are several accurate biographical details in it. I saw the exhibition at the time, for which this is the catalogue. What’s remarkable in it is that that man ripened and matured for so long. Just look at what he did at different times in his life. I’ve seen examples of his first...
...to me when I saw them, and was already struck at the time by the difference from studies by many...
in note 3:
A common expression among artists at the time. Carel Vosmaer, for instance, wrote in Amazone. The Hague...
in note 7:
...to strive to imitate him; they might be eccentric at first if they liked – rather that than to be...
440 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 20 March 1884.
in translation:
...to be able to say something when one is railed at in daily life by one person or another as being...
...was nothing about Braat except that I thought he was already ill in the months that I knew him at G&Cie in Paris. At that time, as far as I can recall, I got on very well with him, and I really don...
...the first place the ones that are with Rappard at the moment — about which I have a letter from...
...it, you’ll get it at such and such a time. Now you wrote not a word in response to my saying: it surprises me that I hear nothing, my having said I’d rather have it at once than later, because...
...to work with a model. The one I have at present has the following geographical location, and my...
...for what you sent — which makes up for the rest — at least makes it such that, if I could count...
...I don’t write to Rappard about business matters — at least I haven’t told him that latterly I...
...of whose work people will have to take notice. At the time Rappard came to you and felt small in...
in arrangement:
...resumes the discussion with Theo about the quality of his work at the end of the first part of the letter.
in note 9:
The old church tower at Nuenen with a ploughman (F 34/ JH 459).
441 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, between about Friday, 21 and about Friday, 28 March 1884.
in translation:
...out better than one dared to count on at the outset.
...neglected — but I had to make a rough stab at it in order somehow to render the effect of light and shade — nature’s mood at that moment — the overall aspect — in a relatively short time...
...people perhaps, and they’ve rejected them or laughed at them or said what they want about them...
in date note:
...at the end of March; now the invitation is firm. Van Gogh asks Van Rappard to bring the March drawings with him when he comes to stay (ll. 38-39). Since we have dated the letter in which Vincent tells Theo about this request on or about 28 March (letter 443), the present letter cannot have been written later than that. The previous letter to Van Rappard was written on or about 18 March; because Van Gogh writes that he sent Van Rappard some more pen-and-ink drawings ‘the other day’, we assume that at least a couple of days elapsed between the two letters. On these grounds we have dated the letter between about Friday, 21 and about Friday, 28 March 1884...
442 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 24 March 1884.
in translation:
...something or anything like that, I say it again. At the end of January or beginning of February I...
...I’m not at liberty in my private life, I decline this allowance from you. In short that my work (not my private life) should be what determined whether or not I stayed on my feet financially, at least as far as the 150 francs are concerned. Summing these things up, I said in a letter at the end...
...study of the old tower that you had especially wished for at one time. But now that I see that your...
...absolutely regarding me as ‘having NO means of support’. At the same time, it’s a sign of...
...time to time as you already did at the very outset, and rightly to my mind) then I would go ahead with a separation. It seems to me that honour is at stake — so either this change or — finished...
...quite a few people — and that drawing was with R. at the time and I should have got it back, but...
in note 5:
See for The old church tower at Nuenen with a ploughman (F 34 / JH 459): letter 432, n. 6. Theo had remarked...
443 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 28 March 1884.
in translation:
...I aren’t on better terms than we are at present. However, just think again for a moment whether...
...persistently leave alone — that’s your business. And at this moment the whole question is so...
...and more to carrying on without bothering about anyone at all. Ma’s condition is now such that...
...a plan to leave him at a Secondary School for another 2 years — I heard Pa suggest, in all seriousness, the bright idea of his becoming a ‘consul’. Although no one here at home, nor anyone with...
...or that — because he’s probably seen little else at close quarters but books, the main road &c...
in arrangement:
At the end of the letter we have added a separate sheet that had previously been put with letter 463 of 30...
in note 1:
See for the twelve drawings by Van Gogh that Van Rappard had at this time: letter 441.
in note 3:
...Begemann’s engineering works in Helmond, at a cost of 810 guilders a year. Mr van Gogh informed...
444 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, early April 1884.
in translation:
...it in vain. And yet again, I shrug my shoulders at the commonplaces into which most connoisseurs...
in note 2:
See for the twelve drawings by Van Gogh that Van Rappard had at this time: letter 441.
445 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Wednesday, 30 April 1884.
in translation:
It really was important news in your last letter — and I think you’ll be glad that the situation has at least become...
in note 2:
...payment of Theo’s share in the profits for 1883 at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. From the ‘Compte de...
in note 8:
...the series The four times of the day, which Van Gogh owned: letter 37, n. 16. The painting was at the Sale Gavet at Hôtel Drouot which Van Gogh had been to in 1875: see letter 36, n. 5. The lamp casting light on...
446 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Monday, 12 and about Thursday, 15 May 1884.
in translation:
...deal more pleasantly there than in the little room at home. And hope that you’ll approve the step...
...I’ve heard from Rappard that he’s coming at the end of this week, which pleases me greatly...
...up then that I’d have liked to pursue further at the time. Ma is doing very well, in my view...
...been getting on better with the people here than at the outset, which is worth a great deal to me...
...Etten or Helvoirt — there’s more sincerity here — at least that’s my impression now that I...
...the Salon will certainly give you plenty to do, but at the same time also be an interesting time...
...a handshake. Yours truly, Vincent Regards from everyone at home, and they ask whether you won’t...
in date note:
...at the beginning of the month. As he explains that he had been busy ‘this last fortnight’ arranging a new studio, and the previous letter was written on 30 April 1884, the present one must date from mid-May. Van Rappard is expected ‘at the end of this week’ (ll. 39-40); he actually arrived on or about 17 May. We have therefore dated the letter between about Monday, 12 and about Thursday, 15 May 1884...
in note 1:
...his wife Adriana Schafrat-Van Eerd in their house at Heieind (district F, no. 540), next door to St...
in note 3:
...present letter was therefore probably The old tower at dusk, which has wheatfields (F 40 / JH 507) and...
in note 8:
See for the twelve drawings by Van Gogh that Van Rappard had at this time: letter 441, n. 6.
447 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 28 May 1884.
in translation:
...And I’m working on a landscape of the pond at the bottom of our garden. Rappard has made a small...
...with whom I don’t want to change places at the moment where colour is concerned. Regards, write...
in ongoing topic 1:
Van Gogh’s new studio at the Schafrats’ (446)
in note 1:
See for the twelve drawings by Van Gogh that Van Rappard had at this time: letter 441.
in note 4:
This painting of the pond at the bottom of the parsonage garden is not known.
448 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 29 May 1884.
in translation:
...you on the silver medal you got in London. It’s a satisfaction to me that I said what I said about that painting at the time. And to have repeated it yet again recently, specifically in our conversation on that Friday when I said to you...
...the one I asked about in that little inn at the station, where we sat talking with that man whom I...
...books. Perhaps my brother Theo will come briefly at Whitsun, although not for longer and only if he...
in date note:
...Perhaps my brother Theo will come briefly at Whitsun’ (ll. 36-37). We have therefore dated the...
in note 1:
...Rappard was awarded a silver medal at the International and Universal Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, London, which opened on 23 April, probably for his painting Old woman at the spinning wheel. See for this...
in note 3:
...Watermill was close to Nuenen/Tongelre Station at Eeneind. By ‘the two other watermills’ Van Gogh...
449 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 6 June 1884.
in translation:
...to make another one like it of a little old man at the bobbin winder near a little window; you might...
...we met him in the Palais Royal galleries, at about ten o’clock in the evening, Paul Chenavard and I. It was as we were leaving a lavish dinner party at which questions of art had been debated, and...
...in themselves, a fairly dark, greyish tone. Those at home will also write to you soon, and thank...
...gets light — but without their playing the schoolmaster and at the same time without their just dishing up large, empty words that at bottom are either full of conversation killers or generalities...
in ongoing topic 1:
Theo’s visit to Nuenen at Whitsun (448)
in date note:
...dates from shortly after Theo’s visit to Nuenen at Whitsun, which fell on 1 June. Since Theo left...
in note 1:
...repeatedly returns to this woman spinning. Since at the end of September he sent Theo a photograph of a...
in note 7:
This is the inside measurement at the back of the frame into which the work has to fit.
450 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, mid-June 1884.
in translation:
...about which I actually think continually, specifically since, at the end of my time in The Hague, I...
...I already know what you say about ‘too black’, but at the same time I’m still not completely...
...make the coloration lush and tender and generous, and at the same time so dignified. And have such highly remarkable and individual qualities. At the same time, though, they require that one take the...
...I started using them, specifically for interiors, but at first they really disappointed me, and yet...
...the theory — I don’t regard it as useless at all, and believe that often what one feels or...
in ongoing topic 1:
Theo’s visit to Nuenen at Whitsun (448)
451 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 2 July 1884.
in translation:
...that I saw at his place and in which I literally saw nothing that one could locate either in reality or in an imaginary world. Still, a few watercolours he was working on at the time — horses in...
...struck me in nature these last few days. At present the half-ripe wheatfields have a dark, golden...
...For this is very precise work, and one isn’t at liberty to depart from the colours of the costume...
...express. Usually, or often at least, a summery effect is either impossible or ugly that’s my feeling, at least — it’s offset by the twilights, though. But I mean it isn’t easy to find the effect of a summer sun that’s as lush and as simple and as pleasant to look at as the characteristic...
...what she really saw or felt. It’s stuck at I don’t know what kind of hackneyed half-sentimental...
in ongoing topic 1:
Theo’s visit to Nuenen at Whitsun (448)
452 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 20 July 1884.
in translation:
...and actually written in an academic, sermonizing tone. Perhaps you will too when you look at it again.
...Well, I write in some haste because I’m hard at work. I work a good deal early in the morning or...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh’s new studio at the Schafrats’ (446)
in note 4:
...the wheatfields around it’, was The old tower at dusk (F 40 / JH 507), which measures 35 x 47 cm (see...
453 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 4 August 1884.
in translation:
...in certain old areas by the river — but at the same time has an extraordinarily poignant...
...National Gallery — you certainly won’t forget to look at a couple of very fine Constables there...
...the peasant life of the Meijerij — at the same time symbolizing the 4 seasons — might not whet the appetites of the good folk who would have to sit at table there more than the above-mentioned...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh’s new studio at the Schafrats’ (446)
in note 3:
At that time the National Gallery had the following Hobbemas: A woody landscape, A stream by a wood, The watermills at Singraven near Denekamp, The ruins of Brederode castle and Avenue at Middelharnis. Two works that are now no longer accepted as being by Hobbema, A woody landscape with a cottage and A castle on a hill by a river, were exhibited there from August 1876 onwards. Although it is not possible to establish with certainty which work Van Gogh regarded as ‘the’ Hobbema, he was probably referring to the most famous of them, Avenue at Middelharnis. Ill. 931. See cat. London 1995, pp. 310-313, 607...
454 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, between mid-August and early September 1884.
in translation:
...whet the appetites of those who would have to sit at table there if scenes from the peasant life of...
in note 16:
...or from Hermans (with whom he had a great deal of contact at this time). On the book: letter 210, n. 3.
455 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 23 August 1884.
in translation:
...people like Monnier’s Monsieur Joseph Prudhomme, and I at least refuse to be that, and I hope for...
in note 2:
...francs. In fact Theo still sent 150 francs – not 100 – at the beginning of September (see letter 456).
456 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 16 September 1884.
in translation:
...here it would have to be very soon or not at all. Well Theo, you’ve read Mme Bovary; do you...
...in the field when I heard that. But fortunately at least the poison has worn off now. But what sort...
in note 2:
...at his brother one evening (see letter 458). The fact that this was an eventful time, and that there were other things going on too, emerges in a letter Mr van Gogh wrote Theo on 22 August 1884. He had a feeling that there was something wrong, but didn’t know the details of it: ‘[Vincent] is overwrought, whether it is related to other things – I should almost think it is’ (FR b2256; quoted at greater length in the notes to letter 455, n. 3...
in note 3:
...and although I’ll certainly not grow rich by it, at least I’ll earn the 100 francs a month necessary...
in note 4:
...Goghs. Ill. 2124. Mrs van Gogh ran a sewing class at home. When she was recovering from her broken leg...
in note 5:
...Lodewijk (Louis) Begemann. He had a linen mill at no. 65 Berg, in other words close to the Van...
in note 9:
...Rosine Alexandrine Frederike van der Hegge Spies. They had lived at 238 Hamburgerstraat in Utrecht since 1 August 1883. The schoolboy Aart Begemann, Margot’s nephew, was also registered at the same address (GAU).
457 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 16 September 1884.
in translation:
...with the B. family — they were very unkind to her at first — and even on the day she left by no...
in note 2:
...Begemann in the house called ‘Nune Ville’ at no. 24 Berg – the house next door to the Van...
458 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 21 September 1884.
in translation:
...the time being, as things stand now, there are two dangers, that she’s too weak to marry, at least for now, and at the same time she can’t stand a parting either. That once some time has passed...
...movement. Theo, now that I know more than I did at first about what made her so desperate, do you...
...s passed now), and she would also have taken umbrage at it if she’d had my constitution. Well...
...point of view, I, who can reflect more, can say, at least when I think it over, well he thinks this...
...and as if she’d found peace — ‘still, at last I have loved’. She always skirted around that...
in textual note 82:
of geringst < Emphasis added by us; at first Van Gogh ended the sentence with ‘in ’t minst’.
459 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, Sunday, 21 September 1884.
in translation:
...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. And they couldn’t even tell me where...
in note 6:
...of his parents, had invited Van Rappard to visit Nuenen; this visit took place at the end of October.
460 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, Sunday, 21 September 1884.
in translation:
...I’m still sorry that I didn’t see that painting of the fish market, the initial composition at least.
...London News? I brought it with me from Utrecht, at the same time as a shepherd by Thompson. Regards...
461 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Monday, 22 and about Sunday, 28 September 1884.
in translation:
...in short who look almighty respectable — profound — serious — yet if one looks at them a bit sharply and at close quarters, there’s something lugubrious, dull, even feeble about them, to such...
...them and their opponents almighty great? Yes — but on the surface one wouldn’t have said so. At the time I myself, at one and the same time, found a book by Guizot and a book by Michelet equally...
...in each other’s vicinity, we’d walk into each other’s fire. My nasty remarks are bullets directed not at you — who are my brother — but in general at the party to which you belong. Likewise I don’t regard your nasty remarks as being expressly aimed at me, but — you’re shooting at the barricade (and believe that you’re thereby making yourself useful) and I happen to be inside it...
in date note:
...barricade’ between Theo and Vincent introduced at the beginning of the present letter is repeated...
462 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, between about Wednesday, 24 and about Monday, 29 September 1884.
in translation:
...but no further indication of the date than that. Between ourselves, I tell you that although you’re equally welcome at any time and can be expected at any time — I think that it would suit them at home better in October than in November, say, because I believe that they’re expecting other guests later, for which...
...it is to come at the beginning of the winter until Christmas time, say, I immediately said something myself about a proposed trip that actually wouldn’t have been my intention at all if there’d...
...tell me which train — then I’ll meet you at Eindhoven station. Then we’ll go together to the...
463 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Tuesday, 30 September 1884.
in translation:
I was planning to send them to a few illustrated magazines to see if I could get work, or at least become...
...I believe, in conjunction with other agitation, even overworked. At least I’m in a sad mood, and...
in note 1:
...of ‘cartes de visite’ that Van Gogh had taken at P.H. van Bemmel’s photographic studio in...
464 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 2 October 1884.
in translation:
...Read Zola’s description of women in a room at dusk — women often already past 30, up to 50...
...the opposite. Regards. Yours truly, Vincent Look at this from Octave Mouret — Mouret says...
...when she was young! Or if they’d left it at that and not driven her to distraction again!, this...
...something on it when you see a blank canvas staring at you with a sort of imbecility. You don’t...
...so I shan’t do her any harm. Yet it was at precisely this time that it happened that I was...
...as a dealer, just like Mouret. For my part — at times like these, when I get completely stuck...
in date note:
...thanks Theo for his letter and the money and goes at length into what Theo raised about Vincent’s...
in note 1:
...at length about what had been going on. His account contains some interesting information: ‘We have had difficult days with Vincent again. Apparently he wanted to arrange a marriage with Margot, who proved not entirely averse, but it came up against insuperable objections, on the part of her family too. After news of the business started to leak out, Margot went to Utrecht, where she still is. It’s said that the relationship has been broken off, but the friendship will continue. They still correspond constantly. The Dr she’s staying with also appears to have told V. that there are physical obstacles that make the affair impossible. At first V. seemed to be taking it calmly and I therefore ventured to be away from home for some days, while Wil was home. But this calm gave way to aggression and Wil was very worried by the feeling that he sometimes seemed to have been drinking. She found drink in a field flask of his and this agitated her greatly and she wrote to Anna about it so that she could tell you. Still it turned out on investigation that it was more appearances than fact. But it gave Ma and me a reason to talk to him about it. You know that there’s really no talking to him because of the unpleasant tone he adopts. That was the case this time, too, but in the main that last objection was not, in our view, so serious. Apparently he gives his models a drink when he’s out in the fields with them, and he said himself that he therefore occasionally has one too. That could be the case. According to what V. says, he sometimes takes a drink in the evening on the Dr’s advice because he has such sleepless nights. That remedy seems very unsuitable to us. But the business with Margot continues to occupy him very much and he is rather depressed at the moment. We are doing our best to restore him to calm, which is the most important thing. But his outlook on life and his ways are so different from ours, that it’s questionable whether living together in the same place can continue in the long run. However we don’t want a real separation and are willing to tolerate and attempt everything to the utmost, if only he could become a bit normal. We do expect something to come of that in time. There is also a plan that Van Rappard should come to see him and stay with us. We have even urged this; it could provide him with a distraction. V. just received your registered letter. He told us that you advised him to do everything he could not to make our staying here impossible. We are hoping for the best. Meanwhile he has noticed that we could leave here if we want to; the day before yesterday I received a call to go to Baardwijk, a village in the Langstraat, close to Waalwijk...We have so much that is good here that it would be difficult for us to leave. Only if our relations with people were to become difficult because of circumstances, then it could come to it. There’s risk enough of that at the moment’ (FR b2257). Mr van Gogh intended to discuss this call to the village of Baardwijk (North Brabant), on Tuesday, 8 October....
in note 4:
...Parisian women in the stock he sells in the store. At the end of Au bonheur des dames he marries one of...
in note 13:
Van Gogh had already alluded to these sentences at the end of letter 458.
465 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 9 October 1884.
in translation:
You know well enough that your criticism, at least over the last 1 1/2 years, appears to me to be just a...
...good. What’s more, I also have what they use at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and what they use in...
...that if I haven’t paid Pa and Ma for being here at home it isn’t because I don’t want to pay...
...they’d want to have Pa back there again, and at least the family in Helvoirt will sound Pa out...
in note 3:
...Royal School for Applied and Fine Arts), at number 173 Sint Jorisstraat (district G) in...
in note 4:
...months of May to November 1884 in Paris. He stayed at Fernand Cormon’s studio for a month and then...
in note 6:
...drawings by J.-S. Cuthbert. The second edition, at the same price, came out in November 1883. See The...
in note 17:
...and brother-in-law Abraham Anthonie ’s Graeuwen at number 25-k Molenstraat (Huis ‘Rozen-Haeghe’) in Helvoirt (district A). They were the only members of the family still living in Helvoirt at this time (SAD).
466 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Wednesday, 22 October 1884.
in translation:
Rappard is here at the moment and sends you his regards. He’s made a very fine study of a girl’s head and one of a farmyard, and two small ones of ox-carts. And various others that he’s planning should...
in note 2:
...to see us because they don’t want to meet him, at least our neighbours, and we have to say that...
in note 6:
In the 1869-1876 period when Van Gogh was selling art at Goupil’s.
467 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 25 October 1884.
in translation:
...interspersed with the long shadows cast by the trunks. At the end of the road a peasant cottage...
...much lower. The heads that he’s painting at present are reminiscent in their effect of certain...
468 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 2 November 1884.
in translation:
...t the moment to write to you about it at length. I only say this — if you or if I need money to make progress and if we can only work at half speed at the moment for financial reasons, we’ll have...
...I need. They mustn’t be involved in the financial side at all. If I can’t save up for it myself...
...will have to try to advance it. I’ll hammer away at it until M. agrees. If I don’t succeed on...
...But let’s go onward together and hammer away at it together until we’ve achieved it. If you don...
...s not for nothing that I’ve been slogging away at the principles of drawing as well as of colour...
...head from the model in a morning, and that at last my colour is becoming sounder and more accurate...
...money from you, say we call it 5,000 francs at a pinch, is my working capital. The interest on this...
...is not the best, and actually one of looking at things from a mediocre point of view. Doing...
...on a fight and concentrating on a few points, but at the same time risking everything, is the best...
in date note:
...new plans, he again addresses himself wholly and at length to Theo. The money he received must be the...
469 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 14 November 1884.
in translation:
...having it rejected. One has to encounter opposition at first, or even several times. So again, I...
...wish that we could concentrate the strength we have at our disposal. I’ve replied briefly to both...
...I’m concerned about your sister. Most certainly, at some time she has done greater or lesser good...
in note 2:
Water mill at Gennep (F 125 / JH 525); the work measures 87 x 151 cm. The mill is about 8 km from Nuenen...
in note 4:
...at work and is being greatly encouraged by Gentlemen in Eindhoven’ (FR b2261). Mrs van Gogh had already written to him on 27 October 1884: ‘Vincent...also goes to Eindhoven often, still for that business for that Mr Hermans and then he has another acquaintance there who draws, but is actually a telegrapher; at bottom I think he’s still depressed though. Rappard is a quiet one but very hard-working ... I think Vincent would like to go out sometimes after Rappard’ (FR b2259)....
470 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 17 November 1884.
in translation:
...I brought home the study of the water mill at Gennep, which I enjoyed working on — and which...
...in the last few years I’ve slogged away at the abc of drawing and painting, harder than they...
...and work has to proceed at full speed, even if it were to work out slightly dearer. That will be returned and I stand by what I said, from now on we must see to it that we at least get good interest...
...I can’t help it, but I’m short at the moment — precisely because I’ve painted more than...
...is in my character and I really can’t feel at home in cooler calculation. And yet I calculate too. The extra I’m asking for I’m not asking for all at once — but here’s how. Try to send 20...
...be a little more, so much the better, but try to do at least what I asked above. And for my part I...
...dare say that there really is a chance of getting at them and winning them over. They can be won...
...and is getting a manly air. Regards. Try to send at least 20 francs by 20 Nov. to cover the end of...
in note 1:
Water mill at Gennep (F 125 / JH 525). See also under Date.
in note 3:
Kerssemakers lived at number 283 Kloosterdijk (district B), opposite the then station and outbuildings (De...
471 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 24 November 1884.
in translation:
...So help me with what I asked if it’s at all feasible for you. Because otherwise it will soon...
...with my work. That’s all I can say about it. At all events I’ll ask Hermans for those objects...
...truly, Vincent Cor was unwell for a few days, and at home — but he’s better now. I know that...
in date note:
...implies that the letter must have been written at least a few days before the end of the month...
in note 5:
Water mill at Gennep (F 1144a / JH 523).
472 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 28 November 1884.
in translation:
...of someone like me, who would rather find an outlet at a lower level provided it was in the present...
...rather too strained, I’m not comfortable at the moment and I have enough trouble sticking it out and ‘possessing my soul in patience’, as they say. At home, after all — although there are no...
473 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 6 December 1884.
in translation:
...and only — if possible, let’s avoid aiming at each other because we’re brothers. I’m...
...wherever I can. But this can’t be done all at once — and for my part it’s simply and solely...
...interests — very well — but I can’t just leave it at that. I wouldn’t have thought of it if...
...left, and although I don’t have to live on it at the moment, as you do, I still have to paint on...
...later was so that I could for God’s sake at least keep working, and if I’m definitely stuck for...
...I’ll make progress — to the extent that it’s at all possible for me to pay the models. Which...
...and cook my own goose by breaking off here at a moment that doesn’t lend itself to it — just...
...refuse this (the 50 francs). If I’ve been here at home this long without paying for my board and...
...involving me at all and in other words a matter between you and Pa which concerns me not at all...
...and live in the studio, at least in the daytime. It’s too much for me all at once, losing you in...
in arrangement:
...at the beginning of December 1884 on the grounds of content, some of which were previously spread over several letters. We have put four of them with the present letter and four with letter 474. In view of the different types of paper, both letters were probably written in a number of sessions. Although the subjects in the two letters, which were written a few days apart, overlap, there was an internal contradiction in the previous configuration: at one moment Vincent seemed to have decided that he had to split with Theo, the next he presented it as a possibility. We have reordered the sheets such that the present letter is the first reaction to Theo’s missive and suggests the possibility of a parting of the ways, while the second contains the conclusion that a split would be the best solution, written after Vincent had had several days to think about it. The new arrangement also creates greater thematic coherence in each letter. In the present letter Vincent takes the stance that he reserves the right to follow his own insights and opinions and does not want to be dependent on those of Theo and others; in letter 474 the emphasis is on the fact that Vincent has opted for a split ‘in order to keep the peace’ and so as not to end the relationship for ever. The second sheet (ll. 126-179) was previously placed with letter 464; sheet 3 (ll. 180-299) with letter 473; sheet 4 (ll. 300-381) was part of letter 480 [355a], which is now no longer regarded as a separate letter (see also letter 474, Arrangement). A sheet that was previously part of this letter has now been placed with letter 474...
in note 2:
...letter 469 of Margot’s coming back from Utrecht at around this time, she was still not home with her...
in note 8:
We have no knowledge of Van Gogh’s being ill at this time – there is nothing about any physical...
474 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 10 December 1884.
in translation:
...the fact that you feel quite the little gentleman at G&Cie, and I’m insufferable and an awkward...
...obstacles are worse for me at this very time of the end of the year than at other times. And I’d...
...where I live. I have nothing to complain about at home — but — I can’t settle here, and it...
...think that I want to quarrel with you or with them at home — because this is not in my character...
...and cordiality. I can only shrug my shoulders at that opinion — the people who think like that...
...they think like that — I’m grieved by it, but at the same time fortunately have the wit not to...
...and if I have to do battle elsewhere, then at least it won’t be with my brother. And that — isn...
...You understand, Theo — that I’ve often thought at length about it on long walks: I don’t want...
...I know you mean well — you don’t understand me at all, and nothing could come of it. I dare...
...the trouble is. If you didn’t listen to this at the time and then started thinking badly of me...
475 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 14 December 1884.
in translation:
...covering it. But that’s worth more to me at this moment than an extra 50 francs later. With hard...
...this. Since I didn’t want my entire paint bill at the end of the year, I’ve already paid part...
476 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 16 December 1884.
in translation:
Now listen — do you remember that right at the very beginning...
...think about him more than ever these days. One mustn’t look at his few history pieces — although they’re fine, too — nor in the first place at a few paintings that are in the sentiment of the...
...and what one does. And at this moment I could name you several new names of people who are hammering again on the same old anvil on which Degroux hammered. If Degroux — at that time — had chosen...
...here, driven by necessity. I’m certainly not at home for my pleasure — but for my painting...
...the same reason as the previous letters — I’m stuck at the end of the month because I only have...
in date note:
...month of the year. Now he writes: ‘I’m stuck at the end of the month because I only have enough left...
477 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Tuesday, 30 December 1884.
in translation:
...after studies of heads. After all, I feel most at home when I work on a figure. And it also seems to...
...t exactly understand the legend itself — what it’s getting at. Why I don’t is because you say...
...the sober, austere figure of Dante, entirely filled with indignation and protest at what he had seen happen — in protest at the atrocious medieval abuses and prejudices — is certainly one of the...
...I therefore can’t imagine Satan or Mephistopheles as Dantean at all. So all the more reason why I...
in note 4:
...the same name to this Swedish museum (Ill. 2133). At that time Josephson was working in Paris. The legend...
in note 9:
...whether the paintings in the Palazzo are by Giotto, at this time it was still assumed that they were...
478 To Anton Kerssemakers. Nuenen, between Thursday, 1 and about Thursday, 8 January 1885.
in translation:
I looked at your new still lifes with pleasure, particularly the one with a Cologne pot and jar of gherkins...
...passages. I’ll tell you what I feel when looking at your studies as they are now. I’ve soon...
...together again you’ll see for yourself that at the moment you’re still overlooking things which...
...experience from it because of certain Eindhoven folk. But at the same time it seems to me that the...
...pay attention to it at the outset, you’ll save a lot of time later, when there will be the more difficult subjects — such as a head — to make. I write this to you to assure you, at the start of...
in date note:
Van Gogh writes ‘at the start of 85’ (l. 88) and he sends Kerssemakers his best wishes for the New Year...
in note 2:
...on Sunday mornings, and if he didn’t find me at home he would go to the Harmonie where we had a...
in note 4:
...supplies, glass, pewter ware, floor covering etc., at number 302 (now 18) Rechtestraat, district C, in...
479 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 23 January 1885.
in translation:
...a few more scratches of studies of heads. I heard at home that you’d had a good year — and an offer...
...speaking — in, let’s say, 40 years or so at most. And would it need more time than that to roll...
...which means that it’s always possible — there’s at least a chance to increase the numbers of...
in date note:
...Vincent can now tell his brother: ‘I heard at home that you’d had a good year’ (l. 2...
in note 2:
One of Theo’s clients must have offered him a job at 1000 francs a month. Mr van Gogh wrote to Theo about...
480 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 26 January 1885.
in translation:
...already an old No, but they’ll still give it out at the office. There’s a drawing by Paul Renouard in...
...follow the masters attentively, one encounters them all at certain moments, deep in reality. I mean...
...can do this in your position — just because one has to look long and hard at nature before one arrives at the conviction that what the great masters painted most movingly still has its foundation...
...wheat is wheat, even if it looks like grass at first to townsfolk — and the other way round too...
...not to get at least to the point where I can cover my expenses without being in a dependent position. And for the rest, the mood of nature outdoors and the interiors here is magnificent at present; I...
in date note:
...on hands and heads, which places the letter at the end of January 1885. The letter follows letter 479, when Van Gogh still had a little money – now he has nothing at all (l. 91). He also writes: ‘I wish it were...
in note 6:
...It’s a pity that Vincent doesn’t have some fun skating. However, he is hard at work’ (FR b2266).
481 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 30 January 1885.
in translation:
...at length about how my intention of painting 50 or so heads means that I have to incur even more expenses than usual. And since you yourself gave cause by writing that you were suspicious of me, I’m put out when I think that it’s probably more due to this than to anything else that I’m sometimes embarrassed. I wouldn’t mind that I don’t sell, if the work itself could carry on at full speed anyway. Still, I do what I can, and I’m making progress with it after all...
...few years afterwards there was generally a better atmosphere at home. Since then, I don’t feel it...
...is also the case, namely that you can only guess at what I’m doing. So keep your suspicion to...
...or less in sympathy with each other, of being at least harmless to each other, even where the ways...
482 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 2 February 1885.
in translation:
...from you and others for the past 15 years and more — that’s a long time — about relations at home.
...to change. What I wrote about a certain atmosphere at home, which I had more opportunity to observe...
...get the old Nos. if one orders them in the bookshop, at least not here. I do wish you could get it...
...myself financially. Then my work will no longer be at issue, and at present it still is. And therefore don’t despair. But now it’s wretched for both of us. And for me the work is expensive; I have to paint a lot and I constantly need a model for it; just all the more reason why, at a time when the work is difficult and exacting, and at the same time thankless, it’s quite wretched to get...
in date note:
Vincent had lashed out savagely at Theo in his letter of about Friday, 30 January 1885 (481). Theo responded...
483 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Thursday, 5 and about Thursday, 26 February 1885.
in translation:
...seen anything from Salon 84 in reproduction, and now at least got some idea of a few interesting...
...one by Collin, Summer, 3 female nudes. I’m hard at work on painting those heads. I paint during the day and draw in the evening. I’ve already painted at least 30 or so this way, and drawn as many...
...of the form is what matters more to me at the point where I now find myself. Expressing the form...
in note 3:
...tang de Grand-Rue (Yonne) (Moonrise; The pond at Grand-Rue (Yonne)) is on p. 297 (as no. 8 of a page...
484 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 2 March 1885.
in translation:
...aim of the reaction in his name, Fantin-Latour, at least, would approve), Chardin was a Frenchman...
...servant girls, on the other hand, are very Chardinesque. At present I’m painting not just as long...
...possible something of the singular effects of lighting at night, for instance with a large shadow...
in note 12:
There are four paintings of peasant men and women at work dating from this period in which shadows like...
485 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Monday, 9 March and about Monday, 23 March 1885.
in translation:
...that makes them worth the trouble of looking at them — those few, be it more, be it fewer in...
in date note:
...been written before Vincent received the book, so at least a few days before 25 March. It is not possible...
in note 3:
...that Vincent had sent Theo were works from Drenthe, at the end of September and in November 1883 (see...
486 To Theo van Gogh, c/o Messrs Goupil, 19 boulevard Montmartre, Paris. Telegram, sent from Eindhoven, Friday, 27 March 1885.
in date note:
...must have been sent first since it arrived at 6 a.m., whereas nos. 487 and 488 show the times 7.35...
in note 1:
...I shall never forget that night. It happened at half-past seven in the evening. Cor was in Helmond...
489 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 4 April 1885.
in translation:
...other year, I’ve been able to get square at about this time and buy myself some new equipment...
in note 8:
...church in the field with the peasants’ churchyard in Nuenen many times. At the beginning of June this resulted in The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH 772), which was...
490 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 6 April 1885.
in translation:
...you understand how I simply shrug my shoulders at such things — and anyway, I increasingly let...
...in the city, yet on the other hand I feel more at home in the country. All the same, it will still...
...country somewhere, no matter what. We’re now at the beginning of letting people see; I believe...
...things. Now, at this moment, I’m very much preoccupied with paying off my paint bill, and moreover I need canvas, paint, brushes. Since you’ve had to do exceptional things for the people at home...
...live in the studio, I’ll inevitably have to have a cupboard built, for instance, because at present I have nowhere at all to store things, and I’ll also improve the light. To me, moving would be...
...can’t really be done in the living room here at home. Until then, I’ll go on working from the...
in date note:
...due to be admitted as a member of the congregation at the church on Easter Sunday, 5 April. It is likely...
in note 1:
At this time, Easter Monday was regarded as a ‘Sunday’, a Christian holiday on which all sorts of...
in note 6:
Cor was an apprentice at Haverkamp Begemann’s machine works; he also boarded there: see letter 443, n. 3.
in note 8:
...sister.’ A piece has been cut out of the letter at this point. (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum...
in note 9:
...at home with us; after my father’s death Anna thought it would be more peaceful for Ma if he were not to live at home any longer and contrived that he left us. He took that so badly that we have heard nothing from him since then and we only know about him through Theo. I do so hope that he will gradually forget his grievances, for it is such a sad relationship, and something like this so easily leads to discord’ (FR b4536. Breda, 26 August 1886). In a memoir of her sister Lies, Anna wrote (probably in 1923): ‘The summer that Pa died I spent several weeks at the parsonage with the two children and the nursemaid, and I saw and noticed a great deal that was bad. He gave in to all his desires, and spared nothing and no one. How Pa must have suffered. Although I, too, admire his art, I despise his person. Theo must also have suffered so much’ (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum Documentation, bd57...
492 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 9 April 1885.
in translation:
...after a couple of studies that I made, while at the same time I’m working on those peasants...
...t be able to do like that for the time being. At the point where I now am, though, I see a chance...
...whatever I see the people doing in the fields or at home. As I do now anyway. You’re looking for...
...owns a painter’s studies can be as good as certain (at least so it seems to me) that there’s a...
...is dissatisfied about money that’s wholly wasted, or at least seems to be. On the other hand...
...read. But maintaining the enthusiasm of those days at this time is nonetheless advisable, it seems...
...of it as your own creation. Try to talk to someone at Le Chat Noir and ask them whether they want a...
in note 6:
...to Zola’s novel La joie de vivre, which he read at about this time. Sund regards the question mark as...
493 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 13 April 1885.
in translation:
...of subjects from peasant life, in short — the peasants at home. Today I went for a splendid walk...
...and will become clearer to you in future; I feel at home there. And it’s not for nothing that I...
...so absorbed in peasant life by continually seeing it at all hours of the day that I really hardly...
...as you just had the opportunity to see at that exhibition — isn’t encouraging, either for the...
...says. I’m speaking about what Millet says at some length, precisely because you write about the...
in note 6:
...profound thinkers who love humanity, he suffered at the sufferings of others, and he needed to express them. To do that, he had only to paint the real peasant at work’ (Millet était de son temps. Paysan vou...
in note 13:
...and Etudes d’histoire religieuse by Ernest Renan at the beginning of 1875. His memory of this may have...
494 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 18 April 1885.
in translation:
...the more it’s criticized and gives offence, but at the same time it overcomes the criticism in...
...could show or that we could send to an exhibition. At least it’s a thing that I’ve felt, and...
...in certain paintings in which there are no errors at all. I also think that if it had been up...
...If the complementary colours are taken at equal value, that’s to say, at the same degree of brightness and light, their juxtaposition will raise both the one and the other to an intensity so violent that human eyes will scarcely be able to bear to look at it. And by a singular phenomenon, these...
495 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Tuesday, 21 April 1885.
in translation:
...and colour — which one — proves to arrive at — when one finds something true. As regards...
...in Eugène Delacroix and those old people. And at the same time, since, for instance, the painting...
...too, for that matter. Last week I saw at an acquaintance’s a decidedly clever, realistic study of...
496 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 28 April 1885.
in translation:
Just wanted to tell you that I’m hard at work on the potato...
in note 3:
...who wrote about Delacroix: ‘He wanted life; life at all costs, life everywhere, in the fields, in the...
in note 8:
...the subject with his friends...Once, we retired at midnight, having held forth about the issue for...
497 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 30 April 1885.
in translation:
...but one for which I have great enthusiasm. Although at times I feared that it wouldn’t come off...
...seems to me — be sure of one’s ground and have certain convictions. At least for one’s own pleasure and to be able to give reasons, and at the same time one must be able to explain it in a few...
...about Portier — of course his private opinion isn’t at all a matter of indifference to me, and...
...should be seen. This association with a gold tone at the same time brings brightness to areas where...
...way, and that I’d come do those small things at his place. You’ll see that it has originality...
...ll work on a few smaller studies, which will then go at the same time. Did you ever send that Salon...
in note 6:
...450), Fromentin observed that Ruisdael’s The mill at Wijk bij Duurstede, composed of ‘deep browns and...
in note 13:
...April 1885 (no. 2200); it had 48 pages and cost 2 francs. He sent it at the beginning of May (letter 500).
498 To Anton Kerssemakers. Nuenen, early May 1885.
in translation:
I hope that it will work out so that we’ll be able to go there together this summer, and then at the same time go and see the modern paintings in Brussels, which in my view are...
in date note:
...2 May to 2 November, the letter must date from May at the earliest. Van Gogh moreover sends a book by...
499 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 2 May 1885.
in translation:
...yet taken notice of the drawings. And I would even prefer that Portier didn’t exaggerate in finding them good (at least, I feel I can do it better), because I’m just changing again, and in such a way that I find the earlier things...
...worked on the land — all these, when you look at them through your eyelashes, prove to be very...
...flesh colour. I did paint them that way at the beginning of the painting — some yellow ochre...
...I can’t help thinking of whenever I see them at work, outside as well as indoors. I’m certain...
in date note:
...as he received it. He discusses The potato eaters at length. Evidently the Salon has meanwhile opened...
in note 1:
...chantier de Suresnes (Seine) (Labour, building site at Suresnes (Seine), 1885 (Cognac, Musée Municipal...
in note 6:
...F 1229v / JH 775). The ‘cottage’ he refers to, at number 4 Gerwenseweg (in the continuation of De...
in note 7:
...and Head of a woman (F 70a / JH 716), which Theo had seen in Nuenen at the end of March; cf. letter 485.
in note 8:
...to Vincent about painters who used a light palette. He discusses this again at length in his next letter.
in note 12:
...painting was eventually shown at the exhibition of the so-called Opponents, ‘Vom Strand der Seine’, in Stockholm in the spring of 1885, and then in the autumn of the same year at the Opponents’ second...
500 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 4 and Tuesday, 5 May 1885.
in translation:
...disappoint you. Should this be the case, then just look at it for a while. Naturally I don’t know...
...c. And I none. But every day, at present, I think about it, that the spectrum of all those painters is lower than it seems, and that when one looks at them closely and compares, even those paintings...
...s with that caravan of old nags. And his painting at the Salon 2 years ago, dragging that pink into...
...figures in the snow, and both paintings not grey at all, as light as the present Dutchmen would...
...very light — the next day he paints a townscape at night in the most sombre spectrum. What I’m...
...days. I’m also sending another 10 painted studies at the same time. Please tell me something more...
in note 10:
...Boetzel had published albums containing engravings of the best works at the Salon; cf. letter 234, n. 16.
in note 11:
...bank of the Rhine) (private collection). Ill. 238. At that time it belonged to the Hague collector F.H.M...
in note 12:
Fishing boat on the beach was shown at the Salon in 1882 (see letter 194, n. 5). Anton Mauve did not submit...
in note 15:
...drawing The last load. This had been shown at the Water-colour Society in London, Winter 1869-1870...
in note 19:
Millet’s Church at Gréville, which Van Gogh had seen in the Musée du Luxembourg in 1875; see letter 36...
in note 22:
...des Beaux-Arts). Ill. 2140. This picture hung at the Salon of 1875, which Van Gogh went to see (see...
in note 23:
Paul Albert Besnard exhibited two works at the Salon: Paris and Portrait de Mme G.[eorges Duruy]. See F-G...
in note 26:
...children, 1652-1653 (London, The National Gallery), at that time still thought to be by Rembrandt, but now...
501 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Wednesday, 6 May 1885.
in translation:
...me word of receipt, and at the same time whether the postage was in order.
...again on something else. My move is now complete; at home they’re rather different from what you...
in date note:
...l. 2). In view of the frequency of the letters at the beginning of May and Vincent’s urgent desire...
in note 3:
...at the time: ‘Some days after he sent off that dark painting of the peasants’ supper to his brother in Paris, he comes very animated to tell me that his brother had written very favourably about it; of course he was overjoyed by this: he had written, he said, that when he looked at the painting he could hear the clatter of the sitters’ clogs; well you understand that was grist to his mill’. Letter to Albert Plasschaert. Eindhoven, 27 August 1912 (FR b3038...
502 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 22 May 1885.
in translation:
...what with the move. I think that I’ll save a very great deal of time in the long run by living in the studio, since I’ll be able to get started first thing in the morning, for instance, whereas the way it was at home I couldn’t do anything.
...matchless. Already matchless since his Miners’ strike at least. When Paul Mantz says that Roll...
...in Antwerp that I think will be very fine, at least the sketch, which practically no one liked, was...
...on imitation, because I don’t mean that at all. You’ve seen much more than I have — and I wish that I’d seen what you’ve seen and are still looking at every day. But perhaps seeing a great...
in note 8:
...On Sundays I put my legs under the mahogany at Duval’s’, and Jo van Gogh-Bonger told her...
in note 17:
...the catalogue, Anthon van Rappard was represented at the World Exhibition of 1885 in Antwerp by the...
in note 19:
...Le mois de Marie à Chartèves (The month of May at Chartèves) (present whereabouts unknown) as the...
in note 23:
See for the two works by Besnard, Paris and Portrait de Mme G.[eorges Duruy] at the Salon: letter 500, n. 23.
503 Anthon van Rappard to Vincent van Gogh. Utrecht, Sunday 24 May 1885.
in translation:
first. At any rate, I know that very, very shortly after receiving the formal announcement, I called on a...
...posing. That coquettish little hand of that woman at the back, how untrue! And what connection is...
505 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 28 May 1885.
in note 5:
...at my place or Mr Portier’s and the painters, in particular, think it’s very promising. Some of them find a great deal of beauty in it, precisely because his characters are so true, for it is after all a certain truth that among the peasant men and women in Brabant one finds many more on whose faces the harsh lines of hard work and of poverty too are expressed than one finds pretty little faces among them. As far as sales are concerned, even well known painters are not finding it easy at the moment. So it is that much harder to sell something by an unknown who has only been working for a few years. Still, it will happen’ (FR b901...
506 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 2 June 1885.
in translation:
...Etienne made a vague gesture, surprised at the trembling of the voice, at that need to confide, in...
...to fornicate behind hedges, tumbling lasses while jeering at those who had tumbled them before him...
...neither you, nor I, nor he can already decide that at the moment. But when you see him, just tell...
...with the postscript to your letter, I called in at home again straightaway, and I’ll also keep it...
...this week. I’ve stuck to what I said straightaway at the time. Ma appeared to want it in her name...
...from time to time, is sufficient. I find them at home (I know — contrary to your opinion and...
...the estate is a point at which I can withdraw very calmly, since I foresee that the characters of the 3 sisters (all three) will get worse not better with time, and to me at least they’re utterly...
...at that point yet — I know that, but I’m just saying — let’s retain enthusiasm, for otherwise we’ll achieve that maximum of wisdom that’s called the periwig age. One only has to look at...
in note 17:
...published in Le Temps of 17 May 1885, Mantz says at the end of his discussion of Rochegrosse: ‘He...
in note 25:
The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH 772). This was also enclosed...
in note 31:
...at the Salon; a few portraits are all that receive his approval. He regrets that the art of portraiture, ‘the sublime art’ (l’art superbe) of Raphael, Holbein, Rembrandt and Velázquez, is not valued at its...
507 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 9 June 1885.
in translation:
...a wren’s nest. Anyway, you must just look at them. Now I must take this opportunity of explaining...
...people have reformed themselves at the age of about 30 and changed very considerably. Just think calmly about this — I tell you that nothing of what I learnt and heard about art at G&Cie stood up...
...particularly badly, because it was very different on the canvas at first and I scraped the first thing off completely. It was a total failure at first — then I gave it short shrift and started from...
...nowadays and has his heart in his work, he wins — at least a part, and not the worst although it...
...as hunting — it is a hunt, after all, for models, and beautiful places too. Regards again, and best wishes to you. It’s already late and I have to be at the place at 5 o’clock, so — adieu.
in note 1:
...that Van Gogh also added The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH...
in note 10:
...whom Van Gogh paid to get bird’s nests for him at this time, including those of the said Driek Dekkers...
in note 12:
The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH 772) and The cottage (F 83 / JH...
in note 13:
...seen on an X-ray photograph of The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH...
508 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 15 June 1885.
in translation:
Yesterday I was at a large forest fire on a sweltering afternoon. It was a wood in the middle of a bare...
...rural life, like a number of the paintings that were at the Salon. I do think that this will be...
in note 3:
...of 18 June. Driek Dekkers, who was ten years old at the time, witnessed Van Gogh helping with the...
509 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 22 June 1885.
in translation:
Thanks for your letter and the enclosure, which is exactly what I meant and enables me to work at the end of the month just as at the beginning of the...
...out then struck me very much because, almost literally at that time, I had just such a longing to...
...puts it into effect — but pretty much literally — at least one feels really alive. And it is...
...truth in that. When the public saw Millet at last, his work collected together — then the public...
in date note:
...for the money he sent, which ‘enables me to work at the end of the month’ (ll. 2-3). It is not...
in note 1:
Theo had written about Serret at the end of November 1884; see letter 408.
in note 8:
...with strict honesty, did not speculate, remained at his post, like a soldier’ (d’une honnêtet...
in note 11:
...the good reception given to Millet’s works towards the end of his life, including at the Exposition Universelle of 1867 and at the Paris sale in 1873. See Sensier 1881, pp. 301, 358. ‘Enthusiastic’ here is...
510 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Sunday, 28 June 1885.
in translation:
...walk very early in the morning, or in the evening at sunset, that they don’t want to see anything...
...at least not very encouraging in that these painters don’t usually get better in later paintings. Anyway — it really is a painting for the house of G&Cie, of their best. They also had Knaus at...
...German (see how cleverly Mantz pokes fun at Meyerheim, ‘still-life dauber’ in his article, did...
...you — here at last is something from English art that reminds me of work by Pinwell and Fred Walker. It’s different again from Millet — but you’ll see that, although you may look at it for a...
...hard on figure drawings every day. I must have at least a hundred, though — or even more, before...
in note 4:
...of Sunday, 14 June 1885, Mantz had written: ‘The Loire at Briare is a fine picture: perhaps the energy of the greenery has a somewhat black vigour, at least for those who dream of the maximum of light...
in note 7:
...made a profession of representing inanimate, or at least quiet objects: they call him a still-life...
in note 9:
...after 1873 – following a period of training at the South Kensington School of Art – he developed...
in note 12:
On small figures or figures at work from this period, see cat. Amsterdam 1997, pp. 203-210.
in note 14:
The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH 772).
in note 16:
...to come to the Netherlands with Andries Bonger at the end of July and visit Nuenen; he left on 7...
in note 18:
...Ill. 1235. Theo must have sent a reproduction of this work. It was exhibited at the Salon of 1885.
511 To Anton Kerssemakers. Nuenen, Friday, 3 July 1885.
in translation:
...two paintings — if you’d like to come and look at them with Van de Wakker on Sunday — very well.
in note 1:
...operator in the post office in Nuenen and lived at what was then no. 253 Rozemarijnstraat, district B...
512 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Monday, 6 July 1885.
in translation:
...although I have certain reservations about Uhde, I said at the outset that I really do think this...
...it just comes down to following one’s own idea at all costs. We need an art with strength and...
in note 2:
...in a positivist era. Characteristic beauty must at the same time be natural beauty, intellectual beauty...
513 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Sunday, 12 July 1885.
in translation:
I was in such a hurry the last time I wrote. I really need the whole day at the moment, since I’m working a good 2 hours from here. I want to get a few more fine cottages in the middle of the heath. I now have four as big as the last two I sent, and a few small ones. They aren’t dry yet — and I’ll do a bit more to them at home, too. But then I wanted to send them to you at the same time as some figure studies, so you can show the latter to...
...would be short yourself. I had to pay a lot at the beginning of this month, and I’m left with...
in date note:
...at greater length; he refers again to the catalogue by Raffaëlli that Theo had sent. This letter was consequently written after letter 512 to Theo. As Van Gogh says that he is finding time to write, we consider it likely that he did so on a Sunday (as he often did). He also says that he had to pay out a lot right at the beginning of the month, that he now only has five guilders left, and that ‘it’s a long time till the end of the month’ (l. 31). Given the above considerations, we have dated the present letter on or about Sunday, 12 July 1885...
in note 1:
...Gogh now says he has painted. He also made Village at sunset (F 190 / JH 492), which measures 57 x 82 cm...
in note 3:
...cottage (F 83 / JH 777) and The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH...
in note 4:
...the ‘vast canvases’ at the Salon (Catalogue illustré des oeuvres de Jean-François Raffaelli. Paris 1884, p. 35). Mantz had written in Le Temps about the large paintings at the Salon, which were intended...
514 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 13 July 1885.
in translation:
...was comment at home about what reason there might be for not writing to me then — which I didn’t want, however, nor do I. You know — I haven’t been on the best of terms with them at home for...
...it goes, you’re an exception, that I asked them at home if they’d sent you word and it appeared...
...that an even, reasoned brushstroke have little — at least less than is generally thought — to...
...not remain as good in the long run as you are at the moment — just as a painter in your painting...
515 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 14 July 1885.
in translation:
...that Delacroix had 17 paintings rejected at the same time. This shows — at least so it seems to...
...one wants to achieve a whole. One may laugh at Courbet’s saying, ‘painting angels! who has ever...
...like the one by Benjamin-Constant, or like a reception at a cardinal’s by some Spaniard or other...
...it the justice in the harem or the reception at the cardinal’s, make for their choicest eccentric...
...or a seamstress. But in every town of any consequence at all there’s an academy with a choice of...
...ll already have seen what I’m driving at — also without giving us anything new to discover...
...don’t do. These days I’m slogging away at a woman whom I saw last winter, lifting carrots in...
...inexpressibly harmonic form of the human body — yet at the same time — is lifting carrots in...
...a peasant woman by a Parisian who learnt to draw at the academy, will always show the limbs and the...
...person when one’s in need of money at inconvenient times — but my excuse is just that painting...
in date note:
...dated 27 July (see letter 521), in order to arrive at a distribution of the letters and probable dates...
in note 2:
...and Catharina Helena Bruininga, who lived at this time in Huis te Coll in Tongelre. See Van Hoek...
in note 5:
...reaction against the way exhibitions were organized at the Salon and during the World Exhibitions. Since...
in note 9:
...The bull fight in Spain), 1850 (Pau, Musée des Beaux-Arts), at that time in the Musée du Luxembourg.
516 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 15 July 1885.
in translation:
...in it, ‘I want to answer your missive at once so as not to encourage you in the idea that there’s any question of a breach, at least not on my part,’ I need to repeat yet again that you must know once and for all that in the house where I have my studio there’s a spare room at your disposal, as it is for any painter...
...can’t tell you that your letter of today is at all useful or necessary to me. Be assured, though...
...that this is where your very weakest side is, at least as a human being. But anyway — I’ll try...
...me just like a former certain horribly priggish Rappard at a certain academy. I’m sorry to have...
...things into my head — maybe — but at the same time it could be that I myself am the person to get things into my own head — and can well do without other people — at least if they nag as much...
in note 1:
...reaction to letter 514, in which he wrote that he assumed their friendship was at an end (ll. 117-118).
in note 4:
...at that time. He dropped in occasionally to get black printing ink, which he appeared to use in his paintings...Later he came back again and asked us to prepare a stone for him. After the stone had been treated, he started to draw on it straightaway, right there in our office. He set to work with a lithographic crayon straightaway, without making a sketch beforehand. Nor was there an example. He worked from memory. With broad, heavy lines he produced sharp-featured, angular heads of a peasant family at a table, drinking coffee and eating by lamplight. Although this was evidently the first time he’d drawn on a stone he was not at all timid about it. He scratched with a needle and smudged with his thumb and fingers as if he were working on paper. And although my brother told him that one should avoid touching the surface of a lithographic stone with the fingers since it causes spots later, he didn’t take the least notice, much to the surprise and disgust of our lithographer, who regarded such work with contempt. After the shapes had been thoroughly scored with the needle again by way of finishing, so much so that the person seen in profile had a prominent bump on his nose, it had been too deeply scored to cover it up at all, so it had to stay like that. Perhaps that was actually his intention, because later I saw the painting of the same subject in his studio, also with exaggerated, caricature shapes, and the colours I think were pure Prussian blue and chrome yellow. The stone was etched and then perhaps 100 impressions were made from it, which turned out better than our printers had expected. That’s what my brother remembered. When I got home from holiday later, I saw one of the impressions stuck on the office wall.’ Dimmen Gestel to Albert Plasschaert, The Hague, 13 July 1912 (FR b3040)....
517 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 16 July 1885.
in translation:
...anything they like without taking any notice of it at all. This unpleasantness with you is not an...
...my share of the inheritance — because, having been greatly at odds with my father in the last few...
518 To Anton Kerssemakers. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 16 July 1885.
in translation:
At least, I’ve known Rappard so long and so well that I’m inclined to believe that he’ll retract a...
...can definitely still learn to paint something good beginning at a later age, and I stand by that. I...
...one oughtn’t to see, in fact may not look at. So I therefore can’t urge it strongly enough. I...
...for you here or whether you want to make one yourself at home, which you can do with no more than a...
519 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 16 July 1885.
in translation:
...from Utrecht who sees Rappard every day. He makes landscapes and I’ve often heard his name mentioned, and he got a medal in London at the same time as Rappard. He has seen my work — those cottages I have for you, and the figure drawings too.
...fight besides each other, and that at this moment the fellows who paint peasants and the common people must join hands, because unity is strength. One can’t do it alone, at any rate; a whole troop...
in date note:
...which obviously look forward to Theo’s visit at the end of July 1885 – that it must have been...
in note 1:
Willem Wenckebach was awarded a bronze medal at the London International and Universal Exhibition (Crystal...
in note 2:
...home (F 170 / JH 824), Village at sunset (F 190 / JH 492), Cottage with woman digging (F 89 / JH 803), and Cottage (F - / JH add 23), that Vincent in any event had ready for Theo at that time: letter 513, n. 1. It...
in note 6:
Water mill at Gennep (F 125 / JH 525).
521 To Anthon van Rappard. Eindhoven, Monday, 27 July 1885.
in translation:
...at a certain moment, with one and the same gesture, they cast their respective wigs in each other’s faces. Those wigs should be part of it — and — how, with the best will in the world, shall we proceed now, for we’re just at the critical point and neither you nor I is in the possession of the indispensable projectile in question? I’m at my wits’ end for this reason, and I’m very sorry that we’ve started something that we now don’t appear capable of crowning with the above-mentioned end — so utterly worthy of the cause...
...your duty to write them? — what — nonsense — laugh at it. However, since you thought it was...
522 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Wednesday, 29 July 1885.
in translation:
I thought this would perhaps work out best — since then they’ll still have you at home the whole evening. I’m rather busy, since they’re harvesting the wheat in the fields and, as you know, this takes only a few days and is certainly almost...
in note 1:
...at work in Paris; they probably returned on Sunday, 9 August. (FR b1818 and b1819). On 14 September 1919 Andries Bonger wrote to Karel Joan Lodewijk Alberdingk Thijm (the writer Lodewijk van Deyssel): ‘We hardly know Brabant at all. I visited Vincent van Gogh there in ’85 when he was living in Nuenen. I have lovely memories of our evening strolls among the wheatfields and our visits to the homes of the weavers’ (FR b1443...
523 To Hendrik Jan Furnée. Nuenen, Wednesday, 5 August 1885.
in translation:
...my chances of selling are better than before, but at the same time it is precisely the moment when...
...paint. I’m as hard up for paint as for money at present. Since I am very afraid of debt I don’t...
...way you would perhaps help both yourself and me, too, at the same time. I don’t ask high prices...
524 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Thursday, 6 August 1885.
in translation:
...disaster when the big ship is lost. My suggestion is and remains — let’s at any rate keep that little boat in good condition and ready to sail, whether the storm comes or my anxiety proves to be unfounded. At...
...t suspect me of bad faith or base intentions anyway, either towards you or towards those at home. I do nothing to those at home that I have no right to do, since I absolutely and always keep out of...
in date note:
...at least if we take ‘conversation’ (l. 1*) literally, and going by the present tense. The atmosphere between the brothers is icy, something that can also be inferred from letter 525. We assume that the present letter was written in the heat of the moment, immediately after they talked, and that it may even have been handed to Theo in person before he left Nuenen. As far as we know, he went on 7 August. On Thursday, 6 August Theo wrote to tell Andries Bonger that he wanted to accept his invitation to come to Amsterdam: ‘I hope to arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow, Friday, evening at 8 o’clock and I hope to find you in good health’ (FR b889, 6 August 1885). Since ll. 13-14 in the next letter to Theo (527) give cause to assume that it was the first letter after Theo’s departure, we have dated the present letter on or about Thursday, 6 August 1885...
525 To Cornelis Marinus van Gogh. Nuenen, Thursday, 6 or Friday, 7 August 1885.
in date note:
...arrival. Because we cannot say with certainty at what point (preceding Theo’s departure for...
in note 2:
Vincent and Uncle Cor had last met at the end of March, in the days after Mr van Gogh’s death, at which time Uncle Cor had visited Vincent’s studio (see letter 489). Their relations were still strained, however.
526 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, between about Saturday, 8 and about Saturday, 15 August 1885.
in translation:
...in his paintings the mood of colours and tone was at one with the meaning. The contrast of colours...
...the chapel where I painted my Pietà was so dark that at first I didn’t know how to paint so as...
...one learn it from the plaster statue copiers and at the art academy? I believe: not. If they taught...
...oriole — can also truly be counted among the artists. At the same time they’re good for still...
in date note:
...at the Academy when he writes ‘I let fly at you about drawing plaster models’ (ll. 91-93d); he did this here in ll. 140-142. Secondly, the letter no longer shows any trace of the disagreement that dominated the correspondence earlier in the summer. In letter 521 of 27 July Van Gogh let it be known that he considered the quarrel at an end. We regard his sending Van Rappard a basket of birds’ nests as an initial gesture of reconciliation. The letter from Van Rappard for which Van Gogh thanks him in letter 528 can then be seen as his reply to the present letter; this reply must therefore date from no later than about 17 August (cf. letter 529) and must have been written not long after he received Van Gogh’s gift. The book by Bracquemond that Vincent mentions (l. 63) belonged to Theo, and from letter 530 we learn that he was supposed to send it back. Assuming that Theo gave Vincent the book during his visit to Nuenen, the present letter must date from after his arrival on 29 July, and Vincent must moreover have had time to read it, whereas he was working a great deal during the day while Theo was in Nuenen. On the above grounds we have dated the letter between about Saturday, 8 and about Saturday, 15 August 1885...
in note 10:
...think that it is an antique.” ‘He looked at it carefully and then replied: “No, my dear...
527 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Monday, 17 August 1885.
in translation:
...But that he wants me to send them as soon as possible because there are many strangers in The Hague at...
...year’ — this doesn’t make any impression on me at all, since I’m only too convinced of the...
...s too up in the air for me, too little at ground level. And art itself is solid enough, that’s...
...no getting away from it — this trouble has at least been an act of personal initiative, and of...
...put in its place? And now, above all, to my mind at any rate, it’s the time to try to push ahead...
...will there is a way; well then, I’ll take you at your word a little as to whether you’re really...
...do still think it’s of some importance that at any rate he knows that I really did have them when you came, and that you tell him that you saw them at my place, and then also tell him exactly what...
...ve just been here. That I can’t stop the work at the level I now am, that’s true. I need paint...
in note 5:
...they had contracted a venereal disease, snarled at them, “haven’t you done enough damage to your...
528 To Anthon van Rappard. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 18 August 1885.
in translation:
...I mean it’s not exactly easy to even stay alive. At least as far as I’m concerned, it’s sheer...
...are details that are perfectly correct. I let fly at you about drawing plaster models, and I even...
...namely to paint peasants in their setting — the peasant at home. Now you call that totality of my work extremely weak, and demonstrate at great length that the faults outnumber the qualities. Thus...
...would never even embark on it. And I have at least embarked on it and have laid certain foundations...
...ourselves. And as for you and me, let this be at an end, for our objective is the same. But my...
...is having a lot in common with each other. And at bottom, as to whether we’re opposed in regard...
...work in which people, if they want to look at it precisely from that angle and with that aim, can...
...it’s good that one figure in your composition, at any rate, is already stooping — being in the...
in note 1:
Van Rappard was working on Workers at the Ruimzicht brickyard (Utrecht, Centraal Museum). Ill. 331. This...
in note 10:
...letter 526: ‘does one learn it from the plaster statue copiers and at the art academy. I believe: not’.
in note 11:
...also previously written to Theo about ‘les paysans chez eux’ (‘the peasants at home’) (letter 493).
529 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 19 August 1885.
in note 2:
See for Van Rappard’s Workers at the Ruimzicht brickyard: letter 528, n. 1.
in note 3:
...Returning from the pit, which was exhibited at the World Exhibition. See exhib. cat. Antwerp 1885...
in note 9:
...JH 490). It cannot have been The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH...
530 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Friday, 21 and about Wednesday, 26 August 1885
in translation:
...Possibly so. But the reason??? Well yes — the people at home — old chap, you can’t carry on...
...years because of it. But are they any happier for it at home, and is it making them any better off...
...own experience, when I consider that several years at G&Cie ended by my feeling very strongly drawn...
...ve held on to the book by Bracquemond because at the first reading I didn’t understand what he...
in date note:
...possible to say for sure at which point in the month it arrived. We estimate that the intention to make ‘several’ more drawings ‘this month’ (ll. 88-89) puts the terminus ante quem at about five days before...
531 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 2 September 1885.
in translation:
...behaved extremely badly, they can’t get their teeth into me, at least not this time. But you see that it isn’t easy to paint people at home and draw them as they go about their business. Anyway...
...has ever sold anything. I know he’s flusher at present than before, that for a long time, for...
...family is buying or friends, that’s possible, but at any rate somebody must be. But this evening...
in note 7:
See for Van Rappard’s Workers at the Ruimzicht brickyard: letters 528 and 529.
532 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, between about Friday, 25 and about Tuesday, 29 September 1885.
in translation:
...although it comes down to the same thing — at bottom — as the theories that Delacroix discovered...
...to you as soon as I have the money because am at the end of the month. Am also curious about the...
...t right in the painting of the potato eaters is at least in part the fault of the paint. I was...
in date note:
...at the end of the month’ (ll. 24-25). He also writes that he is curious about the Lhermitte for September ‘whether there’s been one this month’ (ll. 27-28). Assuming that Van Gogh knew by now that Lhermitte’s prints for the months of the year were always published at the end of the month in question – this time the engraving was in the issue that came out on 26 September – and in the absence of any more specific information, we have dated the letter between about Friday, 25 and about Tuesday, 29 September 1885...
533 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Sunday, 4 October 1885.
in translation:
...solid, which you’d feel if they were thrown at you, for instance. Anyway, you’ll just have to...
...and grasses, clay &c. I’ll write to you again at the end of this week, when I’m back from the...
...about everything — in whose paintings all reality is at the same time symbolic. In the work of Millet, of Lhermitte, all reality is also symbolic at the same time. They’re something other than...
in note 3:
...not been back to Paris since he left Goupil & Cie at the end of March 1876. In Nuenen he was working in...
534 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 10 October 1885.
in translation:
...too much out of it — for my work, and when I look at the old paintings, which I can decipher as regards...
...that they think my studies are too black. Look at the Zandvoort fisherman, and what is it painted...
...than about that respectable impotence. I’m writing at some length — even if you perhaps don...
...Musées de la Hollande, Van der Hoop et Rotterdam at C.M.’s, but C.M. didn’t have the first...
...one in the morning, before I went to the museum at about 10 o’clock. Even so, I’m sending them...
in note 5:
Theo had visited Amsterdam at the beginning of August (see letter 522, n. 1).
in note 7:
Van Gogh means The fool. Ill. 2154. At the time it was believed to be a work by Frans Hals, but is now...
in note 18:
...a girl living in the Paris ‘beau monde’ at the time of the Second Empire. From repeated...
in note 20:
At that time Ernest Witkamp’s painting In the field hung in the Rijksmuseum; the current title is Woman in...
535 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 13 October 1885.
in translation:
...well — as it was done, and one can see the manner of painting in their etchings. Theo, how necessary it is at this time to look at old Dutch paintings now and again! And at the French paintings, Corot, Millet &c. The rest, one can if necessary do without them very well — and upset some people...
...the same way. I happened to see a Meissonier (the one at the Fodor) on the same day that I saw old...
...as it were at the same time. They were by no means the same, but the belief that the colour expresses the form when it’s in its place and in its context — that they do have in common. At any rate...
...a cheerless city studio. It seems people don’t look at the half-light in the early morning or in...
...But for all that, Theo — I’m devilish poor at present. Painting a lot is expensive — I feel...
...French painters, how an Israëls understood precisely that. At the museum — I thought a lot about...
...for me at the end of the month. All the same, I’m glad I went there, even if it’s at a moment...
in note 1:
...at any rate Basket of potatoes (F 100 / JH 931, F 116 / JH 934) and Baskets of potatoes (F 107 / JH 933) were part of the consignment, as was Basket of apples (F 99 / JH 930). Since the only extant still life with a kettle is Still life with a brass cauldron and jug (F 51 / JH 925), this must be the one he means (see also letter 532, n. 4).In letter 536 Vincent also mentioned birds’ nests on a ‘black background’ (ll. 62-63), which Theo must have been able to picture in his mind’s eye. It is unclear whether he is referring to one or more still lifes here. Still life with birds’ nests (F 111 / JH 939; F 112 / JH 938; and F 109r / JH 942) fit the bill.Going by what is – or was once – in the family estate, the following works may also have been in this batch: Beer tankards (F 49 / JH 534); Basket of apples (F 101 / JH 927); Still life with earthenware and bottles (F 53 / JH 538) and Still life with a basket of apples and two pumpkins (F 106 / JH 936). They are now in the Van Gogh Museum. Still life with an earthenware bowl and pears (F 105 / JH 926) was sold by Jo van Gogh-Bonger in 1905. It is not impossible that The parsonage at Nuenen (F 182 / JH 948) was also sent in this crate.We do not know whether the crate also contained other works besides the two small Amsterdam panels discussed below – such as the drawings promised in letter 532. See for all this: cat. Amsterdam 1999, pp. 11-13 (nn. 25 and 30), 164-167, 239. The consignment probably also contained a still life with potatoes, which Van Gogh overpainted with a flower still life in Paris, Still life with gladioli (F 248 / JH 1146...
in note 11:
See for Jacob van Ruisdael’s The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede: letter 325, n. 29. The work was in the...
in note 14:
Copy after Aelbert Cuyp, View of Dordrecht at sunset (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum). Ill. 35.
in note 17:
...studying with Charles Verlat, he then studied at the Brussels Academy under Portaels. After this he...
536 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 20 October 1885.
in translation:
...that’s to say in the sense you know. At least often. There’s also sometimes — I almost dare...
...darker the garb the lighter the face, sometimes at least (not by chance) — in his portrait and...
in note 1:
...He is one of those people who has seen the world at close quarters and has withdrawn from it. Now we...
in note 7:
...asked him to send him this book. Vincent did so at the beginning of November: see letter 538. (He no...
in note 26:
...On the blacks in Rubens he says: ‘If you look at his blacks, they are taken from the pot of ivory...
in note 28:
...simultané des couleurs). He treated the subject at length in his book De la loi du contraste simultan...
537 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 28 October 1885.
in translation:
...me the same as your croquis of Paris made me think at the time, that if you put your mind to it you...
...of paintings. Suppose, I say, that like tulip mania at the end of the previous century, the art trade, with other branches of speculation, were to disappear at the end of this as it came, that’s to...
...wants to paint a head, say, and one looks closely at the nature one has before one, then one might...
...A man’s head or a woman’s head, looked at very composedly, is divinely beautiful, isn’t it...
...portraits of his beau monde in the The marriage feast at Cana, when he had devoted to it all the...
...doesn’t appear in the foreground. He flung it on at the back — and it was right, changed of its...
...had thought about the palace and about the figures at the same time? As a single whole? All that...
in note 15:
Paolo Veronese, The marriage at Cana, 1562-1563 (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Ill. 1406. Van Gogh’s opinion...
538 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, Tuesday, 3 or Wednesday, 4 November 1885.
in translation:
...another autumn study of the pond in the garden at home. There’s definitely a painting in that...
...the studies — also a Bible they gave me for you at home, of which I made a still life. Don’t...
in note 10:
At this time Hendrik Johannes Haverman, The flight, 1883 (present whereabouts unknown) was hanging in the...
in note 11:
Van Gogh had been to the Fodor Museum in Amsterdam at the beginning of October: see letter 534. Among these...
in note 12:
...on the quality of paints and canvas, he shudders at the thought that they might be destroyed, redoubling...
in note 13:
...rustiques’ which appeared in Le Monde Illustré at the end of each month. Vincent, who is asking here...
539 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 7 November 1885.
in translation:
...next to one another, and create their effect at a certain distance. Rembrandt persisted in this...
...and thought about it like this, as Bonnemort would say. At the same time, to bring this off one has...
...with the work. Yesterday evening something happened to me that I’ll tell you as precisely as I can. You know the 3 pollard oaks at the end of the garden at home — I slogged away at them for the 4th time. I’d sat in front of them for three days with a canvas the size of that cottage, say, and...
...was originally supposed to have become a clergyman — at a certain moment flatly refused — and...
...an evening sky. That evening sky blue, shading at the horizon into a glow, between clouds of a...
...know how things will go for me from now on. At the moment, when I read about that outstanding devil...
...how I was full of it, wrote to you at length about it straightaway, about putting things down in...
in note 4:
...weakened’ (lassé, malade, affaibli) p. 144) – at the end of his life he suffered from kidney stones...
in note 6:
...The De Goncourts say of Chardin’s works: ‘look at them carefully, from a little way off, and soon the...
in note 7:
...in contrast, Van der Helst’s way of looking at things is more general or more vulgar, which is the...
in note 11:
...cottage (F 83 / JH 777) and The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH...
in note 15:
Water mill at Gennep (F 125 / JH 525).
in note 23:
See for this copy after Aelbert Cuyp, View of Dordrecht at sunset: letter 535, n. 14.
540 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Wednesday, 11 November 1885.
in translation:
...at home intend to move between March and May next — would it surprise you very much if before that time — something were to happen to Ma? This thought sometimes occurs to me when I go there. It seems to me that there’s been a change recently. ‘Getting old’ is such a singular thing, and there are certainly a lot of instances where the wife doesn’t survive the husband very long. The change I’ve observed is that every so often Ma is much more lucid in her thinking, whereas in the last few months she has had long periods when it seemed to be rather clouded — which is really not to be wondered at...
...But it could well be that she herself has a presentiment that it will at the same time be a leave-taking. I had to pay my rent this month, and at the same time gave notice on my studio come May. The...
...that I’d telegraph you if there were something at home. Now it’s an uneasiness that I feel...
in note 2:
...she and her daughter Willemien were to stay with J.P. Stricker. A visit was also planned to the Bonger family at the beginning of December (FR b1830). At this time her son Cor was living in Helmond, near Nuenen.
in note 3:
...which was right next door to the presbytery of the priest Andreas Pauwels, with whom Van Gogh was at odds.
in note 4:
This painting of a mill on the moor at dusk is not known.
541 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Saturday, 14 November 1885.
in translation:
...painter ‘does something on the side’. I’m not at all above that in this respect, I should say...
...off than the next man. Being better off helps hardly at all — after all, we can’t hold on to...
...everything on doing something there. And going there poor, at any rate I can’t lose much. Now as...
...Those who talk about it the most aren’t at the same time able to explain precisely what. And as...
...But the issue is that I can only do one thing at a time, that if I’m engaged in painting peasants...
...paint from the nude. They wouldn’t want me at the academy, nor probably would I — but — with...
...I’m quite sure that, from time to time at least, there’s definitely a substratum of deep...
...see that I wanted to arrange my going to Antwerp at around the same time as their trip, which will...
in note 1:
...perhaps less unfortunate, wear their breastplate at some fencing-master’s, or carry a musket on their...
542 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Tuesday, 17 November 1885.
in translation:
...a number of drawings of figures. I’m at something of a stand with the work here at present. It’s freezing hard, so it’s no longer possible to work outdoors. It’s better if I just don’t use any more models as long as I’m living in this house; at any rate not until I come back. Besides, I...
...in a better quality there. I’m also taking at least 40 stretching frames the same size as those...
...many as I want and good, I won’t be done all at once, but will have to find the money for it by...
...a yearning to get back into it, at least for a while. If one’s entirely out of it for a couple of years and wrestles with nature, that can sometimes help, and at the same time one perhaps gets a...
in note 2:
...etchings of the composition, which shows a servant at a table: La servante, La table and La servante à la...
in note 3:
This painting of a mill at dusk is not known; Van Gogh mentioned it previously in letter 540.
in note 10:
At the time there were several books containing glowing appreciations of the work and significance of Paul...
in note 13:
...stretching frames are listed as ‘42 Frames’ at 6.50 guilders in the accounts of the carpenter and...
543 To Theo van Gogh. Nuenen, on or about Friday, 20 November 1885.
in translation:
...speed of a lion’s paw, and — that thinker is at the same time a man of action, one sees that...
...Rembrandt does it differently, his Christ in the Pilgrims at Emmaus is above all a — soul in a...
...effect and almost always found it, thanks to this broad view of the canvas, which he looked at as one looks at nature, in a single glance. Since I don’t know where I’ll be staying, I’d ask...
...A silent waste through which their souls Parade at length their barren tedium; where box and nettle...
...mists, But sober suns, immense horizons, Lighting the beauty at the ruins’ back. Jules Breton
in note 3:
...Van Gogh had read this book: see letter 450. See for Rembrandt’s The pilgrims at Emmaus: letter 34, n. 5.
544 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Thursday, 26 November 1885.
in translation:
...windows, St Luke. To my surprise, the composition (at least so I imagine) was rather different...
in date note:
...ll. 2-3), so we assume that he had been in the city for at least a day; this means that the letter could not have been written until 25 November at the earliest. Since the next letter was written on 28 November...
in note 1:
Van Gogh rented a room on the second floor at 194 rue des Images ((Lange) Beeldeke(n)sstraat), now no. 224...
in note 2:
...of this dining room in 1869: The dining room at the home of Henri Leys (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum...
in note 3:
...et de la couleur by Félix Bracquemond, which dwelt at length on decorations. See also Van Uitert 1983, pp...
in note 5:
...and attached to a thin board on the wall. However, at the time Philippe Burty (‘obviously documented by...
in note 7:
At that time the Musée Ancien, with around 700 paintings, was in the city centre, at the end of Minderbroedersstraat; the Musée Moderne was on the other side of the complex, in Venusstraat. The works discussed...
in note 11:
...attributed to Nicolaes Maes. Ill. 1098. At the time both works were still regarded as...
in note 15:
...at least five works by Quinten Massys in the museum: Portrait of Peter Gilis, Christus Salvator Mundi, Magdalene, Triptych of the Cabinetmakers’ Guild (The entombment) and The Virgin embracing the dead Jesus (the last now as a follower). See cat. Antwerp 1988, pp. 245-250 and Baedeker 1885, pp. 95-102. Van Gogh must have meant the Triptych of the Cabinetmakers’ Guild. At the time it was considered to be the most important work (cf. Baedeker 1985, pp. 97-98). Ill. 3041...
in note 19:
César de Cock, Woodland view: the banks of the Epte at Gasny (Eure), 1882. Ill. 33.
in note 26:
Andreas Achenbach, A tug leaving the port of Ostend at high tide, 1878. Ill. 480.
in note 28:
...in the 17th century (1839) hung in gallery 2 at the museum. Ill. 1052 and Ill. 3008. See Baedeker...
in note 32:
In 1885 there were at least thirteen art dealers – ‘Marchands de tableaux’ – in the city. See...
545 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Saturday, 28 November 1885.
in translation:
...are one huge Japonaiserie, fantastic, singular, strange — at least, one can see them like that. I’d like to walk with you there to find out whether we look at things the same way. One could do...
...or foreign sailors; by the window, looking at this or at something else, stands a very fair, very...
...tall houses. Warehouses and stores. But down at street level, alehouses for all nations with the...
...whom he is apparently terrified — at any rate, I saw him scramble over a pile of sacks and disappear through a window into a warehouse. Once one’s had enough of this racket — at the end of the...
...unable to tell one thing from another even after staring at a single spot for a long while. But if...
...a girl who is magnificently healthy and, at least seemingly, very sincere and innocently cheerful...
...studio in order. If I could come by good models at virtually no expense I wouldn’t be afraid of...
...be in a real stew. My little room isn’t bad at all, and it definitely doesn’t look dreary. Now...
in note 3:
...587, n. 3. Japanese items had been on display at the World Exhibition that had run in Antwerp until 2...
in note 4:
...it was in 1922) there is a small room on the right at the front of the second floor, next to the main...
in note 5:
...with birds’ nests (F 112 / JH 938); The parsonage at Nuenen (F 182 / JH 948); and Head of a woman (F 388r...
546 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Sunday, 6 December 1885.
in translation:
...in the park. I’ve exhibited one of them at a dealer’s. Furthermore, I’ve also left what I brought with me from the country with two others on commission. At a fourth I can exhibit a view of the...
...saw at all of them, among much that I didn’t like, such things as appealed to me, for instance at...
...Troyon, at another a Mols and tiny little Dutch paintings — at another that little painting which I told you was like Raffaëlli — it’s by Moormans — and some good watercolours — at another...
...and still am, tracking down those fellows, and at the same time hunting for models, too. That last...
...one even, for there are relatively few people working at present. To my mind they’re only half to...
...of course, but — I amused myself looking at the audience. There were magnificent women’s...
...from a single model one would say, that one sees at the café concerts. It seems that one sees that...
...in the spring; at the same time my confidence to carry on with all the strength at my disposal is...
in date note:
...allowance of 150 francs, which places the letter at the beginning of December. Since he refers to...
in note 1:
View of the terrace near the Moulin de Blute-Fin (F 272 / JH 1183) of 1887 was painted over this work. Until...
in note 6:
Paul Emile Nicolié, painter and art dealer, who lived at Keizerstraat 8 (district 2). He also worked as a restorer at the Antwerp Museum, where he held the post of ‘expert’. (SAA and Adresboek 1885).
in note 7:
Jan Theodor Jozef Linnig, art dealer at 35 Oude Koornmarkt in Antwerp, also a painter.
in note 12:
Pieter Verhaert was a teacher at the Antwerp Academy; as well as genre works and landscapes he also painted...
547 To Theo van Gogh, Antwerp, Monday, 14 December 1885.
in translation:
...look at little else but a few heads and hands by him and Jordaens. I know that he isn’t as intimate as Hals and Rembrandt, but those heads are so alive in themselves. I probably don’t look at the...
...If the weather’s bad I can go into an inn at St Anne, which is right opposite the rise where the...
...of modern paintings. Firstly what was bought at the exhibition for the lottery, and then a...
...s a famous colourist and analyzes rigorously — Manet-like, at any rate as original as Manet. One...
...be painted — and why not simply? If I look at life itself now — I have similar impressions. I...
...with a simple technique. Wauters understood that, at one time anyhow, for I saw nothing by him this...
...re good, often it’s much too much paint. At the moment I’m getting more and more accustomed to...
...restaurants, the cafés chantants — one sees no paintings, at least as good as none. And how this...
...the machine can’t go. The more photographs one looks at, it seems to me, the more one feels this.
in note 6:
At that time the River Scheldt bordered Antwerp to the west.
in note 9:
...Joannes Tyck, paint merchant and manufacturer at number 8 Rubensstraat (district 3). On 31 December...
in note 16:
Van Gogh saw this painting and the two referred to below at the lottery exhibition. Charles Mertens’s The etcher’s studio, 1885, was exhibited at the World Exhibition under the title Printer’s workshop. See...
in note 20:
...Saskia van Uylenburgh. see letter 131, n. 25. At that time authorities like E.J.T. Thoré regarded it...
in note 23:
...at the large-scale demonstration for universal suffrage in The Hague (Dagblad De Amsterdammer 19 and 21 September 1885). On 30 September both the Algemeen Handelsblad and De Amsterdammer reported on an article that Bataille had published in response to these events in the previous day’s Figaro. The Algemeen Handelsblad printed a brief summary of the piece, from which it appears that Bataille was warning against a too overtly revolutionary trend in the Netherlands and the danger that the moderate social democrats would allow themselves to be eclipsed by the real socialists. The comment in the Handelsblad that Bataille’s article also contained ‘many mistaken opinions’ lends force to the notion that this was the subject of the polemic between him and the Dutch journalists to which Van Gogh refers in his letter; there really were revolutionary tendencies in the Netherlands at this time. Van Gogh, who had been in Amsterdam for a few days in September, must have heard or read about this topical issue...
548 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Thursday, 17 December 1885.
in translation:
...at least come up with an idea to market work. Listen Theo, something else — I believe that it won’t seem incomprehensible to you that I don’t have the slightest desire to write to the people at...
...house then &c. It follows automatically that, since they got their way, I hardly think about them at all, hardly at all; for that matter don’t want them to think about me either. Certainly it’s...
...are things one shouldn’t meddle with any further. At the museum there’s a portrait of Delaroche...
...race of people whom one wouldn’t think at certain times are indeed absolutely and utterly hollow...
549 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Saturday, 19 December 1885.
in translation:
...those two portraits, and my laundry has just come back. So that at the moment I have a few centimes left.
...that people want to see painted. And after all, at any rate this is one of the chances of earning...
...great problem to have to pay the models we’re at a stage where it comes down to energy and the...
...is working cheaply for the bourgeoisie, perhaps. At any rate — the ordinary art lovers themselves...
...work, too. Whereas starting with virtually nothing at least makes someone more decisive and firmer...
550 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Monday, 28 December 1885.
in translation:
...abandoning hope yet — but poverty is snapping at my heels and at the moment the dealers are all...
...hand. My thoughts are full of Rembrandt and Hals at the moment, not because I see many paintings by...
...can amuse oneself exceedingly for a whole evening — at least I can — watching the folk’s high...
...first impression of one who didn’t know me at all — taking advantage of a minor illness that I...
...that the De Goncourts experienced — and of how, at the end of their lives, they, yes — were...
...some 4 or 5 fast days of pretty well everything at the end of this year — send your letter off 1...
...something new to me, and I want to get it at any price. Manet did it and Courbet — well, confound...
...at all costs, and — I want to be myself. I’m feeling obstinate, too, and I’ve got over caring what people say about me or my work. It seems to be difficult to get a nude model here — at least...
...it. Obviously that — wouldn’t — is probably relative, but at any rate it can’t be taken as...
in note 12:
At the end of his preface to his novel Chérie (1884), Edmond de Goncourt looks back at his achievements and those of his brother Jules, who had died in 1870. ‘Now I have battled, I have toiled and I have fought for...
551 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Saturday, 2 January 1886.
in translation:
...for my part I walk past them to look rather at that bold portrait of a man — painted with such a...
...with your own reasoning, when you say to me at the beginning of the year, to my disappointment: I...
...case you don’t know it for sure, I am — at least perhaps. And do you have any notion how heavy...
...that we can earn. And now something else. Theoretically, at any rate, you say that it’s necessary...
...keeping me at a distance — think about last summer and previous summers! — you might at last...
...feeling, and yet I had been so attached that at first the estrangement drove me mad, as it were...
...be uncharitable to the people at home. And yet I tell you that Pa himself sometimes vaguely felt that he had chosen the wrong side. But he tried to espouse irreconcilable things at the same time and...
...down to in painting. They wrote to me from home at New Year and I also sent a postcard. But writing...
...kindly but absolutely — let one of your creditors at least do without 50 francs (they can stand...
in note 2:
...Van Gogh mistook the painting by his future teacher at the Academy for a seventeenth-century work.
in note 6:
Emile Wauters, Cairo at the Kasr-el-Nil Bridge, 1881. Ill. 446. Evidently the Musée Moderne displayed its...
552 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, between Tuesday, 12 and Saturday, 16 January 1886.
in translation:
...two large paintings by Rubens for the first time, and because I’d looked at the ones in the museum repeatedly and at my leisure, these — The descent from the Cross and The elevation of the Cross...
...Cross seem absurd to me as soon as I look at them from the standpoint of modern analysis of human...
...I’d like to work either with Verlat or at another studio for a while, and for the rest also paint from models for myself as much as possible. At the moment I’ve left 5 paintings — 2 portraits, 2 landscapes, 1 still life — with Verlat’s painting class at the academy. I’ve just been there...
...to arrange it so that I can paint from the model at the academy all day, which would make it easier...
...t a misunderstanding like the one Pa himself laboured under? At any rate I won’t put up with it...
...regards this month, I really do definitely have to insist that you manage to send me at least another 50 francs. At the moment I’m losing weight, and moreover my clothes are getting too bad &c. You...
in date note:
...17 January is ruled out, because he was with Verlat at the Academy before that, something that he does not...
in note 6:
The Mannerist style of Giulio Romano was regarded at the time as a decadent transitional style between the...
in note 9:
...Portrait of an old man (F 205 / JH 971) – at least it appears from letter 565 that Charles Verlat...
in note 13:
...working in a studio in Paris is mentioned – the course at the Antwerp Academy was due to end on 31 March.
553 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Tuesday, 19 or Wednesday, 20 January 1886.
in translation:
...at last, and when he saw the two landscapes and the still life that I brought with me from the country, he said — ‘yes, but that doesn’t concern me’ — when I showed him the two portraits, he said — that’s different, if it’s the figure you can come. So I’m going to begin tomorrow by starting work in the painting class at the academy. While I’ve moreover arranged with Vinck (a pupil of Leys’s by whom I saw things in the manner of Leys, medieval) to draw some plaster casts in the evening...
...I’ll have to go and work either there or elsewhere at someone’s home etc., I’ll have to do...
...would buy myself a new pair of trousers and waistcoat at once, and the jacket in February. It’s...
...country, and it could well be that I found myself at home here. Anyway. But do your best to write...
in note 3:
...at the Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten on Monday, 18 January. The Certificate of Registration only refers to his enrolment in the evening ‘Classical Statues’ drawing class (FR b1495; illustrated in cat. Amsterdam 2001, p. 14, ill. 5). There is no record of his having attended the ‘Figure’ painting class that Verlat taught during the day, but that course was virtually at an end anyway, as we learn from letter 555 (Antwerp, Bibliotheek Koninklijke Academie, Register 1885-1891, inv. no. 289). His fellow student Victor Hageman recounted his recollections of Van Gogh’s arrival at the Academy to the biographer Louis Piérard; Van Gogh burst into the Academy like a bomb, and his clothes – a blue stockman’s smock and a fur cap – and his furious manner of painting and drawing caused a sensation. See Louis Piérard, ‘Van Gogh à Anvers’, Les Marges 13 (1914), pp. 47-53 and Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 3, pp. 159-162...
in note 4:
...with Henri Leys around 1866 and was very much influenced by him. He was an instructor at the Academy, associated with at least the grade three course, of which the subject ‘Shaded drawing of ornaments of...
in note 6:
...more wonderful yet more disturbing to me … It is at the same time a symbol and the faithful expression...
554 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Friday, 22 January 1886.
in translation:
...see them working in very diverse ways — something I’ve never had — often seeing other people at work.
...better, and as I believe I already told you there are all sorts of people of all ages, at least 5 or so even older than me. At the moment I’m working on a head of a child. It would be a great help...
in date note:
...letter he says that he has meanwhile been painting at the Academy ‘for a few days’ and needs new...
in note 6:
The Dutch artist Jan Derk Huibers had been a student at the Antwerp Academy before 1885.
555 To Theo van Gogh, Antwerp, on or about Thursday, 28 January 1886.
in translation:
...and then after that go on and work from a model at a club from half past 9 to half past 11. For I...
...the antique — I’ve now finished two large figures. At any rate it has two things in its favour...
...has to contend with fellows who’ve already worked at an academy for some length of time. What...
...do nothing else but draw from the antique and nudes for at least a year, and that this would be the...
...I have access to both the antique and nude models at first. The best one in the class has done it...
...back a bit, it becomes painful and flat to look at — all that pink and delicate yellow etc., etc...
...it and a restrained undulating light falls on it. At the same time, the least little lick of colour...
...t be done on 150 francs, and one wastes time &c. So at the same time it’s cheapest to stay in a...
in ongoing topic 1:
Van Gogh takes classes at the Academy (553, 554)
in date note:
...to the request in letter 554, must have arrived at the beginning of the week; the letter was thus...
in note 1:
...usually set up by students of the senior classes at the Antwerp Academy. For a small subscription...
in note 7:
Eugène Siberdt had been teaching at the Antwerp Academy since 1883. During Van Gogh’s time there, Siberdt...
in note 8:
Theo lived in an apartment at 25 rue Laval in Paris; he had probably already responded to Vincent’s...
556 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Friday, 29 January 1886.
in translation:
...is also more or less critical — critical enough, at any rate, to make it advisable to seek...
...credit. Look at Millet and Sensier, look at Balzac, Zola, De Goncourt. Look at Delacroix. All...
...one’s come to me since, and I don’t feel at home there myself.’ Still, I do believe that for...
...so anything will do. If we’re prepared to look at it coolly and sensibly, I don’t think this...
...let the rest go, because they can do just as well at home with a labourer, in fact better. If I don...
...meet these obligations at present. In other words not to pay my rent there but to say, put my furniture in your attic, keep it as security, I’ll pay you when I come to collect it, then at the same...
...until I go to Paris, and let me go to Paris at any rate not later than when the course here ends...
...comes to rent or unnecessary travelling expenses. And at home — I know perfectly well that Rijken...
...not when there are at least 6 pairs of hands at least as good as mine at their disposal. In the...
in note 1:
The economic recession that set in around 1874 was at its deepest in 1886. The world economy collapsed...
in note 4:
...to find another room, because he had given notice on his previous studio at the Schafrats’ in Nuenen.
in note 5:
...in De Berg (district F) and had been a witness at the compiling of the inventory; Vincent had also...
557 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Tuesday, 2 February 1886.
in translation:
...know, enough good fellows who won’t refuse to look at them and will even give us tips. So in any...
...it intelligently. I heard that Cormon gets people to work for 4 hours in the morning — then in the evening they can go and work at the Louvre or at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts or at another studio where drawing is done. As to the portraits, there certainly won’t be much time for them if I want to...
...me at too much of a disadvantage. So I’ve decided to have them seen to. It’s a business that will cost me 100 francs, but it can be done now while I’m drawing more easily than at any other time — and I’ve had the bad teeth cut down, and just paid about half in advance. I was told at the...
...what you write about what’s happening at home, I’ll do whatever you think best in that regard. If need be, I can leave here whenever I like. Let’s say at the beginning of March. But — let’s...
...have to carry on for the time being by remaining at a studio or academy. And then it will disappear.
in date note:
...course ended ‘last week’; this happened at the end of January 1886. He also thanks Theo for sending the regular allowance, which almost always arrived at the beginning of the week. We have therefore dated...
in note 1:
...at the academy in Antwerp. Cormon opened his studio at number 104 boulevard de Clichy in 1882. While he did receive his students there, corrections were also done in the studio in rue La Bruyère. The syllabus did not differ much from that of his predecessor Léon Bonnat. Cormon’s was less rigidly structured, though, and it was above all this more liberal attitude that won him a favourable reputation among a younger generation of artists. Students drew (classical) plaster casts and from life, and Cormon demanded from his students an extremely accurate, lifelike drawing. He advocated a painting technique based on a dark design, on which the painting was worked up with transparent and light colours. He also encouraged his students to work en plein air; sketching trips were a regular feature of the timetable. The studio was particularly popular with foreign artists. See Gauzi 1992, pp. 16-32; exhib. cat. Paris 1988, pp. 10-27; Welsh-Ovcharov 1976, p. 13; Galbally 1977, pp. 29-30; Destremau 1997. From the subsequent letters it emerges that Theo’s willingness to let Vincent study with Cormon was linked to Theo’s move at the end of June, since the lease on his apartment ran out then (see letter 559). Theo must have recognized that this marked the start of a new situation, in terms both of his accommodation and of Vincent’s studio. The precise solution was the subject of discussion in the next few months, with Vincent pressing increasingly hard to be allowed to go to Paris, on the pretext that he would be able to prepare himself to go to Cormon better there than he could in, say, Antwerp or Nuenen. See also Van Tilborgh 2007...
in note 3:
...Annual Report for 1887, the painting class stopped at the end of January so that the students could...
in note 4:
...of the heads, depictions of Niobe were often used at art academies. Cf. cat. Amsterdam 2001, p. 69, and...
in note 6:
...to be excellent later in life, like wine, and be at the height of his powers just when he has neither...
in note 8:
...her move from Nuenen to Breda; she was registered at Nieuwe Ginnekenstraat, district B, no. 649bis, on 30...
in note 11:
...the two writers was one that was often drawn at the time, in part because they were friends. Van...
in note 13:
...was in Paris, where among other things he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. See exhib. cat. Groningen...
558 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Thursday, 4 February 1886.
in translation:
...at the studios, like Verlat, like Cormon. And one must be in the artists’ world and work at clubs...
...way one writes, with the same ease. But precisely at this level it becomes more interesting, as one...
...the clever fellows at Cormon’s studio. Precisely because I damned well want to be one of them, I’m setting myself in advance, out of my own conviction, the requirement of spending at least a year...
...been anywhere else but at academies and studios lack, that view of reality in which they live, and finding subjects. Anyway. Might it not be wise if we put off renting a studio at least for the first...
...It’s desirable for one to make it to 60 at least, and necessary for one to make it to 50, if one...
...possible. And perhaps it will also help my appearance, at least a little. As regards this month, I...
...one might have to contend with typhus or at least typhoid fever. And actually the only reasons why...
...instance, can see to what needs to be packed or sent at least as well as I can. If there’s any...
in note 2:
...Hubertus Amadeus Cavenaille, who had his surgery at 2 rue de Hollande in Antwerp. His name is noted in...
in note 4:
...artists, among them several foreigners, worked at Cormon’s well-known studio. See Destremau 1997...
in note 7:
...at the reading of the inventory after Mr van Gogh’s death; on the list of funeral expenses there is an entry of 1 guilder for ‘Rijken workman’ (FR b2918, RHC, De Brouwer 1984, p. 23, and exhib. cat. ’s-Hertogenbosch 1987, pp. 87, 89). His son Cornelis Rijken, then aged 14, evidently also worked for the Van Goghs. Cornelis’s son S.A. Rijken wrote about it in a letter of 4 February 1963: ‘At the house of my grandfather A. Rijken, who lived at the time in Beekstraat Nuenen behind the parsonage, there were a couple of looms at the time, drawn and painted by Vincent many times...His son, my father C. Rijken, was the garden boy at that time and looked after Dr v Gogh’s garden, and also kept the studio clean. As I heard him tell many times, also that he several times pushed the barrow to Nuenen station to take paintings to the train etc.’ (Letter Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Archives Vincent van Gogh Foundation)....
559 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Saturday, 6 February 1886.
in translation:
...Paris. I believe it will help me make progress and at the same time that, if I didn’t go, I might easily...
...to recover. I really do notice that I’ve been at a very low ebb, though — and as you wrote...
...it was usually 1 or 2 o’clock because of drawing at the club). And I feel that it’s calming me...
...the teacher of the antique, who spoke to me at first as I told you, definitely tried to pick a...
...which will certainly strike you. And — I wish that at the end of our lives we could also walk...
...casts in the Louvre, even if one isn’t at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It wouldn’t surprise me if...
in date note:
...at once if needs be; this places 561 after 560. In letter 562, written on a Sunday, Van Gogh says ‘I write to you often these days and often the same’ (l. 1*), and asks Theo if he can send something more ‘this month’, even if it is only five francs; he repeats this request in letter 564 of about 18 February. The Sunday in question must therefore have been the fourteenth. This order also tallies with the question as to whether Theo has meanwhile read the preface to Chérie. The wording ‘that one month’ (letter 562, l. 65) refers back to the month of March mentioned in letter 561 (ll. 36-37). We have spaced the four letters that followed in quick succession at intervals of two and three days over the intervening 12 days, and allocated them the dates of about Saturday, 6, about Tuesday, 9, about Thursday, 11 and Sunday, 14 February 1886...
in note 1:
For the impending move from Nuenen to Breda, which was to take place at the end of March.
in note 3:
At the end of the preface to Chérie, Edmond de Goncourt writes about a walk he took with his brother some months before Jules’s death, during which Jules reflected on their achievements. Van Gogh quotes the closing words of the following three paragraphs: ‘All of a sudden my brother stopped dead and said to me: “It doesn’t matter, do you see, they can deny us all they like… one day it will have to be acknowledged that we created GERMINIE LACERTEUX… and that ‘Germinie Lacerteux’ is the original book that served as the model for everything that has been produced since us, under the name of realism, naturalism, etc. And that’s one! Now through writing, through talk, through purchases… who has imposed on the generation of mahogany chests of drawers the taste for eighteenth-century art and furniture?… Where is he who will dare to say it is not us? And that’s two! And what about that description of a Paris salon furnished with japonaiseries, published in our first novel, in our novel EN 18.., that appeared in 1851 … yes, in 1851 …– let them show me people with a taste for Japanese things in those days…– and our acquisitions during those years of bronzes and lacquerware from Mallinet and a little later from Mrs Desoye… and our discovery in 1860, at the Porte Chinoise, of the first Japanese album known in Paris… known at least to the world of men of letters and painters… and the pages devoted to Japanese things in MANETTE SALOMON, in IDÉES ET SENSATIONS… do they not make us the first propagators of that art… of that art, which, without doubt, is revolutionizing the perspective of western peoples? And that’s three! Now the search for truth in literature, the revival of eighteenth-century art, the triumph of Japonism: these are, do you know, – he added after a silence, and with an awakening of intelligent life in his eye, – these are the three great literary and artistic movements of the second half of the nineteenth century… and we will have led them, these three movements… us, poor unknown us. Well! when you have done that… it will be really difficult not to be someone in the future.” And it’s true, the dying man taking a walk along the avenue of the Bois de Boulogne could perhaps be right.’ (Tout à coup brusquement mon frère s’arrêta, et me dit: “Ça ne fait rien, vois-tu, on nous niera tant qu’on voudra...il faudra bien reconnaître un jour que nous avons fait GERMINIE LACERTEUX... et que ‘Germinie Lacerteux’ est le livre-type qui a servi de modèle à tout ce qui a été fabriqué depuis nous, sous le nom de réalisme, naturalisme, etc. Et d’un! Maintenant par les écrits, par la parole, par les achats... qu’est-ce qui a imposé à la génération aux commodes d’acajou, le goût de l’art et du mobilier du XVIIIe siècle... Où est celui qui osera dire que ce n’est pas nous? Et de deux! Enfin cette description d’un salon parisien meublé de japonaiseries, publiée dans notre premier roman, dans notre roman d’EN 18.., paru en 1851 ... oui, en 1851 ... – qu’on me montre les japonisants de ce temps-là... – et nos acquisitions de bronzes et de laques de ces années chez Mallinet et un peu plus tard chez Mme Desoye... et la découverte en 1860, à la Porte Chinoise, du premier album japonais connu à Paris... connu au moins du monde des littérateurs et des peintres... et les pages consacrées aux choses du Japon dans MANETTE SALOMON, dans IDÉES ET SENSATIONS... ne font-ils pas de nous les premiers propagateurs de cet art... de cet art en train, sans qu’on s’en doute, de révolutionner l’optique des peuples occidentaux? Et de trois! Or la recherche du vrai en littérature, la résurrection de l’art du XVIIIe siècle, la victoire du japonisme: ce sont, sais-tu, – ajouta-t-il après un silence, et avec un réveil de la vie intelligente dans l’oeil, – ce sont les trois grands mouvements littéraires et artistiques de la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle... et nous les aurons menés, ces trois mouvements... nous, pauvres obscurs. Eh bien! quand on a fait cela... c’est vraiment difficile de n’être pas quelqu’un dans l’avenir.” Et, ma foi, le promeneur mourant de l’allée du Bois de Boulogne pourrait peut-être avoir raison.) See Goncourt 1884, pp. xiv-xvi. Cf. for this preface also letters 550 and 551....
in note 4:
...at those paintings’ (FR b1787). ‘The exhibitors reflected the cosmopolitanism which had developed in the Paris art world...It attracted a public of an equally international scope. Eventually scheduled regularly in May, it was anticipated and attended by fashionable society as well as those with a serious interest in the latest names and trends in art, and the newest output by painters with established reputations’, wrote Roger Terry Dunn, The Monet-Rodin exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit in 1889. Diss. Northwestern University 1979, pp. 10-11....
in note 5:
...léver à Paris un monument sa mémoire at the Ecole nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris 1885...
560 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Tuesday, 9 February 1886.
in translation:
...But suppose we both yet see the beginning of it at the end of our lives. We’ll certainly not...
...works and thinks in a group of people together. Then at the same time one can do more — and one...
...Delacroix said about himself, I haven’t been happy at all in the sense in which I understood it...
...dare say that, but adding this, that I think that at that same moment there will be a certain...
...reached that point, on the contrary we’re at the point of working first, living first — most...
in note 8:
...had seen a performance of Socrate et sa femme at the Théâtre Français on 25 December 1885 (FR...
561 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Thursday, 11 February 1886.
in translation:
...and it’s likely they’d be no different. Now at the moment it’s just because of reaction to...
...s concerned I can finish the most pressing things at once — those studies of plaster casts that...
...provisionally — and I started by renting a garret at the beginning of April, say, until June...
...often insupportable for me, the carping of the fellows at the academy, for it has proved that they...
...at close quarters — David or even worse — Pieneman in full bloom. I must have wanted to say at...
...difficult. You see, one can learn something new at the academy — I never knew before that...
...well described. What one can learn at the academy in this regard is — just don’t paint women then. They hardly ever use nude female models, not at all in class at any rate — very occasionally...
...a handshake. Yours truly, Vincent My being in Nuenen, at least for the month of March, would be...
...my abode. But if need be, as far as I’m concerned, I’d be prepared not to go back at all.
in note 5:
...Julius Caesar Germanicus (15 BC - 19 AD) that he drew at Vinck’s evening class. The Germanicus is on an inventory of the collection of plaster casts at the Antwerp Academy in the period 1866-1896 (no. 542), but...
562 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Sunday, 14 February 1886.
in translation:
...in things for sure, but not in everything and not in my way of looking at things, I believe. I want to tell you at the start of our conversation about one thing and another that I wish that before...
...to Chérie by De Goncourt yet? When one looks at it, the mass of work those fellows got through is...
...ll experience more of it. We’re by no means at the end yet. So although it’s spring — how...
...still looked up into the clear sky, but — at the same time he visited the ambulances where the...
563 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Tuesday, 16 or Wednesday, 17 February 1886.
in translation:
...and that way it’ll be all the more successful at Cormon’s. So let’s not delay or get involved...
...a possibility of that? Then I can help with the packing at home if it could be of any use to them...
...with fellows who had been at some academy or other — that I couldn’t draw — according to them. I still don’t know how things will turn out for me in the end at the academy here — I wrote...
...several days. I’m working on a female torso at the moment. Regards — but write as soon as you...
...about earning more. I’m doing myself no good at all now — if nothing had to be taken off, one...
564 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, Thursday, 18 February 1886.
in translation:
It’s at the moment when my money has entirely gone — entirely — that I write to you...
...And I’m quite sure that it will help me at Cormon’s if I spend the interim doing nothing but...
...who’ve been in Paris all tell me the same thing. At Cormon’s I’ll have to paint some test or...
...before the summer so that everything doesn’t come at once. Don’t take it amiss of me if I also...
in note 1:
Van Gogh had previously had credit at the baker’s; see letter 563.
565 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Monday, 22 February 1886.
in translation:
...Turgenev are great masters, because they learn to look at a person. The books of the present, since...
...specifically, for me to go on drawing plaster casts at once. Anyway, write to me soon. For my own...
566 To Theo van Gogh. Antwerp, on or about Wednesday, 24 February 1886.
in translation:
...the slightest change in the weather and so, if I have to and if you’re absolutely set on it, at least...
...today needed virtually no change in proportion and none at all in tone. So I’d almost dare hope...
...Still, my time is very much taken up by the work at the academy. From what I hear about what people...
...this way one gets correction and one sees others working at the same time. And now I can’t help...
...come here with the experience of it that I have now, at the moment I’m leaving. But if that were...
...I’d be happy to stay if the course at the academy were continuing. But unfortunately there’s...
...I’ve certainly not seen Antwerp at its best now, for from what one generally hears it’s usually much livelier still, and now there are two crises depressing it at the same time — firstly the...
in date note:
...that he would leave Antwerp at the end of February. He ends by asking Theo to write soon. This request would only make sense if the letter was written by Thursday, 25 February 1886 at the latest. Because it is also...
567 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, on or about Sunday, 28 February 1886.
in translation:
...and I think we’ll save time this way. Will be at the Louvre from midday, or earlier if you like. A...
568 Vincent van Gogh and Andries Bonger to Theo van Gogh. Paris, on or about Wednesday, 18 August 1886.
in translation:
...far as our energy must be at full steam ahead. I do see it in prospect. And as to right now, you still remember that I said to you: come away empty-handed this time if need be, but then at least it has been discussed...
...her on to someone else, and I told Bonger at length how I saw it – that an amicable arrangement...
...you today from his office. Regards to everyone at home, with a handshake. Yours truly, Vincent I...
...to open S.’s eyes. She’s not in love with you at all, but it’s as if you’ve bewitched her...
...are necessary. The situation otherwise isn’t hopeless at all, but it is worrying. Spijker is only...
in date note:
...at the weekend. This would mean that he could not have set out any earlier than the weekend of 14 August. Since his letter from the Netherlands arrived in Paris ‘this morning’ (l. 1*) and he was able to report on conversations he had had, at least a few days of his stay must already have elapsed. We have therefore dated the letter on or about Wednesday, 18 August 1886...
in note 1:
...At that time Andries was living at 80 rue d’Hauteville (FR b1030), but he was staying with Vincent at 54 rue Lepic, as we learn from a letter to his parents (Paris, Friday 27 August 1886): ‘My invalids (Vincent van Gogh also fell ill during Theo’s absence) have hindered me from writing. Otherwise I should have thanked you much sooner for the warmth of the reception you gave Theo. He was in raptures over his stay with you (he got back Thursday morning). It also pleases me greatly that he is to your liking. The longer one gets to know him, the more one learns to appreciate his fine mind. He is always entertaining company. I slept at the apartment while he was away, because Vincent was alone...I now go to eat with Van Gogh every evening as a permanent thing. It does take up a lot of time, since he lives in Montmartre, and the evenings are now taken up altogether, but it’s more pleasant for us both. The three of us always have plenty to talk about’ (FR b1844). The flat on the third floor ‘had three reasonably large rooms, a tiny study and a little kitchen. ... Vincent slept in the study, and behind that was the studio, an ordinary room with one not particularly large window’, wrote Jo van Gogh-Bonger in her introduction to Brieven 1914, p. xlvii....
in note 2:
...My uncle refused to help and fobbed me off, kindly at first, but later, when I persisted, quite firmly...
in note 4:
At this time Theo had a relationship with a woman referred to only as ‘S’, about whom nothing further is...
in note 13:
Andries Bonger worked at the offices of the insurance brokers Geo Wehry in Paris.
in note 15:
...wooded Breton landscape three children are sitting at the foot of an old chestnut tree. In a beautiful...
in note 16:
...Both Annie and his sister Jo lived in Amsterdam (Jo at her parent’s house). See Brief happiness 1999, pp...
569 To Horace Mann Livens, Paris, September or October 1886.
in original text:
...than those I did before.– So as we said at the time in COLOUR seeking life, the true drawing...
...for the same we might combine. I felt sure at the time that you are a thorough colourist and since...
...not much but still I do have a beginning. At this present moment I have found four dealers who have...
...I can see one must sell cheap to rise, and even at costing price. And mind my dear fellow, Paris is...
...Corot, Daubigny, Dupre, a few other masters at exorbitant prices. They do little or nothing for young artists. The second class dealers contrariwise sell those but at very low prices. If I asked more...
...to go over here consider there is no laying on roses at all. What is to be gained is progress and...
in translation:
...than those I did before. So as we said at the time in COLOUR seeking life, the true drawing...
...for the same we might combine. I felt sure at the time that you are a thorough colourist and since...
...not much but still I do have a beginning. At this present moment I have found four dealers who...
...I can see one must sell cheap to rise, and even at costing price. And mind my dear fellow, Paris is...
...Corot, Daubigny, Dupré, a few other masters at exorbitant prices. They do little or nothing for young artists. The second class dealers contrariwise sell those but at very low prices. If I asked...
...to go over here consider there is no laying on roses at all. What is to be gained is progress and...
in location:
Private collection. Sold at auction, Sotheby’s London, 7 December 1995.
in date note:
...at that time (letter 574): his intended departure for the south of France, which was to happen the following spring; and the use of colour in the landscapes he made at Asnières. Van Gogh did indeed go to Arles in the spring of 1888, and the Asnières landscapes mentioned in the letter to Willemien do date from the spring and summer of 1887, so that the letter must certainly have been written after that. We believe, however, that the present letter contains indications that point to the autumn of 1886; in other words the similar subjects are in fact different. Van Gogh writes that since he has been in Paris he has thought about Livens, whom he met at the Antwerp Academy in January-February 1886, very often, even ‘almost daily’ (l. 96). It would seem unlikely that his thoughts would have turned to his former fellow-student at the Academy quite so often after a year and a half in Paris; the same applies to the period of time within which asking to be remembered to four other students is still plausible (l. 94). Van Gogh’s account of what he has been up to would moreover be very perfunctory were it to relate to what he had been doing in Paris for a period of a year and a half; by the autumn of 1887 he was acquainted or friendly with a number of avant-garde artists, he had exhibited on various occasions and even organized exhibitions himself. Japanese prints were a major element of his artistic preoccupations, and in 1887 his view of modern art was so much broader that he is much less likely to have referred to Degas and Monet, as he does here in ll. 36-37, than to Signac, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec and Bernard. The fact that he gives himself and Livens a chance of joining the colourists also tends to place the letter in 1886 rather than 1887. It gives the distinct impression of being a report of a much shorter stay in Paris. What Van Gogh says about painting numerous flower still lifes tallies with what we know of this period (in other words March 1886 - autumn 1886): from the summer of 1886 until mid-September this was one of his main subjects. Several pictures of the windmills in and around Montmartre are candidates for the landscapes with ‘frank’ colours (ll. 61-62). He could moreover have simply meant here that he had started to work in a more colourist manner, and he does not necessarily have to have had specific works in mind. By the ‘two heads’ he may have meant two self-portraits (see n. 7). And on top of all this, he does not reckon himself to be one of the Impressionists (l. 34) – he would certainly not have said that in 1887. This leaves us with the trip to the south; it emerges from a letter Theo wrote to his mother in February 1887 that Vincent had already started to think about this in the winter of 1886-1887 (see n. 10). As far as Van Gogh’s time in Cormon’s studio is concerned, this dating means that he must have gone there very soon after his arrival in March, as Van Tilborgh also argues (cf. n. 14). See cat. Amsterdam 2001, pp. 21-23, Van Tilborgh 2007. The literature reference in exhib. cat. Paris 1988, p. 398: B. Welsh-Ovcharov, ‘Vincent to Livens, when and why?’, Vincent van Gogh’s letter to Horace Mann Livens. London 1987, turns out to be an unpublished typescript (according to an e-mail received from the author in 2004...
in note 1:
The Englishman Horace Mann Livens went to study at the Antwerp Academy in 1885, when he was twenty-three...
in note 2:
...1886), the Ve exposition internationale de peinture at Georges Petit (15 June - 15 July 1886) and the IIe...
in note 3:
...internationale de peinture at Georges Petit’s gallery, where there were 13 recent paintings by Monet – at any rate there were ten landscapes among them. See Wildenstein 1996, cat. nos. 889, 893, 994, 1032?, 1044, 1053, 1054, 1065, 1067, 1070. There were seven Degas nudes in pastel at the VIIIe exposition de...
in note 9:
At the beginning of June 1886 the Van Gogh brothers had moved from 25 rue Laval to a larger apartment at 54 rue Lepic, likewise in Montmartre. Vincent had his own studio there. Theo wrote to Caroline van...
in note 11:
...at the academy in Antwerp. According to the files of the Koninklijke Academie, the first three took the ‘Life’ course in the winter of 1885-1886, Durand took the ‘Antique Statues’ course. Livens was enrolled for both classes, Van Gogh only for the latter (Antwerp, Bibliotheek Koninklijke Academie. Register 1885-1891, inv. no. 289). While Van Gogh was in Antwerp, Briët was living at number 20 Korte Beeldekensstraat, in other words just around the corner from him...
in note 12:
...letter 718 it emerges that Van Gogh exhibited work at the paint merchant Julien Tanguy’s shop and with...
in note 14:
...at Cormon’s studio has been the subject of debate. We agree with Van Tilborgh, who argued that this must have been in the months immediately after Van Gogh’s arrival in Paris (early March to early June 1886). See – also for a summary of previous points of view and of literature: Van Tilborgh 2007. The studio was at 104 boulevard de Clichy, in the 18th arrondissement (see Destremau 1997...
in note 15:
...de Duerwaerder, the widow of Theodor Jacques van Roosmaelen, lived at 25 Mutsaardstraat (district 2) in Antwerp and was a ‘shopkeeper in artists’ materials’. Various English and Scottish students at the Antwerp Academy were registered as lodging at this address in the 1880-1893 period. On 6 March 1893, Mrs van...
570 To Charles Angrand. Paris, Monday, 25 October 1886.
in translation:
I’ve spoken to Mr Boggs about the meeting I had with you and if you would like to do an exchange with him be bold about it, because you’ll see fine things at his place and he’ll be very pleased to make your...
in note 6:
...know which work by Degas Theo had in the gallery at this time. See Thomson in exhib. cat. Amsterdam...
571 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, between about Sunday, 17 and Tuesday, 19 July 1887.
in translation:
...and all the rest were at my disposal.
...get back. Because remember when I started working at Asnières I had lots of canvases and Tanguy...
in date note:
...at his mother’s in Breda on Tuesday, 26 July and in any event was back at work in Paris on Thursday, 28 July (see Brief happiness 1999, p. 63 and Welsh-Ovcharov 1976, p. 250). This would mean that his leave started on or about Thursday, 14 July. Earlier – and hence a three-week holiday – is virtually ruled out because on Sunday, 10 July Theo still did not know when he would be free. On that day he wrote to Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek: ‘I’m going to Holland this summer, perhaps very soon’ (FR b727). This means that his holiday did not start that weekend. It is known that he went to see Jo Bonger in Amsterdam on Friday, 22 July, while from letter 572 it can be deduced that he also visited his mother in Breda prior to that. Letter 571 was certainly written before 572 since in the present letter Vincent says that he has painted two works since Theo left, and in letter 572 he refers to four. It is also evident that the money he had received, which he refers to in letter 572, is the money he asked for in letter 571. Theo’s letter with the money did not contain any news about Jo Bonger’s refusal of his marriage proposal, and was therefore probably sent on 21 July at the latest, so Vincent must have written this by Tuesday, 19 July at the latest. Since Theo must have left around 14 July and this letter was written relatively soon after his departure – Vincent says he hopes Theo will enjoy the visit – we have dated it between about Sunday, 17 and Tuesday, 19 July 1887...
in note 2:
Le Tambourin was a restaurant and cabaret at 62 boulevard de Clichy in Montmartre, run by the Italian...
in note 3:
...at Le Tambourin and would probably lose the business; Van Gogh must have heard that his paintings had been seized. Contrary to what Bernard suggested later, the works were not Van Gogh’s way of paying for his meals. He had evidently decorated the café with flower still lifes in the hope of selling them to customers, albeit without making specific arrangements with Segatori. Maurice Beaubourg stated in 1890 that Van Gogh had left everything behind ‘as security for the proprietor’ (comme gage au propriétaire), while Bernard wrote that the still lifes were auctioned off in batches of ten. At the beginning of his time in Arles Van Gogh remarked on how few flower still lifes from Paris he had been able to keep (letter 640). There is consequently every reason to assume that he did not collect the works that were decorating the café, and that they were then sold at auction, possibly as part of bankruptcy proceedings. For this see cat. Amsterdam 2011...
in note 4:
...rest’ Van Gogh must mean the Japanese prints that he had exhibited at Le Tambourin. Cf. letter 640.
in note 9:
...sold through Alphonse Portier. At that time Julius Elias was in any event buying his work, as emerges from two letters that Toulouse-Lautrec wrote to Portier at the end of 1887. The painter had told...
572 To Theo van Gogh. Paris, between about Saturday, 23 and about Monday, 25 July 1887.
in translation:
Myself — I feel I’m losing the desire for marriage and children, and at times I’m quite melancholy to be like that at 35 when I ought to feel quite differently. And sometimes I blame this damned painting...
...It’s better to have fun than to kill yourself. Warm regards to all at home. Yours truly, Vincent
in date note:
...22 July at the earliest. Theo was certainly back in Paris on Thursday, 28 July. If Vincent wanted to be able to count on his brother’s getting the letter while he was still in the Netherlands so that he could convey his best wishes to everyone at home (ll. 108-109), he must have sent it by about 25 July at the latest...
in note 1:
...in her diary: ‘Friday a day full of emotion. At two in the afternoon the doorbell rang: Van Gogh...
573 To Johannes van Hombergh, Mayor of Nuenen. Paris, Thursday, 1 September 1887.
in note 3:
...that Van Gogh presented on 16 October 1888 at the Arles town hall, so that he could be officially...
in note 4:
Mrs van Gogh lived at no. 649bis Nieuwe Ginnekenstraat in Breda (district B).
574 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887.
in translation:
...Now we, I think, stand there pulling a long face or at a loss for words when, being thwarted in our...
...will in the world we find precious little certain at all and not always satisfaction to comfort us...
...Margot Begemann is doing and how they’re doing at De Groot’s. How did that business turn out...
...believe that if we knew everything we’d arrive at a certain serenity. Now having this serenity as...
...might be more able to express your feelings that way. At any rate I can do something about painting...
...should be able to do two or preferably several things at the same time. And there are times when it...
in note 7:
...full of self-sacrifice and servitude. ‘When, at the novel’s close, the family’s long-time...
in note 12:
...crossed out: ‘which brought about so much good at the time’ (die toen zooveel goeds hebben teweeg...
in note 15:
...near De Roosdonck windmill, and consisted at that time of the mother, Cornelia de Groot-Van...
575 To Emile Bernard. Paris, about December 1887.
in translation:
...we’d produce more good things and would have less time and inclination to be at each other’s throats.
...Because it’s better to take a long look at it before judging so categorically, and to reflect...
576 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, December 1887.
in translation:
If you come on my behalf you will find at Cluzel’s, the framer in rue Fontaine, a painting that I have...
in date note:
...in Restaurant du Chalet (see letter 640) and Gauguin’s remark that he is seldom in Montmartre (at the time he was living at Schuffenecker’s in rue Boulard; see n. 3). We have therefore adopted the same dating.
in note 1:
The frame-maker Pierre Cluzel had his shop at 33 rue Fontaine Saint-Georges, in Montmartre. See Frédéric...
in note 4:
The art dealers Boussod, Valadon et Cie, for whom Theo worked, had their gallery at 19 boulevard Montmartre.
577 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 21 February 1888.
in translation:
During the journey I thought at least as much about you as about the new country I was...
in note 2:
...of Breda in Brabant had around 22,000 inhabitants at that time; the mining town of Mons in the Borinage...
in note 3:
...train from Paris to Marseille (the ‘Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée’) that left at 9.40 p.m. on Sunday 19 February and arrived in Arles at 4.49 p.m. the following day. The train passed through Tarascon, a small town...
in note 4:
...at 30 rue Amédée-Pichot, in the northern part of the town. This section of the street was known as rue de la Cavalerie until 1887; Van Gogh was therefore using the old address. The hotel was a ‘two-storey house, small terrace on top and balcony on the first floor’ (maison à deux étages, petite terrasse au-dessus et balcon au premier). See Coquiot 1923, p. 161. In the official deeds the name is spelled ‘Carel’ (ACA and L’indicateur marseillais 1888...
578 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 24 February 1888.
in translation:
...him that so far I’m having to pay more than at Pont-Aven, but that I think if you live here in...
...and tell him what seem to me the average expenses. At times it seems to me that my blood is more or...
in date note:
...means that it must have been sent on 25 February at the latest. Since his letter of 21 February (577...
in note 3:
...in Paris, had set up as an ‘agent en chambre’ (a dealer working from home) at 6 place d’Anvers in Paris. Alongside his job at Boussod, Valadon & Cie he also dealt on his own account in work by Puvis de...
in note 5:
...Woman with a parasol (letter 686, n. 17) and Woman at the well (letter 686, n. 16), Italian girl (letter...
in note 9:
...was Theo’s doctor in Paris; he had his practice at 6 rue de la Victoire. Koning evidently had health...
in note 12:
...in Bompard fils’ wallpaper (papiers peints) shop at 14 place de la République; it is clear from the...
in note 15:
...must also have read the sequel, Tartarin sur les Alpes (1885), at about this time (see letter 583, n. 9).
in note 16:
...housed in a former church opposite Saint-Trophime at place de la République. The museum was...
579 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 24 February 1888.
in translation:
For my part, I could just as well say that I’ll stop writing to you immediately at the moment you reply to me; the simplest thing is not to write if it’s too much trouble and one doesn’t always feel...
in date note:
Theo wrote Vincent’s address for Willemien at the bottom of the letter (see Additional details), which...
580 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 27 February 1888.
in translation:
...yourself. But you’re well aware that Tersteeg is at home in English business matters like a fish...
...s why a grand tour of the studios is a good idea at this point; you’ll explain to him the whole...
...won’t be against our having the artists’ interests at heart, nor that above all we want to...
...Mesdag and others have got to stop POKING FUN at the Impressionists. It will be helpful in any case...
...give their work to the dealers over there at miserable prices, or artists will get together and...
in note 3:
Van Wisselingh had done his training at Goupil’s branch in The Hague (1864-1866) and then worked at the firm’s headquarters in Paris (1866-1874). Between 1881 and 1890, as an independent art dealer, he was an...
in note 6:
...Impressionists had been well represented for several years at Les Vingt exhibitions, which drew large crowds. The fifth exhibition of Les Vingt had opened at the beginning of February 1888, with works by Anquetin...
581 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Pont-Aven, on or about Wednesday, 29 February 1888.
in translation:
...mind at rest, or at least enable me to hold on. My God, how terrible these money matters are for an artist!
...reply if possible. Ever yours, Paul Gauguin Pont-Aven, at Madame Gloanec’s Finistère
in note 2:
...at Dieppe (W178/W166), Bathing at the watermill in the Bois d’Amour (W221/W272), Landscape with swine (W229/-) and Coming and going (W245/-), and five ceramic objects by Gauguin, followed in January by the exhibition of one painting, Two female bathers (W241/W215). On 26 December 1887 Theo had made his first sale of one of his works, Bathing at the watermill in the Bois d’Amour, for 450 francs. See Wildenstein 2001, pp. 217, 276, 287, 328, 314, 608...
582 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 2 March 1888.
in note 5:
Paul Gauguin, The beach at Dieppe, 1885 (Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; W178/W166). Ill. 2143. This...
in note 6:
Koning – Van Gogh refers to him as ‘young’ – was 27 at this time.
in note 8:
...and Henri Edmond Cross, invited artists to exhibit at its alternative Salon, where the works were not...
in note 9:
...that he did not really care about being represented at this exhibition: ‘He himself doesn’t attach much...
583 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 9 March 1888.
in translation:
Now at long last, this morning the weather has changed and has turned milder — and I’ve already had an...
...effects, I can now get everything, more or less, at Paris prices. On Saturday evening I had a visit...
in note 8:
...at 14 place de la République, under the name Armand-Ronin. The official deeds give his name as Jean Auguste Armand; on the electoral roll and in address books it is Jules Armand; Ronin was the maiden name of his wife Joséphine (ACA). At this time there were two justices of the peace in Arles: Paul Marre for the western canton, and Eugène Giraud for the eastern canton (L’indicateur marseillais 1888). The one who visited Van Gogh must have been Giraud. In May 1888 Van Gogh went to see him about a dispute with his landlord; see letter 609, n. 1...
584 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 10 March 1888.
in translation:
...circumstances you describe, in which they are all at bay and hard up. I find what you write about the...
...and share the sale price in such a way that at least the society will be able to guarantee the...
...the best, and because I want it to be dry, and because I want to send at least a dozen or so all at once because of the cost of transport. Congratulations on buying the Seurat — with what I send...
...the exhibition of the Impressionists in rue Laffitte at the time. He’ll probably come to Paris...
...in your pocket’. They can easily reply to that: not at all, on the contrary, we’re the first to...
in note 2:
...in Paris in 1888. The exhibition, which was held at Tripp et Cie’s gallery, opened on 20 February. See...
in note 4:
...ticking for years: since France’s defeat at German hands in the war of 1870-1871, there had been a cold war between the two countries that threatened to escalate at any time. When the Kaiser died his son was...
in note 8:
At the Pillet sale in Paris (Hôtel Drouot, 2 and 3 March 1888; Lugt 1938-1987, no. 47127) Theo had bought a drawing by Georges Seurat for 16 francs; it was Woman singing in a café-chantant, 1887 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 424. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1999, p. 179. It emerges from a letter from Lucien Pissarro to his father Camille of 12 March 1888 that Theo was not at the sale in person, but got Emile Bernard to buy the drawing for him: ‘he had young Bernard buy the drawing that Seurat had put in the sale, it fetched very little, because you know how stingy he is, he wasn’t there, otherwise I would have gone back to chat to him and find out the price’ (il a fait acheter par le petit Bernard le dessin que Seurat y avait mis, il a été payé tres bon marché, car tu sais comme il est chien, il n’y était pas sans quoi je serai rentré pour bavarder avec lui et en apprende le prix). See Letters of Pissarro 1993, pp. 105-106...
in note 10:
...at the end of March 1888. On 16 March 1888 he wrote about meeting Van Gogh: ‘Initially I considered him to be mad, but by and by I note that there is method in it. He knows the friends of Jastrau: McKnight, Russell etc. – but at the moment I can’t remember his name: Van Prut or something of the kind.’ See Larsson 1993, pp. 14, 26...
in note 13:
...F 359 / JH 1332). See for the other two works by Van Gogh at this exhibition: letter 582, n. 9.
585 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 16 March 1888.
in translation:
...the almond trees are starting to blossom everywhere. All in all I’m very pleased that the paintings are at the Independents. You’ll do well to go and see Signac at his place. I was very pleased at what you wrote in today’s letter, that he made a better impression on you than the first time...
...to that when the person is young and intelligent. At one time he’d begun to study medicine, he...
...wish to do something different from what he’s doing at present. I think he’d do well to put off...
...That’s why (even while being worried that at the moment expenses are steep and the paintings of...
...I attended the inquiry into a crime committed at the door of a brothel here; two Italians killed...
in note 6:
In 1888 Signac lived at 130 boulevard de Clichy, where he also had his studio. Theo could have visited him...
in note 8:
At eleven o’clock in the evening of 11 March the Zouaves Louis-Edouard Dupont and Jean Destanque were...
in note 11:
...Le Forum Républicain reported on the occurrence at length in their editions of Sunday, 18 March...
586 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Pont-Aven, between about Saturday, 17 and about Monday, 19 March 1888.
in translation:
Pont-Aven is very dreary at the moment because of the bad weather, continual wind and rain, and I’m...
587 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Sunday, 18 March 1888.
in translation:
...doubt that their art is being carried on in France. At the top of this letter I’m sending you a...
588 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 21 or Thursday, 22 March 1888.
in translation:
...Rain and wind these past few days, I’ve worked at home on the study of which I’ve made a...
...from another world? This doesn’t mean I’d feel at home in an artistic world, but it means I...
...of a fall on paintings that are highly priced at present, a fall which, it seems to me, will probably come about as soon as the Impressionists rise. Look at the way those who sell highly priced...
in note 7:
...have thought about the things which we are looking at. The smallest thing contains a little of what is...
589 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 25 March 1888.
in translation:
...of colours. That — I’m referring to the painting at the Delarebeyrettes’ — we currently know of another bouquet of very good quality and at a reasonable price, and that in any case we think...
...worked this study to death trying to finish it at home. However, I started the same subject again...
...But — although this time it makes no difference at all — in future my name must be put in the...
in note 3:
...at 43 rue de Provence in Paris. He was the leading dealer in Monticelli’s work. After his death in September 1886, his wife and his son Gabriel took over the running of the business. Theo and Reid regularly bought work by Monticelli there. See Fowle 2000, p. 94, and Nonne 2000, p. 42. We do not know which of Monticelli’s flower pieces Van Gogh had seen at Delarebeyrette’s; in 1886 the gallery had some forty works by Monticelli in stock. See Alauzen and Ripert 1969, p. 447...
in note 4:
See for Gauguin’s The beach at Dieppe: letter 582, n. 5. Tersteeg had asked Theo to send him a number of ‘modern’ paintings (see letter 592). At the end of March 1888 Theo sent a consignment to the Hague branch...
in note 5:
...can now be identified – and one lithograph, ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268). See cat...
in note 13:
Van Gogh exhibited three works at the Indépendants; see letter 582, n. 9. Angrand, Anquetin, Lucien...
in note 19:
...with Theo to Seurat’s studio (see letter 695) at 128bis boulevard de Clichy. Models and A Sunday...
590 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 30 March 1888.
in translation:
...the others, but an open exhibition will probably be staged alongside the official one at that time. Now here, for instance, at this moment, I have 6 paintings of blossoming fruit trees. And the one I...
...although it’s the same as at home in subject and fact, is undoubtedly much richer and more colourful. Furthermore, the people here are picturesque too, and whereas at home a beggar looks much like...
in note 4:
...whether the exhibition was already being planned at this time; according to Welsh-Ovcharov specific...
in note 7:
...seen on the painting. Vincent probably removed them at Theo’s insistence, because it was done before the...
591 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 1 April 1888.
in translation:
...enclosed in it. I would have things to write to you at leisure but have to do so in great haste. First of...
...dry. If everything was dry I’d send a consignment at once. Only the days are all good now, not in...
...up the Impressionist exhibition in England. I don’t at all like Reid’s way of behaving towards...
in note 9:
Reid evidently wanted to buy a work from Guillaumin at a low price, and the latter had complained to Theo...
in note 10:
...whether Theo did indeed buy Guillaumin’s work at this time. There were four Guillaumins in his...
592 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 3 April 1888.
in translation:
...so many memories in The Hague, the 2 Montmartre landscapes exhibited at the Independents’. There’s one more thing that’s not at all easy. With Tersteeg having written to you ‘send me...
...we prefer to do good work, that we were surprised at his ways of behaving, which in the end were...
...The painting of the garden with lovers is at the Théâtre Libre. Boyer, the framer, still has a...
in date note:
...yesterday’ but tore them up (l. 7). This letter therefore dates from Monday, 2 April at the earliest – and at any rate it follows 591, since Van Gogh goes on about his plan to give Jet Mauve Souvenir de...
in note 3:
...in the Netherlands in the second half of July 1887. At the time Vincent wrote in a letter to Willemien that...
in note 18:
...frame maker Jean-Marie Boyer had his shop at 38bis rue Fontaine in Paris (Almanach du commerce de Paris 1887, and AP, Liste électorale 1889, 9e arr.). The lithograph was ‘At eternity’s gate’ (F 1662 / JH 268).
593 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Thursday, 5 April 1888.
in translation:
...know me — to tell them that I expect a discount at least equivalent to the cost of carriage, which...
...everyone up. As soon as I can pay for crates and postage (which is probably cheaper at the little station here than it would be at the Gare de Lyon) I’ll send you the studies. Am without a sou for...
...what you’ll say about my first consignment, which will definitely contain at least 10 canvases.
594 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 9 April 1888.
in translation:
...that the painted studies are more brilliant in colour. Am hard at work again, still orchards in blossom.
...peach trees -– some very pale pink apricot trees. At present I’m working on some yellow-white...
...then I’ll be less troubled by fits of faintness. At the moment I suffer a lot some days, but that...
...but let me warn you that if I continue my work at the same rate I’ll find it hard to manage. But...
...him company. Has winter come to an end in Paris at long last? I think what Kahn says is quite...
...caused by time has increased, and now his paintings are hardly recognizable. You can’t be at the pole and the equator at the same time. You have to choose. And I have high hopes of doing that, too...
in note 14:
...the autumn of 1887 the Bernard family had lived at 5 avenue de Beaulieu in Asnières, where Bernard had...
in note 15:
...Gustave Kahn discussed Van Gogh’s paintings at the Indépendants exhibition (see letter 582, nn. 8...
595 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Wednesday, 11 April 1888.
in translation:
...here — and came back again at intervals. In the intervals, sunshine that made all the little white flowers sparkle. It was so beautiful! My friend the Dane came to join me, and at risk and peril every moment of...
...children than to make paintings or to do business, at the same time you feel you’re living when...
...cause of Impressionism goes, we have little to fear at the moment of not winning through. And it...
in date note:
...at an early stage). In letters 594 and 595 he is still working on the plum trees, but in letter 596 to Bernard he describes the new subject of the enclosed orchard with pear and peach trees. In the present letter to Theo he does not mention this latter subject, which indicates that this letter predates the one to Bernard. The fact that letter 597 was written after 595 can be deduced from the paint order: in 595 he briefly acknowledges its receipt, and in 597 he discusses the order in more detail. We assume that these letters must have been written in quick succession and did not cross with the lost letter of about Sunday, 15 April (see letter 601). At the same time we regard it as more likely that they were written before this date than after it, given the continuity of the intensive work on the orchard series: in the present letter Van Gogh writes that he is working on The white orchard (F 403 / JH 1378), which is also mentioned in letter 594 of 9 April, and he says he is starting on The Langlois bridge with washerwomen (F 571 / JH 1392), on which he is still working in letter 597. In the absence of any further clues we have spaced the three letters evenly over the week between 9 and about 15 April, and dated 595 on or about Wednesday, 11 April, 596 on or about Thursday, 12 April and 597 on or about Friday, 13 April 1888...
in note 4:
...1392). The name Pont de l’Anglais was often used at the time, although the bridge was later usually...
in note 6:
At this time the paint merchant Julien Tanguy had works by Van Gogh in stock. It emerges from a letter of 29...
596 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Thursday, 12 April 1888.
in translation:
Thanks for your kind letter and the croquis of your decoration included with it, which I find really amusing. I sometimes regret that I can’t decide to work more at home and from the imagination. Certainly — imagination is a capacity that must be developed, and only that enables us to create a more exalting and consoling nature than what just a glance at reality (which we perceive changing, passing quickly like lightning) allows us to...
in sketch A:
...at top left: ‘ciel gros bleu’ (Big blue sky); in the left-hand tree: ‘pecher rose’ (pink peach-tree); in the centre background, twice beside the treetops and once in the group of trees at the same height as the word ‘blanc’ (white): ‘cypres’ (cypress); in the right-hand tree: ‘poirier blanc’ (white pear-tree); in the trees in the centre: ‘verger en fleur’ (orchard in blossom); on the ground under the trees: ‘lilas’ (lilac), three times; on the path under the trees: ‘vert jaune’ (green yellow); on the fences at left and right, and on the roof on the right: ‘jaune’, three times; on the path: ‘chemin jaune’ (yellow path) and ‘jaune’; by the upper strip beside the path: ‘ail vert emeraude’ (emerald-green garlic); by the lower strip: ‘emeraude’; on the strip in the foreground, beside the path: ‘rigole d’eau bleu vert’ (ditch with blue green water); on the patch of land in the left foreground: ‘lilas’; and on the patch in the foreground: ‘vert jaune’ (green-yellow...
in note 3:
The altered ductus at this point on the page indicates that Van Gogh first made the sketch, Orchard bordered...
597 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 April 1888.
in translation:
Thanks for your letter containing the samples of absorbent canvas. Will be very glad to receive — but it’s not at all urgent — 3 metres of the sort at 6...
...That will make 6 canvases of orchards in blossom. At the moment I’m trying to finish them a...
...which would be done after exactly the same subjects, at the same time next year. Here’s the...
in note 1:
In letter 593 Vincent had asked Theo the price of absorbent canvas at Tasset’s.
in note 8:
...a large orchard with cypress trees (ll. 60-61). At any rate they included Orchard bordered by cypresses...
in note 12:
Guillaumin’s pastel Farmhouses at Janville (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 143. We do not know which...
598 To John Peter Russell. Arles, Thursday, 19 April 1888.
in original text:
...to have answered your letter ever so long ago but working pretty hard every day, at night I feel so often to weary to write. As it rains to day I avail myself of the opportunity. Last Sunday I have met Macknight and a Danish painter and I intend to go to see him at Fonvieille next monday. I feel sure I shall prefer him as an artist to what he is as...
...to me the Fabian and Mc Knight portraits, you are at the same time able to give a Scherzo, the...
in translation:
...to have answered your letter ever so long ago but working pretty hard every day, at night I feel so often too weary to write. As it rains to day I avail myself of the opportunity. Last Sunday I have met Macknight and a Danish painter and I intend to go and see him at Fontvieille next Monday. I feel sure I’ll prefer him as an artist to what he is as...
...to me the Fabian and Macknight portraits, you are at the same time able to give a Scherzo, the...
599 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Thursday, 19 April 1888.
in translation:
...in Paris. Spleen isn’t in the air down here. At present I’m still keeping very quiet and very...
...here, and feeling the sun. I now have a terrace for a studio. I really intend to go and do...
in note 7:
The covered roof terrace that Van Gogh used as a studio and where he dried his paintings (letter 600) was...
600 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 20 April 1888.
in translation:
...because he feels disoriented once he’s at liberty, probably so called because the exhausting...
...form a first series. If you prefer them to continue to dry here, that’s not bad perhaps. At the moment they’re on a covered terrace to dry. Tell me, isn’t Daumier on show at the Beaux-Arts, and Gavarni? Bravo as far as Daumier’s concerned, not the Beaux-Arts. Croquis here of an...
...in eating from young Koning, he’s very clever at that, and it’s entertaining to eat with that...
in sketch A:
...on the left, and ‘lilas’ (lilac) on the ground at front right. Beside the sketch: with a line to the...
in date note:
...so he must have posted the letter by Saturday at the latest. We have therefore dated it on or about...
in note 4:
...He cannot have returned to Paris before 12 May at the earliest, since Vincent had still not had any...
in note 5:
Theo’s employers at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. In this and the subsequent letters Van Gogh hints at a possible breach between Theo and his employers. Vincent was evidently afraid that Theo’s position was in danger...
in note 6:
...artists were in any event very well represented at the Paris World Exhibition of 1889...
in note 9:
See for this terrace: letter 599, n. 7.
in note 15:
...Edouard Delort, a pupil of Gérôme, made his debut at the 1864 Salon and painted chiefly anecdotal...
in note 16:
...referring here to one of the still lifes he saw at Bernard’s before he left Paris: Still life: the...
601 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Wednesday, 25 April 1888.
in translation:
...back last Sunday by the way. I must go to see him at home and see what he’s making, of which I’ve...
...going to cost you more than they’ll bring in at present. Because it’s something of a sign, all...
...believing that an artistic thing can be made at less cost than a painting requires — I’ve...
in date note:
...financial straits at the end of the month tells us that there were certainly still a few more days to go before the end of April. We also deduce from the reference to ‘last Sunday’ that at least a couple of...
602 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 1 May 1888.
in translation:
...and at times I wonder if these won’t be stronger than I am. This is especially so at times of...
...of it for you, better than the first croquis. And at this point I dare tell you that I intend to...
...I could live at the new studio with someone else, and I’d very much like to. Perhaps Gauguin will come to the south. Perhaps I’ll come to an arrangement with Macknight. Then we could cook at home...
...a wild life and to work are no longer compatible at all, and in the given circumstances I’ll have...
...at a whole lot of apartments without success. It will seem funny to you that the water closet is at...
...not to have mediocre things at your place. Bernard has written to me and sent croquis. I’m very pleased that you found our mother and sister well. Is Reid going to Marseille? At the bottom of it...
...on business regarding the Impressionists, and resting at Breda between those two chores. Have you...
...could send me 100 francs next time, I could sleep at the studio as early as this week. I’ll also...
in note 1:
...sketchbook sheet) they are Landscape with windmills at Fontvieille (F 1496 / JH 1496), Field with houses (F...
in note 3:
...at number 2 place Lamartine, on the northern edge of the city (lot 398). Ill. 2180. He set up his studio in it, but did not start living there until September, once the house had been redecorated and furnished. He officially registered himself at this address on 16 October 1888 (FR b2949 and cf. letter 677). There is a floor plan on blue paper, showing the layout in 1922, made by Léon Ramser (FR b3317). Ill. 2181. See for old photographs of the Yellow House: Dorn 1990, ills. 2-5...
in note 4:
...first and second floors and the attic are entirely at my disposal.’ (J’ai eu mon ancienne maison o...
in note 11:
...in blossom (F 551 / JH 1396), which were still at an early stage when he wrote letter 597, Orchard (F...
in note 14:
...Ill. 1232. The painting, which was exhibited at the 1888 Salon, is not reproduced in the issue of...
in note 17:
...possibility of sharing a studio with Gauguin, who at this point was in Pont-Aven in Brittany. The idea...
in note 18:
...ménage by Joris-Karl Huysmans, which Van Gogh read at about this time: he quotes from it in June 1888 (see...
in note 19:
...at 2 place Lamartine, it was no longer owned by Aimé Verdier, who had died in 1872. The house had passed on to his daughter, Marie Louise Verdier, and her husband, Raymond Triare-Brun. See Murphy 2016, p. 273 (n. 13). The left-hand side of place Lamartine 2 was occupied by the grocer’s shop run by François Damase Crévoulin and his wife Marguerite Favier; the right-hand side was the accommodation rented by Van Gogh. The address books L’indicateur marseillais of 1888 and 1889 mention an ‘E. Brunel, spirit merchant, avenue de Montmajour 72 (near place Lamartine)’. These premises may also have been part of lot number 398, owned by Verdier, and could have been the ‘quite large house’ Van Gogh mentions. Verdier owned no other buildings in Arles. A second possibility is that by the ‘assez grand hôtel’ Van Gogh meant Bernard Soulè’s house. Soulè was the managing agent for the Yellow House and owned the building diagonally opposite at 53 avenue de Montmajour, where he lived with his daughter and son-in-law. In letter 745, however, Van Gogh refers to ‘the landlord’s agent’, which indicates that he knew Soulè was not the owner. In the summons of February 1889, Soulè is described as ‘landlord, of 53 avenue Montmajour...managing agent of the house occupied by Mr Vincent van Gogh’ (see Documentation, 27 February 1889). The land register records only one building in his name: 53 avenue de Montmajour (lot number 373), diagonally opposite the Yellow House, in the block where the police station was also located. Soulè was therefore not the owner of the Yellow House but the agent who collected the rent on behalf of Mme Verdier – who did not live in Arles....
in note 22:
...Reid went to Scotland with a painting by Puvis de Chavannes that he had bought at Durand-Ruel’s in March. The work was exhibited at the Glasgow International Exhibition, which opened on 3 May 1888. See Fowle 1993...
603 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 4 May 1888.
in translation:
...now. We have to consider that if I sleep at the studio, that makes a difference after all of around 300 francs at the end of a year, which is otherwise spent at the hotel. I’m quite aware that it...
...I was at Fontvieille, at Macknight’s — he had a good pastel — a pink tree — two watercolours under way, and I found him working on a head of an old woman in charcoal. He’s at the stage when...
...wind and mistral here, 3 days out of four at the moment, always with sunshine, though, but then it...
...at portraits. But, before daring to take the risk of throwing myself into that, I want my nervous system to calm down first, and then I want to be settled in such a way that we can receive people at...
...had the strength I would live like him, one day at a time. But if he became paralyzed, and without...
...you might like to. I’m not set on sleeping at the studio but if I went to sleep there, it would...
...for a long period of time. Having no need at all now of space at the hotel, since I have the studio...
in note 5:
...estate there are various photographs of Willemien at about 20 years old; Van Gogh may have had one of...
in note 6:
David Gruby, who lived at 66 rue Saint-Lazare in Paris, was a well-known homeopathic doctor whom Theo and...
604 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 4 May 1888.
in translation:
...take a bed, yes or no. About the bed you have at home, I think the arrangement of having a painter...
...him. So why don’t you keep the bed at home in any case? It’s quite possible that as far as houses go I’ll find an even better one, either at Martigues, beside the sea, or in some other place...
...the ground — which I can feel in the air while at the same time feeling that it isn’t me — I...
...know that Russell wants to go and see him at home and intends to buy another painting from him. I...
...the dealers’ windows, and that they thought that nothing at all was being done there. I’m very...
...say as much, since the Russians are having such success at the Theâtre Libre, &c. But that’s no...
...above it won’t cost me anything. I save 30 francs at the hotel and pay 15 in rent, so there’s...
...I’ve seen a whole lot of crates for my consignment at the penny bazaar, I’ll go back to take...
in note 1:
...Dane’), who spent a short time in Martigues at the end of March 1888, may have given Van Gogh this...
605 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 7 May 1888.
in translation:
...that I received them safely. But there should be at least 2 letters that I wrote to you in Paris and a...
...a mattress and blanket. I also have 40 francs to pay at the hotel, so I won’t have much left over...
...drawings today, to Brussels. You’ll see beautiful things at Claude Monet’s. And you’ll think what I send you is pretty poor, in comparison. At present I’m unhappy with myself and unhappy with...
...the Japanese have done in their country. And working at that isn’t so bad. I often took walks...
...Paris it will finally be spring. And not before time, for Heaven’s sake. Living at the hotel you never make progress, and now at the end of a year I’ll have furniture &c. that will belong to me...
in note 5:
...who was one of the founders of Les Vingt and showed at the society’s annual exhibitions. See Delevoy...
in note 7:
Van Gogh was staying at Hotel-Restaurant Carrel; see letter 577, n. 4.
in note 9:
...in the foreground (F 1416r / JH 1415) and Bank of the Rhône at Arles (F 1472a / JH 1497a) are the most likely candidates; cf. also the inscription at lower left on both drawings. It is not possible to say for...
in note 10:
...place in May, given that the exhibition opened at the beginning of June. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam...
606 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 7 May 1888.
in translation:
I’m writing to you again today because, when I wanted to pay my bill at the hotel where I’m staying, I realized once again that I was being fleeced there. I offered to come to some arrangement with them, they weren’t willing to, so when I...
...you have the drawing of it and I painted it entirely at home. That should prove to you that if it...
...m more or less forced to take the step of living at the studio but in time it will mean there’s...
in note 1:
...he would have been asked to wait until later; at which point Vincent would have gone to the...
in note 2:
Van Gogh stayed at Café de la Gare, 30 place Lamartine, until 17 September, when he took up residence in...
in note 4:
This first consignment of at least 26 paintings from Arles must in any event have included the twelve...
in note 5:
...by Van Gogh, was probably in the first batch of drawings sent to Theo at the end of April. See letter 602.
607 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 10 May 1888.
in translation:
For the time being I have to pay my bill, but at the same time it’s stated on the receipt that this payment is only to recover possession of my things, and that the inflated bill will be submitted to the justice of the...
...count on it I’ve now paid my dues to misfortune and it’s better that should come at the beginning than at the end of the expedition. I feel sure I’ll soon have several new canvases on the easel...
...like 10 thousand francs in this way, I would feel more at ease. The money already spent in other years should also come back into our hands, in value at least. I’m still far from that. But I feel...
...for 6,000 francs, according to what he told me at the time. Ah well, there are strokes of luck of...
...in the past. So take these three for your collection at home and don’t sell them because later on...
in note 2:
...absorbent canvas, but it only measures 55 x 65 cm). At size 25 ‘figure’ (65 x 81 cm) F 555 is a...
608 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 10 May 1888.
in translation:
...some more money, when you get back to Paris at the latest. Because in order to recover possession of my trunk, I had to pay the whole bill for the time being, while at the same time having got it stated on the...
...that. So I’m starting to set up a studio that may at the same time be of use to our pals, if they...
...the meantime you should foresee that Tersteeg would take offence at it, well, in a word, if it’s...
609 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 12 May 1888.
in translation:
...at the same time as him — he said as we went that he’d been angry but hadn’t really wished to insult me. But that’s just what he was trying to do, probably seeing that I had seen enough of his shack — and that he couldn’t make me stay — he’d have gone to tell tales where I am at the moment. All right. If I...
...that went off by goods train, it will be 7 francs at the station in Paris. As I don’t have very...
in sketch A:
...bleu’ (blue) in the sky; ‘vert’ (green) at the top of the foremost tree; ‘lilas’ (lilac) diagonally on the trunk; ‘vert’ in the tree at right rear; ‘jaune’ (yellow) on the road; ‘rose...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh is staying at Café de la Gare (606)
in note 1:
...are hunting – in the absence of game they shoot at their caps – and singing love songs. Because...
in note 2:
...on place Lamartine, where Van Gogh ate every day (at least in August and September). It was next door to...
610 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 14 May 1888.
in translation:
...s beautiful landscape with the poplars that we saw at Reid’s. To find more of Renoir’s gardens...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh is staying at Café de la Gare (606)
in ongoing topic 3:
Van Gogh is eating at Restaurant Vénissac (609)
in date note:
...609), so Theo cannot have returned until the 12th at the earliest. Now Vincent thanks him for the 100...
in note 8:
Van Gogh had seen landscapes by Cézanne at Portier’s (see letter 624) and no doubt also at Tanguy’s, where Cézanne stored paintings – as he did himself.
611 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 20 May 1888.
in translation:
...you write about your visit to Gruby has upset me, but at the same time it reassures me that you went there.
...a little painting, although I wasn’t taking potassium iodide at all. So if I were you, I’d have...
...like to give to Mme the Countess De la Boissière at Asnières. She stays in boulevard Voltaire, on the first floor of the first house at the end of the Clichy bridge. Père Perruchot’s restaurant...
...great deal of patience. If it doesn’t clear up at once that doesn’t matter. And now Gruby will...
...t feel as much need to amuse myself, I’m less at the mercy of my passions and I can work more...
...There is and there remains and it always comes back at times, in the midst of the artistic life, a...
...in health, youth, freedom, which we don’t enjoy at all, any more than the cab-horse that pulls a...
...surely be so beautiful and so young that, really, if at present we leave it our own youth, we can...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh is staying at Café de la Gare (606)
in ongoing topic 4:
Van Gogh is eating at Restaurant Vénissac (609)
in note 1:
...was not the potassium iodide that Theo was taking. At the time this was a widely prescribed remedy for a...
in note 5:
...of the Nederlandsche Etsclub, which was to be held at Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam. Vincent mentions...
in note 11:
...Paris, Musée d’Orsay). Ill. 315. Van Gogh saw this work at the Puvis de Chavannes retrospective which ran from 20 November to 20 December 1887 at Durand-Ruel’s, where it was exhibited as cat. no. 30. We know...
612 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 22 May 1888.
in translation:
...natives and the tribe with which the former was at war (in order to obtain the requisite edible...
...whom she’ll take to bed late at night’. Something like that — it’s not characteristic, because the women of our boulevard — le petit — usually sleep alone at night because they screw 5 or 6 times during the day or the evening and — late at night it’s that honourable carnivore...
...ll write to you again one of these days, more at my ease. Vincent P.S. The croquis of the woman...
in note 1:
...Van Gogh Museum). Bernard had seen these works at the brothers’ apartment as we learn from his 1904...
in note 2:
...war that took place between the islands of Hivaoa and Tahuata at the time the French assumed power there.
613 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 26 May 1888.
in translation:
...going to be an exhibition of the Impressionists at Durand-Ruel — there’ll be some works by...
...but he’s good as a pal and he looks at people and often judges them very accurately. Could there...
...left for tomorrow, Sunday. Have you received the crate at long last? It doesn’t much surprise me...
in note 1:
...opens tomorrow, Thursday, [should read Saturday] at the Durand-Ruel Gallery, 11 rue Le Peletier, and...
in note 3:
...of Arles is known as the Alpilles, also written at this time as ‘Alpines’. See for Alphonse...
614 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 27 May 1888.
in translation:
However, as goods train freight often stays at the station, if you haven’t received the consignment yet it would be a good idea to go by there and...
in note 2:
...following works in June: Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 1429 / JH 1459), Wheat stacks (F...
615 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 28 May 1888.
in translation:
...me a very simple thing to do something for Tersteeg at the same time as I was doing a souvenir of...
...the Impressionists and connoisseurs of the Impressionists at their homes again. That would still...
...then you’ll see the danger you’re in now. At present you’ve had over 10 years of Paris, which...
...an excursion to Saintes-Maries, to see the Mediterranean at last. Our two sisters will doubtless be...
...of white. It’s funny that one evening recently at Montmajour I saw a red sunset that sent its...
...fortunately for him Christ himself didn’t share it at all, it seems to me — he who loved the...
...but then ask those Goupils to take me on again at my previous salary and take me with you on these...
in note 9:
...1415 / JH 1408), which he had probably sent to Theo at the end of April (see letter 602), Landscape with a...
in note 11:
...letter 625, n. 5). This was Under the pine trees at the end of the day, 1888 (Philadelphia Museum of...
616 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 28 or Tuesday, 29 May 1888.
in translation:
...at home...
...you had a wish to come to his aid, as I suffer myself at the thought that he’s in a tight corner...
...sure of this, I still see you in France, at the head of an association of Impressionists. And if...
...spent your money at home? Later on there may be days when we’ll be less hard up, but I’m not counting on it. It would please me so much if you had the Gauguins first. I’m not good at cooking &c...
...that we’d very much wish to know you were a little at your ease. But all the same, my brother can’t send money to you in Brittany and at the same time money to me in Provence. But would you like...
...case we’d have to make up our minds to eat at home as much as possible; we’d take on some kind...
in date note:
...Gauguin’s letter, written on 22 May, on 23 May at the earliest (GAC 2). Theo’s last letter to...
in note 4:
...Koning to Theo, they took their leave of each other at the Gare du Nord on 28 May 1888. Koning was then...
617 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 29 or Wednesday, 30 May 1888.
in translation:
If the roll isn’t too big to be accepted at the post office, you’ll receive another large pen drawing that I’d very much like the Pissarros to see if they come on Sunday. I’ve just received part of the order for colours, and I thank you...
in date note:
...at the same time. They also date from after letter 616 of 28 or 29 May, since as he writes in the present letter (see ll. 54 ff.) Van Gogh has meanwhile carried out the plan to write to Gauguin he outlined in that letter. Given that Van Gogh was very preoccupied with Gauguin’s situation at this time, we date this one no more than a day after letter 616, in other words on Tuesday, 29 or Wednesday, 30 May 1888. Bearing in mind that letters 617 and 618 were written the day before he set out, we assume that Van Gogh’s excursion to Saintes-Maries lasted from 30 or 31 May to about 4 June...
in note 8:
...was, for instance, who sold one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s first paintings and he exhibited work by Van Gogh. At that time his gallery was at 43 boulevard Malesherbes. See letter 718 and exhib. cat. Paris 1988, p. 342.
618 To Arnold Koning. Arles, Tuesday, 29 or Wednesday, 30 May 1888.
in translation:
You must have seen the Impressionists at Durand-Ruel. You’ll have a great deal to tell the fellows in...
...I’ll see tomorrow, and about the sea. At present there are bullfights almost every Sunday. Last...
...injured several of them, then ran through the village. At the end of the village, which is built on...
in note 3:
...most people who weren’t used to my studies thought they were ugly at first, but when they looked at them for a long time they found something in them after all. Obviously I don’t give a damn, I specifically stick to a set programme which I arrived at chiefly through Vincent and Breitner and try by this means to achieve...
619 To Theo van Gogh. Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, on or about Sunday, 3 or Monday, 4 June 1888.
in translation:
...to you from Saintes-Maries on the Mediterranean at last — the Mediterranean — has a colour like...
...ancient fortress, is the barracks. And what houses at that — like those on our Drenthe heaths and...
...brighter, more glittering, more like precious stones than at home — even in Paris. So it seems...
in note 2:
The two seascapes are Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452) and Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453); the view of the village is View of Saintes-Maries (F 416 / JH 1447).
in note 4:
At this time there were two registered boarding-houses in Saintes-Maries. It is possible that Van Gogh stayed at the cheaper of the two – Pension Coulomb at what is now place Mireille. See Amiel 2005, p. 15.
in note 11:
...F 1436 / JH 1454), Fishing boats off the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 1432 / JH 1455) and View of...
620 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 5 June 1888.
in note 2:
...on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 1428 / JH 1458); the painting of the same subject is Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 413 / JH 1460), but this measures 65 x 81.5 cm and is therefore a no. 25 ‘figure’ canvas. Van Gogh made a watercolour after the drawing first: Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries...
in note 3:
...p. 126. The drawings Fishing boats off the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 1432 / JH 1455) and View of...
in note 4:
Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452) and Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453). We learn from letter 619 that Van Gogh wanted to leave the seascapes behind in Saintes-Maries to dry, but as far as we know he did not...
in note 11:
...here, possibly because he was in Brittany and consequently could not see Vincent’s work at Theo’s).
in note 13:
The painting of boats is Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 413 / JH 1460) mentioned above. The...
621 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 5 or Wednesday, 6 June 1888.
in translation:
...to get involved in other people’s troubles? But at present we’re on the way to remaining vigorous...
...morning, I’ll probably go off to Saintes-Maries again at 1 o’clock that day and spend the week...
...would be something. It will come. Do you know that at 6 rue Coëtlogon, rue de Rennes, on 7 and 8...
in note 1:
...Van Gogh was working on Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 413 / JH 1460). The other canvas...
in note 9:
...work and refused to eat. While he was in the asylum at Charenton for the second time he had starved himself...
622 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Thursday, 7 June 1888.
in translation:
...of a white wall against the sky can be expressed, at a pinch and in a strange way, by harsh white...
...heaths, fields as flat as Holland. There, at Saintes-Maries, there were girls who made one think of...
...take dry sand in your hand and if you look at it closely. Water, too, air, too, considered this way...
in sketch D:
Fishing boats at sea (F - / JH 1464), enclosed sketch; beside it two landscapes, here numbered 5 and 6...
in sketch G:
Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F - / JH 1461), enclosed sketch.
in note 10:
...F - / JH 1463), Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F - / JH 1461), Fishing boats at sea, Landscape with the edge of a road and Farmhouse in a wheatfield (all three F - / JH 1464). They are after the following paintings: Row of cottages in Saintes-Maries (F 420 / JH 1462), Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 413 / JH 1460), Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453), Landscape with the edge of a road...
623 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 12 June 1888.
in translation:
...his plan and that he’d like you to be at the head of this business. I shouldn’t be surprised if...
...back into business at this point — if he really has hopes of doing something in Paris — for Heaven’s sake let him go there, but I think he’d be wiser to come here for a year at least; I’ve...
...of 2 Monticellis in Marseille, a bouquet of flowers at 250 francs and figures. It was Russell’s...
...to buy Impressionists to the tune of 35 thousand at Durand-Ruel’s, and that he hopes to do the...
...the money we’d give G. we buy his paintings at the current price, it’s in no way money wasted...
in note 5:
...him that by then he had already been living on credit at Madame Gloanec’s inn for three months (GAC 2).
in note 8:
Mourier-Petersen arrived at Theo’s apartment in rue Lepic on 6 June 1888, and stayed with him until about...
in note 14:
...Some of the works painted in 1884 could be seen from 8 May to 8 June 1887 at the Exposition internationale de peinture et de sculpture at Georges Petit’s gallery, which Theo and Vincent had gone to together. See...
in note 17:
...1888 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay) was exhibited at the Salon (under the title Portrait de Mme M.V...
624 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 12 or Wednesday, 13 June 1888.
in translation:
...your letter. But I presume you’ll have said to yourself that I would probably be at Saintes-Maries.
...so forcefully — as in the harvest we saw at Portier’s. It has become something quite different...
...that the Cézannes that he’d had looked like nothing at all seen on their own, but put next to...
...I say to myself: look, I’ve arrived precisely at père Cézanne’s tones, I only want to say...
in date note:
...any sense – Vincent generally received his money at the weekend – the letter must have been written on...
in note 6:
...and Theo saw the painting in Portier’s gallery at 54 rue Lepic. According to Rewald, Paul Gauguin was...
in note 9:
Zola also came from Aix-en-Provence, where he had been at school with Cézanne.
625 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 15 and Saturday, 16 June 1888.
in translation:
...I congratulate you on having the Monet exhibition at your premises, and I much regret not seeing it...
...visit isn’t at all what I’d dared hope, and I make no secret of it to myself that I miscalculated the odds on his cooperating. And perhaps on the business with Gauguin, too. Let’s take a look at that: I thought he was at bay and I blame myself for having money and the pal who works better than I, not — I say, he’s entitled to half if he wishes. But — if Gauguin isn’t at bay, then I...
...same. And you’re also well aware that because at that time — last winter with Pissarro and the...
...week, on a no. 30 canvas — it’s hardly done at all — but it kills the rest of what I have...
...of his own accord. But there’s the fare, the debt at the inn, the doctor’s bill; now he’s...
in arrangement:
...Hulsker later changed his mind and suggested – at A. Karagheusian’s instigation, he says – placing...
in note 8:
...couple who enjoy intense physical love, heedlessly at first; later, though, they realize that they are...
626 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, between Saturday, 16 and Wednesday, 20 June 1888.
in translation:
...else, and if for a while one just drinks wine that at least in part has been pressed from grapes. I...
...in just the same mood as the good Hollanders were at the time when, coming out of church, they...
...would not, I think, find the sun here unpleasant at all; I feel fine working outside in the hottest...
...or a ploughed field look much more violet than at home. Further, as you already suspect, the people...
...the contrary, in fact, because I prefer to look at things myself. But it’s simply become a habit...
...at home — but at an hour’s distance one can make out the colour of things, the grey-green of olive trees and the grass green of the meadow, for instance, and the pink-lilac of ploughed land; at...
...in the middle of the day much shorter than at home. Anyway — but can’t you understand that one can paint something like that with a few strokes, but at the same time can’t you understand that...
...that reason alone. I really don’t like Mr Vosmaer at all, and am callous enough not to care much...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh’s ambition to exhibit work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in date note:
...for that letter. The fact that Van Gogh goes at length into his motives for painting, says he has...
627 To John Peter Russell. Arles, on or about Sunday, 17 June 1888.
in original text:
for ever so long I have been wanting to write to you – but then the work has so taken me up. We have harvest time here at present and I am always in the...
...say very fine, two negro women talking. it is one of those he did at Martinique. Mc Knight told me he had seen at Marseilles a picture by Monticelli, flowerpiece. Very soon I intend sending over some...
...head at the Salon. I have been to the seaside for a week and very likely am going thither again soon.– Flat shore, sands – fine figures there like Cimabue – straight stylish. Am working at a...
in translation:
...to you — but then the work has so taken me up. We have harvest time here at present and I am always in the fields.
...women talking. It is one of those he did at Martinique. Macknight told me he had seen a picture by...
...head at the Salon. I have been to the seaside for a week and very likely am going thither again soon. Flat shore sands — fine figures there like Cimabue – straight, stylish. Am working at a Sower...
in note 4:
This painting by Monet is Under the pine trees at the end of the day: see letter 615, n. 11. Theo sold the...
in note 8:
...name. Van Gogh describes and sketches the painting at an earlier stage; soon after this he went back to it...
RM15 Fragment of a letter on the back of the sketch Head of a girl (F 1507a / JH 1466). To John Peter Russell. Arles, on or about Sunday, 17 June 1888.
in original text:
It appears that Claude Monet has done fine things my brothers writes to say that he has at present an exhibition of 10 new pictures. One representing pinetrees by the seaside with a red sunset casting a red glow over stems branches foliage and...
in translation:
It appears that Claude Monet has done fine things, my brothers writes to say that he has at present an exhibition of 10 new pictures. One representing pinetrees by the seaside with a red sunset casting a red glow over stems, branches, foliage...
in note 1:
This painting by Monet is Under the pine trees at the end of the day: see letter 615, n. 11. Theo sold the...
628 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 19 June 1888.
in translation:
...at midday, in the full heat of the sun, without any shade whatever, and there you are, I revel in it like a cicada. My God, if only I’d known this country at 25, instead of coming here at 35 — in...
...s another landscape. Setting sun? Moonrise? Summer evening, at any rate. Town violet, star yellow...
...circulating prevents me from thinking, from doing anything at all. You can judge that for yourself...
...in which my own blood was no longer working at all, but literally not at all, as they say. But after 4 weeks down here it got moving again, but, my dear pal, at that same time I had an attack of...
...Madame Chrysanthème; it provides interesting remarks about Japan. At the moment my brother has an...
...on the letter; and yet I did stamp it at the post office and this isn’t the first time that it’s happened here, that when in doubt, and asking at the post office itself, I’ve been misled about...
...Thanks for your letter, I hope to write to you soon at a moment when I’m in less of a hurry...
in note 2:
...422 / JH 1470). Van Gogh described and sketched it at an earlier stage; he worked on it again soon...
in note 3:
Louis Anquetin, The harvest (The mower at noon), 1887 (private collection). Ill. 508. Bernard described it...
in note 20:
...for her; it is more a question of his amazement at how doll-like she is. Loti describes the setting and...
629 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 21 June 1888.
in translation:
...s of no use whatsoever, while working — which is not at all the same thing as saying it while not...
...Let’s talk about something else. I have a model at last — a Zouave — he’s a lad with a...
...almost wild white horses there, pink flamingos too. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was very beautiful. The canvas isn’t at all urgent either. I’m very curious to know what Gauguin will...
...big affairs in order to earn the money to put him at the head of his family again. I should in any...
in additional details:
...Only a third or half is urgent’ (ll. 87-91) and ‘The canvas isn’t at all urgent either’ (l. 108).
in date note:
...that Van Gogh is looking back on the third day at the two previous days, but because the rain...
in note 1:
...to Tanguy’s with me, so that I can finish looking at your brother-in-law’s [read: brother’s] work and...
in note 3:
...1440). He had already told Theo about that painting at length (see letters 623 and 625). The studies of...
in note 4:
...F 422 / JH 1470). Van Gogh describes the painting at an earlier stage; he worked on it again soon...
in note 9:
...Van Gogh must have meant the large illustration at the top of p. 2. Ill. 1231, Ill. 1234, Ill. 2283...
in note 14:
...Milliet or the Zouave who was sitting for him at this time. The plan to visit the Camargue did not go...
in note 15:
See cat. Amsterdam 2011 for the difference in prices at Tanguy’s and Tasset’s.
630 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 23 June 1888.
in translation:
...studies I wouldn’t suggest an exchange unless at the same time we could buy something from him...
...D du dessin by A. Cassagne. I requested it at the bookshop here, and after waiting a fortnight they...
...perspective, and the address should be in it. Besides, they have these books at Latouche’s, and in rue de la Chaussée d’Antin, at the place of that man who always has works by Allongé. It’s...
...way, Jules Gérard the lion-hunter says in his book that at the beginning young lions have a lot of...
...friend four or five new studies, which they looked at in icy silence. I think for their part they...
in note 6:
...All of a heart’s wretchedness, Each woman, as if at market, Meat dressed with a flower, Decked out in...
in note 9:
...It was published by Ch. Fouraut et fils, éditeurs, at 47 rue Saint-André des Arts in Paris. Van Gogh...
in note 10:
...shop selling fine colours and modern paintings) at 34 rue Lafayette. She had run the business alone...
631 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 25 June 1888.
in translation:
...price from the factory — at...
...not counting the stretching frame, which I have — the canvas doesn’t cost me 1.50 (at the price quoted above) and at present, with the stretching frame, 4 francs. Count 1 franc for the stretching...
...in the mixtures. Wasn’t it pleasant at Guillaumin’s last winter — finding the landing and...
...seascapes blue. Perhaps now I’ll have a try at doing greens. Now autumn — that gives you the...
...I’m working at full stretch. And in company I’d feel a bit less need to do that, or rather, I’d work on more complicated things. But in isolation I can count only on my excitement at certain...
...things off their stretching frames. So as to be able, at the end of the year, let’s say, to show...
in date note:
...rise to various datings. Pickvance put the date at about 16 June, but given that Van Gogh bought new...
632 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Tuesday, 26 June 1888.
in translation:
...be almost the equivalent of not being able to read at all. But the consolation of this so saddening...
...lines and shapes and colours — we’re still at liberty — to retain a relative serenity as to...
...above all round. Which nobody disputes nowadays. Now at present, despite that, we’re still in the...
...hemisphere that’s known to us at present. Future generations — probably — will enlighten us...
...a different way than we’re taught at Monsieur Benjamin-Constant’s, for example. Your letter...
...have you found it?’ That’s just it. At the moment my brother has an exhibition of Claude Monet...
...t like Solomon either, and the Methodists not at all, as well. Solomon seems a hypocritical pagan...
...the old Dutchmen having no connection with anything at all. Handshake, and thank you again for your...
in note 3:
...see letter 148) and the painting The pilgrims at Emmaus (see letter 34). In saying that Millet...
in note 12:
...Vincent writes that he and Theo had seen it at the commercial exhibition of John Saulnier’s...
in note 18:
...1869 (Birmingham, The University of Birmingham, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts). Ill. 317. Van Gogh had seen the painting at an exhibition at Durand-Ruel’s (20 November-20 December 1887), at the time when he and Bernard were going around together in Paris. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1994-1, pp. 127-129, cat. no. 57.
in note 23:
...shared Van Gogh’s opinion of King Louis xiv at the time, he later noted against this passage (and...
in note 27:
...scene, see letter 630, n. 6. He discussed them at greater length in the postscript to letter 633...
633 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Wednesday, 27 June 1888.
in translation:
...ve painted a no. 30 canvas — the summer evening — at a single sitting. It’s not possible to...
...you sell something at the same time. That would be in response to your attempt at a brothel...
...we’re not at that point — the art of painting doesn’t move as fast as literature. Like yesterday, I’m writing to you this time in great haste, really worn out. And at this moment, too, I’m...
...point of view of art, seems superior to me — at any rate something other — than Greek, Indian...
...sure of itself: You moralize at the end. You tell society that it’s squalid because the whore makes us think of meat, of the market. Very good, that, the whore is like meat at the butcher’s. For...
...dive with great intensity. But the reproofs addressed at the end to ‘society’, a word as hollow...
...at first strong enough to dispel my lethargy. Is that true or not? To report the facts, as you do at...
...but if, later, the surgeon-anatomist is going to moralize at me like that, I find that that last...
in date note:
...sun (l. 60), which means that there must have been at least two days of good weather after the rainy...
634 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Thursday, 28 June 1888.
in translation:
...they returned the letter to me opened, the people at the Post Office had the pleasure of being able to...
...more effort that’s far from finished — but one at least where I’m attempting something more...
in note 9:
...Martin (‘père Martin’) was an art dealer at 29 rue Saint-Georges in Paris. He sold work by the...
635 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 1 July 1888.
in translation:
...means we can have no complaints about him. Now, for his canvas at 4.50, I’ll probably be able to find out the price by the piece at first hand. Now your letter brings me a big piece of news...
...if circumstances prevent their spending more, be able to live at home on bread, wine and, well, everything else one might wish to add to that. The difficulty is to eat at home alone. Restaurants here are expensive because everyone eats at home. Certainly neither Ricards nor Leonardo da Vincis are...
...t ugly because in many cases they were done at great speed and there are relatively many of them...
...and incapable of a whole lot of ordinary things. At these moments the prospect of not being alone...
...where you have to think of a thousand things at the same time in a single half hour. Afterwards...
...you’ll be able to reply that they looked at them too quickly. And besides, I’m now going over...
...Far from my complaining about it, it’s precisely at these moments in artistic life, even if it...
in note 2:
Van Gogh must mean G. Edouard’s paint shop at 8 rue Pigalle in Paris, which was taken over by Victor...
in note 4:
The cost of board and lodging at the Gloanec inn was apparently less than 150 francs a year for two people...
636 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 5 July 1888.
in translation:
...at sunset, I was on a stony heath where very small, twisted oaks grow, in the background a ruin on the hill, and wheatfields in the valley. It was romantic, it couldn’t be more so, à la Monticelli, the sun was pouring its very yellow rays over the bushes and the ground, absolutely a shower of gold. And all the lines were beautiful, the whole scene had a charming nobility. You wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see knights and ladies suddenly appear, returning from hunting with hawks, or to...
...very slowly, so, for example, the studies done at Saintes-Maries aren’t dry yet. I’d planned to...
...the sun. A little corner of blue green sky at the top. I’m reading Balzac, César Birotteau, I...
in date note:
...from Tasset (ll. 26-27) which he had received at the end of June (see letter 635). The fact that he...
in note 3:
Sunset at Montmajour (F - / JH -). See Van Tilborgh et al. 2013.
in note 5:
Van Gogh had painted three studies in Saintes-Maries: Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452), Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453) and View of Saintes-Maries (F 416 / JH 1447).
637 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 8 or Monday, 9 July 1888.
in translation:
...I beg you not to risk the new paintings that are at his place, so take them back as a response to...
...at 40 centimes is a little dearer than Tasset’s large tubes (at 1.50 francs), which contain at...
...tell you that other claims would probably have no merit. At the moment I’m concentrating on doing...
...say to myself that if I manage to do 50 studies at 100 francs this year I shall in a certain sense...
...although at this moment I have about thirty painted studies, I don’t reckon them all at that...
...in the extreme. Whatever money you might have at your disposal for this purpose, well, I’d have...
...on the vigour of my efforts at present. They quibbled with me at the post office, saying that the...
...up a chancre from a fat woman where I was going at the same time, just by sheer luck I was careful...
...a magazine on Japanese art. Have you seen that? At times I find it terrible not to be able to get a...
...everything. I’d like to send you the 30 studies at this moment, so that it may perhaps help with...
in note 5:
...at 19 rue Chauchat, Paris, since 1878. In the 1880s he opened branches that traded for varying lengths of time at 22 rue de Provence (adjoining rue Chauchat), 13 rue Bleue (opened in 1881) and 19 rue de la Paix (closed in 1886). In the summer of 1884 he established the firm of S. Bing et Cie, with himself as the major shareholder. See exhib. cat. Richmond 1986 and exhib. cat. Amsterdam 2004-1. Van Gogh refers on several occasions to his ‘stock’ at Bing’s: prints that he had set aside to buy for his own collection, use as an exchange or sell. It is not clear what the business arrangement with Bing was. Van Gogh himself says here (and in letter 640) that he sometimes sent Bing clients and got a discount in return...
in note 7:
These were probably The rock of Montmajour with pine trees (F 1447 / JH 1503) at 49 x 60 cm and Trees, Montmajour (F - / JH add. 3) at 48 x 60 cm. Van Gogh did three more and sent all five drawings to Theo by post soon...
in note 10:
...which ran from 28 May 1888 in Bing’s gallery at 22 rue de Provence. See exhib. cat. Richmond 1986...
in note 16:
...gallery in 1890: ‘Bing was unwell when I called at rue de Provence, and I was received by Mr Lévy or...
638 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 9 or Tuesday, 10 July 1888.
in translation:
...Theo, I’ve just come back from a day at Montmajour, and my friend the second lieutenant kept me...
...than the citizens bitten by rabid dogs who live at the Institut Pasteur. So père Tanguy would be...
...him out, or at least send him packing in no uncertain terms. I’m writing to Russell at the same...
...the address for that canvas at 40 francs for 20 metres. I believe that at this moment I’m doing...
...and was so worn out with running after game that at the point when he wanted to get married he...
...to you. I told Russell that he was perfectly at liberty to take what he might want, and from the...
...wanted to choose at his home or yours. That in the first case, if he wanted to see them at his home...
...of ideas for paintings and for work in general. At the moment I have a charwoman, who sweeps and...
...at home. On the other hand, there’s a possible arrangement with the chap where I’m lodging at...
...What you were saying about that conversation at the Nouvelle Athènes is interesting. You’re...
in ongoing topic 6:
Van Gogh is staying at Café de la Gare (606)
in note 4:
...Madame Chrysanthème, which Van Gogh was reading at the time (see letters 637 and 639), there are...
639 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888.
in translation:
...croquis of it among the small drawings). Being unable, at this moment when we’re embarking on the...
...this canvas — I’ve compared Tasset’s new canvas at 4.50 francs with the price for the same...
...ordinary canvas at 2 francs per square metre at Tasset’s, and in future we’ll do well to take that, which is certainly good enough for studies. Please write me a short line straightaway, to know if the drawings have arrived in good condition; they gave me a piece of their mind again at the post...
...in it. However, you see there’s no effect, at first sight it’s a map, a strategic plan as far...
...50 times that I’ve been to Montmajour to look at this flat view — am I wrong? I also went for a...
...Ah, so that’s how you have to look at a japonaiserie — in a nice bright room, completely bare...
...which are perhaps more so than others, in fact? Look at them in a nice bright café where there’s...
...red tiles on the floor. If I insist on your looking at these two drawings this way it’s because I...
in note 6:
The painting Sunset at Montmajour (F - / JH -), which he had done two weeks earlier on Montmajour (see...
in note 9:
This was probably Mourier-Petersen; at any rate it appears from the postscript that he knew the places...
640 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 15 July 1888.
in translation:
...was possible — all the Japanese prints we have at home being beautiful — it would be better to...
...père Bing. I went to his place myself 3 times at New Year to pay, when I found the shop closed...
...and scenes of manners and customs. There’s an attic at Bing’s, and in it there’s a heap of 10...
...why you don’t have the fine Japanese prints at boulevard Montmartre. He’ll give you some of the...
...The exhibition of Japanese prints that I had at the Tambourin had quite an influence on Anquetin and Bernard, but it was such a disaster. For the 2nd exhibition at the showroom on boul. de Clichy, I...
...me the opportunity to see a lot of Japanese art, at leisure and over time. And that should last, it...
...par A. Cassagne is the text (sold separately, I believe, at a price of 5 francs) of Le dessin pour...
...explain to him the rather exceptional reasons there are at this moment for our wanting to do a deal...
in ongoing topic 1:
The prints in stock at Bing’s (637)
in note 3:
This may have been the attic at the back of Bing’s branch at 22 rue de Provence; in 1899 it was converted for use as a workshop for Bing’s craftsmen. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 2004-1.
in note 14:
...Van Gogh says here that there were 100). At that time, the Guide de l’alphabet du dessin cost...
641 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Sunday, 15 July 1888.
in translation:
...go off, and before it clears off I want to do at least another half a dozen subjects in pen croquis...
in note 1:
...that amazes me. Vincent’s becoming very good. At the same time that he’s an excellent artist...
642 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 15 July 1888.
in translation:
...in which I could see Paris again I wouldn’t call at Bing’s precisely to go and see the Hokusais...
...therefore keep his Japanese prints at the stated price — of 5 sous — not less. I’m telling you only this — I’ve gone through the lot four or 5 times; the sheets at our place are the result...
...not to have paid at New Year myself, and chosen the new stock myself. Because you’re dazzled, there’s so much of it. And in the other shops — it’s not the same thing at all, because people...
...please, but tell him that I was there three times at New Year to pay up, that afterwards came my...
...waste your whole day there without thinking about it, and at the end of it all, whether you sell or...
...to get along. That way at least there’s no stagnation, and both of them can only gain by it. Don’t you find he speaks very badly, Boulanger? He makes no impression in words at all. I don’t...
...to the managers of arsenals. But he makes no impression at all in public. All the same, it’s a...
in ongoing topic 1:
The prints in stock at Bing’s (637)
in note 5:
...what Van Gogh says; what he actually says is that he learned at Bing’s and that he then got Anquetin and Bernard to learn with him. This may have been at Bing’s, but Van Gogh could also mean that he passed on what...
643 To Emile Bernard. Arles, between Tuesday, 17 and Friday, 20 July 1888.
in translation:
...other. Let’s look at the Italian primitives and the German primitives and the Dutch school and the Italians proper, in a word, let’s look at painting in its entirety. Works unintentionally form a ‘group’, a ‘series’. Now then, at present the Impressionists too form a group, in spite of all their disastrous civil wars, in which people on both sides try to get at each others’ throats...
...affects us deeply when we know how to look at a corner of old Holland through their temperament...
...liking each other as pals instead of getting at each others’ throats, painters would be happier...
...time to discuss and act simultaneously. That’s why at present, while the union exists only very...
in note 1:
...which was in which batch. They are Fishing boats at sea (F 1430 / JH 1505), Row of cottages in...
in note 3:
...animals to be found in Potter’s oeuvre, at most a bull mounting a cow or a quadruped urinating.
644 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, between Tuesday, 17 and Friday, 20 July 1888.
in translation:
Many thanks for your letter, which gave me great pleasure, coming just at the moment when I was still dazed by the sun and the strain of handling a rather large...
...it’s the same story all over again — but when at long last the fellow isn’t there any more...
...you write about Reid isn’t very cheerful either — at times he used to speak so often of making...
in note 8:
...on a hanging roll of silk or paper, with rods at the top and bottom. Van Gogh had read about the...
in note 9:
...he had made sculptures for the milking parlours at Rambouillet, among them were four medallions...
645 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 22 July 1888.
in translation:
...painter’s fingers are loosening up, though, just at the very time my carcass is breaking down. And your...
...the thing to them bluntly, the way I put it at the beginning of this letter. But you’re right not...
...it to account. It seems really strange to me that at present you should have had no news from...
in date note:
...letter could not have reached Arles until 23 July at the earliest. Accordingly, we have dated the present...
in note 8:
...Dupré’s fervour in their Journal: ‘There is at the same time something of an apostle, a workman and...
646 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Pont-Aven, on or about Sunday, 22 July 1888.
in translation:
...and one pair of vermilion. One at top right, coming up out of the water. A green lawn – pure Veronese shading off into chrome yellow with no execution, like Japanese prints. At the top a cascade of foaming water, white pink, and a rainbow on the edge near the frame. At the bottom a white patch...
...some very curious watercolours. I’ll have you look at some that you’ll like, they’re art. I...
in note 2:
...in 1886 and 1888. Granchi-Taylor had worked at Cormon’s studio; this is probably how he knew...
in note 4:
...collection of 118 works was sold at auction in 1882. By the dealer near Place Vendôme, Gauguin probably meant the paint supplier and art dealer Jean Joseph Thomas, who had a shop at 235 rue Saint-Honoré until 1887...
in textual note 33:
du cadre_ < The following symbols correspond to the same ones at the top of the sketch.
647 John Peter Russell to Vincent van Gogh. Belle-Île-en-Mer, Sunday, 22 July 1888.
in original text:
...wife) & M. Claude Monet. Saw ten of M. Monets pictures done at Antibes. Very fine in color & light & a...
in translation:
...Claude Monet. Saw ten of Mr Monet’s pictures done at Antibes. Very fine in color and light and a...
in note 3:
...n. 1. Theo had bought the painting for 400 francs at the beginning of January 1888. See Gauguin lettres...
in note 4:
...It was shown at the Monet and Rodin exhibition in Georges Petit’s gallery that opened in mid-June 1889. Russell did not get it until after that, as we can see from a letter he wrote to Rodin at the beginning of...
648 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 24 or Wednesday, 25 July 1888.
in translation:
...have a model this week. I have a really great need for some studies of figures. At the moment I have something like an exhibition at my place, in the sense that I’ve taken all the studies off the...
649 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Sunday, 29 July 1888.
in translation:
...animality. But see, have you ever looked closely at ‘the ox’ or the interior of a butcher’s shop in the Louvre? You haven’t looked closely at them, and Baudelaire infinitely less so. It...
in date note:
...from Bernard. The letter must have been written at the end of the week, because he has just finished...
in note 6:
...edition it was placed with the next letter, which at the time preceded the present one, and Van Gogh...
in note 7:
...Van Gogh bought Eugène Gaujean’s etching Christ at the column. This print after an oil sketch...
in note 15:
...most likely that he is talking about Self-portrait at the easel, 1660? (Paris, Musée du Louvre), Ill...
650 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 29 July 1888.
in translation:
...on its feet, but which is at bottom powerless and bone-idle, the new painters, alone, poor, treated like madmen and as a result of this treatment becoming so in fact, at least as far as their social...
...a painter ruins his character by working hard at painting, which makes him sterile for many things...
...melancholy remains with us when we reflect that at less expense we could have made life instead...
...is by doing better. And here we are again at the end of my last letter — I’m getting old, but...
...see that this is in any case better than nothing at all. I’ll write this to Gauguin and will...
...Boch; it’s rigorously Impressionist but not powerful, at this moment when this new technique is...
...to civilized Christianity his lout of a landlord. At least, when you go there that scoundrel and...
...I don’t know if it’s bad. But just look at Bismarck, who in any case is very practical and very...
...dragging along. He must really be laughing inside at his doctor, whom fortunately for him he didn...
in note 20:
Macknight and Boch were staying at Café de l’Alcazar on the Cours in Fontvieille. The café was run by...
651 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Monday, 30 July 1888.
in translation:
You’ll agree, I’ve no doubt at all, that neither you nor I can have a full idea of what Velázquez and Goya were like as men and as painters, because neither you nor I have seen Spain, their country, and so many fine things that have remained in the south. Even so, what we know of them does count for something in...
...you would agree with me later. What grieves me at the Louvre is to see their Rembrandts getting...
in date note:
...the drawings that Bernard had sent are examined at the end. Van Gogh’s new model, Joseph Roulin, who...
in note 5:
...Frans Hals from reproductions when he was working at Goupil & Cie, as well as from the originals in the...
in note 7:
Hals made at least one work that can be described as the portrait of a soldier: Portrait of a man wearing a...
in note 13:
...Babbe and a smoker, which was attributed to Hals at the time. It shows the grimacing face of the old...
in note 24:
...in the Louvre: the figure of Christ in The pilgrims at Emmaus, and the nude women in Bathsheba bathing and...
652 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 31 July 1888.
in translation:
So at last our uncle’s no longer suffering — I received the news from our sister this morning. It seems that they’re more or less expecting you for the funeral, and perhaps you’ll be there now, in...
...would have to be done? When I write to him at the same time as I send the drawings, naturally it...
...that he, even though he let you have it at that price as a friend, he himself absolutely does not wish for it to be given to another art lover at that price. Anyway — let’s finish the drawings; I...
...large boat laden with coal on the Rhône, moored at the quay. Seen from above it was all glistening...
in ongoing topic 2:
The prints in stock at Bing’s (637)
in note 7:
...164). According to Priou he was brigadier-chargeur at Arles station, responsible for loading and unloading...
653 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 31 July 1888.
in translation:
...today’s traveller goes without saying. I’m hard at work here. For my part I find the summer...
...in a morning or afternoon, but infinitely less than at home. The harvest already long in. It’s...
...and a fig tree and oleander and a vine. At the end, black cypresses against little low white houses...
...yellowish and spherical, the cypresses rising high, blue-green. At the end oleander and a corner of...
...s really quite possible, and with a very spirited painter at that who, however, has a life full of...
...t happen and even if I continued working alone, at any rate working in the same direction as other...
...it seems to me so peculiar that someone one has known at such close quarters has become such a stranger. You’ll be able to understand this. Looked at like this, life is so like a dream, and from...
...more to do with Uncle than I. How’s Ma doing at present? I often think about you both, and I wish...
654 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 3 August 1888.
in translation:
We’ll soon be at Michaelmas, and I’ve only rented the house until then; should I, yes or no, take it...
...to you on the subject of Tasset’s new canvas at 5.50 francs. It’s very fine, and quite what I...
in note 1:
...at sea (F 1433 / JH 1528), Lawn with a weeping tree (F 1449 / JH 1534), Garden with flowers (F 1454 / JH 1532), Joseph Roulin (F 1458 / JH 1536), The harvest (F 1486 / JH 1527), Wheatfield with sheaves (F 1489 / JH 1530), Arles seen from the wheatfields (F 1490/ JH 1529), Mousmé (F 1503 / JH 1533), Wheat stacks (F 1427 / JH 1525), Fishing boats at sea (F 1430a / JH 1526), Zouave (F 1482a / JH 1535) and The road to Tarascon (F 1502a / JH 1531...
655 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Sunday, 5 August 1888.
in translation:
...a question of expressing oneself powerfully? At present...you’re examining primitive Italian...
...soundness? I urge you to do so, while at the same time in no way belittling your investigations concerning the properties of lines in contrary motion — being not at all indifferent, I hope, to the...
...a lot he would become cerebrally ill and hopeless at painting. Degas’s painting is virile and...
...s why I painted him twice, the second time at a single sitting, on white canvas, background blue...
in additional details:
Someone other than Van Gogh has drawn a small sketch of a sailing boat at top right on p. [1r:1].
in note 6:
Van Gogh added the passage ‘Actuellement...Faites’ (At present ... Do so) in the bottom margin later.
in note 10:
...des Beaux-Arts). Ill. 320 and Ill. 2214. Van Gogh saw them in Paris at the Exposition de tableaux, pastels, dessins par M. Puvis de Chavannes, at Durand-Ruel’s from 20 November - 20 December 1887. See exhib. cat...
in note 12:
...and sexually active from the fact that in 1630, at the age of 53, he married the 16-year-old Hélène...
656 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 6 August 1888.
in translation:
...and thus incontestable, we are then no doubt at liberty to return to our own business afterwards. I...
...you that I sent some drawings to our friend Russell? At the moment I’m doing the same ones, more...
...baby shortly. Because his wife has just given birth. At the same time as the drawings that I have...
...lithographs very much at first glance — but it’s precisely when looking at them longer that...
...t exist at all, that seems well argued and truthful to me. When he kicks somebody out, the brothel-keeper has a logic of the same kind, argues well, too, and is always right. I know that. And at the...
...well were nothing but dreams, that we were nothing at all ourselves. If we’re as lightweight as...
...looking at a dead man as if to question him. And that’s one proof for me — not the most weighty — of an existence beyond the grave. And a baby in its cradle, also, if you look at it at your...
...knowing makes the real life that we’re living at present comparable to a simple journey by train...
in ongoing topic 4:
Van Gogh is staying at the Café de la Gare (606)
657 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 8 August 1888.
in translation:
...I feel as though I’ve done absolutely nothing at all. I’d gladly content myself with being...
...curious to know if you knew the De Lemuds. At the moment there are still plenty of fine lithographs...
...I’d need a good long stay to do it. At times it nevertheless seems likely to me that I’ll have...
...even the mistral is fine weather to look at). Really glorious sunshine, in which Voltaire dried...
...surprised if that book by Cassagne was no longer in existence. They’d certainly know it at Latouche’s or at the artists’ colourman in Chaussée d’Antin. Or know where it is. If I should...
...which makes the fifth figure. This morning I was at a washing-place with figures of women as broad...
in note 4:
...There are two listed in the Arles address books – at 18 rue du Grand-Prieuré and 38 rue de Vers...
in note 10:
Fishing boats at sea (F 1430b / JH 1541) and Fishing boats at sea (F 1431 / JH 1542).
in note 11:
...the wheatfields (F 545 / JH 1477), Newly mown lawn with a weeping tree (F 428 / JH 1499), Sower with setting sun (F 422 / JH 1470), Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453) and Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452).
in note 18:
...shop in the left-hand side of the building at 2 place Lamartine. Crévoulin was the first...
658 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 9 August 1888.
in translation:
...your next letter, as I don’t have the money at the moment. But we’ll have to check whether...
...that he’ll like this scenery here enormously. Ah well, at the end of a year, even giving you one...
...the savings that become possible if we live at home at the studio, he and I, instead of living in...
...in appearance at least, and to some extent in reality, too. I’m happier to feel my old strength coming back than I would have thought I could be. I owe that largely to the people at the restaurant...
...a sign of vigour? So one sees this desire disappear at the very moment when one is recovering. The...
...do idiotic accounting and ridiculously complicated administration at the Goupils, you’ll gain a...
...was fortunate to have that greedy swine Iterson at his side, who carries this troublesome load of...
...a day (at least, I think I recall that he mentioned that amount, he or Bernard), we know for a firm fact the price of a day at the hotel there, while here it still remains to be seen. So at the price...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh is eating at the Restaurant Vénissac (609)
in note 2:
...but one from Tasset was probably the consignment at the end of June mentioned in letter 635. Van Gogh...
in note 10:
...the widow Vénissac-Canin. She was 70 in 1888. We do not know who the serving-women were; no live-in staff were registered at her address in 1886, but her 27-year-old daughter Louise was still living at home (ACA).
659 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 12 August 1888.
in translation:
...of colours and canvas that I’ve been to collect at the station (the geranium lake arrived too), and...
...raison d’être of his abstractions? At the first opportunity I’ll send you an engraving after a drawing by Rowlandson of two women, as beautiful as Fragonard or Goya. At the moment we have a very...
...as far as money goes. Well, my dear brother, at that moment you were ready, for your part, to set...
660 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 13 August 1888.
in translation:
...sower, a washing-place and still others, not at all successful and unfinished, especially a large...
...I wouldn’t get worked up about it in that case. At the moment I’m working on a study like this...
...the garden? They’ll end up by not taking them at the post office any more, because the format’s...
...of being compromised, and that people will laugh at their portraits. But it’s enough to make you...
...having been inconvenienced. Will it be possible to live at home here, will we manage to make ends...
...care over his work as chances of sales diminish. At the least sign of weakness the whole jealous...
...Gauguin and I must look ahead, we must work at getting a roof over our heads, beds; the essentials...
...out through the sale of our paintings. On the contrary, we’d be obliged to part with them at any price at the wrong time. I conclude. Living more or less like monks or hermits, with work as our...
...up the battle of Paris; he has that too much at heart, and believes in a lasting success more than...
in note 1:
...at sea (F 417 / JH 1453), Newly mown lawn with a weeping tree (F 428 / JH 1499), Cottages in Saintes-Maries (F 419 / JH 1465) and Rocks with a tree (F 466 / JH 1489). See letters 662, 673, 678 and 680. It can be assumed from the provenance (Jo van Gogh-Bonger) that the following 22 works, painted between May and August 1888 and for the most part mentioned in the letters, were also part of the consignment: View of Arles with irises in the foreground (F 409 / JH 1416), Farmhouse in a wheatfield (F 408 / JH 1417), Landscape with the edge of a road (F 567 / JH 1419), Field with farmhouses (F 576 / JH 1423), Still life with coffeepot (F 410 / JH 1426), Basket of lemons (F 384 / JH 1425), Daisies in a bowl (F 591 / JH 1429), Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452), Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 413 / JH 1460), Row of cottages in Saintes-Maries (F 420 / JH 1462), Wheatfield with setting sun (F 465 / JH 1473), Zouave (F 423 / JH 1486), Seated Zouave (F 424 / JH 1488), Garden with flowers (F 430 / JH 1510), Garden with flowers (F 429 / JH 1513), Farmhouse (F 565 / JH 1443), Head of a girl (F 535 / JH 1467), Wheatfield (F 411 / JH 1476), Arles seen from the wheatfields (F 545 / JH 1477), Wheatfield with sheaves (F 561 / JH 1480), Wheatfield (F 564 / JH 1475) and Wheatfield with sheaves (F 558 / JH 1481). The following works from the May-August 1888 period, whose provenance cannot be traced back to Jo van Gogh-Bonger with certainty, are candidates for the remaining two studies in the batch: The Langlois bridge with a lady with a parasol (F 570 / JH 1421), Wild flowers in a majolica jug (F 600 / JH 1424), View of Saintes-Maries (F 416 / JH 1447) and Wheat stacks (F 425 / JH 1442). The last of these is signed, and this makes it likely that it was sent to Theo (cf. the remark about signing works at the end of the letter...
in note 6:
Sunset at Montmajour (F - / JH -). See letter 636, n. 3.
in note 14:
...at liberty to do your utmost to make a better one; nobody will slate you, whereas we, the old men, who have shown our stature, who are obliged to measure up to ourselves, if not to make progress; we cannot slacken without tumbling into a common grave. Go then, famous man, great artist, cudgel your brains, get your blood up, to rise still further, ever higher, ever higher; and, if, at the summit, you find yourself treading on the spot, count yourself fortunate, use your feet to tread for as long as possible, and if you feel you’re going downhill, well then, stop breaking yourself, wallowing in the death-throes of your talent, which is outmoded, in the neglect of your immortal works in which you find yourself, overwhelmed by your impotent efforts to create more!’ (Ah! le trac, jeunes gens, vous croyez le connaître, et vous ne vous en doutez même pas, parce que, mon Dieu! vous autres, si vous ratez un oeuvre, vous en êtes quittes pour vous efforcer d’en faire une meilleure, personne ne vous accable; tandis que nous, les vieux, nous qui avons donné notre mesure, qui sommes forcés d’être égaux à nous-mêmes, sinon de progresser, nous ne pouvons faiblir, sans culbuter dans la fosse commune...Va donc, homme célèbre, grand artiste, mange-toi la cervelle, brûle ton sang, pour monter encore, toujours plus haut, toujours plus haut; et, si tu piétines sur place, au sommet, estime-toi heureux, use tes pieds à piétiner le plus longtemps possible; et, si tu sens que tu déclines, eh bien! achève de te briser, en roulant dans l’agonie de ton talent qui n’est plus de l’époque, dans l’oubli où tu es de tes oeuvres immortelles, éperdu de ton effort impuissant à créer davantage!). See Zola 1960-1967, vol. 4, p. 181; for the novel L’oeuvre: letter 552, n. 11. Van Gogh refers to Bongrand-Jundt because he erroneously assumed that Zola modelled the character of Bongrand on the painter Gustave Jundt (as he was also mistaken when he thought that Edouard Manet was the model for Claude Lantier; see letter 561). His assumption is probably based on the similarity between Jundt and the character in the novel inasmuch as they are both successful but unhappy painters of peasant life. Bongrand owes his success to his painting La noce au village, which hangs in the Musée du Luxembourg. Jundt painted genre works with titles like La fête au village voisin and Pendant la noce. Zola’s character is tormented by his inability to equal his masterpiece; gout forced Jundt to stop working and he committed suicide (see also letter 776, n. 18). Brady says that the models for Bongrand were Gustave Flaubert, Charles-François Daubigny, Gustave Courbet and Edouard Manet. See Patrick Brady, ‘L’oeuvre’ de Emile Zola. Roman sur les arts. Geneva 1967, p. 243...
in note 15:
...stick upon spits, and illuminate the ways with at night. Persons of condition can thus travel with a...
in note 16:
...was formed around 1381 in the town of Deventer at the instigation of Geert Grote and Florens...
in note 17:
...red signature is Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452). The following works from the consignment are also signed: Wheat stacks (F 425 / JH 1442), The harvest (F 412 / JH 1440), Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453), Sower with setting sun (F 422 / JH 1470), Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 413 / JH 1460...
662 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 15 August 1888.
in translation:
You’ll have received my telegram informing you that Second Lieutenant Milliet will arrive in Paris on Friday morning; he arrives at the Gare de Lyon at 5.15 in the morning and from there goes directly to the Cercle Militaire, avenue de l’Opéra. It will be easiest for both of you if you go to see him there at 7 sharp in the...
in date note:
...will be easiest...if you go to see him there at 7 sharp in the morning’, ll. 6-8), he cannot have...
663 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 18 August 1888.
in translation:
...a sort of man with a hoe, an old Camargue oxherd, who’s now a gardener at a farmstead in the Crau.
...enough of it. And so painting should be done at society’s expense, and the artist shouldn’t be...
in additional details:
...de last line is correct, this could be Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453). See Dorn 1990, pp. 491-492.
in note 1:
...The J. Paul Getty Museum). Ill. 2218. Van Gogh saw the work at the Millet exhibition in Paris in 1887. There were also various reproductions at the time, in Sensier 1881, p. 237, and elsewhere. The painting had...
in note 6:
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Young woman at a table, ‘Poudre de riz’, 1887 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum...
in note 8:
...the portrait, with Eugène Boch as his model, at the beginning of September (F 462 / JH 1574). See...
664 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 19 or Monday, 20 August 1888.
in translation:
...Bernard, who joined Gauguin, Laval and someone else at Pont-Aven several days ago. In this letter...
...me 300 francs for a year, all at one go? Then if I reckon that at present you’re sending me 250...
...300 paid out all at once had been paid off. Then I’d buy two good beds, complete, at 100 francs each, and other furniture for 100 francs. That would put me in a position to sleep at home, and to be...
...free us, me and another pal, from this cancer that gnaws at our work, the need to live in ruinous...
...up a permanent studio and to sleep there and not at the guest-house. If you’re kind enough to put...
...like that. If Gauguin can find the same opportunity at Pont-Aven, that’s fine, but I tell you the...
...to Pont-Aven if it means I have to stay at the guest-house there, with those Englishmen and those...
...something pretty vague for the future, and we’d stay at the guest-house and we’d live as if in...
...Pont-Aven, unless there too we were to find a house at the low end of prices (15 francs a month is...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh is staying at the Café de la Gare (606)
in note 2:
...Gauguin left for Arles, Bernard went back to Paris at the beginning of November (see exhib. cat. Mannheim...
in note 3:
...of a hierarchy among the three hotels where artists stayed: the Americans and British stayed at the Hôtel des Voyageurs, the French and a few less well-off foreigners at the Hôtel du Lion d’Or, and the penniless painters at the Auberge Gloanec. See exhib. cat. Paris 2003, p. 24. Gauguin had written to Van Gogh about...
665 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 21 August 1888.
in translation:
...colour suggests the scorched air of harvest time at midday in the blistering heat, and without that...
...it beats down on your head and I have no doubt at all that it drives you crazy. Now being that way...
in date note:
...August. Both these letters must have been written at about the same time, but because the one to Theo...
in note 1:
...What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at midday, and three feet in the evening? Man’.
in note 6:
...Sensier says: ‘He was not at all afraid to make room in his rustic compositions for figures that were rough-looking, whose individual nature was somewhat crude or at least unpolished, with an expression...
in note 14:
See letter 649, n. 15, for Rembrandts Self-portrait at the easel.
666 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 21 or Wednesday, 22 August 1888.
in translation:
...order to that effect. Tasset ordinary canvas, which at 50 centimes was dearer than Bourgeois’s...
in note 5:
Next door to Boussod, Valadon & Cie, at 21 boulevard Montmartre, there was a restaurant belonging to the...
in note 9:
...Theo about his studies: ‘I can well imagine that at the moment I’m nowhere near where I want to be...
in note 10:
...were the outcome of Van Gogh’s earlier idea of painting the coal barge at sunset. See letter 652, n. 13.
667 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 21 or Wednesday, 22 August 1888.
in translation:
At the moment I’m working on a bouquet of 12 sunflowers in a yellow earthenware pot, and have a plan to decorate the whole studio with nothing but...
...Paris the sun shines much more strongly than at home. There’s a similar difference again between...
668 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 23 or Friday, 24 August 1888.
in translation:
...orange lead, cobalt, ultramarine, I’m almost certain that at greatly reduced cost I would have colours that were both fresher and longer-lasting. At what price, then? I’m sure that could be done...
...quinces and lemons. Do you remember that one day at the Hôtel Drouot we saw a quite extraordinary...
...have spent the hundred-franc note in a single week, but at the end of this week I’ll have my four...
in additional details:
...his fourth painting of sunflowers and the Manet at the Drouot). Dorn rejected this view since it would...
in note 2:
...2001, pp. 21-22. Van Gogh added the small bloom at lower left later – this explains why he refers...
669 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 26 August 1888.
in translation:
...is much simpler. Do you remember that one day at the Hôtel Drouot we saw a bouquet of peonies by...
...for 20 francs, and a new hat, so that’s not at all urgent. But I consulted this postman whom I...
...upsets the calculation that by saving the money for lodgings, at the end of a year you find you own...
...to become dull-witted. I’m more or less that way already, because it goes back a long, long way. And at present that has even ceased to be a source of pain, and perhaps at first I won’t feel at home in my own home. Never mind. However, let’s not forget Bouvard et Pécuchet, let’s not forget...
...has cleared off at last — I don’t regret it in the least. His pal the Belgian didn’t seem greatly saddened by it either when he came yesterday to tell me about it, and we spent the evening together. He’s very reasonable in his ideas, and knows what he wants, at least. At the moment he’s...
in note 5:
...Ill. 425. Van Gogh probably saw the work at the VIIIe Exposition de peinture (15 May - 15 June...
in note 6:
...in Paris at the VIIIe Exposition de peinture (15 May - 15 June 1886), the second and third exhibitions of the Indépendants (21 August - 21 September 1886 and 26 March - 3 May 1887 respectively) and at La Revue...
in note 7:
Louis Anquetin, The boat at sunset, 1887 (present whereabouts unknown). It was exhibited at La Revue Indépendante in Paris during the winter of 1887-1888, where Van Gogh would have seen it. See exhib. cat. Toronto...
670 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, on or about Sunday, 26 August 1888.
in translation:
...also, English people are talking about them a lot at the moment. He sees in the future, and even in...
...in place above this world. They make you smile at first, they’re so candid, and then they make...
...about Monticelli’s bouquet of flowers that’s at Theo’s, and about Prévost’s Spanish woman...
671 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 29 or Thursday, 30 August 1888.
in translation:
...it would be a bit rich if she didn’t turn up at all. I have a bouquet on the go as well, and also...
...count at all on any victory, and in painting I look for nothing more than the means of getting by in life. I’ve still had no reply whatsoever from Russell. He probably doesn’t have a sou at the...
in date note:
...he must have received the present letter on Friday at the latest. We have consequently dated the letter...
in note 2:
...unable to finish the picture (at any rate there is no such portrait dating from this period; it was not until letter 717 that Van Gogh was able to report ‘I have an Arlésienne at last’. Dorn wrongly associates...
672 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 1 September 1888.
in translation:
...But this difficulty is real. I feel that even at the present time I could be an entirely different...
...satisfy himself on the subject of Paris while working at the same time. But in that case it would...
...be no less solid for being less finely ground. At present I often stop myself when planning a...
...and De Lemud is no uglier for belonging to a period that doesn’t exist any more. At the moment, I’m at last reading Daudet’s L’immortel, which I find very beautiful but hardly consoling. I...
RM16 Crossed-out, unsent fragment of a letter to Paul Gauguin. The verso contains the sketch enclosed with letter 693 to Eugène Boch. Arles, probably September or October 1888.
in translation:
It’s no easier to sell them if they’re cheaper, nor is it more difficult to sell them for more, take my word for it, if you can sell them at all...
673 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 3 September 1888.
in translation:
...and all the same we did see some very fine things at the bullfights and outside the town. We talked more...
...of Christ’s boat. Ah well, thanks to him — at last I have a first sketch of that painting I...
...of their beds, but of the possibility of working at home. So I’m still between two currents of...
...Handshake. Ever yours, Vincent The Belgian said that at home they have a Degroux, the sketch for...
in note 3:
...oeuvres et les témoignages contemporains’) – at any rate it is evident from a letter written later...
in note 13:
Fishing boats at sea (F 417 / JH 1453). The work measures 44 x 53 cm. Van Gogh calls it ‘the small seascape’ to distinguish it from the other seascape in the batch: Fishing boats at sea (F 415 / JH 1452), which is...
in note 15:
...drawing after the above seascape is Fishing boats at sea (F 1430b / JH 1541). Vincent had sent it to Theo...
in note 21:
Macknight and Boch stayed at the Café de l’Alcazar in Fontvieille; see letter 650, n. 20.
674 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 4 September 1888.
in translation:
...yet, if by returning to his country he can at last shake off his idleness, caused by the enervation...
...That’ll put them to some very small expenses at home (they put up enough useless people), but...
...coarsely ground colours more cheaply. At this very moment I’m almost at the end of my supply of...
...home of my own! I never stop telling myself that if at the start we’d spent even 500 francs on...
...t provide you with a lodging where you feel at home. As for Gauguin, he’s perhaps letting himself...
...would of course think about another partnership. Whereas at present we’re held to it. If Gauguin...
...but claiming that we can’t join together, while at the same time even wearing ourselves out for...
...Which by now makes at least 100 francs pure waste for absolutely nothing. That’s what rankles with me, and what makes me say that both he and I are behaving like madmen at the moment. Is that true...
...I still have about fifteen new studies here at the moment. Colours, ground more coarsely, in...
in arrangement:
...at the end of this letter led a nomadic existence in earlier editions. Jo van Gogh-Bonger did not include it in Brieven 1914; in Verzamelde brieven 1952-54 her son V.W. van Gogh put it with letter 758; in De brieven 1990 it was printed with letter 685. Dorn suggested placing it with letter 677 (Dorn 1990, p. 505). His argument is that in letter 676 Van Gogh says ‘I'll write to you tomorrow on the subject of this coarse paint’ (ll. 87-88) and that the list discussed here is the outcome of that intention. We see the remark at the top of the list (ll. 149-151) more as an instruction than as a resumption of the subject in question. In part for this reason we think that the list was an order that Theo was to give to Tasset. Our decision to put the order with the present letter is based on two factors. Van Gogh writes that he wants to replace a previous order with a larger one, and duly encloses a list (ll. 37-39), but his change of mind came too late to stop the original order from being delivered. It is at any rate highly unlikely that the order he received, which he refers to in letter 676, was the revised version; the intervening period of four days is too short. After Theo received the new order enclosed with the present letter, he must have heard from Tasset that the original order was already on its way to Arles, so he would not have placed the new order. This reconstruction also explains why the sheet has survived. Secondly, the letter mentions the link between the degree of coarseness of the pigment and the size of the tubes (ll. 40-43); we believe that the remark at the top of the list, where this connection is also made (ll. 149-151), refers to this...
in note 7:
...Goncourt gave a detailed description of his house at 53 boulevard Montmorency. All the works of art in it...
675 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Pont-Aven, on or about Saturday, 8 September 1888.
in translation:
...myself to be surprised by the subject, when looking at a painting by someone else, I feel a sensation that leads me into a poetic state depending on whether the painter’s intellectual powers emanate from it. There’s no point quibbling about it; we’ll talk about it at length. In that respect, I’m very despondent at being detained at Pont-Aven; my debt is increasing every day, and making my...
in additional details:
...an (unknown) letter from Bernard; cf. the wording at the beginning of letter 679. Van Gogh sent...
676 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 8 September 1888.
in translation:
...s violent and exalted sketch, Christ’s boat, at the exhibition that we saw in the Champs-Elysées...
...that then there would be new expenses in that, at least equivalent to the costs of moving? And...
in note 15:
At the beginning of June 1886 Vincent and Theo had been to see the sale exhibition of John Saulnier’s collection at the Drouot auction house; among the works on show was Delacroix’s Christ asleep during the...
in note 16:
...much wanted to have (see letter 640). Hokusai made at least three versions of this composition, including...
677 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 9 September 1888.
in translation:
Now yesterday I worked at furnishing the house. Just as the postman and his wife told me, the two beds, if...
...studio and another room, also a studio, but a kitchen at the same time. One of these days you’ll...
...studio, and some Japanese prints, but it’s not at all urgent, and only when you find duplicates...
...at a Sisley — Sisley, the most tactful and sensitive of the Impressionists — had already said: ‘I can’t stop myself thinking that the artist who painted that was a little tipsy’. Looking at...
...object to what you speak of, to exhibit sometime at the Revue Indépendante, as long as I’m not a...
...sower and the night café that are attempts at composed paintings. As I write, the little peasant...
in note 1:
...this could have been Fishing boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries (F 1429 / JH 1459). Like F 1463, this...
in note 2:
At Vincent’s request Theo had sent him 300 francs to furnish the Yellow House; see letter 676.
in note 7:
Van Gogh painted The Yellow House (‘The street’) (F 464 / JH 1589) at the end of September.
in note 15:
...first days of autumn (D648), The abandoned house (D652) and Plateau at Roches-Courtaut. See Rewald 1986-1, pp. 16, 32, 97. Tersteeg had called in at the Paris branch in June 1888. The last of these works was also part...
in note 16:
...of the monthly magazine La Revue Indépendante at 11 rue de la Chaussée-d’Antin. Anquetin, Seurat...
in note 17:
...F 359 / JH 1332), which had been shown at the Indépendants in the spring. Kahn’s comment was that it could hardly be called a fully-fledged painting; at most it was a study. See letter 594, n. 15, and...
678 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 9 and about Friday, 14 September 1888.
in translation:
...like it if you were to come here too next year. At the moment I’m furnishing the studio in such a...
...drawers too, in matt walnut. I want to stuff at least 6 very large canvases into this tiny little...
...ve just finished a canvas of a café interior at night, lit by lamps. Some poor night-prowlers are...
...to understand the direction that painting has taken at present. Colourful and bright. For myself, I...
...tiny little mask of a fat, smiling Japanese woman at our place? The expression on that little mask...
...the blue sky among the greenery, which I did at Saintes-Maries, on the Mediterranean. I should have...
...the terrace, there are little figures of people drinking. A huge yellow lantern lights the terrace...
...lemon green. I enormously enjoy painting on the spot at night. In the past they used to draw, and...
...reading him again here. My dear sister, I believe that at present we must paint nature’s rich and...
...You’ll see now that by regularly looking at Japanese prints you’ll enjoy making bouquets even...
in date note:
...is possible to place the second part of the letter at the end of that week. Hulsker and Pickvance dated...
in note 12:
Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580). The pavement café is the Grand Café du Forum in the place du Forum in Arles.
in note 15:
...of the boulevards of Paris on a summer evening at the beginning of the book. There is no mention of a...
679 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 10 September 1888.
in translation:
Enclosed herewith letter from Gauguin, which arrived at the same time as a letter from Bernard. At last, it’s the cry of distress...my debt is increasing from day to...
...have free will. Now I don’t have a stomach-ache, at present. And as a result I feel my head freer...
...later. If all goes well for Gauguin, you’ll see at this point that he’ll go back to his wife...
...warn you that I plan to keep several studies here at the studio, instead of sending them to you. I...
...will feel that he’s not being very helpful at present. But after all, by building himself a house...
in date note:
...day Vincent had received 300 francs (letter 676). At this point he has not yet replied to Gauguin’s...
in note 5:
...was thinking here of Rembrandt’s Self-portrait at the easel, which the brothers had seen in the...
in note 8:
Van Gogh had sent twelve drawings to Russell at the beginning of August 1888 in the hope of making him...
680 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 11 September 1888.
in translation:
...at the same time admitting that I believe you to be completely in the right when you say that as far as money’s concerned, you see no advantage in it. From another point of view you’ll be doing something like Durand-Ruel, who in the past, before other people recognized Claude Monet’s individuality, bought paintings from him. And Durand-Ruel didn’t earn from it either; at one point he had quantities of those paintings without being able to dispose of them. But after all, what he did will always remain well done, and today he can...
...I’ll need another 5 metres of ordinary canvas at 2.50 francs, but it goes without saying that...
...for him, then he wouldn’t be staying much longer at a hotel. And that then it was two permanent...
in note 1:
After noticing Monet’s work at the 1870 Salon, Durand-Ruel exhibited a painting by the artist in his...
681 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 16 September 1888.
in translation:
...shows the outside of a café, lit on the terrace outside by a large gas-lamp in the blue night...
...scenes or effects, on the spot and actually at night, interests me enormously. This week I’ve...
...depending, and then 12-hour periods of sleep, also at a single stretch. I read in the literary...
...well, must be in Auteuil. Without changing anything at the house, either now or later, I’d...
in note 3:
Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580).
in note 5:
For painting at night, which Vincent had also written to Willemien about, see letter 678, n. 13.
682 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 18 September 1888.
in translation:
...to you yesterday that, if I count the two beds at 300 francs, the price can’t be reduced any...
...enough, but in other words: we’re working at an art, at matters that won’t be of our times only...
...at another time. I instinctively feel that Gauguin is a calculating person, who, seeing himself at...
...that. And he perhaps doesn’t know that he must at all costs gain time, and that he’ll gain it...
...animal at bay. I don’t believe that it’s wise to offer Bernard 150 francs for one painting a month immediately, as we’ve offered Gauguin. And isn’t Bernard, who has clearly talked at length...
...But I didn’t want to delay going to sleep at my house. And if you’re in financial difficulties...
...is still sold at cost price, because it has sat there doing nothing. But you know this better than I do. I shouldn’t be surprised if little by little you regain a love of business, or at least that...
...You’re kind to artists, you are, in fact, right at the heart of the trade, you do what you can...
in note 2:
...at 30 place Lamartine. The Café du Prado (no. 13) and the Café de l’Alcazar (no. 17) were also in the square. See L’indicateur arlésien 1887 and 1888. Next door to Van Gogh’s house, in the left-hand side of the premises at no. 2 place Lamartine, was the grocer’s shop run by François Damase and Marguerite Crévoulin...
in note 5:
...Theo’s dissatisfaction with the situation at work, which was already a subject of discussion in...
683 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 18 September 1888.
in translation:
...in order to draw well. Ah — the exhibition at the Revue Indépendante — fine — but once and...
...than the joy of the town, which means grief at home. This afternoon I had a select audience...of...
...the firm intention of thumbing my nose at ambition and fame, like these kids and these ruffians from the banks of the Rhône and rue du Bout d’Arles. I was at Milliet’s today; he’s going to...
...about his system, and yet I won’t follow it at all, but he’s an original colourist, and it’s...
...fundamental one of yellow. If all my colours run out at the same time, isn’t that proof that I...
...is very expensive here, Tanguy could also supply them if he reckoned them at that price. I’m looking for a frame in light walnut, at 5 francs, for the square no. 30 canvas, and I think I’ll get...
...to you that I can’t be without some money at this period of work. There’s a consolation in...
in note 5:
The night café (F 463 / JH 1575) and Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580).
in note 14:
...of 1887-1888. The two artists had not got on well at their first meeting in Pont-Aven in 1886. Bernard...
in note 15:
...Boccaccio’s friendship with Francesco Petrarch at length. The author quotes from their letters several...
in note 18:
...genius, was painting scenes from the Divine Comedy at the Château de l’Oeuf. The king, full of respect...
in note 19:
...1882 (New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, Mary Gertrude Abbey Fund) had been on show at the Puvis de Chavannes retrospective at Durand-Ruel’s in Paris from 20 November-20 December 1887 (cat. no. 83). Ill. 314.
in note 21:
...Arles in 1651 and given to Louis xiv for his palace at Versailles in 1684. The sculptor François Girardon...
in note 22:
...statue of Venus on display in the museum in Arles at the time: Head of a Goddess (Venus?). (Musée de...
in note 25:
Theo had suggested that Vincent might exhibit at La Revue Indépendante: see letter 677, n. 16.
684 To Emile Bernard. Arles, between Wednesday, 19 and Tuesday, 25 September 1888.
in translation:
...of being broke, we could make many meals cheaply at the studio, certainly we could save that way...
...from time to time you see a whore sitting there at a table with her fellow — I myself, I say, I...
...owes his superiority to the south. I’ve been looking at the stronger sun down here for months and...
in note 5:
This study, which Van Gogh painted at the beginning of September, and which, judging by his choice of words...
685 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 21 September 1888.
in translation:
At present I’ve also bought a dressing-table with all the necessaries, and my own little bedroom is...
...a very lively expression. Only I don’t like it at all as a real likeness; I’ve just painted my...
in arrangement:
A paint order on a separate sheet was printed at the end of the letter in De brieven 1990; we have put it...
in note 12:
Theo must have visited Charles Maurin in his studio at 18 rue de Chabrol – this address is given in the...
686 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 23 or Monday, 24 September 1888.
in translation:
...it, we’d bemoan not living in peacetime, but at all events, the necessity being there — we’d...
...that would be truly of the south. It’s looking at things for a long time that matures you and...
...a way of drawing that’s as rich and superb as Daumier and Delacroix. Certainly, at the prices Monticellis are at, it would be an excellent speculation to buy some. The day will come when his fine...
...faded as far as character goes. But if you look at it for a long time, the old charm reveals itself...
in note 16:
...Van Gogh could be referring to Monticelli’s Woman at the well (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum), which comes...
687 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 25 September 1888.
in translation:
...as he puts it. I don’t object to that at all; however, I regret that he has a nervous movement in...
...t be surprised if deep down he was annoyed at having to leave, and perhaps he’s exceeding his...
...another 5 or even 10 metres of canvas. And that at the same time I’ll also need 3 large tubes...
...I wouldn’t like to be right out of yellow and blue at that time. In case you’re hard up, I can...
...as I can see. I have a terrible clarity of mind at times, when nature is so lovely these days, and...
...lodging at the place where he is at present. Unless, though, we were to make savings eating at the...
...At the beginning of next month there’ll be another heap of things falling on my back all together: the frames and stretching frames that I’m having made here for the decoration of the house, at...
...show myself — if I wish, or if you so desire — at that time of the exhibition. I’m not keen...
...seem to be nothing but idlers, when we live at the same time as such specimens of poor mortals who...
in ongoing topic 4:
Van Gogh’s ambition to exhibit work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in arrangement:
...placing the old closing part of letter 691 at the end of the present letter means that Vincent’s...
in note 14:
...probably Meadow with figures and animals, Idyll at Asnières, Figures by the riverside and the sheet...
688 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Pont-Aven, on or about Wednesday, 26 September 1888.
in translation:
...way) I’m in the process of drawing breath, and at the moment I’m lying dormant. Your idea for...
...I don’t know, it will come to me all at once. At the moment there’s a spell of fine weather...
...I like. I wanted to give it to the church at Pont-Aven. They don’t want it, of course. Breton...
...interstices of sunlight. The earth (pure vermilion). At the church it goes down and becomes red...
...in the imagination of the people at prayer after the sermon; that’s why there’s a contrast between the real people and the wrestling in its landscape, not real and out of proportion. In your letter you seem angry at our laziness about the portrait, and that pains me; friends don’t get angry with each other (at a distance, words cannot be interpreted at their true value). Another thing. You...
...account of not being there at this moment. When you suggested that I go there as part of your partnership I categorically wrote you a last letter in the affirmative, happy at your brother’s offer...
689 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 26 September 1888.
in translation:
...the real character of things here, you have to look at them and paint them for a very long time...
...how will it seem to me, too, some time from now? At the moment I have a clear head, or a lover...
...full of really sound studies, the way it is at Guillaumin’s. Guillaumin must have some fine new...
...of Gauguin? I expect a letter from Bernard at any moment, which will follow the croquis, probably...
in ongoing topic 3:
Van Gogh’s ambition to exhibit work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in note 3:
...on the back of the enclosed sketch. It was sold at Sotheby’s New York on 13 November 1997 (present...
in note 10:
At this point Van Gogh in any event counted the two no. 30 canvases of sunflowers, Sunflowers in a vase (F...
690 To Emile Bernard. Arles, between Thursday, 27 September and Monday, 1 October 1888.
in translation:
Let him stump up at last, to the point of giving you whatever’s fair during the interval between now and...
in date note:
...Theo that he was expecting a letter from Bernard at any moment, following up on the sketches that the...
691 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Saturday, 29 September 1888.
in translation:
...no. 30 canvas — the starry sky at last, actually painted at night, under a gas-lamp. The sky is...
...houses with no charm at all, I reflect that Zola did a certain boulevard at the beginning of L...
...have to continue and to expand what exists at present. Lastly, Gauguin says that Laval has found someone who’ll give him 150 francs a month, for a year at least, and that Laval will perhaps also...
...t impossible, by the way, living and eating at the studio. This Benedictine priest must have been...
...lost in loneliness or nothingness, and without having at each step to fear or nervously calculate...
...that makes a person happy, cheerful and lively at all times. That can happen much more easily in...
...Maurin; at 40 francs his drawings are certainly not dear. More and more I believe that we must believe that true and fair dealing in paintings is to follow one’s taste, one’s education looking at...
...faith in yourself either, but boldly keep things at a certain price. While waiting, however...But...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh’s ambition to exhibit work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in note 6:
...house, in the left-hand side of the premises at 2 place Lamartine, was the grocer’s shop run by...
in note 10:
Alongside his job at Boussod, Valadon & Cie, where he dealt in the work of established artists, Theo also...
692 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Pont-Aven, Monday, 1 October 1888.
in translation:
...will always be, nitwit gherkins. Eugène, just look at him! Eugène, that’s Habert, Habert’s...
in note 3:
...1888. See Correspondance Gauguin 1984, pp. 248-249. At the beginning of Victor Hugo’s Les misérables the...
693 To Eugène Boch. Arles, Tuesday, 2 October 1888.
in translation:
...at last furnished the house and that I immediately furnished a bedroom for Gauguin as well, or for whoever will come. The house is much more cheerful now that it’s furnished. Afterwards I worked at...
...effects — painted at night. 3 views of the public garden in front of my house. Here’s one of those views. A round cypress or Cedar bush in bottle green. In the lemony green lawn. At the back...
...on place du Forum, where we used to go, painted at night. And lastly, a study of the Rhône, of the...
...red gold and a green tinged with bronze. Painted at night. The garden with the oleanders and the...
...places there that I knew before. Thus, in the Borinage, Marcasse or St-Antoine at Petit-Wasmes. And then the Cour de l’Agrappe, at your place in Frameries. In short, it was in the Borinage that I...
...or give me your precise permanent address — at la Louvière, if I remember rightly. Because it...
in note 1:
...was François Eugène Morriaux. He lived at 42 rue de la Station in Frameries, and had a tavern...
in note 2:
...he was married to Amélie Thiébaut, with whom he had previously lived at number 39 rue de Louise (AEM).
in note 7:
Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580).
in note 15:
Aside from Café terrace at night (n. 7 above) and the two portraits (n. 10 above), which measure 80.7 x 65.3 cm, 60 x 45 cm and 60 x 49 cm respectively, all the paintings Van Gogh mentions are no. 30 canvases (roughly...
694 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 3 October 1888.
in translation:
...once again for the decoration of the house. I have no canvas left at all. Do you know that if we have Gauguin, there we’ll be, at the start of a very important affair, which will open up a new era for us. When I left you at the Gare du Midi, very upset and almost ill and almost an alcoholic as a...
...The kitchen stove will heat the studio for us at the same time. But, you’ll say — and these...
...be for the purpose of making a good impression on him at the time of his arrival. I’d like him to...
...like the one back then, when Corot, seeing Daumier at bay, gave him enough to live on, in such a...
...it works well, the coarser grain’s no problem at all. If we continue to approach things from the...
...come to him, and the ambition to make it truly alive. Since they’re talking about nothing else at Pont-Aven at the moment, they’ll talk about it in Paris, too; and once again, the better it is...
...when at leaf-fall — I don’t know if that happens here in the first days of November, as at home...
in note 14:
...this makes eight no. 30 canvases. As he did in letter 693, Van Gogh must also have counted Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580), a no. 25 canvas, as a no. 30. The tenth may have been Path in the public...
in note 15:
...et l’oeuvre (1888) by Arsène Alexandre (at any rate Theo had bought it in May). Alexandre...
695 To Paul Gauguin. Arles, Wednesday, 3 October 1888.
in translation:
...will buy it from you, as I immediately asked him, at the first opportunity if you wish, and let’s...
...but which we’d both wish to make into a shelter and a refuge for our pals at moments when they find themselves at an impasse in their struggle. When you left Paris, my brother and I spent more time...
...their share in the price that their paintings at present fetch only when they have long ceased to...
...into myself, and without daring to hope yet. At present, dimly on the horizon, here it comes to me...
...I have an extraordinary fever for work these days, at present I’m grappling with a landscape with...
...enterprise, and may you continue to feel very much at home here. Because I’m so strongly inclined...
...Now, as far as they’re concerned, you’re at liberty to reawaken them. Bernard tells me that...
in additional details:
...I stand with him and everything that’s going on at the moment’. (Je vous envoie une lettre de Vincent...
in note 13:
At this point the decoration called ‘the poet’s garden’ consisted of The public garden (‘The...
in note 16:
...poets and tea-drinkers, are called surimonos...At New Year, the members of these societies were...
696 To Emile Bernard. Arles, Wednesday, 3 October 1888.
in translation:
...to know them. But — I don’t have 5 dry studies — will have to add at least two slightly more serious attempts at paintings, a portrait of myself and a landscape angry with a nasty mistral. Then...
...of old peasants’ shoes. And a small landscape of nothing at all, in which there’s nothing but a...
...of men unloading sand, another project and attempt at a painting, in which there’s a more fully...
...it, after a smaller painted study that’s already at my brother’s). Then The starry night, then...
in note 2:
...see nn. 16 and 19-23 below); the other three are Path in the public garden (F 470 / JH 1582), Café terrace at night (F 467 / JH 1580) and possibly Path in the public garden (F 471 / JH 1613). See letter 694, n...
in note 17:
Bernard added the following note at this point in the Vollard edition: ‘Allusion to a caricature by...
697 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 4 or Friday, 5 October 1888.
in translation:
...in the shadows is lugubriously tinged with blue. And now at last I have a chance to compare my...
...two portraits, which faithfully depict for us the pals at this time — they won’t stay like that...
...continue to make more. I have confidence in that, at last. I know that it’ll do certain people...
...wish for comparative wealth, precisely because we’ll have some very great artists to feed. But at present you’re as happy, or at least happy in the same way as Sensier, if you have Gauguin, and I...
...gallant piece of verse — the whole thing’s entitled ‘at the brothel’. You’ll see these things soon, but I’ll send you the portraits after looking at them for some time. I hope you’ll...
in note 7:
...at the Salon. Diaz painted fast and sold well, which put him in a position to give his friends financial help. Sensier relates how Diaz, who was a great admirer of Millet, came to his friend’s aid: ‘Diaz was waiting to see if some Castilian would appear with a gold ingot, and, in the meantime, he struggled with his public sales at the auctioneers’ to which he sent his paintings each year. The wait was long and hard. In the end, Diaz arrives one memorable day like the victorious El Cid. He has found six hundred francs and lends them to Millet.’ (Diaz cherchait si quelque Castillan n’apparaîtrait pas avec un lingot d’or, et, en attendant, il se débattait avec ses ventes publiques aux commissaires-priseurs, où chaque année il envoyait ses tableaux. L’attente fut longue et cruelle. Enfin, un jour mémorable, Diaz arrive comme le Cid victorieux. Il a trouvé six cents francs et les prête à Millet.) See Sensier 1881, p. 204...
in note 10:
...loose sheets in a binder), titled Au bordel (At the brothel) on the front, with the dedication ‘a...
698 To Emile Bernard. Arles, on or about Friday, 5 October 1888.
in translation:
The consignment Gauguin and you sent arrived at almost the same time as my studies went off. I was...
...you for the collection of rough sketches entitled At the brothel. Bravo! The woman washing herself...
...altogether new and interesting, and the rest, too – at the brothel — yes, that’s what needs...
...Which those good little women adore. The poem at the end is really beautiful; stands up better than...
...they spend the whole night there without prowling at all. Occasionally a whore brings her fellow...
...m sending you in exchange doesn’t suit you, just look at it a little longer. I had the devil’s...
...You see that all of this is perhaps not at all — Impressionist – well, too bad, I can’t do...
...that that one will suit you once you’ve looked at it a little longer. If Laval, Moret and the...
...be imagined higher, outside the painting, let’s say just at the level of the frame. Because it so...
in note 1:
...at all, in which there’s nothing but a bit of an expanse’. The ‘study of a little garden’ was Garden with flowers (F 578 / JH 1538), which Van Gogh probably did send to Pont-Aven, given the provenance, which is not the family collection. See Roskill 1971, p. 159 (n. 89). Feilchenfeldt identified Garden with flowers (F 578 / JH 1538) as the painting of a garden that Jo van Gogh-Bonger sold to Cassirer in March 1908, but that was another work: Daubigny’s garden (F 814 / JH 2107). See Feilchenfeldt 1988, p. 105, and Account book 2002, pp. 52, 148. It is impossible to identify the last work that he sent. The ‘still life of old peasants’ shoes’ was Shoes (F 461 / JH 1569), but since that was owned by Jo van Gogh-Bonger one can conclude that it was not sent. It is not clear what the ‘small landscape of nothing at all, in which there’s nothing but a bit of an expanse’ was (see letter 696, n. 13). Cf. also Dorn’s identification of the works in the batch in exhib. cat. Essen 1990, pp. 110-112...
in note 2:
See letter 697, n. 10, for Bernard’s album of drawings titled At the brothel.
in note 3:
The sketches A prostitute washing herself and Two prostitutes at a table from At the brothel.
in note 7:
...without a model on 21 September (letter 685). At the beginning of September he had painted ‘a...
in note 8:
...attachment to it is clear from the fact that at first he did not want to sell it, nor the...
699 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 8 October 1888.
in translation:
...thing with the sea at Saintes-Maries. We have the full pitiless mistral here at the moment — it...
...It’s very, very urgent; please order 10 or at least 5 metres of it immediately. It’s very...
...tone from a sad tone. Ah well, that’s no use at all. It’s high time he came, and then you’ll...
...s hasn’t yet arrived. Would you ask him at the earliest possible moment if he’s sent it, 10 metres or at least 5 metres of ordinary canvas at 2.50 francs? But this wouldn’t matter to me, my...
...at present. But I dare believe that if you saw the studies you’d give me a motive to work ‘at...
...your letter. I ate at midday, but by this evening I’ll have to sup on a crust of bread. And it all goes into nothing else but either the house or the paintings. Because for at least 3 weeks I haven...
...bought them, as we saw them there for framing at the framer’s who did Reid’s Monticellis. Bague...
...on that subject in the past. I have no expectation at all that they’ll buy, only you wouldn’t...
in note 6:
...Theo’s contacts with Bague cannot be reconstructed. The art gallery Bague et Cie, at 41 rue de la Chaussée d’Antin, must at any rate have expressed an interest in selling (recent) paintings by Van Gogh (see...
700 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 9 or Wednesday, 10 October 1888.
in translation:
...sent you a telegram to ask you for another twenty francs. That’s all I’ll have to feed myself for the whole week, but at least I have my frames and a few stretching frames. Only for the next letter, it shouldn’t come later than Sunday...
...to make use of the existing ones, that costs nothing at all. So if you see Bague, explain to him...
...among them, there are 2 or three of them at most. So, the white orchard, the large pink orchard and the harvest with a ruin in the background. At present, though, I’m busy gathering my thoughts...
...resemblance, but I want an impression of blond colouring, at least. You’ll see it one day, and if...
...now will put us in a position to show something at the time of the exhibition. It will be a year of...
in ongoing topic 4:
Van Gogh’s ambition to exhibit work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in note 8:
...697, n. 10, for Bernard’s set of drawings titled At the brothel. The drawing of the house is The Yellow...
701 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 10 or Thursday, 11 October 1888.
in translation:
...finding ourselves. In this case too, I have no doubt at all — all will be for the best. But is it...
...might be, the four of us would be in for at least 50 francs ‘each’. And even then...Tell me...
...be in favour of their publication. If it’s at our expense and for our own pleasure and use, then...
in note 1:
...written to tell Theo that he would travel to Arles at the end of the month. He informed Schuffenecker on 8...
in note 7:
...was a recurring theme in his letters to Theo at the time. See Van Heugten and Pabst 1995. His...
702 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 10 or Thursday, 11 October 1888.
in translation:
...c., the other to produce. Alas, we’re not at that stage with the old trade, which will always...
...than if you make yourself hard up. And look, at our age, surely we can finally have a certain calm...
...So I almost have a feeling of remorse at having today bought this piece of furniture, although it...
...more by eating well than by not eating enough. So shout at me to stop if I’m going too far. If...
...more attached to my work than to our well-being, or at least to our peace of mind, above all. Once...
...at 35 francs. At that price there’s always something second-hand, but not always at the price at...
...at your place there are now beginning to be certain studies that might be taking up too much room at...
...same. The town here is nothing at night, everything’s dark. I believe that an abundance of gaslight, which, after all, is yellow and orange, intensifies blue, because at night the sky here seems to...
...Monticelli, but he was a man who should have been at the head of a big studio in the south. The...
in arrangement:
...ll. 203-205 after he had already signed the letter at the bottom of the page. Furthermore, the pre-printed...
703 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 13 October 1888.
in translation:
...are coming to me more clearly and more abundantly at present, then eating good food has a lot to do...
in ongoing topic 4:
Van Gogh is eating at Restaurant Vénissac (609)
in date note:
...asked Theo to make sure he got his money by Sunday at the latest (letter 700). (He received a money order...
in note 2:
...title, F 478a / JH 1605. At that time the coaches for Tarascon left from the Auberge de la Poste (according to Le Forum Républicain of 28 October 1888 (front page)). This inn was at 7 rue Marché-Neuf...
in note 3:
...known whether either of these paintings was ever at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. See Wildenstein 1996, cat...
704 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 15 October 1888.
in translation:
...he already has one of me, which I exchanged with him at the time for the portrait of his Grandmother...
...to take it easy. I’ve just slept for 16 hours at a stretch, which has gone a long way to making...
...on my behalf that I have in progress a decoration which at present amounts to 15 square no. 30 canvases, and which, to make an ensemble, will take at least 15 more, and that in this work on a broader...
in note 1:
...at the gallery twenty paintings that he did in Brittany last year. If you can call the painting to mind, you know what strange poetry it has in it. Well there’s the same in these new paintings, but since the subjects are more within our reach they’re easier to understand and are, if not more beautiful, at any rate more enjoyable from the first moment. There are winter landscapes with the greyish green hills against the leaden sky where the colour is altogether muted and one thinks of nothing but the bleakness of the sloping fields. Or the same landscape, but with a single beech tree with shrivelled russet foliage as a counterpoint to the green. There are also spring landscapes with the slender branches of the trees on which all the young leaves hang like little bells and tell of the rejoicing of rejuvenated nature. Or a little village in the first days of spring veiled in a purple mist behind the deeper coloured tree trunks whose bright green leaves are echoed in the green fields that one sees behind the village, stretching away to the hill in the distance. You’d have to see them to get an idea of the diverse way he’s expressed himself and above all to feel the different moods in which he did them. Usually the calm nature that fills his innermost being with resignation, but sometimes also the violent welling up of all his suffering and strife, which he expresses through the most powerful, deepest tones that resound above all when he saw nature swelling under the beneficent and creative power of the sun. It’s impossible to describe everything that’s in these paintings, but it appears that he’s greater than anyone had thought. It could just be with him the way it used to be with Millet, who is now understood by everyone because the poetry he proclaims is so powerful that everyone from great to small finds satisfaction in it. Monet also makes magnificent pictures of nature, but one has to be happy and healthy oneself to be able to enjoy them, otherwise one is likely to find oneself thinking “Oh if only I were there, I would be happier”. Whereas from Gauguin come as it were whispered words of comfort to those who are not happy or not healthy. In him nature itself speaks, whereas in Monet one hears the maker of the paintings speaking’ (FR b916). Theo showed the following of these works at Boussod, Valadon & Cie in November: Spring in Lézaven (W279/W249), Dogs running in a meadow (W282/W265), Inlet opposite the fishing port of Pont-Aven (W276/W266) and Breton girls dancing (W296/W251) (letter from Theo to Gauguin of 13 November 1888). Shepherd and shepherdess in the meadow (W280/W250) was also among them (letter from Gauguin to Theo, 14 November 1888). See Wildenstein 2001, pp. 386, 390, 393-394, 414-416, and Correspondance Gauguin 1984, pp. 280-282...
705 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 16 October 1888.
in translation:
At last I’m sending you a little croquis to give you at least an idea of the direction the work is taking. Because today I’ve gone back to...
...and the night café. I won’t write to you at length, because I’m going to start very early...
706 To Paul Gauguin. Arles, Wednesday, 17 October 1888.
in translation:
...you’ll be disillusioned with Arles if you come at a time when the mistral’s blowing, but wait...
707 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 17 October 1888.
in translation:
...but what was in it, and what are they doing at present?’ After that I’ll surely be in a better...
...me, I already get palpitations over ordering my deal frames at 5 francs. It’s like what I said to...
...afterwards, because my sight’s still tired. And at those moments, just after hard work, and the...
...in the end. Look at Monsieur Parent, look at Pierre et Jean, they don’t end in happiness but anyway, the people are resigned and go on all the same. It doesn’t end in so much blood and gore, does it now? I much prefer Guy de Maupassant to Richepin, for being more consoling. At present I’ve...
in note 2:
...columns’) and reported that works by Isaäcson at the same exhibition in the Panorama Building in...
in note 5:
...probably saw in his studio (see letter 589, n. 19), at the Indépendants in March of that year in an...
in note 14:
...Van Gogh wrote this sentence in brackets at the top of the first page of the second sheet p...
708 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 19 October 1888.
in translation:
...your house a place where artists will feel at home. I’ll stop, because otherwise the letter won...
in note 2:
...at Plantage Prinsenlaan in Amsterdam, at an exhibition of works by De Haan and his pupils Louis Jacob Hartz and Joseph Jacob Isaäcson. The drawing after the work – which is what Theo must mean here – was published in J. Zürcher, Meijer de Haan’s Uriël Acosta. Amsterdam 1888. Ill. 916. I.N. Stemming (pseudonym of the painter Johann Eduard Karsen) had criticized the painting as a poor imitation of Rembrandt, unworthy to be called a ‘work of art’. See ‘Meijer de Haan’s Uriel Acosta’, De Nieuwe Gids 3, 1 July 1888, part two, pp. 435-437 (with epilogue on 15 July). Theo read De Nieuwe Gids at this time (FR b916). J.A. Alberdingk Thijm’s opinion was less harsh. He thought that the ‘design of the painting, the colour, the costumes’ were reminiscent of Rembrandt, but that the execution was too dark and rather slapdash. See Weekblad De Amsterdammer, 15 July 1888, p. 3. Cf. also letter 707, n. 2...
709 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 21 October 1888.
in translation:
...what’s more, G. may come any day now, I’ll absolutely absolutely need at least another 50 francs.
...in the south for the future and the present. And at the same time to say how strongly I believe...
...Similarly with those who do history painting, then, or at least have done it in the past; while...
...Well then, since I have the firm intention not to paint for at least 3 days, perhaps I’ll rest by writing to you and to them at the same time. Because you know that that interests me a good deal...
...anyway from the decoration as it is now. Please, at least if the thing’s possible for you, send...
710 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 22 October 1888.
in translation:
...that Seurat would join us! But in my opinion, at the very least we must reckon his large paintings of the models and the Grande Jatte but — let’s see — at 5,000 each, shall we say...Ah well...
...were possible, I need another 10 metres of canvas at 2.50 francs. Then large tubes like the silver...
...it possible that things could get jolly lively at the ’89 exhibition. It might be better if they...
...yellowing, the yellow increasing every day. It’s at least as beautiful as the orchards in blossom...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh’s ambition to exhibit work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in date note:
...any day now’ (l. 72). Since Gauguin arrived at just after five in the morning of 23 October, the...
in note 2:
In letter 709 Van Gogh said that he did not intend to paint for at least three days.
711 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 23 October 1888.
in translation:
...soon have left for Brussels, and you’d have had to wait another two days, at least. What a financier
...or Saturday, and I’ll write to you shortly at greater leisure. I hope that what’s wrong with...
in note 4:
At this time the art dealer Aimé François Désiré Diot had his gallery at 43 rue Laffitte. See exhib. cat. Paris 1988, p. 356.
712 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Thursday, 25 October 1888.
in translation:
...a hundred thousand in, too. To make a thousand paintings at a hundred francs during one’s life as an artist is very, very, very hard, but when the painting is at a hundred francs...and again.... our task is very heavy at times. But nothing about that can be altered. We’ll let Tasset down completely, probably, because to a large extent at least, we’ll use less expensive colours, both...
...sometimes makes me sad. I’m very, very happy at what you write, that one of the Dutchmen will...
in note 2:
Gauguin arrived at four in the morning on Tuesday, 23 October. It had taken him from Sunday afternoon until...
713 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 27 October 1888.
in translation:
...don’t understand the calculation of so many paintings at 100 francs, if we want them to be worth...
...in France. If the artists start out, will the others not follow when we need them, at a time when we can no longer work as at present? I’m firmly convinced of it, myself. You don’t know how you...
714 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 27 or Sunday, 28 October 1888.
in note 3:
...At first Yann rejects her, but she remains faithful to him in her thoughts. When it is discovered on her father’s death that he had frittered away his fortune, the gulf between them narrows and they find each other again. They marry six days before Yann goes back to sea for months. It is to be his last voyage, from which he would not return. Since Theo sent Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek a copy of this book with such ‘masterly descriptions of nature’ on 10 July 1887 (FR b727), there is a good chance that Vincent also read it at this time...
715 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 29 October 1888.
in translation:
...s more difficult than you think. Now I dare breathe at last, as we’ve all had a stroke of darned...
...up, and he’ll wait here, very calmly, while at the same time working hard, for the right moment...
...too that I’m asking for no more than to continue at a very ordinary sum per month of 150 (and the...
...have to get involved in the struggle for money at this moment. Most certainly. Besides, if what I...
...to be an essential stopping-off point or station, useful at least to all those who’ll wish to see...
...the landscape here very easily, and quite varied. So at last my little work potters along. I dare...
716 Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin to Emile Bernard. Arles, Thursday, 1 or Friday, 2 November 1888.
in translation:
...But enough of that, you’ve seen him close at hand longer than I have, just wanted to tell you...
...that we’ll eventually go there often to work. At the moment Gauguin has a canvas in progress of...
in note 1:
...armour. He appears in the person of Félicien. At the height of her happiness, however, after the...
717 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Saturday, 3 November 1888.
in translation:
At the moment he’s working on some women in a vineyard, entirely from...
...all purple and yellow. Then I have an Arlésienne at last, a figure (no. 30 canvas) knocked off in...
...to nearly 100 francs, which we’d pay him back at New Year, or in the month of March for example...
...with colour, arriving at the same degree of expression without resorting to black and white chiaroscuro, my goodness, that’s not easy. And he’ll even arrive at another type of drawing if he carries out his plan of passing through Impressionism like a school, regarding his new attempts at colour...
...importance. In any case, to come here at some time or another would do them no harm, they’ll certainly find interesting things. Gauguin and I are going to dine at home today, and we feel sure and...
718 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 10 November 1888.
in translation:
...to exhibit at this moment. It’s no use at all getting angry with the chap, it’s better to be tritely polite. So no exhibition at the Revue Indépendante, I make so bold as to believe that Gauguin is of the same opinion. In any case he doesn’t at all urge me to do it. We’ve hardly ever exhibited, have we? There were a few canvases at Tanguy’s place first of all, at Thomas’s and then at...
...at Tanguy’s or Thomas’s place...that’s a matter of such absolute indifference to me that in reality it isn’t worth talking about — but you should know above all that I’m really not at...
...no right over my canvases, none. So, my position is clear at least, which isn’t a matter of absolute indifference to me. With a little more work I’ll have sufficient not to need to exhibit at all any more, that’s what I’m aiming at. I myself have also finished a canvas of a vineyard, all...
...serves very well, since this frame doesn’t stick out at all and is one with the canvas. More soon...
in note 1:
...Theo had suggested that Vincent exhibit there, and at first Vincent agreed to do so (see letter 677, n...
in note 2:
...at the Revue Indépendante. He explained his decision to Theo at the beginning of December: ‘I consider this hole of a place to exhibit could do us harm from every point of view. First: after Signac, Dubois-Pillet, it would mean arriving on the scene like a very young newcomer. What’s more, those gentlemen tend to be ill-disposed towards me, and yet their clientele is insignificant, and of a different kind from mine.’ (Je juge ce trou d’exposition comme pouvant nous nuire sous tous les points de vue. 1o Après Signac Dubois-Pillet ce serait arriver comme un nouveau venu tout jeune. En outre ces messieurs me veulent plutôt du mal, quand même leur clientèle est insignifiante et dans un sens contraire au mien.) Moreover, Gauguin sent Theo a copy of his letter to Dujardin: ‘I am embarrassed by the honour you do me in inviting me this time to exhibit at the premises of the Revue Indépendante. I regret that I am unable to accept an invitation that my friend Schuffenecker sought in vain for himself. Having felt for 3 years that my powers as an artist were utterly inadequate for the modern forms of progress introduced among the Impressionist artists, so quickly replaced by the Neo-Impressionists, I decided to work in isolation, without being promoted by any group. My studies made in the tropics are inadequate as precise renderings of nature, and I believe that the Revue Indépendante would be powerless to give them the brightness and luminosity they lack.’ (Je suis confus de l’honneur que vous me faites en m’invitant cette fois à exposer au local de la Revue Indépendante. Je regrette de ne pouvoir accepter une invitation que mon ami Schuffeneker a sollicitée vainement pour lui. Sentant depuis 3 ans mes forces comme artiste tout à fait insuffisantes aux progrès modernes introduits chez les artistes impressionistes si vite remplacés par les néo-impressionistes, j’ai résolu de travailler à l’écart en dehors de toute publicité de groupes. Mes études de tropique sont insuffisantes comme donnée exacte de la nature et je crois que la Revue Indépendante serait impuissante à leur donner la clarté et la luminosité qui leur manquent.) See Correspondance Gauguin 1984, pp. 294-295. He also sent a copy of the letter to Schuffenecker, adding: ‘You see that I do not beat about the bush, and that I take the opportunity to obtain revenge for you – and to say what I think about all these coteries. I should like to see the look on these gentlemen’s faces when they read my letter’. (Vous voyez que je n’y vais pas par 4 chemins et que j’en profite pour vous venger – et pour dire ce que je pense de toutes ces coteries. Je voudrais voir la tête de ces messieurs quand ils liront ma lettre). See Merlhès 1989, p. 182...
in note 3:
...at Tanguy’s (see letter 572). In 1888 Tanguy still had paintings of his in the shop, as evidenced by a letter from Geffroy to Theo (see letter 629, n. 1). In July 1888, however, Vincent had asked Theo to remove his new paintings (from Arles) from Tanguy’s; see letter 637. Later on in this letter it appears that there were still a few of his canvases at Tanguy’s and Thomas’s; it is not known when his work was to be seen at Martin’s, but his choice of words (‘first of all...then’) seems to indicate that it was recently too. In any case, on 1 April 1889 a ‘little bridge’ by Van Gogh was still hanging at Tanguy’s, as may be deduced from the letters written to Theo on that day by De Haan and Isaäcson. De Haan asked Theo if he might have the painting (FR b1039)....
719 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 11 or Monday, 12 November 1888.
in translation:
...two canvases. A reminiscence of our garden at Etten with cabbages, cypresses, dahlias and figures...
in note 1:
...trees: ‘Israëls had seen Vincent’s painting at Jet’s and had said, he is a clever lad!’ (FR...
in note 6:
...p. 358. The sculpture was first at Theo’s, as emerges from a letter written by Gauguin to Schuffenecker on 25 October 1888: ‘So when you have time, make up a package with the horned pot that is at Van Gogh’s, and a little matt pot with Cleopatra that is at your place and send them to me. We’re in a rather nice little house here, and I should like to have a little pottery to look at.’ (Quand vous aurez le temps faites...
in note 8:
Reminiscence of the garden at Etten (F 496 / JH 1630). Here Van Gogh calls it ‘garden at Etten’ and in letter 723 ‘garden at Nuenen’.
720 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 12 November 1888.
in translation:
I received your letter dated from Middelharnis, and I thank you very much for it. It’s good that you’ve at last begun to read Au bonheur des dames...
...as if seen in a dream, in character and yet at the same time stranger than the reality. I’ve now...
in sketch A:
Reminiscence of the garden at Etten (F - JH 1631), letter sketch
in date note:
...November 1888, this letter must have been written at about the same time. We have therefore dated it to...
in note 2:
...with their three children at Villa Johanna in Laren. After Mauve’s death on 5 February 1888, Jet and her children moved to The Hague. On 30 June 1888 they were registered as living at Riouwstraat 70, where Jet...
in note 5:
The letter sketch Reminiscence of the garden at Etten (F - JH 1631) was made after the painting of the same...
721 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 19 November 1888.
in translation:
...siege my day will come. I cannot and must not at this moment do anything other than work. One thing...
...on 150 each than I did on 250 just for myself. At the end of a year you’ll notice that this is...
...were a completely different man and if I were wealthier I could force it, at present I’m not giving up and am plodding on quietly. If at the age of forty I do a painting of figures like the flowers...
...I say about sending back studies, there’s no hurry at all, and I’m referring to the bad ones...
in note 3:
...at Boussod, Valadon & Cie was probably Small pear tree in blossom (F 405 / JH 1394). See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1990, p. 112. Although it is not very small (73 x 46 cm), it is still only half the size of a no. 30 canvas (the format Van Gogh had been using almost exclusively for some time). Admittedly, the picture depicts a pear and not a peach tree – Van Gogh earlier called it a ‘small pear tree’ (see letter 597) – but the words ‘I think’ added to the present letter could indicate that he was not entirely sure which work Theo was talking about. It was probably Theo who called it a peach tree; his wife, Jo, wrote to Vincent in May 1889 about ‘that beautiful flowering peach tree of yours, which looks at me in such a friendly way every morning’ (see letter 771...
in note 6:
...batches of paintings sent from Arles, which were at Theo’s (see letters 606 and 660). Druick and...
in note 10:
Boch had written to Van Gogh at the beginning of October from the Borinage; see letter 693. Boch’s sister...
in note 13:
...by return post, so he must have received it in the meantime. Jet Mauve lived in The Hague at Riouwstraat 70, at that time on the edge of the city. This street joins Timorstraat, where the Jewish Cemetery is...
in note 15:
Claude Monet, Bouquet of sunflowers, 1881 (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Ill. 300. Gauguin could have seen the painting at the Monet exhibition at Durand-Ruel’s, who had purchased it in October 1881, and at the exhibition of the Indépendants in 1882. See Wildenstein and Walter 1974-1991, vol. 2, pp. 239-240.
722 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Wednesday, 21 November 1888.
in translation:
...two drawings of his that I’m currently looking at testify! Have they read Silvestre’s book on...
...at the time of the exhibition or a little later. In the meantime it will dry thoroughly here, and I can go over all the canvases again once they’re thoroughly dry, even the impasted areas. If at...
...deserves it. Only we mustn’t forget that either at New Year or in March, Gauguin will have to be...
...nothing, in the financial arrangement we’ve established. If at the end of a year we continue to...
...they seen any of his paintings other than the ones at your place? You know that I still lay claim...
in ongoing topic 2:
Van Gogh’s ambition to show work at the 1889 World Exhibition (590)
in additional details:
The letter was bought by the Librairie de l'Abbaye, M. Lambert in Paris on 2 April 1963 at the sale held at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. V.W. van Gogh bought it on 17 July 1963. Before this it belonged to Robert Rey, formerly a curator at the Musée du Luxembourg.
in note 9:
...New York, The William S. Paley Collection at the Museum of Modern Art). Ill. 2263, and...
in note 10:
...beret) (F 546 / JH -), in which the painter sits at his easel, on which a yellow canvas stands. See...
723 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Saturday, 1 December 1888.
in translation:
...I’ve spoiled that thing I did of the garden at Nuenen and I feel that habit is also necessary for...
...And if I manage to do this entire family even better, I’ll have done at least one thing to my taste and personal. At the moment I’m really in the shit, studies, studies, studies, and that’ll go...
...of thinking of that proverb, joy in town, grief at home. What can you expect? Supposing that we...
...or later we’re obliged to sell, then selling at a slightly higher price the things that can...
...be best. For we don’t need to show them at the moment, I’m well enough aware of that. Gauguin...
...his undertakings that don’t come to anything. At present he’s doing landscapes, and finally he...
...to me at the time. I think we’ll end up spending our evenings drawing and writing, there’s more to work on than we can do. You know that Gauguin has been invited to exhibit at the Vingtistes. His...
in date note:
...that Theo had received the letter by 6 December at the latest, because he mentioned it in a letter he...
in note 1:
Reminiscence of the garden at Etten (F 496 / JH 1630). Here Van Gogh calls the garden the ‘garden at Nuenen’; in letters 719 and 720 he spoke of it as the ‘garden at Etten’.
in note 9:
At the beginning of June, Theo had sent 50 francs to Gauguin, who had promised him work in return (see...
in note 13:
...as emerges from a letter he wrote to Mette at the end of June 1889: ‘For me it was a question of...
in note 16:
...to Theo, asking him to confirm their receipt at once. See Correspondance Gauguin 1984, p. 288. That...
725 Paul Eugène Milliet to Vincent van Gogh. Guelma, Tuesday, 11 December 1888.
in translation:
...just like, if I dare say so, Rembrandt in reverse. At least that’s how I feel about things. From...
...t a single book to cast my eyes over, not even Balzacs at 1 franc 2 sous each. What a hole, what a...
in note 3:
...cost ‘1 franc 25 centimes per volume’ in 1884 at Calmann Lévy’s in Paris (this price appears on...
726 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 17 or Tuesday, 18 December 1888.
in translation:
...to sit beside us, a man who looked at us like a brother. It would have the same effect on you, I’m sure. I’d really ask you to go and see, at that bookshop where they sell lithographs of...
...strange and superb portrait of a man by Rembrandt at the La Caze gallery, I told Gauguin that, for...
...to what I’ve already told you, always to look at the portrait of old Six. The fine portrait with...
...past and your present. That’s the stage we’re at. Gauguin said to me this morning, when I asked...
...to see the portrait of Bruyas by Delacroix at Montpellier, for we must boldly believe that what is...
in note 1:
...made, as a young man, a journey to the south, and at Montpellier I visited that famous museum...
in note 16:
...And a woman dressed in black passes by, looking at her like a sister.’ (C’est une femme. Les deux...
728 Vincent van Gogh and Félix Rey to Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 2 January 1889.
in translation:
...I’m writing you these few words in the office of Mr Rey, the house physician, whom you saw yourself. I’ll stay here at the hospital for another few days — then I dare plan to return home very calmly. Now I ask just one thing of you, not to...
in note 1:
...at home the next morning and had him admitted to hospital. On 24 December Gauguin sent a telegram to Theo, who immediately took the night train to Arles. Despite Van Gogh’s repeated pleas, Gauguin did not come to visit him in hospital (see letter 736). Jo van Gogh-Bonger wrote in her introduction to the letters that Gauguin travelled back to Paris with Theo, who left Arles on Tuesday, 25 December, as emerges from a letter he wrote to Jo on 28 December (see Brieven 1914, p. liv, and Brief happiness 1999, pp. 70-71). Bernard’s letter of 1 January 1889 to Albert Aurier (quoted below) agrees with this description of events: he reports that Gauguin had arrived in Paris four days earlier, meaning 27 December. After his return to Paris, Theo gave an account of his visit in a letter he wrote to Jo on 28 December: ‘I found Vincent in the hospital in Arles. The people around him realized from his agitation that for the past few days he had been showing symptoms of that most dreadful illness, of madness, and an attack of fièvre chaude, when he injured himself with a razor, was the reason he was taken to hospital. Will he remain insane? The doctors think it possible, but daren’t yet say for certain. It should be apparent in a few days’ time when he is rested; then we will see whether he is lucid again. He seemed to be all right for a few minutes when I was with him, but lapsed shortly afterwards into his brooding about philosophy and theology. It was terribly sad being there, because from time to time all his grief would well up inside and he would try to weep, but couldn’t. Poor fighter and poor, poor sufferer. Nothing can be done to relieve his anguish now, but it is deep and hard for him to bear. Had he just once found someone to whom he could pour his heart out, it might never have come to this. In the next few days they will decide whether he is to be transferred to a special institution and as I don’t yet know how much I shall have to do in all this, I dare not make any plans.’ Two days later he wrote to her again: ‘Since I last wrote I’ve been wavering between hope and fear. The news is still bad and the last letter from Vincent’s friend the postman says, “The doctor will wait a few days before deciding whether he should be committed to an institution.” One sees the ambiguity in this sentence when one asks Why? I am waiting for an answer from the assistant house physician at the hospital. There is little hope, but he has done more than so many in his life and suffered and fought more than most people are capable of doing. If he must pass away, so be it, but the thought of it breaks my heart...My dear Mother knows no more than that he is ill and that his mind is confused. She is not aware that his life is in danger’ (see FR b2020 and b2021; Brief happiness 1999, pp. 70, 74). Vincent remained until 7 January 1889 in hospital, where he was treated by the resident physician Félix Rey. Rey assisted the chief physician, Marie Jules Joseph Urpar. Shortly after Van Gogh’s admission to the hospital, Urpar drew up a certificate regarding the artist's condition, which was sent to the mayor of Arles on 29 December 1888. The certificate has not survived, but it is evident from the accompanying letter to the mayor that the doctor had concluded that ‘Mr Vincent who, on the 23rd of this month, removed his ear using a razor, is suffering from mental disturbance. The treatment that this unfortunate man is receiving in our establishment not being such as to bring him back to a state of reason, I am writing to request that you be so kind as to take the necessary steps to have him admitted to a special asylum’ (M. le Maire, J’ai l’honneur de vous adresser ci-joint le certificat de M. le docteur Urpar, médecin en chef de l’hôpital, constatant que le Sieur Vincent qui, le 23 du mois ci, s’est enlevé l’oreille d’un coup de rasoir, est atteint d’aliénation mentale. Les soins que cet infortuné reçoit dans notre établissement n’étant pas de nature à le ramener à la raison, je viens vous prier de vouloir bien prendre les mesures nécessaires pour le faire admettre dans un asile spécial) (unsigned transcript of a letter to the mayor of Arles, ACA). The copy is not signed. The same day Dr Rey informed Theo of Vincent’s condition and told him about Urpar’s certificate (see Documentation, 29 December 1888). The incident was reported in the column ‘Chronique locale’ in the weekly newspaper Le Forum Républicain on Sunday, 30 December 1888: ‘Last Sunday, at half past eleven in the evening, one Vincent van Gogh, a painter and native of Holland, presented himself at brothel no 1, asked for one Rachel, and handed her.... his ear, telling her: “Keep this object carefully.” Then he disappeared. Informed of this act, which could only be that of a poor lunatic, the police went the following day to the home of this individual, whom they found lying in his bed, by then showing hardly any sign of life. The unfortunate was admitted to the hospital as a matter of urgency.’ (Dimanche dernier, à 11 heures ½ du soir, le nommé Vincent Vangogh peintre, originaire de Hollande, s’est présenté à la maison de tolérance no 1, a demandé la nommé Rachel, et lui a remis.... son oreille en lui disant: “Gardez cet objet précieusement.” Puis il a disparu. Informée de ce fait qui ne pouvait être que celui d’un pauvre aliéné, la police s’est rendue le lendemain matin chez cet individu qu’elle a trouvé couché dans son lit, ne donnant presque plus signe de vie. Ce malheureux a été admis d’urgence à l’hospice.) As late as 1929, the policeman Alphonse Robert described his recollection of the incident (quoted in Doiteau and Leroy 1939, p. 6). Gauguin later declared that on the evening in question he had decided to sleep in a hotel because of Van Gogh's aggressive, threathening behaviour. The exact circumstances of the supposed incident between Gauguin and Van Gogh are not known, however. Van Gogh says nothing in his letters about its immediate cause, and Rey reported the following to Theo on 30 December: ‘When I tried to get him to talk about the motive that drove him to cut off his ear, he replied that it was a purely personal matter’ (Lorsque j’ai voulu le faire causer sur le motif qui l’avait poussé à se couper l’oreille; il m’a répondu que c’etait un affaire tout à fait personnelle) (FR b1056; Documentation, 30 December 1888). Van Gogh remembered little of what happened. This is evident from a note made by Dr Peyron in the asylum at Saint-Rémy on 8 May 1889: ‘During that attack he cut off his left ear, but he has no more than a vague memory of all that, and is not aware of it.’ (Pendant cet accès il se coupa l’oreille gauche mais il ne conserve de tout cela qu’un souvenir très vague, et ne peut s’en rendre compte.) See Documentation, 8 May 1889. In Avant et après, Gauguin wrote that, before finally wounding himself, Van Gogh had wanted to attack him that evening: ‘I had already gone almost all the way across place Victor-Hugo [place Lamartine], when I heard behind me a little step that was very familiar, quick and jerky. I turned at the very moment when Vincent rushed at me with an open razor in his hand. My look must at that moment have been very powerful, because he stopped, and lowering his head he ran back in the direction of the house.’ (J’avais déjà traversé presque entièrement la place Victor-Hugo, lorsque j’entendis derrière moi un petit pas bien connu, rapide et saccadé. Je me retournai au moment même où Vincent se précipitait sur moi un rasoir ouvert à la main. Mon regard dut à ce moment être bien puissant car il s’arrêta et baissant la tête il reprit en courant le chemin de la maison.) See Gauguin 1923, pp. 20-21. Gauguin wrote these words in 1903, long after the events themselves, and doubt has frequently been cast on his reliability as a witness. His account will, all the same, have been based on the truth. In Bernard’s summary of what Gauguin had told him directly after returning to Paris, no mention is made of the attack, however. In his letter of 1 January 1889 to Albert Aurier, Bernard wrote: ‘Gauguin returning precipitately, 4 days ago, and the news about Vincent in the hospital. I rushed to see Gauguin, who told me this. The day before my departure (for he had to leave Arles) Vincent ran after me (he was going out, it was night). I turned around because for some time he had been acting strangely, but I was wary of him. Then he told me: You are silent, but I will also be silent. Ever since I had been going to leave Arles, he was so bizarre that I couldn’t take it any more. He had even said to me: “Are you going to leave?” And when I said “Yes” he tore this sentence from a newspaper and put it into my hand: “the murderer took flight”. I spent the night in a hotel, and when I came back all of Arles was in front of our house. Then the police arrested me, because the house was covered in blood. This is what had happened: Vincent had returned home after my departure, had taken a razor and cut his ear clean through. Then he put a big beret over his head and went to a brothel to take the ear to a wretched girl, telling her: “You will remember me, truly I tell you this.” The girl fainted immediately. The police set out and came to the house. Vincent was hospitalised. His state is worse, he wants to sleep with the patients, chases the nurse, and washes himself in the coal-bucket. In other words, he is performing biblical mortifications. They had to lock him up in a room.’ (Gauguin revenant précipitamment, il y a 4 jours, et la nouvelle de Vincent à l’hôpital. J’ai couru voir Gauguin qui m’a dit ceci. La veille de mon départ (car il devait quitter Arles) Vincent a couru après moi (il sortait c’était la nuit) je me suis retourné car depuis quelques temps il devenait très drôle, mais je m’en défiais. Alors il m’a dit: Vous êtes taciturne, mais moi je le serai aussi. Depuis que je devais quitter Arles il était tellement bizarre que je ne vivais plus. Il m’avait même dit: “Vous allez partir?” Et comme j’avais dit “Oui” il a arraché d’un journal cette phrase et me l’a mise dans la main: “le meurtrier a pris la fuite”. Je suis allé coucher à l’hôtel et quand je suis revenu tout Arles était devant chez nous. Alors les gendarmes m’ont arrêté, car la maison était pleine de sang. Voici ce qui s’était passé. Vincent était rentré après mon départ, avait pris le rasoir et s’était tranché net l’oreille. Alors il s’était couvert la tête d’un berret profond et était allé dans une maison publique porter à une malheureuse son oreille en lui disant: Tu te souviendras de moi, en vérité je te le dis. Cette fille s’est évanouie immédiatement. Les gendarmes se sont mis sur pied et on est venu au logis. Vincent a été mis à l’hôpital. Son état est pis, il veut coucher avec les malades, chasse la soeur et se lave dans la boîte à charbon. C’est à dire qu’il continue les macérations bibliques. On a été forcé de l’enfermer dans une chambre.) See Jacqueline Albert Simon and Lucy D. Rosenfeld, A century of artists’ letters. Notes to family, friends, and dealers. Delacroix to Léger. From the Pierre F. Simon Collection at the New York Public Library. Atglen (PA) 2004, pp. 64-70. Cf. also exhib. cat. Chicago 2001, p. 260. According to the people in Arles who were immediately involved (Gauguin, Dr Rey and the policeman Robert), Van Gogh cut off his entire ear, which is what was reported in Le Forum Républicain. Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Paul Gachet Jr (the son of Dr Paul-Ferdinand Gachet) and Paul Signac all later stated that it was only the lower part of the ear. For the various testimonies, see also Doiteau and Leroy 1939. However, since the discovery of a short letter from Dr Rey to the writer Irving Stone, which includes two drawings, we can now conclude that Van Gogh did indeed cut off his entire ear. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 2016, pp. 35-40, and Murphy 2016, pp. 140-149. On 4 January Theo wrote the following to Jo Bonger about the present letter: ‘A good letter from Vincent today, he appears to have recovered, isn’t that wonderful? There is no longer any question of committing him to an asylum and even the doctors have abandoned the idea.’ See FR b2023; Brief happiness 1999, p. 83. Doctor Rey, Roulin and the Rev. Frédéric Salles kept Theo informed about Vincent’s recovery. The letters from Roulin and Salles are published in Hulsker 1970. See also exhib. cat. Amsterdam 2016, pp. 30-56. For Rey’s letter, see Documentation, 12 February 1889....
in note 2:
...solemnized there on 18 April 1889 (see letter 759). At that time Theo was staying with his cousin Jan...
729 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 4 January 1889.
in translation:
...ll send Gauguin the paintings of his that are still at the house as soon as he wishes. We owe him...
730 To Paul Gauguin. Arles, Friday, 4 January 1889.
in translation:
...journey really necessary – my friend? Now at least reassure him completely, and yourself, please...
732 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 7 January 1889.
in translation:
...painting with two of his doctor friends, and they at least understand darned quickly what complementaries...
...of Bruyas by Delacroix and the whole museum at Montpellier where Gauguin took me. How people have...
...to exhibit in Belgium and has some success in Paris at the moment, I like to think that he’s...
...the clap in The Hague, and that I got myself treated at the hospital. But that it’s not worth the...
...short note that I’ve made them swallow down there at home in Holland. And by so doing it will...
...Sunday I met another doctor who, in theory at least, knows what Delacroix and Puvis de Chavannes...
in arrangement:
...leads us to assume that the sheets were sent at the same time, which is why we consider them part of...
in note 6:
...held in Paris from 3 September to 4 October 1889. At their 1888 exhibition Van Gogh had exhibited three...
in note 10:
Gauguin had been invited to display his work at the sixth exhibition of the artists’ society Les Vingt in...
in note 15:
...at the medical university in Paris (below his contributions to L’Homme de Bronze is written ‘ancien interne des hospices de Paris’, the honorary title of graduates of L’Internat des Hôpitaux de Paris). He treated Van Gogh in February 1889. See letter 747, n. 1. Dr Auriol, who had also been trained in Paris, also worked at the hospital as a surgeon (ACA...
733 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus and Willemien van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 7 January 1889.
in translation:
You’ll probably forgive me for this when I tell you that I’ve been indisposed, and in December at that...
...last letter. I acquired quite a few acquaintances here just at the time I wasn’t well, and will...
in additional details:
...this letter to Theo at the end of January or beginning of February 1889: ‘A couple of weeks ago I received a nice letter from Vincent. He was busy painting portraits, also of doctors at the hospital with whom...
734 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, between Tuesday, 8 and Wednesday, 16 January 1889.
in translation:
...a perfect page of an essential ‘Vincent’ style. At your brother’s home I saw your Sower, which is...
...of me. I have indeed received my stretcher keys – at the next opportunity if you can send me by...
...me to everyone. Cordially yours, Paul Gauguin At Mr Schuffenecker’s 29 rue Boulard...
in date note:
...17 January, Van Gogh refers to the present letter, which means that it was written at the latest on Wednesday, 16 January 1889. At the earliest it could date from Tuesday, 8 January, because on the 9th Van Gogh did...
in note 5:
On 5 January Gauguin had rented a studio at 16 rue Saint-Gothard. See exhib. cat. Washington 1988, p. 46.
735 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 9 January 1889.
in translation:
...c. &c.? Then Tersteeg must admit the Impressionists, or at least believe in E. Delacroix, and then...
...quite a few things to pay, and while they aren’t at all urgent for a few days, I’d be pleased...
...poor condition. This is to warn you that perhaps at Easter, for example, if the owner persists, I...
in note 9:
...Viany, who signed the petition against Van Gogh at the end of February: ‘Viany, retail tobacconist...
in note 19:
...sent in exchange his self-portrait (n. 17 above). At the time, he told Theo that Gauguin looked ill and...
736 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 17 January 1889.
in translation:
...to answering all your questions, can you do it yourself, at the moment I don’t feel up to it. On...
...that it’s precisely with patience that I’ll arrive at this result of being able to recover the...
...such an employee after so many years of work. And at heart I think they, he and his wife, are still...
...ve naturally had a very sensitive eye. I have re-looked at De Haan’s undertaker, of which he was...
...preferring not to speak to me again while at the same time making himself scarce, it remains for me...
...upsets everything he was setting up. Now, does one remain at one’s post once one has taken it, or...
...It now seems to me impossible, at least quite improbable, that Impressionism will organize itself and calm down. Why will the same not happen as happened in England at the time of the Pre-Raphaelites...
...well. I urge you in all seriousness to look at that passage in Daudet’s book again. During your...
...then he has his wife and his children in Denmark, and at the same time he wants to go right to the...
in note 12:
...possession of Gauguin. See Dorn 1999, pp. 60-61. At the end of April or beginning of May 1889, Van Gogh...
in note 13:
...of the lake, Martinique; see letter 576, n. 2. At the end of September 1888, Van Gogh had received...
in note 14:
...at each station and sorting the post during the journey). Van Gogh made a note of Roulin’s duties and his address in Marseille (see letter 742, Additional details). Roulin’s wife was staying with their children at her mother’s in Lambesc until they could move to Marseille in October 1889 (see letter 814). On 24 January 1889 Theo wrote to his sisters Elisabeth and Willemien: ‘Fortunately I have good news from Vincent and his letters are clearer than they have ever been. Just imagine, Roulin has just been transferred. That is a great loss for him. The house physician at the hospital is now the one who can be of the most use to him’ (FR b919...
in note 15:
...if somebody were able to take an interest in me at a difficult moment. (Dans quelques mois, lorsque...
in note 19:
...with great care and many gentle approaches somewhat at odds with my nature that I broached the question. I...
in note 21:
...which symbolizes broken promises – is found at the end of the chapter (pp. 667-675); marking this...
737 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 17 January 1889.
in translation:
...in vermilion aprons. It’s darned cold in Paris at the moment — in addition I’ve amused myself doing croquis at the market, and I’m going to get some porters from the market to pose with their big hats, carrying sacks and sides of meat. I’m carried away at top speed by it. I don’t know...
in note 3:
...his fencing masks and gloves. Vincent sent them at the end of April or beginning of May 1889 in a...
in note 7:
...the ‘Suite Volpini’, after the 1889 exhibition at which they were displayed (cf. letter 779, n. 13...
in note 10:
Gauguin had been invited to display his work at the sixth exhibition of the artists’ society Les Vingt in...
738 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Saturday, 19 January 1889.
in translation:
...Parthenon was illuminated, &c. &c. If Chatrian, whom you met, had seen that man...Write to me at once at once. Please, because what you sent was really not entirely sufficient, as I’ve tried to...
...than readable between the lines. He’s still at the Schuffeneckers’ temporarily, and is going to...
...is fortunately certain is that I dare believe that at heart Gauguin and I like each other enough as...
739 To Paul Gauguin. Arles, Monday, 21 January 1889.
in translation:
...Now I feel remorse at having perhaps, I who so insisted that you should stay here to await events and gave you so many good reasons for doing so, now I feel remorse at having indeed perhaps prompted...
...understands us. I’ll send you your things, but at times weakness overcomes me again, and then I...
in note 5:
...at the far end, a Blessed Virgin in ceramic was set on a little shelf, in a place of honour. She was a little antique, these sailors’ patron saint, and painted in a naïve style. But ceramic figures last much longer than real men; and her red and blue robe still had the effect of a very fresh little thing in the midst of all the dark greys of this poor wooden house. She must have listened to many an ardent prayer at moments of great anxiety; two bunches of artificial flowers and a rosary had been nailed at her feet.’ (Contre un panneau du fond, une sainte Vierge en faïence était fixée sur une planchette, à une place d’honneur. Elle était un peu ancienne, la patronne de ces marins, et peint avec un art naïf. Mais les personnages en faïence se conservent beaucoup plus longtemps que les vrais hommes; aussi sa robe rouge et bleue faisait encore l’effet d’une petite chose très fraîche au milieu de tous les gris sombres de cette pauvre maison de bois. Elle avait dû écouter plus d’une ardente prière à des heures d’angoisses; on avait cloué à ses pieds deux bouquets de fleurs artificielles et un chapelet). See Loti 1988, p. 54. Cf. Dorn 1990, pp. 155-156 and Sund 1992, pp. 220-222. At the end of Loti’s novel, the maternal instincts of the sea are evoked. The sea is compared to a woman rocking a child, when the protagonist, Yann Gaos, drowns and ‘weds’ the sea: ‘Out there, one August night, off the dark mass of Iceland, in the midst of a great sound and fury, his marriage to the sea had been celebrated. To the sea that once had been his nurse; it was she who had rocked his cradle, who had made of him a tall, strong youth – and then she had taken him back, in the glory of his manhood, for herself alone’ (Une nuit d’août, là-bas, au large de la sombre Islande, au milieu d’un grand bruit de fureur, avaient été célébrées ses noces avec la mer. Avec la mer qui autrefois avait été sa nourrice; c’était elle qui l’avait bercé, qui l’avait fait adolescent large et fort, – et ensuite elle l’avait repris, dans sa virilité superbe, pour elle seule). See Loti 1988, p. 294. Cf. Sund 1992, p. 309 (n. 128). Van Gogh wrote to Theo that he had had ‘intimate conversations’ with Gauguin about the fishermen of Iceland (see letter 743). Gauguin knew Loti’s book and presumably also knew of the shipwreck of a Breton fishing boat in 1887, which made it a subject of current interest. Two of the zincographs from his ‘Suite Volpini’, on which he was working in January 1889 (see letter 737), were based on Pêcheur d’Islande; he gave them the title Tragedies of the sea – Brittany. See Lauren Soth, ‘Gauguin, Van Gogh and the fishermen of Iceland’, The Burlington Magazine, april 1989, pp. 296-297...
740 To Arnold Koning. Arles, on or about Tuesday, 22 January 1889.
in translation:
...in the hospital in Arles, where I was quartered at the time because of an attack of brain or some other...
...I already was before that time; am or am not at present, or will be hereafter. Having thus informed...
...there, I ask you: what are you doing in painting at the moment, and how are you working with colour...
...this question about your work, a few words about mine. At present I have a portrait of a woman on...
...cord ditto ditto. The background is vermilion at the bottom (simply representing a tiled floor or...
...the time being I’m still in Arles and at your disposal for further correspondence by letter or...
in note 11:
...January 1889. Breitner was then working in a studio at Eerste Parkstraat 438. They had already known each...
741 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 22 January 1889.
in translation:
...more or less a balance through production, at least relative. So many annoyances certainly make me...
...and the fact that they’re always plotting among themselves, which always arrives at the result of — emptiness. I think that at Pont-Aven 5 or 6 of them had already formed a new group, perhaps...
...delayed. By marrying you’re putting Mother’s mind at rest and making her happy, and anyway what...
...t make her meet and marry a doctor, we might at least perhaps be able to make her meet a painter...
...my illness I again saw each room in the house at Zundert, each path, each plant in the garden, the...
...perhaps be good for a painting of mine to be at the Goupils’ from time to time, then I’ll drop...
...little, which grows in richness the more you look at it. Besides, you know that Gauguin likes them...
in note 10:
...Small pear tree in blossom (F 405 / JH 1394) at Boussod, Valadon & Cie, Van Gogh had answered in...
742 Christian Vilhelm Mourier-Petersen to Vincent van Gogh. Holbaekgaard, Friday, 25 January 1889.
in translation:
...seen Claude Monet and Besnard – may others come! At the moment the consignment for the Paris...
...Paris. As for me, I must stay here this summer at least. If it’s possible next winter I’ll go...
in additional details:
...that Vincent was no longer in Arles (ll. 57-59). At the bottom of p. [1r:4] Van Gogh wrote in pencil...
in note 3:
Rembrandt, Susanna at the bath, 1636 (The Hague, Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis). Ill. 372. For...
743 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 28 January 1889.
in translation:
...the sunflowers – which thus form standard lamps or candelabra at the sides, of the same size; and...
...and I didn’t exhaust our brains for nothing at least, but that good canvases result from it. And...
...will have successors in business, and that precisely at the moment when the family abandoned us to...
...and picture dealers, especially those who are apostles at the same time, like you. And if ever we’re comfortably off, even while perhaps being old Jewish smokers, at least we’ll have worked by...
...to owe, at least in goods. Then, my dear brother, we have 89. The whole of France shivered at it...
...get a kick in the backside, on this occasion at least. What can you say, we’ve gone all-out for...
...work before settling what will need to be settled at the time of your marriage. Afterwards, you and...
...me, with this little country here I have no need at all to go to the tropics. I believe and will...
...on its own. We are merely links in the chain. At the bottom of our hearts good old Gauguin and I...
in note 11:
...Degas. See Distel 1989, pp. 75-78. It is not known at which framer’s shop in rue Laffitte Faure’s...
in note 15:
...he later added ‘juste au moment où’ (precisely at the moment when). Here Van Gogh is referring to...
in note 20:
...a ‘salle des fêtes’ in Arles. It was located at 4 avenue Victor Hugo. See René Garagnon, ‘Odéon...
744 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Wednesday, 30 January 1889.
in translation:
On Sunday in Marseille he was present at the...
...us feel the fatherland. Now we have experienced that, at any rate. Don’t talk to your fiancée...
in note 5:
...the revolt as a means of coming to power, but would rather be chosen by the people at regular elections.
745 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 3 February 1889.
in translation:
...s an attempt at a little music of colour from here, it’s badly painted, and chromos bought at the...
...out in sterile efforts at reciprocal generosity. You’ll do your duty and I’ll do mine, as far as that’s concerned both of us have already paid for it other than in words and, at the end of the...
...clauses of marriage and the possibility of dying at this moment, wouldn’t you have done better...
...the right thing to be able to get angry at being called thieves or incompetents, what’s more, I...
...house for the time being, since I need to feel at home here for the sake of my mental recovery. Now...
...lunch at home with your wife. By staying in Montmartre you’ll be decorated and Minister for Fine Arts more quickly, but as you don’t much care about that it’s better to have tranquillity at...
...was told there that things like that aren’t at all surprising around here. She had suffered from...
...But here they’re already well-versed in all that at the hospital, and so from the moment when you...
in date note:
Jo van Gogh-Bonger, who presumably had the postmark at her disposal, dated the letter to Sunday, 3 February...
in note 5:
...seated on a golden tripod in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, uttered incoherent words that had to be...
in note 6:
...Theo, written a day later (FR b1066 and FR b2425). At the end of February 1889 there was again talk of...
in note 16:
...at 8 cité Pigalle. He moved into the apartment with Jo on 20 April 1889. See Brief happiness 1999, pp. 27, 137. In January Theo had drawn a floor plan for Jo of the layout of the apartment (FR b1900; see Brief happiness 1999, p. 128 (with illustration opposite p. 144). He also gave his parents-in-law detailed information about the new apartment, including a floor plan. Jo’s parents were particularly pleased about the short distance to boulevard Montmartre, which meant that Theo could at least lunch regularly with Jo at home – and ‘That’s a load off your mind, isn’t it, the worry about renting, and the nicest thing is that you will be able to see some greenery in the summer’ (FR b2892, 9 February 1889; FR b2894, 26 February 1889...
in note 18:
...ear to ‘a certain Rachel’ (la nommée Rachel) at ‘brothel No. 1’ (maison de tolérance No. 1) in...
746 Arnold Koning to Vincent van Gogh. The Hague, Friday, 15 February 1889.
in translation:
...our chilly watery country. It’s filthy weather here at the moment, no shortage of hail, snow and...
...with honour? I recently saw a study by Israëls. At the exhibition in Rotterdam, an impression of a...
...of the fine grey Dutch countryside, Mauve is certainly at the top. Edzard (my brother) and I were...
...there in person. Well, I’ll just leave it at that for the time being, with sincere wishes for...
in note 7:
...The Hague, Gemeentemusem). Ill. 189. It was shown at the exhibition Levende Meesters (Living Masters) in...
in note 9:
...of the best known is Flock of sheep on the heath at Laren (Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet). It can no...
747 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Monday, 18 February 1889.
in translation:
...for my work, it’s my right to say then (or at least to have an opinion on) what would be best...
...or at least do one’s painting all the same. The unfortunate thing is that I’m rather inclined to be impressed, to feel the beliefs of other people myself and not always to laugh at the foundation...
...you were able to observe, and was himself also tired out at the time of his stay by some malaise or...
...say – first – ‘they’re all sick’ here, and so at least I don’t feel alone. Then, as you...
...from the neighbours, from Mr Rey, from everyone at the hospital for that matter, that really I’d...
...and healthy idea whatsoever about it as we do. Then at the hospital they know me now, and if this were to come on again it would pass in silence, and at the hospital they’d know what to do. I have...
...upset about the sick woman she was caring for. At home they’re very pleased about your marriage...
748 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Monday, 25 February 1889.
in translation:
...the air. Up to now I’ve been sleeping and eating at the hospital. Yesterday and today I began to work...
...the south, with the experience I’m having of it at the moment. If he goes to Nice, Menton, where...
...even an entire population seized by panic – thus at Nice during the earth tremor. Currently all...
...patience as I can muster, hoping that afterwards it will settle down again. At another moment, if I were less impressionable, I would probably poke a good deal of fun at what seems to me to be askew and deranged in the local customs. At present, from time to time it doesn’t have a very happy...
...same thing in the tropics, an excessive sensitivity. At the hospital I just glimpsed a sick negress...
in date note:
...at home for several days. Theo passed this news on to Jo on 27 February (see Brief Happiness 1999, p. 184). The present letter must have been written before Vincent’s hospitalization, because he is still at home...
in note 7:
...been as early as 18 February, since Vincent wrote at the time: ‘Today I’ve just returned home for the...
749 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 16 March 1889.
in translation:
...Signac is to go to the south soon. He’ll go and see you. At the moment I have an exhibition by Claude Monet at my place, which is proving very successful. In a little while the public will...
in note 1:
...At last I’ve had another letter from the Rev. Salles. Just as I had thought, his condition is the same, and not at all better. So that it’s now as good as decided that he’ll be transferred to Aix. I expected this, but now it is certain that it will be a long time before he is again completely healthy’ (FR b921). This letter from Salles is not known. Several days earlier, the sisters Elisabeth and Willemien had placed their share of the inheritance of 678.23 francs at Vincent’s disposal, to pay for his care. Theo wrote about this on 10 March 1889 to his brother-in-law Joan van Houten and his sister Anna van Houten-Van Gogh: ‘Thank you very much for your letters, which I received yesterday with the enclosed postal order for 678.23 francs, which amount Lies and Wil place at Vincent’s disposal. At the moment there’s no reason to change his present treatment, which is free. He is well cared for in the municipal hospital, where nursing is provided free of charge and according to the advice both of the house physician, who is very well disposed towards Vincent and me, and of my doctor here, who treated Vincent when he was here, it’s best to leave him there for the time being to see whether rest and regular care can put him to rights. Should the contrary be deemed necessary, that he be admitted to a special nursing home, we must decide to what extent paid care needs to be provided. I appreciate that you would like to contribute if needed, but that probably won’t be necessary. I’ll deposit the money from Lies and Wil with a banker until it’s necessary to use it for him, but I don’t think that this will be the case. As you know, Vincent gave this money to the girls and Cor, influenced by a reproach that he had used more money for his education than the other children. I don’t think that he would take it back, no matter what the circumstances, if he could judge for himself. It is, however, a reserve in case other means should prove insufficient. At the moment I have no other news from him than that which you have probably heard from Ma’ (FR b920). Cf. also letter 490, n. 14 and letter 506, n. 21...
in note 3:
From 7 February until the end of March 1889, Theo held an exhibition at Boussod, Valadon & Cie with work by Monet and Rodin, as well as pastels by Degas, at the branch at 19 boulevard Montmartre. Ten paintings by Monet were on display. See Wildenstein 1996, vol. 1, pp. 249-250; vol. 4, p. 1017, cat. nos. 518, 975, 1044, 1179...
750 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 19 March 1889.
in translation:
...designating me as a man not worthy of living at liberty, or something like that. The chief of...
...you’ll understand that while I’m absolutely calm at the given moment, I may easily fall back...
...themselves together against one man, and a sick one at that. Good. That’s for your guidance; as...
...him, it’s quite a performance to write a letter: at least as many formalities are necessary as in...
...go to the civil authorities to complain. Wait until your journey to Holland at least. I myself fear a little that if I go outside at liberty I wouldn’t always be master of myself if I was provoked...
...c. So courage, then, although the guts fail me at times. Your coming here – my word – for the...
in note 3:
...at Aix-en-Provence: ‘Considering that it follows from these various documents [the report, among others] that far from improving, the mental state of the said insane person is deteriorating day by day and that the unfortunate individual is committing acts of raving madness that threaten his life and that of the persons around him...The said Vincent van Gogh ... who is currently confined at the hospital in Arles, will immediately be taken to Aix and placed in the mental asylum of that town pending the decision of the prefect regarding his permanent admission to that institution.’ (Considérant qu’il résulte de ces divers documents que l’état mental du dit aliéné loin de s’améliorer s’aggrave de jour en jour et que ce malheureux se livre à des actes de folies furieuses qui compromettent son existence et celle des personnes qui l’entourent ... Le nommé Vincent Van Gogh ... actuellement sequestré à l’hospice d’Arles, sera conduit immédiatement à Aix pour y être déposé dans l’asile d’aliénés de cette ville en attendant que M. le Préfet ait prononcé son admission définitive dans cet établissement.) (ACA). This letter was ready to be signed, so that things could be set in motion quickly should it prove necessary. It the end, however, it did not come to that. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 2016, pp. 53, 152-155....
in note 4:
...the day, though he continued to eat and sleep at the hospital (see letters 757 and 748). A third...
751 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 22 March 1889.
in translation:
...that. But despite all that I don’t give a damn at all – were it not for the pain I’m quite...
...says, ‘it is acting as a pedestal for others’. At least one would wish to know for what or for...
...mad I think I wouldn’t want to stay here at the hospital, but just for the moment I still want to...
752 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 24 March 1889.
in translation:
...this summer. That, after all, the artist is a man at work, and that it’s not for the first...
...may have or my power of expression may acquire, at an age when the material passions are more...
in note 1:
...at regular times, there would be every chance that his terrible crises would not be repeated. He is strongly disposed to keep him for as long as necessary. He thinks that the costs of this stay should fall to the municipality, since it is at the council’s request that he is being kept in the hospital. In any case, if he does not return to Paris, which would be preferable in Mr Rey’s opinion, he would have to move house, as his neighbours are hostile towards him. That is also the wish of your brother, who would like to be taken away as soon as possible from this hospital, where he must indeed be suffering – from this constant surveillance that must often be petty-minded. In short, I found him, I assure you, in the most perfect state of health and reason. He wishes for one thing only, to be able to work undisturbed. Therefore act so as to provide him with that happiness. How sad this life must be for him!’ (J’ai trouvé votre frère en parfait état de santé, physique et moral. Nous sommes sortis ensemble hier après midi et encore ce matin. Il m’a mené voir ses tableaux dont plusieurs sont fort bien et tous tres curieux. Son gracieux docteur, l’interne Rey, croit que s’il avait une vie très methodique, mangeant et buvant normalement et à des heures régulières, il y aurait toutes les chances pour ne point se voir repetées ses terribles crises. Il est très disposé à le garder le temps qu’il faudra. Il pense que les frais de ce séjour doivent incomber à la municipalité, puisque c’est sur la demande de l’administration qu’il est gardé a l’hospice. En tous cas s’il ne revient pas à Paris, ce qui serait préférable de l’avis de M. Rey, il faudrait qu’il déménageat; son voisinage lui étant hostile. C’est aussi le souhait de votre frère qui voudrait etre sorti le plus tot possible de cet hospice où en somme il doit souffrir – de cette continuelle surveillance qui souvent doit être mesquine_– En résumé, je l’ai trouvé, je vous l’affirme, dans l’état le plus parfait de santé et de raison. Il ne souhaite qu’une chose, pouvoir travailler tranquillement. Faites donc en sorte de lui assurer ce bonheur. Combien cette vie lui doit être triste!) (FR b640). Signac later recalled: ‘He talked to me all day about painting, literature and socialism. He was a little tired by the evening. There was a terrible mistral blowing, which might have irritated him. He wanted to drink a litre of turpentine that was standing on the table in the room. It was time to return to the hospital.’ (Toute la journée il me parla peinture, littérature, socialisme. Le soir il était un peu fatigué. Il faisait un coup de mistral effroyable qui a pu l’énerver. Il voulut boire à même un litre d’essence de térébenthine qui se trouvait sur la table de la chambre. Il était temps de rentrer à l’hospice.) See Coquiot 1923, p. 194 (also included in Verzamelde brieven 1973, vol. 3, p. 417). Later on, paint became a threat to Van Gogh’s health; see letter 794, n. 1 and letters 835 and 838...
753 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 29 March 1889.
in translation:
...on land. They’re very, very attentive to me at the hospital these days, which — like many other...
...I found a line written on an ancient tomb at Carpentras, near here. Here is this very, very, very...
...him that. And I was thinking of a faded woman, at your place you have the study of that woman who...
in note 7:
...in ancient Carthage. It is the story of rebellious mercenaries at the end of the First Punic War (264-241 BC). Their indignation at their paltry pay causes them to launch an attack on Carthage. They threaten the capital with the help of African tribes, but ultimately suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Hamilkar Barkas.
in note 8:
...the waters in the house of Osiris. [Be received at the table of Osiris[?]. Pray, my love, and [be...
754 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Thursday, 4 April 1889.
in translation:
...case, as I was advised by Mr Salles and Rey, at Easter. I told Roulin that having done many things...
...by the month. Mr Salles spoke to me of a house at 20 francs which is very good, but he isn’t sure that I’ll be able to have it. At Easter I’ll have to pay 3 months’ rent, the removal costs &c...
...or rather made it understood, that he didn’t at all like the anxiety that has reigned here in...
in note 3:
...to Marseille at the end of January; see letter 736, n. 14. ‘Carry burdens’ could be intended literally: as a railway postman, Roulin was responsible for loading and unloading the postbags at each station.
in note 7:
...At first his art was controversial, but now his talent had been recognized: ‘his imposing and learned simplicity...his implacable harmony’ (sa grandiose et savante simplicité ... son implacable harmonie). Mirbeau praises the way Monet brings nature to life in his paintings, and describes how he works outside – day in, day out, come rain or shine. The article also mentioned the exhibition of Monet’s paintings held at Boussod, Valadon & Cie (see letter 749, n. 3). Theo wrote to Jo Bonger on 11 March 1889 that this article was of great importance to the reputation of Monet and the Impressionists, and that it had exerted a positive influence on the number of visitors to his exhibition (FR b2046). See Brief happiness 1999, p. 212....
756 To Paul Signac. Arles, Wednesday, 10 April 1889.
in translation:
...congratulations of two families (even civilized) at the same time, not to mention the fortuitous...
...a very sober regime. For the first few months, at least, I plan to go on staying here. I’ve rented an apartment consisting of two very small rooms. But at times it isn’t completely convenient for...
in date note:
...of 8 April was postmarked on Wednesday, 10 April at Arles (letter 755). We may assume that Van Gogh...
in note 6:
...apartment was owned by Dr Rey. As the house physician, Rey lived at the hospital, so it is possible that he had put his apartment, or part of it, at Van Gogh’s disposal. Rey’s address was Rampe du Pont, near the...
757 Paul Signac to Vincent van Gogh. Cassis, Friday, 12 April 1889.
in date note:
...that Signac, in turn, also wrote the present letter at once, then the Friday in question must have been...
758 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, between about Sunday, 14 and about Wednesday, 17 April 1889.
in translation:
...return. I’ve taken an apartment of 2 small rooms at 6 (or 8 francs a month, water included) which belong...
in date note:
...Thus the present letter was written on 13 April at the earliest. Furthermore, he hopes that the wedding...
760 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 21 April 1889.
in translation:
...of the note, and at the end of the month I must pay the landlord again, although we could make him wait a few days, more or less. At the hospital, after having settled the bill up to today, there’s still almost enough for the rest of the month from the money I still have on deposit there. At the end of the month I’d still wish to go to the mental hospital at St-Rémy or another institution of...
...ask you, and Messrs Salles and Rey, to act so that at the end of the month or the beginning of the...
...of the other sick people, you understand, isn’t at all disagreeable to me, on the contrary it...
...is a really good fellow, terribly hard-working, always at the daily grind. What people today’s...
in note 5:
...At the beginning of May 1889, Theo wrote the following to their mother: ‘Various letters from Vincent report that he feels very well physically. He is gradually beginning to realize, however, that he has received a blow and therefore feels the need for treatment. With his full cooperation and through the agency of the Rev. Salles, it has now been decided that he will undergo treatment for a while at St Rémy, not far from Arles, where there is an institution at which 45 patients receive nursing care. The Rev. Salles went there himself to see what it was like, and put me in touch with the director. That Rev. Salles is exemplary. May V. benefit from it’ (FR b940...
in note 9:
...to his first nervous breakdown on 23 December 1888, at which time he cut off his left ear and caused a lot...
RM17 Envelope addressed to Theo van Gogh. After Sunday, 21 April 1889.
in additional details:
...envelope must date from after Sunday, 21 April 1889, the day Theo and Jo took up residence at this address.
761 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Wednesday, 24 April 1889.
in translation:
...still addressed to rue Lepic. How are things at home? I imagine Mother must have been pleased. I...
...I feel deeply that this has already worked away at me for a very long time, and that others...
...be in one’s profession and think of the rest at the same time. It’s a little inevitable – the...
...can suffice, says Mr Salles. Rey warns me that at St-Rémy it wouldn’t go amiss to consider that...
...property tax, I’ve been sent a bill for it at least, in addition to the rest of the rent that I...
...I seek to write to you about on several things at once. More soon, I hope that you and your wife...
in ongoing topic 1:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in note 1:
...and had sent him information about the institution at Saint-Rémy (FR b1050). See letter 756, n. 6 and...
in note 2:
...April Theo had been living with his wife, Jo Bonger, at 8 cité Pigalle. See Brief happiness 1999, p. 27.
762 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 24 April 1889.
in translation:
...ever, and Rembrandt’s portrait of an old woman at the museum in Brussels. This last one is very...
...that age, when we see the people of today. At C.M.’s there was an exhibition of charcoal croquis...
in ongoing topic 2:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in additional details:
...for Dr Peyron, the director of the asylum at Saint-Rémy (cf. ll. 47-50 and n. 3), as well as a...
in note 3:
...to Dr Théophile Peyron, director of the asylum at Saint-Rémy, that he hoped ‘you will have no...
in note 8:
From 8 to 15 April there were sketches and drawings by Anton Mauve on display at C.M. van Gogh’s gallery at Keizersgracht 453. The Amsterdam society Arti et Amicitiae had held a viewing of these studies on 28 March...
763 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 28 April 1889.
in translation:
...my dear Theo, if you could see the olive trees at this time of year...The old-silver and silver...
in ongoing topic 2:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
764 To Willemien van Gogh. Arles, between about Sunday, 28 April and Thursday, 2 May 1889.
in translation:
...they aren’t the worst fruits that wasps gnaw at...This leads me straight to what I wanted to say...
...s quite right, for what do we know of what we do? As for me, I’m going for at least 3 months into an asylum at St-Rémy, not far from here. In all I’ve had 4 big crises in which I hadn’t the...
...or bright green curtain. The floor tiled with red bricks. At the far end a door surmounted by a...
...a lot more to suffer. And that doesn’t suit me at all, to tell you the truth, for I wouldn’t...
...me the pleasure of not buying it especially for me at the moment. I’ve seen some very interesting...
...few men, let out loud shouts, he doesn’t care at all and is imperturbable on that point. As for...
...a microbe, and even so that wouldn’t prevent me at all from feeling things such as respect before...
...my melancholy comes close to that place, however at moments – ah but...Anyway, it isn’t always...
...I don’t know if Lies is in Soesterberg at the moment, if she’s there, kind regards from me.
in ongoing topic 3:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in note 9:
...were written in my study at the College...some of them over the cooking-stove in the kitchen, while directing a very poor cook in the preparation of dinner; but most of them at the table in the school-room,...
765 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 30 April 1889.
in translation:
...much of it at the moment. Which doesn’t prevent my mind from not yet being at all what it ought to be.
...one of the best and I think that when you look at it you’ll see more clearly what my studio, now...
...majority of visitors who look at Courbet and Cabanel and Victor Giraud &c. What are we, we painters? Well, I think that Richepin is often right, for example, when going at it point-blank he simply...
...Marseille artist who committed suicide did not at all commit suicide from drinking absinthe, for...
in ongoing topic 1:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in arrangement:
The sheet with the titles of paintings at the end (ll. 158 ff.) had been assigned in Verzamelde brieven 1973...
in note 2:
...Yes, Delacroix was a great worker. He would get up at seven in the morning and quickly get down to work until three in the afternoon without taking anything at all to eat, in order to keep his mind lighter and more...
in note 10:
...was a recurring problem. Local newspapers report that it was discussed frequently at council meetings.
in note 29:
...to Theo, so the Ginouxs could have had two at the most. The Vollard archives contain only two...
766 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 2 May 1889.
in translation:
Many thanks for your letter, which shows us that at least your physical powers leave nothing to be...
...It’s that not being able to do any painting at the moment, being in convalescence, gives you the idea of no longer being able to do it at all, then you tell yourself that three months’ care...
...fear the supervision of a house like the one at St-Rémy you have much more to fear from the...
...has been neglected too much. In an establishment as at St-Rémy there’s more or less the same...
...you prefer, we could obtain information about the institution at Aix or Marseille to see if other...
...ll do good work again? However bad society may be at present, there’s the means to live in it...
in ongoing topic 1:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in note 3:
...Theo on 29 April 1889: ‘What I can assure you of at once, is that when I have observed your patient for...
767 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 2 May 1889.
in translation:
...my life. Where I must follow a rule, like here at the hospital, I feel more tranquil. And in the...
...I have a fair bit of good will to work at anything, painting included. But the money that painting...
...all, better if there’s a decision to be made at present that you and Mr Salles decide for me. And...
...of board and lodging being higher than we hoped at first, and not having complete freedom to go...
...to leave. I could perhaps go again to lodge at the night café where I’ve stored my furniture...
...where I had my studio. In the town, though, at present nobody says anything to me any more, and I...
...Le Figaro and it now appears much better to me than at first. As regards material things, let’s not become too discouraged but let’s try at least to be sensible about them. It’s still good that...
in ongoing topic 3:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in note 1:
...after Emile Bernard) (F 1422 / JH 1654) was also at Theo’s; it must have been in this last consignment...
in note 4:
...bursar). Marius Huard fulfilled this function at the hospital in Arles (L’indicateur marseillais...
in note 9:
Van Gogh thought at first that the cost of bed and board in the asylum was 80 francs a month (letter 760...
768 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 3 May 1889.
in translation:
...the other day that throughout my life, or almost at least, I’ve sought something other than a...
...up much earlier than I did, if we come to that, at the Goupils’, where all in all you spent some...
...had his back to the wall with the big family at the time, and it was necessary for you to throw...
...a male nurse little by little, in short to work at anything and take up an occupation again – the...
...hear in the newspapers that there are good things at the Salon. Listen – don’t make yourself a...
...of a completely green interior with a green woman at the Salon which people were saying good things...
...but more than probably they’d refuse me there, at least here where my adventure is too well known...
...that a real relief which I don’t complain about at all. (In my room I have the famous portrait of...
...s reader, then two large reed pen drawings.) At the moment I’m reading Balzac’s Le médecin de...
...firm and calm. They have a lot of room here at the hospital, there’d be enough to make studios...
in ongoing topic 1:
Decision regarding Vincent’s admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy (760)
in note 8:
...at the 1889 Salon was taken from the article ‘Le Salon. Premier article’ (The Salon. First article) by Edmond Jacques in L’Intransigeant of 1 May 1889, pp. 1-2. Van Gogh refers to a passage that discusses two works by Maurice Lobre: ‘They are modest interiors, with a fragrance of intimacy, in a delightful key. The green sitting room, decorated with green pots, darkened by green curtains, into which a faint light slips through a half-open door, is an exquisitely delicate little jewel. The girl at luncheon is also very charming, but it does not have the same unity and does not please the eye to the same degree.’ (Ce sont des intérieurs modestes, tout parfumés d’intimité, dans une note charmante. Le salon vert, orné de poteries vertes, assombri de rideaux verts, où glisse une faible lumière par une porte entr’ouverte est un petit bijou d’une exquise délicatesse. Le déjeuner de la fille est fort charmant aussi; mais il n’a pas la même unité et ne flatte pas, au même point, le regard.) Van Gogh had apparently taken these to be a single painting of a woman in an interior. Both works bore the title Intérieur in the catalogue of the Salon. See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-2, p. 131, cat. nos. 1719-1720...
in note 10:
...at the edge of a lake. It would be nothing, if that was all there was. But the artist has chosen that time of day when, through an effect of the sunset, the lake – it’s Lake Annecy – assumes a pink colour, absolutely pink. This phenomenon does not last long, but it is repeated regularly every evening. Every traveller has observed it. No matter! It’s the exception, and voices will be raised at it, I say so again. Ah well, I shall not raise mine, for two reasons: the first is that I am sure of the master’s sincerity; the second is that this piece, destined in advance to be the object of every exclamation, fashionable or otherwise, is admirably painted, and that there emanates from it a profound and disturbing poetry.’ (Aussi on criera fort contre M. Besnard. Je n’ai pas besoin d’attendre. C’est certain. Il est de fait que M. Bernard [sic] n’a pas peint une chose ordinaire. Sa Sirène, c’est une jeune fille à l’oeuil étrange, adossée à un arbre, sur le bord d’un lac. Ce ne serait rien, s’il n’y avait que cela. Mais l’artiste a choisi l’heure où, par un effet de coucher de soleil, le lac – c’est celui d’Annecy – prend une coloration rose, absolument rose. Ce phénomène dure peu, mais il se renouvelle régulièrement chaque soir. Tous les voyageurs l’ont observé. N’importe! c’est l’exception, et l’on criera, je le repète. Eh bien, moi, je ne crierai pas pour deux motifs: le premier, c’est que je suis sûr de la sincérité du maître; le second, c’est que ce morceau, voué d’avance à toutes les exclamations boulevardières et autres, est admirablement peint, et qu’il s’en dégage un poésie profonde et troublante.) The painting is A siren, 1889 (Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glypothek). Ill. 579. Exhib. cat. Paris 1889-2, p. 20, no. 237...
in note 11:
The works exhibited by Anders Zorn at the Salon were A l’air; – Suède (Out of doors – Sweden) and...
in note 19:
...described as ‘a celebrated beauty of Yédo at the beginning of the 17th century’ (‘beaut...
769 Frédéric Salles to Vincent van Gogh. Arles, Sunday, 5 May 1889.
in translation:
...tomorrow and being busy on Tuesdays, I place myself at your disposal to accompany you to St-Rémy on...
770 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 8 May 1889.
in translation:
...struck his four horses harder and harder, but right in the middle the worn-out horses refused to go a step further. So he made them turn round and, when they were back at the bottom of the street, almost without resting them, he turned round
...the best portrait in the Salon. Zorn has female bathers at the seaside, somewhat in the genre of In...
in note 4:
...he thanked me warmly, and seemed somewhat moved at the thought of the entirely new life he was about to...
in note 7:
...at the Salon under the title A l’air; – Suède (Out of doors – Sweden). Ill. 1448. See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-2, p. 210, no. 2765. This is Theo’s response to Vincent’s question about which of Zorn’s works were exhibited at the Salon (letter 768...
in note 8:
...Paris, Musée d’Orsay). Ill. 922. It was shown at the 1886 Salon. See exhib. cat. Paris 1886-1, p. 96...
771 Jo van Gogh-Bonger to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 8 May 1889.
in translation:
...lots of pink in it — and in bed in the morning I look straight at that beautiful flowering peach tree of yours, which looks at me in such a friendly way every morning. There’s also one of your...
...because they were so very cosy and pleasant at home — (something that most people couldn’t...
...Wil here for a time — how she’d laugh at me — for she’s such a clever little housekeeper...
in note 2:
Theo and Jo’s apartment was at 8 cité Pigalle in Montmartre. See letter 745, n. 16.
in note 3:
...1394), which Theo had proposed in November 1888 to exhibit at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. See letter 721, n. 3.
in note 5:
At Theo’s apartment in Paris, works by Vincent must have been shifted around continually. Jo wrote about...
in note 8:
...was 23 at the time. From October 1888 until July 1889 he was in Paris, where he studied at the Académie Julian and in Fernand Cormon’s studio. In a letter to the art critic Albert Plasschaert of 8 January 1904, he wrote: ‘Spent a lot of time in Paris with Theo van Gogh; Vincent was in the South. Saw at Theo’s...
772 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Thursday, 9 May 1889.
in translation:
...for quite a long time, never have I been so tranquil as here and at the hospital in Arles to be able to paint a little at last. Very near here there are some little grey or blue mountains, with very, very green wheatfields at their foot, and pines. I shall count myself very happy if I manage to...
...consider this an injustice, I don’t know anything at all about it. Thanking you again for writing...
in note 2:
...He stated that Van Gogh ‘suffered an attack of acute mania with generalised delirium. At that time he cut off his ear. At present his condition has greatly improved, but he nevertheless thinks it helpful to be...
in note 11:
Saint-Rémy lies at the foot of the Alpilles, a small massif.
774 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 21 May 1889.
in translation:
...all, don’t wear yourself out, for it’s better that at present you do all you can to regain your...
...as much a sensation evoked as when pretentious people look at the paintings in museums? Now in your...
in note 2:
...fifth painting, F 505 / JH 1669, to Madame Roulin). At Vincent’s request, Theo gave two of these, F 506...
in note 3:
...From letter 775 it emerges that Joseph Roulin had at least one portrait in his possession, though which...
in note 10:
Weissenbruch exhibited two watercolours at the World Exhibition: Moulin and Canal (Effet de lune). See...
in note 11:
...Souvenir of Amsterdam), Au bord de la mer (At the seashore), Canal à Rotterdam (Canal in...
in note 12:
...five watercolours: Eglise à Hoorn (Church at Hoorn) (twice), Intérieur de ferme (Interior of a...
in note 13:
...Workers of the sea), Paysans à table (Peasants at table) and L’enfant qui dort (The sleeping child...
in note 15:
...One of the sculptures that Theo could have seen at Gauguin’s is Black Venus, 1889, which Gauguin had...
in note 16:
...of April 1889 (FR b1040). Gauguin joined him there at the end of May 1889, after an uninterrupted stay of...
775 Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh. Marseille, Wednesday, 22 May 1889.
in translation:
...at 6 o’clock. Beautiful Marcelle is still doing well, she has two teeth, she is an extraordinary little one, very well-behaved, she has everything in her favour, only when I arrived she didn’t want to see me. It was only when I left that she really looked at me and pulled...
...one must hope that we shall all be reunited in Marseille at Michaelmas, for I have rented an apartment for that period. I arrived Tuesday evening at midnight in Marseille. When I got up this morning...
...by nature, continue and be of good heart. We talked at length about you with my wife on the subject...
776 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Thursday, 23 May 1889.
in translation:
...and that for the time being I see no reason at all to come and board in Paris or its surroundings...
...Coming back to Paris or anywhere at the moment doesn’t appeal to me at all, I feel that I’m in...
...take the canvases which are dry enough at Tanguy’s or at your place off the stretching frames and...
...like other things. Had I not seen other mad people at close hand I wouldn’t have been able to rid...
...months, I have good hope of getting over it, or at least of not having crises of such force. There...
...the hearing at the same time which, according to what Rey said one day, is usual at the beginning...
...been so agreeable to me as never to wake up again. At present this horror of life is already less...
...however, almost nil. That’s why I’m not yet at the point where I ought to leave here soon, I...
...where I am than for you always the fateful things at Goupil & Cie. From that point of view we’re...
...what I’ve spent is, if not taken from you at least taken from the family, so consequently I’ve...
in note 2:
Weissenbruch exhibited two watercolours at the World Exhibition The old mill and Canal, moonlight effect...
in note 15:
...Troyon began to notice the onset of paralysis at the end of 1863, and in April 1864 his intellectual...
in note 22:
At the time of Van Gogh’s stay in the asylum, there were ten other patients in the ‘gentlemen’s...
in note 23:
...and cold baths, as well as cold showers, the asylum at Saint-Rémy had ‘bathing rooms provided with...
in note 26:
...provided by John Rawlins, an entomologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in...
in note 29:
...of paintings from Arles (letter 767). Eventually, at his brother’s request, Theo did not have it lined...
in note 30:
...he had two paintings by Cézanne lined by Latouche at 34 rue Lafayette. See Correspondance Gauguin 1984...
777 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, between about Friday, 31 May and about Thursday, 6 June 1889.
in translation:
...wife too, and that you’ll enjoy a little of the good weather. At least here we have splendid sunshine.
...the heap I sent, or at least will only show the most passable ones. As regards the exhibition of the Independents, it’s all the same to me, act as if I wasn’t there at all. To not be indifferent...
...annoying than in Arles, where you always get it at first hand. When you receive the canvases I’ve...
778 Joseph Ginoux to Vincent van Gogh. Arles, Friday, 31 May 1889.
in note 1:
...at Ginoux’s (cf. letter 760). It is more reasonable to assume that the frame was made for a work that Van Gogh had given to his doctor, Félix Rey. Rey, at any rate, is the only hospital employee known to have received work from Van Gogh. He owned his portrait, Félix Rey (F 500 / JH 1659); see letter 736. According to Rey, he was also given the ‘Spitalgarten’ (hospital garden) (presumably The courtyard of the hospital in Arles (F 519 / JH 1687) and the ‘Krankenstube mit dem Selbstbildnis des Malers’ (patients’ sitting room with a self-portrait of the painter) (this probably refers to Ward in the hospital (F 646 / JH 1686), though this painting was never in his possession). See Max Braumann, ‘Beim Freunden Van Goghs in Arles: Reiserinnerungen’, Kunst und Künstler 26 (1928), p. 452. It was previously assumed that the frame was intended for Avenue of chestnut trees in blossom (F 517 / JH 1689), but that was stored at Ginoux’s and subsequently rolled up and sent to Theo; see letter 789 and cf. Jansen 1998, p. 65...
779 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 9 June 1889.
in translation:
...foliage of a few olive trees, huts and hills. Finally, at the top of the painting a large white and...
...depicted is stylistically absolutely in agreement and at one with the manner of depiction, isn’t...
...Vermeer are only at home in the old Dutch house. Now the Impressionists – once again, if an interior isn’t complete without a work of art, neither is a painting if it isn’t at one with original...
...outside. I once went into the village — accompanied, at that. The mere sight of the people and...
...what could have caused it. I’m bored to death at times after work, and yet I have no desire to...
...perhaps useful again, in this sense at least, that I want to do better paintings than before. Many things in the landscape here often recall Ruisdael, but the figure of the ploughman is lacking. In our country one sees men, women, children, animals at work everywhere and at all times of the year...
...I’ve got hold of the wrong idea here, I hope so at least, since I’m not from round here. But it...
in note 5:
...effects of the flowers in the fields (letter 777). At the beginning of October he painted over it (see...
in note 9:
At the 1889 World Exhibition Charles Garnier built a street with 39 dwellings running from Champ de Mars to...
in note 10:
On Bracquemond’s etchings The servant, The table and The servant at the table, see letter 542, n. 2.
780 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 16 June 1889.
in translation:
...course of events would keep me away for so long and at such a distance. That’s perhaps why my thoughts...
...of yellowing wheat surrounded by brambles and green bushes. At the end of the field a little pink...
...always has more of a deserted look than it does at home. This seems most deplorable to me, all the...
781 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Sunday, 16 June 1889.
in translation:
...your complete recovery you mustn’t put yourself at risk in these mysterious regions, which it...
...you. As you know, there’s an exhibition in a café at the exhibition where Gauguin and a few others (Schuffenecker) are exhibiting. At first I’d said that you would exhibit there too, but they...
...As always there were exclusions. As Lautrec had exhibited at a circle he wasn’t allowed to be in...
...and harmony. Those who hold up the best at the big exhibition are Corot, Manet, Delacroix, Millet...
in note 1:
Delacroix stayed with George Sand at her country estate at Nohant in June 1842, July 1843 and August 1846. Delacroix was inspired by the garden at Nohant, where he made various studies of flowers and trees. The flower studies were painted partly as preparation for five large paintings that he exhibited at the Salon in 1849. One of the studies, Two vases of flowers (Bremen, Kunsthalle), was included in the retrospective exhibition in...
in note 2:
During his first stay at Nohant in 1842, Delacroix painted The education of the Virgin for his hostess...
in note 4:
...present whereabouts unknown; no longer attributed to Rembrandt) at one of the viewings of the Sellar Collection, which was sold in Paris at Galerie Georges Petit (8 rue de Seine) on 6 June 1889. The catalogue...
in note 5:
At the commemorative exhibition Exposition centennale, held in the Palais du Champs de Mars (Galerie des...
in note 9:
...1889 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay), which was exhibited at the 1889 Salon (no. 2172). See cat. Paris 1990, vol...
782 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Tuesday, 18 June 1889.
in translation:
...enough to judge things. I would have very much liked to know if you now still eat together at the restaurant or if you live at home more. I hope so, for in the long run that must be the best. As for...
...right thing by not exhibiting paintings of mine at the exhibition by Gauguin and others. There’s...
...that crime on my conscience, and to the point of doing it twice, having exhibited at the Tambourin and at avenue de Clichy. Not counting the disturbance caused to 81 virtuous cannibals of the good...
...fighters than other artists like Delacroix and Courbet. At last I have a landscape with olive trees...
...get the Bedroom lined it’s better to have it done before sending it to me. I have no more white at all at all. You’ll give me a lot of pleasure if you write to me again soon. I so often think...
...would be a Shakespeare. There’s one priced at one shilling, Dicks' Shilling Shakespeare, which is...
783 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 25 June 1889.
in translation:
...with much pleasure. It’s like Candide. There, at least, the powerful author makes one glimpse...
...except to think that a wheatfield or a cypress are well worth the effort of looking at them from close at hand, and so on. I have a wheatfield, very yellow and very bright, perhaps the brightest...
...too was extraordinary. As touching as The pilgrims at Emmaus, for example. If ever there were a...
in note 5:
...in the series ‘Librairie Académique Didier’ at Perrin et Cie, ‘Libraires-Éditeurs’, state the...
in note 6:
...In May 1889 Carnot had spoken four times at the opening of the World Exhibition, where he called...
in note 17:
Regarding Rembrandt’s Pilgrims at Emmaus, see letter 34, n. 5.
784 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 2 July 1889.
in translation:
...later to remember – and it’s so timely that, at the very moment when she’ll have the great...
...be longing to see you again, you and your wife. At the same time, having married a Dutchwoman, that...
...them from the order placed since, but if it’s at all possible, not for the quantity of white. I...
...gazes of human beings we see either in the Pilgrims at Emmaus, or in the Jewish bride, or in some...
...to say beautiful words for once in full and at his ease, because these are beautiful words. So that...
...of him several times when I was iller than at present. Finding that I’d been infinitely too harsh...
...able, even in the best of circumstances, to arrive at this ‘being a little more certain of myself...
...the Weeping tree and the Courtyard of the hospital at Arles are more coloured, but that though will...
...little, of proportions, and it’s better to look at a wheatfield, even in the state of a painting...
in note 1:
...Gogh had addressed her letter ‘to the Hospital at Arles’, as she said in a letter she wrote to Theo...
in note 7:
For Rembrandt’s Pilgrims at Emmaus, see letter 34, n. 5.
in note 15:
...the night before their execution. She is pardoned at the last minute, however, and must live on, her...
785 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 2 July 1889.
in translation:
...dozen drawings after canvases which I have on the go, while all the rest of my life is absolutely as inept as it was at the time when, at the age of 12, I was at a boarding school where I learned absolutely nothing. An enormous number of painters who certainly couldn’t do my 12 canvases either in...
...and canvas, the thing we also lack sometimes and which at least we can work on. But any idea of a...
...reading the Shakespeare that Theo sent me here, where at last I’ll have the calm necessary to do...
...from this reading, am always obliged to go and gaze at a blade of grass, a pine-tree branch, an ear...
...are we not ourselves wheat to a considerable extent, at least ought we not to submit to growing...
in note 8:
The large Vente Secrétan, at which 350 lots were sold, took place from 1 to 4 July 1889 at Galerie Charles Sedelmeyer, located at 4bis rue de Rochefoucauld in Paris. See auct. cat. Paris 1889 (Lugt 1938-1987, no. 48407). Pierre-Etienne Secrétan was the owner of a copper foundry in Sérifonfaine, 85 km west of Paris. The...
786 Jo van Gogh-Bonger to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 5 July 1889.
in translation:
...each other better, I believe. Only I’m not at all accustomed to writing in French, and I fear I...
...meet don’t speak English, the conversation isn’t at all animated, I can assure you. I’m going...
...tell the truth, when I found out I wasn’t at all pleased, on the contrary I was very unhappy, and...
...place at table I can just see the child’s big blue eyes, its pretty little hands and round cheeks, and I like to imagine that ours will be as strong, as healthy and as beautiful as that one – and because his uncle will consent to do his portrait one day! In one of your recent letters you asked Theo if he was still dining at the restaurant? Not at all – never – what’s the good of being married if one couldn’t even dine at home? He always comes for lunch at midday and comes home at...
...bed early – however I find that Theo is looking not at all well, but he has been caused a great...
...in London I once saw The merchant of Venice at the theatre – and then the effect that it produced...
in note 6:
...Tersteegh ate at your place? If I were you, I’d always take too much in future, if someone is coming to eat, it can’t do any harm, after all. Don’t you ever have a joint of beef, like you had at Annie’s...
in note 11:
...at seeing the Merchant of Venice acted. How great, how immense a genius must Shakespeare have possessed, that still now after almost three centuries his work delights and attracts alike all nations. How well I remember the time, when I said that I could not understand how people always rave about Shakespeare. Now I have understood it and feel proud of it for it shows me that at least I have made some progress. The scene which struck me most was: Portia in the habit of a young barrister, her hands lifted up to heaven, exclaiming in her sweet tender voice The quality of mercy is not strained It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath...The scenery was splendid and I do not think it will be easy to efface from my memory that sight of Venice with its palaces and terraces and gondolas and masques and splendour and luxury. I am very glad I saw it’ (FR b4550. Cf. also FR b1769). The quotation is from act 4, scene 2. See The merchant of Venice. Ed. John Russell Brown. 7th ed. London 1959, p. 111. The production Jo saw took place in London’s Lyceum Theatre and was directed by Henry Irving. Ellen Terry played the role of Portia. The programme is to be found in the estate (FR b3682). Cf. also Alan Hughes, Henry Irving, Shakespearean. Cambridge 1981....
787 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 6 July 1889.
in translation:
...to them smiling and very healthy, while the parents were at bay. So take it as it is, wait with...
...downfall. I think I’m lucky to be able to read or re-read this at my leisure, and then I very much hope to read Homer at last. Outside the cicadas are singing fit to burst, a strident cry ten times...
...light up. What Jo writes about you always eating at home, that’s perfect. Anyway, I think that...
788 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, between about Monday, 8 July and about Friday, 12 July 1889.
in translation:
...get through the world better and more happily at a distance from those great dung-heap cities, not...
...s been deprived of it for 10 years or so at a stretch, and fed on restaurant food without any...
...is strong to her, and let her worry and work at it for a year or so before we concern ourselves...
...in the summer here it’s not much hotter than at home as regards being bothered by it, since the...
...the wheat turns yellow quickly. But the fields at home are infinitely better farmed, more regularly...
...and generally speaking there’s rather less variety than at home. And I’d so much like to paint...
...mossy peasant roofs on the barns or cottages like at home, and no oak coppices and no spurry and no...
...air one can see from the heights so much further than at home. Well, I’ll end by telling you that I think you’re delighted that your son Theo has at last got round to marrying. If I were you, I...
...In his business it can’t do him any harm at all for his thoughts to have some distraction, and...
in note 1:
...been hearing occasionally from the director or doctor or some such person at Saint-Rémy?’ (FR b2932).
789 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 14 or Monday, 15 July 1889.
in translation:
The irises – View of the asylum at St-Rémy, no. 30 canvases. Peach trees in blossom (Arles), Meadows...
...an examination and had been to Paris, but the porter at the hospital said he didn’t know. I’m...
...of mountains with a darkish hut among olive trees at the bottom. I imagine that you’ll be very...
in additional details:
This letter and letter 790 were sent at the same time, together with a letter to Gauguin which has not...
in note 17:
Regarding Van Gogh’s neighbours at Arles, see letter 744, n. 6.
in note 23:
Various Millets were sold at the Secrétan auction: the paintings The angelus (no. 63) and Returning from...
790 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 14 or Monday, 15 July 1889.
in translation:
...does me good to talk with the pals again, even if at a distance. And you – my dear fellow – how are...
...you haven’t received them, they must have been at the railway station for days and weeks. The...
...for me as the cricket in the peasant’s hearth at home. My dear fellow – let’s not forget that...
...real existence of a native country, of a real existence at least of the memory, even while we’ve...
in note 6:
...his appointment as medical director of the asylum at Saint-Rémy, Dr Peyron had worked as an eye doctor...
792 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 16 July 1889.
in translation:
...for the beautiful drawings you sent. The Hospital at Arles is very remarkable, the Butterfly and...
...of honour in his country’s section at the World Exhibition, and Maus. The latter is the secretary of the Vingt in Brussels. He came to ask if you would exhibit at their next exhibition. There’s...
...it was absolutely impossible to store all the canvases at our place, I’ve rented a small room in...
...re doing. He’s now with Gauguin. Isaäcson is all at sea now that De Haan is no longer there. I...
...I’ve had a letter from the former. He’s at a little seaside place. Before receiving your letter in which you say to send him the Pilgrims at Emmaus I’d sent him the Angelus, lithograph by...
...rather than the latter’s state of health at the moment when they made it. Andries Bonger would...
in note 7:
At the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, the Norwegian painter Erik Theodor Werenskiold was represented by the...
in note 8:
...de blé; soleil levant (Saint-Rémy)’ (Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862)) and ‘la vigne rouge...
in note 11:
...of the sunflowers that hung above the fireplace at Theo and Jo’s (and later on, in Jo’s house), was...
in note 16:
...artists their own exhibition space. In the second part of his article he discusses the statues and ceramics on display; in a footnote the editor (or Gauguin himself?) expresses his surprise at the fact that Gauguin’s ceramics, which were earlier exhibited at Theo van Gogh’s, were not to be seen at the exhibition.
in note 23:
Andries and Annie lived at 127 rue du Ranelagh in Passy, on the west side of Paris.
793 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 29 July 1889.
in translation:
...we removed those that were on them and are currently at Tanguy’s. They make a fine display in the...
...hope that it’ll go from strength to strength. Jo’s parents are here at the moment, her mother with us and her father at André’s. It’s a good distraction, especially for Jo, and it forces her...
in note 1:
...letter. Dr Peyron informed Theo of the attack only at the beginning of August (see letter 794). When Van...
794 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Sunday, 4 August 1889.
in translation:
...anything particular to which you ascribe this recurrence, at any rate tell me. Are the doctor and...
...much better than a while ago and am not coughing at all any more because of Rivet’s medicine. In...
in note 1:
...August 1889: ‘Bad news from Vincent. On Saturday at 6 o’clock we got a telegram from the doctor...
795 Jo van Gogh-Bonger to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 16 August 1889.
in translation:
...this morning because he arrived here very early, at 6 o’clock. We’re so pleased that he was able to...
in note 2:
...at first he liked Paris enough to live here, but in the end he changed his mind – something I can easily understand – I can imagine Cor as a stalwart Transvaler on horseback, with a couple of pistols tucked under his belt, but not as a dandy parading down the boulevards. On Monday we spent a delightful morning together. Theo treated us to an open carriage (which Cor loved as much as I did), then we went briefly to see the Magasin du Louvre, then along the Seine to Sainte Chapelle and the Palais de Justice, afterwards to Notre-Dame – Jardin du Luxembourg, where we couldn’t feast our eyes enough on the magnificent flowers, and then across the place du Carousel and on home. When neither Theo nor I could go along, Isaäcson was his travelling companion, and he spent the whole of the last day with him. They only went out in the morning, to see Napoleon’s grave, since Cor preferred to spend the afternoon at home. Theo came home around two o’clock, and so we could sit together pleasantly until dinner time and – then the time to say good-bye had come...Vincent] wrote that he had received such nice letters from home – he also wrote an extremely warm-hearted letter to Cor before his departure’ (FR b944, 23 August 1889)....
796 Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh. Marseille, Monday, 19 August 1889.
in translation:
...your own by adding everything to it that you do at St-Rémy. Do not be discouraged, work in those...
797 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Thursday, 22 August 1889.
in note 7:
...can it be, Wil, that of all the paintings I see at Theo’s, including so many that I find very strange...
in note 10:
...at Georges Petit’s. The catalogue contained the articles ‘Claude Monet’ by Octave Mirbeau and ‘Auguste Rodin’ by Gustave Geffroy. See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-6. The article on Monet is mentioned again in the following letter; see letter 798. It is a revised and expanded version (concentrating on the exhibition) of Mirbeau’s contribution in Le Figaro; see letter 754. Geffroy’s article offers an overview of the life and work of Rodin – at first a controversial artist who in 1877 was even accused of ‘moulage sur nature’ (making a cast of the body), but since revered as one of the greatest sculptors of his time. Geffroy has particular praise for the emotions expressed by Rodin’s statues and the way in which he plumbs the depths of his models’ personalities...
798 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 2 September 1889.
in translation:
...than I am. If, with the experience I’m having at present, it was possible for me to begin again...
...and simpler than to put all my furniture here at the hospital and quietly continue. If I were to...
...of the other patients at the moment. Anyway, a heap of reasons mean that I don’t think I’ve been lucky here either. I’m perhaps exaggerating in the sadness I feel at being knocked down by...
...good for me to stay on a farm for a while, at least I might do some good work there. I must write...
...has to have seen and looked at them, and you don’t find that on every corner. Now a Meissonier, if you look at it for a year there’s still enough in it to look at the next year, never fear. Not...
...panels, primitive man and modern man, which we saw at Petit’s, in making the modern man a reader...
...by Cabanel is accurate and most interesting as an observation, at least it gives an idea of the man...
...as I would have wished, I hope that all is well at your place and will continue to go well. Am very...
in additional details:
Dr Peyron added several lines for Theo at the bottom of Vincent’s letter. See Documentation, On or about 2...
in note 6:
...was undoubtedly connected with his disappointment at the recurrence of his illness. In letter 787 he...
in note 13:
...so completely that one would think one was looking at a cradle of greenery. When, in late autumn, the two...
in note 15:
...Monet and Rodin held at Georges Petit’s (see letter 797, n. 10). Vincent discusses the following passage in Octave Mirbeau’s article ‘Claude Monet’: ‘M. Meissonier, in his garden at Poissy, scattering...
in note 17:
...studies for decorative paintings in the Ecole de Pharmacie in Paris. Van Gogh saw them in 1887 at the exhibition held at Georges Petit’s. Cf. Exposition internationale de peinture et de sculpture. Sixième année...
in note 18:
...at which the wedding guests arrive in an upstairs room to be seated at table (Bordeaux, Musée Goupil). Ill. 650. Cf. René Ménard, L’art en Alsace-Lorraine. Paris 1876, pp. 126, 132. Ménard speaks of the intimate emotions of the ‘fiançailles’ (betrothal), portrayed so well by Brion. The print was also available as a ‘Carte-Album’. See Cat. Goupil 1877, pp. 11, 75, no. 774. The Protestant marriage (1869) by Brion was shown at the 1869 Salon. It was known through its reproduction in the following publications: Album Boetzel. Le Salon 1869; at Paul Mantz, ‘Salon de 1869 (2me et dernier article)’, Gazette des Beaux-Arts 11 (1869), 2nd series, vol. 2, pp. 5-23, ill. between pp. 6-7, engraved by Paul Adolphe Rajon, Ill. 648; in Musée Universel 6 (17 November 1877), 1e semestre, vol. 11, no. 268, p. 100; and in The Graphic 6 (10 October 1872), p. 361. The painting was sold on 13 October 1994 at Christie’s in New York...
in note 20:
For the Maecenas Bruyas and his collection in the Musée Fabre at Montpellier, see letter 726, n. 1.
799 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 5 September 1889.
in translation:
...side. There are paintings of his at the Exhibition with areas of forest in which one can recognize all the species of tree with real heather and real ferns at their feet. Certainly, if these people...
...of rusticity which show immediately that the man is more at his ease in a pair of clogs than in...
...Lautrecs which look very well, among them a Ball at the Moulin de la Galette which is very good...
...her yet. One of her sisters is with us at the moment. Mother has had a letter from Cor, he’s...
in note 2:
At the 1889 World Exhibition held in Paris, Théodore Rousseau exhibited 16 landscapes. See exhib. cat...
in note 4:
Pissarro’s mother, Rachel Pommié-Manzana, died on 30 May 1889 at the age of 94.
in note 6:
...been high: in Pissarro’s opinion, Theo could ask at least 800 francs per painting (FR b817). See...
in note 7:
...Robert Ashbee – a pupil of William Morris – at the Guild and School of Handicrafts. See Adler 1978...
in note 10:
...sent the following works: Cowherd (W344), Little girls at Le Pouldu (W345), Haymakers (W350), Harvest in Brittany (W352), The Fence (W353), Fields at the seaside (W356), On the beach in Brittany (W359), and The...
in note 14:
Toulouse-Lautrec exhibited three works: Dance Hall at the Moulin de la Galette, 1889 (The Art Institute of...
in note 19:
...C. Clark, 1960)). Ill. 427. This painting was shown at the 1888 exhibition of the Indépendants, cat. no...
in note 20:
...sister Hermina (Mien) Bonger had arrived in Paris at the end of August and would stay with Theo and Jo...
800 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Thursday, 5 and Friday, 6 September 1889.
in translation:
...evaporated immediately, the painting doesn’t adhere at all firmly to the canvas. This will also...
...and work between times – if I think rationally at present about my condition then certainly I...
...beside those I did of myself in Paris, that at present I look healthier than then, and even a great...
...is working too I think – it’s very, very simple. At the end of the month you can rely on 12 no...
...new to me, but I’ve looked so much at the things that I’ve become strongly attached to them...
...Afterwards, what are we beginning to glimpse timidly at the moment that is original and lasting...
...this month. I’m eating and drinking like a wolf at present. I must say that the doctor is very...
...recurring for quite a long time, for a few years at least. But I’m also counting on the fact that...
...another year’s work, perhaps I’ll arrive at a feeling of self-security from the artistic point...
...It’s time for me to send off this letter at last – I could tell you in two pages what it...
in note 17:
At the end of September, Van Gogh sent two consignments to Theo, containing altogether 17 no. 30 canvases...
in note 26:
The engraving L’homme est en mer (The husband is at sea) by Charles Baude after the painting by Virginie Demont-Breton, which was exhibited at the 1889 Salon (present whereabouts unknown; formerly Minneapolis...
in note 29:
...Gogh celebrated her 70th birthday on 10 September. At the end of September, Van Gogh painted a smaller...
801 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 10 September 1889.
in translation:
...To want to see another light, to believe that looking at nature under a brighter sky can give us a...
...the Portrait of Bruyas and the Mulatto woman at Montpellier, I’m still under the impression that...
...better to go, if not into penal servitude then at least into the regiment. I reproach myself for my...
...I was ill – anyway, you would say that too at present if you saw me working, with my thoughts...
...category of souls who are ready to live and also at any moment ready to suffer. What a funny thing...
...has been really cruelly struck by those two misfortunes at the same time. As soon as I read that I...
...be. I’m curious to know what he’s doing at the moment. And then do you know why the paintings...
...was seeking there, which didn’t prevent him at all from painting walls in the Jewish wedding and...
...s afraid. That’s why I make an effort at escape through the present letter, with many handshakes...
...be done here, I can no longer do both things at once, working and doing everything in my power to...
in note 8:
...Bruyas and Aline, the mulatto woman in Musée Fabre at Montpellier, see letter 726, nn. 21, 20, 2 and 19...
in note 9:
...fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in a grotto at Lourdes. Seventeen apparitions followed. In addition...
in note 11:
At the end of February 1889, the residents of Van Gogh’s neighbourhood in Arles had signed a petition...
in note 12:
Frans Braat had been a colleague of Vincent and Theo at Goupil & Cie in Paris. Theo offered him help when he...
in note 18:
...for him to live. See also letter 807, n. 6. Living at Vignon’s was evidently not an option, because the...
in note 32:
...Jouve rented an apartment and a large studio at 16 boulevard Saint-Jacques in Paris. No details...
802 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 18 September 1889.
in translation:
...if he couldn’t arrange something, since staying at his place is impossible because of a lack of space...
in note 5:
...Return from the pit (black) by Constantin Meunier at the 1889 World Exhibition. See exhib. cat. Paris...
in note 8:
At the World Exhibition, Meunier exhibited the bronze statue Puddler (Brussels, Musées Royaux des...
803 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Thursday, 19 September 1889.
in translation:
...of a burden to others if it gets too bad, but at the moment it comes down to much the same thing...
...one is completely overcome at first, one starts to get used to the idea and then considers what one can still do anyway. And that could still turn out better than expected. At first I was so despondent that I even lost the desire to see friends again and to work — now at the moment the need for...
...do have a fairly solid measure of patience to keep at my work. But that’s literally all. As often...
in note 6:
...and the Charles-Elzéard Trabuc (F 629 / JH 1774)). At the time of writing, he was working on Jeanne Trabuc...
804 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Thursday, 19 September 1889.
in translation:
...corpse lies bent forward on its left side at the entrance to a cave, its hands outstretched, and...
...scoff at the ideas about portraits that are germinating here. Did you see at Theo’s the portrait of the painter Guillaumin and the portrait of a young woman by the same? That really gives an idea of what one is searching for. When Guillaumin exhibited his portrait, public and artists laughed at...
...the portrait that Mesker did so very well of him. At this very moment I’ve just received a letter...
in note 9:
...painting, Loti said: ‘When she was seated at her work, I could see, from the spot she had...
in note 18:
...exhibited his Self-portrait with palette in 1880 at the fifth exhibition of the Impressionists (no. 72, Portrait de M.G.). Portrait of a young woman was shown at the eighth and last exhibition, in 1886 (no. 65...
805 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Friday, 20 September 1889.
in translation:
...might be necessary to go into a lay asylum at present. Nevertheless, to avoid doing or appearing to...
...grief for them, Cor’s departure. It’s funny, just at the moment when I was making that copy of...
...perhaps be very beautiful, but no one will hear it. At present I have 7 copies out of ten of Millet...
...the drawing. And Lerat’s etching of the Sower at Durand-Ruel’s. In these same etchings is the...
...have all of this, at least the etchings and the wood engravings. It’s a study I need, for I want to learn. Although copying may be the old system, that absolutely doesn’t bother me at all. I’m...
...I’m sending you my portrait of myself, you must look at it for some time – you’ll see, I hope...
...own compositions. Good – since I’m above all ill at present, I’m trying to do something to...
...won’t ask for the correct shape of a tree at all, but they absolutely insist that one says if the...
...without giving a reason. Only we have no right, at least it would be indiscreet, to meddle in the...
in note 8:
...by Lerat after Millet’s Sower, see letter 686, n. 6. At the beginning of November 1889, Van Gogh painted Sower (after Millet) (F 689 / JH 1836) after it and at the end of January 1890 Sower (after Millet) (F 690...
in note 28:
...letter 800. He sent them to Theo on 28 September, at which time he also reported that he had finished the...
in note 34:
...about three paintings and a statue by Meunier on display at the World Exhibition; see letter 802, n. 5.
806 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 28 September 1889.
in translation:
...to give to Mother and our sister. These studies are drying at the moment. It’s no. 10 and no. 12...
...5 that I’ve done. Now for that reaper – at first I feared that the large format repetition that...
...are fine autumnal effects to do. At present I feel completely normal and no longer remember those bad days at all. With work and very regular food this will probably last for quite a long time, so-so, and I’ll also do my work all the same without it appearing. For at the end of the month you’ll...
in note 17:
...1592). The last-mentioned painting was on display at the fifth exhibition of the Société des Artistes...
807 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 4 October 1889.
in translation:
...He’s asked me if he may have certain things at his home, among others the mountains and the...
...s what he told me. He doesn’t consider you mad at all, and says that the crises you have are of...
...I think that he doesn’t have much to say at home, where his wife wears the trousers. After a few days he told me that it wasn’t possible at his home, but that he knows someone in Auvers, who’s...
...the Impressionists. He thinks that you could probably stay at his home. He’ll go and see him and...
in note 2:
...at the Paris World Exhibition) on 10 August 1889, pp. 233-234; ‘Parijsche brieven iii. ‘Gevoelens over de Nederlandsche kunst op de Parijsche Wereld-tentoonstelling. ii’ (Paris letters iii. Feelings about the Dutch art at the Paris World Exhibition. ii), on 17 August 1889, pp. 248-249; ‘Parijsche brieven iv. Op de tentoonstelling’ (Paris letters iv. At the exhibition) on 24 August 1889, pp. 260-261; ‘Parijsche brieven v. Gevoelens over Hollandsche kunst en Fransche poseurkunst. iii’ (Paris letters v. Feelings about Dutch art and French poseur’s art iii) on 31 August 1889, pp. 268-270; ‘Parijsche brieven vi. Gevoelens over Hollandsche kunst op de Parijsche tentoonstelling. iv’ (Paris letters vi. Feelings about Dutch art at the Paris exhibition. iv) on 21 September 1889, pp. 307-309; ‘Parijsche brieven vii. Gevoelens over Hollandsche kunst op de Parijsche tentoonstelling. v’ (Paris letters vii. Feelings about Dutch art at the Paris exhibition. v) on 28 September 1889, pp. 316-317...
in note 4:
...had written that the religious nature of the asylum at Saint-Rémy was the most important reason for him to...
in note 8:
At the beginning of September, Gauguin had sent Theo several recent canvases from Pont-Aven; see letter 799...
808 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 5 October 1889.
in translation:
...on unprepared, stronger canvas. This comes unfortunately just at this time when I would gladly have...
...your own, find either board with a family or quite simply at the inn. The main thing is to know the...
...attain if my health continues. It’s not worth mentioning anything about my work at the moment. When I’m back, at best it will form a kind of ensemble, ‘Impressions of Provence’. But what does...
...draughtsmanship of which is more naive and more – at home. Anyway, it’s difficult to leave a...
...the open air. I must draw and seek style. Yesterday at the almoner’s here I saw a painting that...
in note 7:
...Gogh and the financial support Theo was giving him at this time: what is certain is that Isaäcson...
in note 9:
...807). At the end of March 1890, Theo met Gachet, who agreed to treat Vincent. Vincent finally left the asylum on 16 May, and after spending a few days in Paris, arrived on 20 May to take up residence at the...
809 To Emile Bernard. Saint-Rémy, on or about Tuesday, 8 October 1889.
in translation:
...but I feel a great emptiness in no longer being at all up to date with what Gauguin, you and others are...
...and by myself, which didn’t render the thing at all. Those silver greys are like Corot first of...
...Look here, what I very much regret not having seen at the Exhibition is a series of houses of all...
...very simple, a square block, I believe, on a terrace — but I’d like to know the colouring too...
in additional details:
...to Isaäcson and Gauguin, with letter 810 to Theo, who was asked to pass them on at his convenience.
in note 2:
...at Vincent’s paintings (letter 807). Van Gogh’s mention, later in the letter, of ‘the ones from this summer’ must refer to the second consignment of paintings from Saint-Rémy, which contained eight works that he had painted in the summer. Bernard had contacted Theo not only to see Vincent’s paintings, but also to ask for work. He wrote to Theo that he was urgently in need of money, and asked whether he could perhaps work at Boussod, Valadon & Cie at ‘retouching photo-engraving or some other procedure taking place’ (FR b827, October 1889...
in note 3:
...not been in Pont-Aven, where Gauguin was staying at the time. Bernard’s father thought that Gauguin...
in note 4:
...of the asylum (F 643 / JH 1799) and The husband is at sea (after Demont-Breton) (F 644 / JH 1805). See...
in note 7:
...in the section ‘Histoire de l’habitation’ at the World Exhibition, see letter 779, n. 9. The...
810 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Tuesday, 8 October 1889.
in translation:
...to see what it is. For the reaper appears done at random, and this with it will balance it. As soon...
...that he isn’t entirely at the top of his form. And I know well the cause of that – they’re too hard up to find models, and living as cheaply as he thought possible at the beginning won’t have...
...to it a little. You remember that fine landscape by Monticelli that we saw at Delarebeyrette’s, of a tree on some rocks against a sunset. There are a lot of effects like that at the moment, only I can’t ever be outside at the time the sun sets, otherwise I would have tried it. Does Jo continue...
...Isaäcson, Bernard and Gauguin. Naturally there’s no urgency at all to get it to them. The first...
...hasn’t been sent, for I’ve no canvas left at all, nor any zinc white. Kind regards to Jo. Ever...
in note 11:
...in landscape painting. In 1854 his work was exhibited at the Berlin Salon, and he received prizes at the Paris Salon of 1864 and 1869. He later settled in London, where he worked for Queen Victoria. From 1874 until his death he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, specializing in watercolours. Van Gogh’s...
in note 12:
The husband is at sea (after Demont-Breton) (F 644 / JH 1805). For the print by Virginie Demont-Breton after...
811 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 21 October 1889.
in translation:
...in a Dutch newspaper, which I asked him not to do, but at the same time to thank him for his loyal...
...as you wish. But I advise you to keep them together, at least for a while, since then you’ll be...
...turns entirely purple and red, like the Virginia creeper at home, and next to it a square of yellow...
...and so many other large cities, and that for years at a time, I still look more or less like a...
...so, in fact — but it’s really very bad at present. And yet there have never been such prices...
...t be under any illusions. My letter must go off — at the moment I’m working on a portrait of...
in date note:
...at the same time. Moreover, Vincent thanks his mother for sending him news of Cor (who has gone to South Africa), news which she had also passed on to Theo (see letter 813 of 22 October). Assuming that Mrs van Gogh sent her sons news of their brother at more or less the same time, and that Vincent responded immediately, we have dated both letters sent to Breda to about Monday, 21 October 1889...
in note 8:
...A letter written by Mrs van Gogh to Theo and Jo at the beginning of September 1889 reveals that Aunt...
in note 11:
...Prins, who had been Vincent’s classmates at elementary school in Zundert . They were brothers of...
812 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 21 October 1889.
in translation:
...and the news of Cor. Soon you’ll move house, and this will be the last time I write to you at Breda.
...frames – the frames I use cost me 5 francs at the most, while the less solid gilded frames would...
...it twice on a large scale. I wanted to arrive at an effect of simplicity as described in Felix Holt...
...Carmen Sylva’s ideas, which is very true: when you suffer a lot – you see everybody at a great distance, and as if at the far end of an immense arena – the very voices seem to come from a long...
in date note:
...and this will be the last time I write to you at Breda’ (ll. 3-4). He wrote the same thing to his mother, so there is a good chance that both letters were sent at the same time. We have therefore dated the...
in note 9:
...paintings by Van Gogh, namely The old church tower at Nuenen with a ploughman (F 34 / JH 459) and Cottage...
in note 13:
The red vineyard (F 495 / JH 1626) had been at Theo’s since the end of May 1889 (see letter 767).
813 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 22 October 1889.
in translation:
...Brussels, the latter also saw everything there is at Tanguy’s, and your works seem to interest him a...
in note 3:
...De Nieuwe Gids. His polemical articles were aimed at the older generation of critics and the prevailing...
814 Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh. Marseille, Thursday, 24 October 1889.
in translation:
...a little parrot, she makes the whole house happy, at last by dint of patience I came to be with my...
815 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Friday, 25 October 1889.
in translation:
...and that he’s optimistic– and that he sees no objection at all to my going to Arles in the coming days.
...I feel utterly sad, and the bad thing is that at my age it’s darned difficult to start again with...
...satisfied with what he’s found without embarking at random on dissimilar things, and that way he...
...you four times without being able to finish. Ah, at the moment you yourself are fully in the midst...
in note 3:
...ii’ (Feelings about the Dutch art at the Paris World Exhibition. ii), which dates from 17...
in note 5:
...the divine in matter; who again makes us look at life, the tangible, outpouring, blood-inspired...
in note 10:
...Armand Doria. The latter amassed in his Chateau d’Orrouy at Crépy-en-Valois (Oise) an extensive collection of art, which was sold in May 1899 at Georges Petit in Paris. The auction catalogue makes no mention...
816 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Sunday, 3 November 1889.
in translation:
...and one feels the damp more than in the north. At home they’ll have moved by now, I’ll add 6...
in date note:
...2001, p. 155). Moreover, Van Gogh writes ‘At home they’ll have moved by now’ (l. 71); that...
in note 15:
...whereabouts unknown) and the painting Cliffs at Etretat: the Porte d’Aval, 1849? (present...
817 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Le Pouldu, between about Sunday, 10 and Wednesday, 13 November 1889.
in translation:
...see that you’re recovered (if it’s not forever) at least for a long time: a time during which you’re...
...preparatory work for a thing that I glimpse as important. At your place in Arles I did a painting a...
...leads to me being shouted at in Paris (and I feel that they’re wrong). This year I’ve made incredible efforts in work and reflection, and still it’s as if I’ve rested. At home I have a thing...
...for the winter. The upper part is an immense terrace, 15 metres by 12 and 5 metres high – glazed...
...s military service has been put back a year (for health). At Le Pouldu near Quimper (Finistère).
in note 3:
...who had seen Vincent’s second consignment of paintings from Saint-Rémy at Theo’s. See letter 807.
in note 12:
This was Marie Henry’s inn at Le Pouldu. See also letter 828, n. 2.
818 Octave Maus to Vincent van Gogh. Brussels, Friday, 15 November 1889.
in translation:
The invited painters will each have four metres of rail at their...
in sketch B:
...garden of the asylum (F 609 / JH 1693), Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862) and The red vineyard (F...
819 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 16 November 1889.
in translation:
...the significance of which is also hard to grasp, at least for a European, but in which one must...
...by his motif or his subject that he renders it as one might grasp it, or at least feel it like a thing one finds oneself in front of. I feel that in front of several of your canvases. There’s one at Tanguy’s at the moment, in the shop window, a view over the countryside in springtime with grey...
...address on it. A line from Maus that I received at the same time tells me that they’d be happy...
...that he thinks you’ll be better off with this Dr at Auvers; he says he’s to see him shortly. I...
in note 8:
Theo had written in letter 813 that Theo van Rijsselberghe had seen Vincent’s canvases at Tanguy’s.
in note 13:
...in it too. It seems to me that if he could stay at Auvers, near this doctor of whom you’ve spoken...
820 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Tuesday, 19 November 1889.
in translation:
...s exhibiting at the moment, with poplars crossing the canvas) 5 The red vineyard 6 Wheatfield, rising sun, which I’m working on at the moment. Gauguin wrote me a very kind letter and speaks animatedly of De Haan and of their rough-and-ready life at the seaside. Bernard also wrote to me, complaining about a heap of things while resigning himself like the good boy he is, but not happy at all...
...francs remain in the cash-box with Mr Peyron at the moment, since down there I stocked myself up...
...the same story doesn’t start again with the people. At present no one there is hostile to me as...
...from here to Paris at only 25 francs I would certainly have come. It’s only on going to Arles that I found this out, and it’s because of the expense that I haven’t done it – at the moment it...
...we won’t even have need of the doctor at Auvers or the Pissarros. If my health remains...
in note 6:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
in note 14:
...furniture from the Yellow House was in storage at Ginoux’s Café de la Gare; see letter 760, n. 4.
in note 17:
The canvas for Les Vingt which still had to dry was Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862). The other works for the exhibition were already at Theo’s.
821 To Octave Maus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Wednesday, 20 November 1889.
in note 6:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
822 To Emile Bernard. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Tuesday, 26 November 1889.
in translation:
...I see figures of angels, elegant, my word, a terrace with two cypresses, which I like very much...
...woman reading novels in a yellow library, and at that time abstraction seemed an attractive route...
...new setback, and I’ve enough of that. So at present am working in the olive trees, seeking the...
...description of a canvas that I have in front of me at the moment. A view of the garden of the asylum where I am, on the right a grey terrace, a section of house, some rosebushes that have lost their...
...to reconstruct ancient times in our thoughts — just at that very moment the petty events of our...
in note 4:
...of the calf, c. 1864, which Van Gogh must have seen at the retrospective exhibition of Millet’s work in...
in note 10:
...I find quite amazing. The disproportionate length of the figure at prayer is very bold and adds to its movement. You were right to exaggerate it, at least one doesn’t think of the model, or of that bloody reality...
in note 20:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
in note 24:
The Reaper (F 617 / JH 1753) was at Theo’s in Paris, as was the repetition of it, Reaper (F 618 / JH...
823 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 26 November 1889.
in translation:
...d like to be less ungrateful. Your colours reached me at the right moment, for what I brought back...
...our duty, that I was therefore astonished when looking at their work by the fact that they give way...
...the 3 studies of olive trees that you have, at least constitute an attack on the problem. The olive...
...just done for the olive trees, have a really good go at them. The thing is, the olive tree and the...
...s basically quite different from what it appears at first sight. On the contrary, one will say to...
...regulated life would therefore be absolutely necessary, and at present what can one do when one...
...common people, and work so that everyone may have paintings or reproductions at home, which are lessons like the work of Millet. I’m completely at the end of my canvas, and when you can please send...
in note 7:
...Olive trees (F 715 / JH 1759) and Olive grove (F 585 / JH 1758) were at Theo’s. See letters 805 and 806.
in note 10:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
in note 11:
Theo’s health was not at all good. This was confirmed yet again in October 1889, when his application for...
824 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 7 December 1889.
in translation:
...view of the village – where people were at work – under enormous plane trees – repairing the...
in note 7:
...which painting this refers to. Orchard in blossom at the foot of the Alpilles (F 723 / JH 1722), the only...
825 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Sunday, 8 December 1889.
in translation:
At the World Exhibition there was a little painting by Manet, which perhaps you saw earlier at...
in note 6:
...with a view of Arles (F 516 / JH 1685), Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862) and The red vineyard (F...
in note 7:
...brothers: no. 4 The Italian girl and no. 15 Woman at a well (both Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 309...
in note 9:
...spotter of masterpieces! How good he’s been at discovering today’s unknowns, tomorrow’s...
826 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Monday, 9 or Tuesday, 10 December 1889.
in translation:
...from that the region has hardly been painted, if at all, by anyone else yet. Because this is a region of the south here that’s no warmer than at home, and the other painters usually go a little...
in note 2:
...bedroom by a glass door that remains open a crack at night. We live in an agreeable suite, and we laid...
827 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Monday, 9 or Tuesday, 10 December 1889.
in translation:
...the rising sun. I’m working on this last canvas at the moment, it is (with the orchard in blossom...
...lots of life in the fresh air, and he’s always always at his desk with so many troubles on his mind. And they’re wicked at Boussods’, too full of pride and tyrannical. I have 12 large canvases...
...influences the rest. At the moment many painters who spent the winter in the countryside are returning to Paris. You ask who Bernard is – he’s a young painter – he’s twenty at most. Very...
...t know what thoughts came to me, and upon looking at my canvas I told myself, that’s not it. So I...
...But despite myself, my calculations end up at broken tones. Bernard has parents who grudgingly...
in date note:
...means that Theo’s letter had ‘just’ arrived at that very moment or whether a day had elapsed since...
in note 2:
Herengracht in Leiden, where Mrs van Gogh and Willemien lived at number 100. On the same (west) side of the canal, the building at no. 44 and the adjacent premises housed the blanket factory Gebroeders Van Wijk & Co...
in note 9:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
in note 12:
...he is working on in the present letter: Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862) and Pine trees with...
828 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Le Pouldu, on or about Friday, 13 December 1889.
in translation:
...as a painting. After that I did a peasant woman spinning at the sea’s edge, her dog and her cow...
...s imaginative powers, and afterwards one looks at nature with pleasure again. Anyway, that’s all...
...influenced by the superstitions of Catholicism. Look at the back, bodice a cross, the head...
...I also paint them in that state and not with a southern verve. At the moment I’m doing a no. 50 canvas, of women gathering wrack at the sea’s edge. They’re like boxes stacked up here and there...
...are in Paris – etc...De Haan is still working at Le Pouldu, thanks you for your kind regards...
in note 2:
...inn at Le Pouldu (Brittany) was a collaborative effort by Gauguin, De Haan, Paul Sérusier and Charles Filiger. For the decorative programme, see Welsh 1989 and Gauguin’s Nirvana: painters at Le Pouldu...
in note 4:
...follows: ‘it is a depiction titled Labour, Pouldu at the height of the harvest, with many figures 1.25...
829 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Thursday, 19 December 1889.
in translation:
...my canvases. Thus I’m working on a painting at the moment, women picking olives, which would lend...
...You’ll receive the Bedroom at the same time. I’ve also added two drawings to them. I’m curious to know what you’ll say about the Wheatfield, you may have to look at it for a while perhaps...
...t impoverish the family, that would relieve me. For at present I always have a great deal of...
...if I’d done like you, if I’d stayed at the Goupils’, if I’d restricted myself to selling...
...of the month I’ll certainly need another ten, and at New Year I’d consider it right to give...
...cast their silhouettes into relief against it with effects of exquisite black lace. At other times the sky is red, at other times a tone that’s extremely delicate, neutral, still pale lemon but...
in note 7:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
in note 9:
...if he also wanted to show his drawings at the exhibition of Les Vingt (see letter 825). It is not known which two drawings he sent, but possibilities include the Wheatfield at sunrise (F 1552 / JH 1863) and The...
in note 13:
...written about Manet’s In the garden, which the brothers had seen at Portier’s. See letter 825, n. 2.
830 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Sunday, 22 December 1889.
in translation:
...has seen. Tanguy is mounting it at the moment, and on 3 January everything is leaving for Brussels. Now I have something that gave me great pleasure. I was visited at home by Mr Lauzet, Monticelli...
...them. He’s been seeing them for a long time at Tanguy’s, and he was really pleased to see all...
...of having another drawing you did right at the beginning when you were at St-Rémy. On the left a...
...of a child we saw once at La Roquette’s. The artist seems very sympathetic to me. He’s from the south and has something of the Spaniard about him, pale face and black beard, but at the same time...
...by remaining a dealer, but don’t say that. Look at Gauguin for example, I do like his talent and...
...is at bay. He works like a negro. He made a very pretty fan for Jo. Women chatting in the fields with a rainbow in the background, up to now he hasn’t yet seen this gentleman from Auvers, at least...
...They can be beautiful. The Sunflowers were on show at Tanguy’s this week and made a very good...
in note 1:
Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862).
in note 10:
...print has not been traced; the caption says that at the time the print after it was made, the painting...
in note 14:
...3rd floor. He was picked up in a terrible state and at the moment he’s in the hospital, more or less out...
in note 21:
For these two drawings, Wheatfield at sunrise (F 1552 / JH 1863) and The garden of the asylum (F 1545 / JH...
831 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 23 December 1889.
in translation:
...of it. That’s why I’m so thankful now at present that Theo finally found a wife and is waiting...
...that I had to go into an asylum. And now at present I admit that I should have been treated earlier...
...getting better. And so I go on with relative calm and do my best at my work and don’t count myself among the unfortunates. At the moment I’m working on a painting of a path between the mountains...
...s certain that the work they’re making here at present is very different — more colourful and...
...with the stream, and another painting — of the park at the asylum — large pine trees against an...
...good that you’re close to Anna and will see your grandchildren around you. Give everyone at Anna’s my very best wishes at the ending of the year. The weather here has been quite mild the last few...
...think about that when I feel much stronger and at times more clear-headed than last year. Now I...
832 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 23 December 1889.
in translation:
...a year since I had that attack, I certainly have no reason to complain about it too much, as things are going better at present. But from time to time, though, it’s to be feared that it may return. And this leaves the mind in a latent state...
in note 2:
At the end of the letter, Van Gogh copied the poem ‘Who is the maid? St. Jerome’s love’ by Thomas...
833 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 31 December 1889 or Wednesday, 1 January 1890.
in translation:
At the moment of writing to you I haven’t yet seen Mr Peyron, so I don’t know if he’s written anything...
...canvases that you’ll soon see, and that all at once, without any reason, the confusion took hold...
...be feared that these crises will recur. But it’s not at all a reason for not trying a to distract...
...was falling, I got up in the night to look at the landscape – never, never has nature appeared so...
...the next few days you’ll have many anxieties with Jo at times, and a bad time to get through. But...
834 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Friday, 3 January 1890.
in translation:
...I was forgetting the rain. Please don’t look at them without putting them on stretching frames...
...to Charenton, but how that fellow has worked. At one time Boggs had a magnificent wood engraving of...
in note 3:
...repetition Reaper (F 618 / JH 1773), which he had sent to Theo at the end of September (see letter 805).
in note 6:
The Alpilles with a hut (F 622 / JH 1766) was already at Theo’s; regarding the consignment, see letter 805.
835 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 3 January 1890.
in translation:
at times to have paints near you, why not set them aside for a while by making drawings? Like the other times, this crisis may be followed by another, although much less violent. I think that at such moments you’ll...
836 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 4 January 1890.
in translation:
...latest canvases – you’re going to receive a few at the same time as this letter, I hope. For the moment...
...the lines that don’t change and which one finds again at every step. It’s perfectly true that last year the crisis recurred at various times – but then, too, it was precisely by working that...
...makes it possible that I can get out one day. At the moment I have the paintings ripe in my mind, I...
...other expenses, so 10 francs still remain in the cash-box. At the moment I’ve just done a little...
837 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 4 January 1890.
in translation:
...Soon I’ll send a few more that are drying at the moment, some more mountains, and a view of the...
838 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 8 January 1890.
in translation:
...me again to say that it had taken a quite different turn than he had thought at first. In his first letter
...after she’s left the little room is free and at your disposal. Jo is very well and doesn’t feel...
839 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 13 January 1890.
in translation:
...for the future so as to have fewer expenses. At Montevergues there’s an asylum where one of the...
...it’s less expensive, and second, that one can work at something. So with good will one isn’t...
...there might not be a slightly higher rate at Montevergues for foreigners, and above all admission...
...that we can simplify things if we need to. For at present it costs too much, and the idea of going...
...t be at all unhappy there. Anyway, it’s necessary to ponder while we have the time to ponder. I think that if I came to Paris I wouldn’t do anything but draw Greek casts again at first, because I...
...t forget that a broken pitcher is a broken pitcher, and so I have no right at all to entertain pretensions. I tell myself that at home in Holland people always value painting more or less, that in an...
...to the life of a big city? I must tell you that at moments I still feel too well to be idle, and in...
...good behaviour I think that one can arrive at some relative freedom, even in an establishment for...
in ongoing topic 1:
Willemien’s stay at Theo and Jo’s (835)
in note 8:
Van Gogh’s furniture from the Yellow House was in storage at the Ginoux’s Café de la Gare.
in note 12:
Van Gogh had seen the small panel The death and assumption of the Virgin at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier; at the time it was still attributed to Giotto. See letter 726, n. 12. It is possible that he also knew...
in note 16:
La halte (also called The halt, Halt at an inn and Travellers halting), 1863 (London, The Wallace...
840 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Le Pouldu, on or about Friday, 17 January 1890.
in translation:
...at night awaiting the morning. Once the land is ploughed, the man casts the seed, and each day defending himself against the vagaries of the bad weather he manages to harvest. But what of us poor artists? Where does the seed we plant go, and when does the harvest come? In the 3 months I’ve been at Le Pouldu I’ve...
...into chaos (chaos which I’m powerless to remedy at the moment). All of this makes me sick with...
...me know. Like us you have winter at the moment, and I know that for you it’s a harsh time to get through. You’re probably awaiting the heat with impatience so that you can work out of doors. I’m doing everything I can at the moment to leave for Tonkin at government expense, but it isn’t...
...I hope to learn something new there in art at the same time as being relieved of financial worries...
in note 3:
...if I don’t succeed with Tonkin I’ll try to work at something other than painting, because I have to...
841 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Monday, 20 January 1890.
in translation:
...that you’d return to this one. It hasn’t been at all cold here lately, and next month I’ll go...
...down to his depths that it consoles one to look at his works, and one wonders if he did them this...
...like friend Gauguin so much because he has found the means to make both children and paintings at the same time, at the moment he’s horribly in distress and has this worry that one of his children...
...him, but just now I’m expecting a letter from him at any moment. He must have a lot of difficulty...
...read anything these last few days or lately: I haven’t at all. If you have a spare half hour I...
in note 5:
...life brought me worries, I would go and look at Millet’s painting, and I would come away rested...
842 To Joseph Ginoux and Marie Ginoux-Julien. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Monday, 20 January 1890.
in translation:
I don’t know if you’ll remember, I find it quite strange, that about a year ago Mrs Ginoux was ill at the same time as I was; and now it has been so again since – just around Christmas – for a few days I was again taken quite badly this...
843 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 22 January 1890.
in translation:
...work, Artist’s proofs, that will please him. The other evening he was at our home again, and then we looked together at Amand-Durand’s work on the etchings by A. Dürer. You’ll see what an...
...the furniture, I fear that the transportation will cost at least what it’s worth, and I’m...
...now, for we hope that she’ll be delivered at the beginning of February. Wil is much better and...
...they sell at a really high price, 600 francs for the collection of 400 prints. The Rev. Salles came to see us last Sunday, but unfortunately we’d gone out. I had very much wanted to see him at our...
in note 4:
...also better and has sent such beautiful paintings – magnificent – Dries came to look at them briefly Sunday morning. At the same time we had a young artist – a real spindleshanks – someone from the South...
in note 6:
...9, and letter 732, n. 6. Ten of his paintings were displayed at the 1890 exhibition; see letter 854, n. 7.
in note 7:
...from the Yellow House, which was in storage at Ginoux’s Café de la Gare, to Gauguin and De Haan...
844 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Le Pouldu, Wednesday, 22 or Thursday, 23 January 1890.
in translation:
...museums which aren’t to be sneered at for...
...since I’m pursuing my Tonkin project vigorously. At the moment we have spring tide storms that...
in note 1:
In 1889 Gauguin had shown twelve works at the exhibition of Les Vingt. In 1890 Van Gogh exhibited six...
in note 2:
...that had been ‘refused’ is a reference to a small exhibition of Gauguin’s work held at the beginning of May 1885 at the Kunstforeningen. According to Gauguin, the exhibition was closed after five days by...
845 Jo van Gogh-Bonger to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 29 January 1890.
in translation:
...to stay here tonight. Theo, Ma and Wil are sitting at the table with me — awaiting the things that will...
in date note:
...any minute (so the doctor is spending the night at their apartment, just in case) and the child was...
in note 2:
...at the same time too subtle for the contemporary bourgeois mind’ (à la fois trop simple et trop subtil pour l’esprit-bourgeois contemporain). Aurier published a shortened version of his article under the title ‘Vincent van Gogh’ in L’Art Moderne. Revue Critique des Arts et de la Littérature 10 (19 January 1890), no. 3, pp. 20-22, as is apparent from the first paragraph: ‘One of the artists who will be most widely discussed at the Salon of Les Vingt, around whom a great mass of ignorant nonsense will accumulate, Vincent van Gogh, has recently been studied very closely by Mr G. Albert Aurier, in a subtle and very interesting article published in the Mercure de France (the former Pléiade), January 1890 number. As we are unable to print the whole article, because of its length, we believe it useful to provide extracts from it’ (L’un des artistes qui seront les plus discutés au Salon des XX, celui devant lequel s’accumuleront en tas les ignorances et les inepties, Vincent Van Gogh, vient d’être étudie de très près par M. G. Albert Aurier, dans un subtil et très intéressant article publié par le Mercure de France (ancienne Pléiade), numéro de janvier 1890. Ne pouvant reproduire l’étude complète, en raison de son étendue, nous croyons utile d’en donner des extraits) (pp. 20-21). Theo sent both articles to Vincent (see letter 849, n. 3), possibly with the present letter from Jo (since she writes that he had brought the article home that morning) or a day earlier, along with the papers sent to Peyron, the receipt of which he confirms in a letter dated 29 January (FR b1061). Theo also sent the article to Mrs van Gogh (see letter 850, n. 2), his sister Lies and the art critic Jan Veth. Mrs van Gogh wrote to Theo on 1 February 1890: ‘I was so happy to receive the article about Vincent. Wonderful that appreciation expressed publicly, so fortunate also for you, you did after all receive my postcard, I wrote it after reading the article’ (FR b3247). Lies wrote to Theo: ‘How appreciative and beautiful that article is! I thank you for sending it. It is certainly someone who knows Vincent well, I don’t mean outwardly, but inwardly’ (FR b3235). For Veth’s reaction, see letter 620, n. 5...
846 To Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Friday, 31 January 1890.
in translation:
I read Theo’s letter with 50 francs enclosed at the same time as your letter; he writes things to me that...
...baby, and it’s very good indeed to be present at such events. And Ma in Leiden will rejoice in...
in note 2:
...emerges from Peyron’s letter: ‘He is incapable at present of any kind of work, and only responds with...
848 Theo and Jo van Gogh-Bonger to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Friday, 31 January 1890. Printed announcement of birth.
in note 1:
...Jo had already written about the name Vincent at the end of June (see letter 786, n. 1). The second...
849 To John Peter Russell. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 1 February 1890.
in translation:
...Haan, and De Haan praises him a great deal and doesn’t find it at all bad to be with him. You will find article on canvases of mine at the Vingtistes, I assure you that I myself owe a lot to things...
in note 3:
...article Van Gogh sent to Russell. For the paintings that Van Gogh exhibited at Les Vingt, see letter 820.
850 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 1 February 1890.
in translation:
...just received your good news that you’re a father at last, that the most critical moment has passed for...
...by Isaäcson said on your account about you, that at present artists declined to argue, and that a...
...m very grateful for the article, or rather ‘glad at heart’, as the revue song has it, since one...
in note 5:
...at the Paris World Exhibition) in De Portefeuille. Kunst- en Letterbode of 10 August 1889, Isaäcson remarked: ‘Argue? Here in France, no longer. To prove that, Mr Degas, for one...recently had words with Mr Antonin Proust – the exhibition’s director of fine arts – because the latter wanted to exhibit some works of art by Mr Degas. And so it goes with the other artists here; they seldom exhibit except in a small room at the firm of Boussod Valadon in boulevard Montmartre and let the ordinary man-in-the-street gape at canvases by Bouguereau’ (p. 233). Isaäcson’s irony obviously escaped Van Gogh....
in note 6:
...at the same time, for that other sun, that vegetable star, the magnificent sunflower, which he paints over and over, without wearying, like a monomaniac; how are we to explain it if we refuse to acknowledge his persistent preoccupation with some vague and glorious heliomythic allegory?’ (Et aussi cette obsédante passion pour le disque solaire qu’il aime à faire rutiler dans l’embrasement de ses ciels et, en même temps, pour cet autre soleil, pour cet astre végétal, le somptueux tournesol, qu’il répète, sans se lasser, en monomane, comment l’expliquer si on refuse d’admettre sa persistante préoccupation de quelque vague et glorieuse allégorie héliomythique?) (p. 28). Aurier must be referring primarily to Sunflowers in a vase (F 454 / JH 1562) and Sunflowers in a vase (F 456 / JH 1561), which were shown at the exhibition of Les Vingt in Brussels. He could also have seen the other three paintings of sunflowers at Theo’s or Tanguy’s; with regard to this, see letter 783, n. 9...
in note 9:
...Triumphant we marched On our way to Longchamp Glad at heart. Without hesitation For we were going to...
in note 19:
...is referring to a line of a poem quoted by Aurier at the beginning of his article (see n. 4 above...
851 To Joseph Ginoux. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Sunday, 2 February 1890.
in date note:
The letter could date at the earliest from 1 February, because that was the day Van Gogh received word of...
in note 4:
...had written in La Vogue about Van Gogh’s works at the exhibition of the Indépendants in Paris; see...
852 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Sunday, 9 February 1890.
in translation:
Things are going well at home with us, Jo is nursing the baby and has no lack of milk, and the little one...
...She’s a good girl. I was once with her at Degas’s place; he said that she reminded him of...
...have been moved. The Vermeer of Delft at eye height, Rembrandt’s little Philosophers are cleaned...
...see if he can find a position to do anything at all to earn his living, for it seems that De Haan is very hard up too. His family don’t understand at all why he doesn’t remain with them, and as...
in note 3:
Theo and Willemien probably visited Degas in his studio at 19 rue Fontaine on 17 January 1890. This, at any rate, is the date recorded in the ledgers of the firm of Boussod, Valadon & Cie for the purchase by Theo of a...
in note 9:
...Aron at least, since his studio was in Aron’s house in Amsterdam. In mid-October 1890 Gauguin wrote to Bernard that De Haan’s problems with his family had not yet been resolved: ‘De Haan is in Paris at the...
in note 10:
...Of the several dozen artists who took part, Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the most modern. On display at the twelfth exhibition of Société d’Aquarellistes français (founded in 1879), held at Georges Petit’s at 8 rue de Sèze, were 194 watercolours and drawings by 38 artists, including Albert Besnard and...
853 To Albert Aurier. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 9 or Monday, 10 February 1890.
in translation:
...are — richer, more significant. However, I feel ill at ease when I reflect that what you say should be...
...please go and see a particular bouquet by Monticelli at my brother’s place – bouquet in white...
...no less French than Watteau’s Departure for Cythera. At present Mr Lauzet is in the process of...
...that Monticelli only had Delacroix’s colour theories at second hand; in particular he had them...
...memento of him, please go and look a little at this study again, which is entirely in broken tones...
...two canvases of sunflowers that are presently at the Vingtistes have certain qualities of colour...
...a memento of your article. I am still working on it at the moment, wanting to put in a small figure...
in note 9:
...a ‘jovial complexion’ (complexion joviale), but at the same time ‘that anxious inclination to...
in note 12:
...JH 1636). Van Gogh painted it around 19 November, at which time he described it as a ‘rather funny...
in note 17:
...that Van Gogh’s paintings will ever be sold ‘at the price fetched by the little infamies made by Mr...
in note 19:
...is referring to a line from a poem quoted by Aurier at the beginning of his article. See letter 850, n. 19.
854 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Wednesday, 12 February 1890.
in translation:
...deal. I consider that she was lucky to see Degas at his home. I still think that she would above all...
...worked better than myself all alone this year. And at present we’d have a little cottage of our...
...to send you a few more canvases which are drying at the moment. If they didn’t arrive in time you would have to make a choice from those that are at père Tanguy’s. I’ve tried to copy Daumier...
...there, we mustn’t count on them at all. The academy there is better, and they work more vigorously there than in Paris. And then Gauguin is still in Paris at the moment, his reputation is holding...
in note 7:
...of the asylum (F 609 / JH 1693), and ‘Lever de soleil en Provence’ is Wheatfield at sunrise (F 737 / JH 1862); the last two canvases were being shown at that time at the exhibition of Les Vingt in Brussels. ‘Les Tournesols’ is either Sunflowers in a vase (F 454 / JH 1562) or Sunflowers in a vase (F 456 / JH 1561), which were also shown at the exhibition of Les Vingt. The other two canvases, ‘Paysage montagneux en...
in note 16:
...be inferred from this passage that both works were at Theo’s; this refutes Feilchenfeldt’s theory that...
855 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Wednesday, 19 February 1890.
in translation:
...blossom everywhere. I was really rather surprised at that article they wrote about me — Isaäcson...
...abated somewhat, I felt very heartened by it at times; yesterday, what’s more, Theo informed me...
...to be productive in order to be able to keep working at reasonable prices. And if we have to try to...
...be more difficult for me, though, when I’m at liberty again. Anyway, we’ll hope for the best...
in date note:
...on 19 February, when the nearest weather station (at Arles) registered a temperature of 18 degrees...
in note 4:
At the beginning of October 1889, Isaäcson had planned to write an article on Van Gogh (see letter 808).
in note 5:
...at the exhibition of Les Vingt in Brussels. The letter in which Theo reported this to Vincent is not known. On 6 March 1890, Theo recorded in his account book under ‘Rekening Vincent’ (Account Vincent) the sum of 400 francs, received from ‘Mlle Bock pour tab Vigne rouge’ (Miss Boch for the painting Red vineyard). He also recorded that he had paid 21.60 francs for the packing of the paintings shown at the exhibition of Les Vingt (29 March 1890). See Account book 2002, p. 45. The works sold are listed in the anonymous article ‘Acquisition d’objets d’art’, L’Art Moderne. Revue Critique des Arts et de la Littérature 10 (23 February 1890), no. 8, pp. 57-59; the sale of Van Gogh’s painting is recorded on p. 59...
856 To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Wednesday, 19 February 1890.
in translation:
...out. Possible that I may see him soon – I hope so at least – towards the end of March. I’m going to...
...even a lot. I think you were lucky to see Degas at his home. I have a portrait of an Arlésienne on...
...handshake. Yours truly, Vincent. I don’t hate it at all that a few more canvases should go to...
in note 10:
...refers to the praise given Van Gogh’s work at the exhibition of Les Vingt in that city, and the...
857 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 17 March 1890.
in translation:
...if it should last a little longer, and write the same thing to those at home and give them my warm regards.
...there are also people who can no longer be left at liberty as if they had nothing wrong with them...
858 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 19 March 1890.
in translation:
How pleased I would have been if you’d been there at the Independents’ exhibition. It was the day of the...
...De Lautrec has an excellent portrait of a woman at the piano, and a large painting which holds its...
...more interested in the young Impressionists, there are at least a certain number of art lovers who...
in note 2:
...to read to combat the boredom, as he reported at the beginning of March to their sister Willemien...
in note 8:
...exhibited two works: Mademoiselle Dihau at the piano, 1890 (Albi, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec). Ill. 431, and the painting, measuring 100 x 150 cm, At the Moulin Rouge: The dance, 1889-1890 (Philadelphia...
in note 9:
...Landscape at Auvers), on 3 January 1890 for 600 francs to Oppenheim; Prairie à St. Charles (Meadow at Saint Charles) 1889 (Girl tending cattle, Saint-Charles, Eragny, private collection), on 4 March 1890 for 1,200 francs to L. Bouglé; L’abreuvoir (The watering place), 1889 (Peasant girl raking hay at Eragny, private...
in note 11:
...That’s Vincent van Gogh. Visitor, overcome your initial shock at the sight of these loud, sonorous, disorderly paintings, the Sunflowers, the Ivy, and especially the Red vineyard at Montmajour...And when you open your eyes again, look hard at these three extraordinary paintings and ask yourself if their wild...
859 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, on or about Thursday, 20 March 1890.
in translation:
I’ve looked most attentively at your works since we parted; first at your brother’s place and at the Independents’ exhibition. It’s above all at this latter place that one can properly judge what you do, either because of things positioned beside each other, or because of the neighbouring works. I offer you my sincere compliments, and for many artists you are the most remarkable in the exhibition. With things from nature...
...It’s beautiful and imposing. I’ve talked at length about it with Aurier, Bernard and many...
...weather that will return you’re going to get well at last, the winter is always dangerous to you...
in date note:
...both letters talk about the works by Van Gogh shown at the recently opened exhibition of the Indépendants...
in note 1:
Gauguin had visited Theo at home on 13 March (FR b4301).
in note 2:
...Ravine (F 662 / JH 1804), which was on display at the exhibition. Regarding the exchange, see letter...
860 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 29 March 1890.
in note 3:
...his practice in Paris when he moved to Auvers. His office was located at 78 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis.
in note 4:
...at this gathering is a Dutchman, Mr Vincent van Gogh, who is celebrated by the true devotees of the new light as the best among their adepts, and who deserves this honour in many respects. He does not dot his landscapes, but paints them with facets approximately the size of a segment of a finger. If one stands up close, one doesn’t know what one sees; one is confronted with inexplicable chaos. But if one moves some distance away, one must admire the bold and original idea; then trees and paving stones and clouds take on shapes that one hadn’t understood at first glance and hadn’t discovered. This style of painting is indeed the last word in oddness. But there is something in it, that is certain. One may call the means coarse and unpolished, but the painter would not boast about putting on white kid gloves. Mr van Gogh, the art buyer in boulevard Montmartre, the brother of this painter, is ever on the look-out for these innovators of painting, and it is mainly owing to his tireless efforts that justice is done to such painters as Monet and Raffaëlli and Pissarro...and that they find acceptance among the public, who are starting to buy their work more and more.’ This was written by Adrien Louis Herman Obreen, with whom Theo had been in touch in July 1890 in any case. The article was sent to Theo from the Netherlands (See FR b2864, b2862, and b928; Brief happiness 1999, p. 253, and letter 862, n. 2)....
861 Jo van Gogh-Bonger to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 29 March 1890.
in translation:
...may not be missing tomorrow, and I do it at the same time on behalf of your godchild, who can’t do it very well himself yet. He always looks with very great interest at Uncle Vincent’s paintings, though — in...
...of which you’re utterly powerless. He can sometimes look at me as if he wants to say: what are...
...He doesn’t leave his mother much free time at all, but I did escape briefly for the opening of...
862 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Wednesday, 23 April 1890.
in translation:
...It would do you good if you could see him and play with him. At Whitsun we intend to go and spend the two feast days at Pissarro’s, who has invited us. This summer he’s going to London to work. Your paintings at the exhibition are very successful. The other day Duez stopped me in the street...
in note 2:
...is taking longer to abate than the previous one. At times, he seems almost himself again; he understands...
in note 4:
...and Jo did not spend Whit Sunday – 25 May – at the Pissarro’s in Eragny, because Camille Pissarro...
in note 5:
...his return trip. See letter 843. He lived in Paris at 29 boulevard Pereire. Cf. exhib. cat. Paris 1988, p...
863 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 29 April 1890.
in translation:
...and your child, since it’s your birthday. At the same time, please accept the various paintings I...
...Tasset’s) 2 geranium lake, medium-sized tubes. You would do me a service by sending me at least half of it at once, at once, for I’ve lost too much time. Then I would need 6 brushes 6 fitch brushes around these sizes, and 7 metres of canvas, or even 10. What can I tell you of these two last months, things aren’t going well at all, I’m more sad and bored than I could tell you, and I no longer know what point I’m at. As the order for colours is a little large, let me wait for half if...
...would look well in your collection. I fell ill at the time I was doing the almond-tree blossoms. If...
...don’t pretend to leave you free, such as at Charenton or Montevergues. If you write home, give...
...Then if you like I’ll redo the old tower at Nuenen and the cottage. I think that if you still...
in note 2:
...F 671 / JH 1891). Van Gogh must also have sent at this time Olive grove with two olive pickers (F 587...
in note 3:
...to Theo (see letter 834). Vincent probably sent at this time the rest of the Millet copies, i.e. The...
in note 4:
Only Vincent’s elder sister Anna received at some point a copy after Millet: Woman spinning (after Millet...
in note 8:
...to Arles (see letter 857, n. 1). He must have sent at least three to Theo, because letter 877 reveals that...
in note 11:
...the format, ‘reminiscences of the north’ must refer here to Cottages at sunset (‘Reminiscence of Brabant’) (F 675 / JH 1921, 29 x 36.5 cm), Cottages at sunset (‘Reminiscence of Brabant’) (F 673 / JH 1919, 45.5 x 43 cm), and Cottages at sunset (‘Reminiscence of Brabant’) (F 674 / JH 1920, 50 x 39 cm). Field...
in note 19:
The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH 772).
864 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus and Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 29 April 1890.
in translation:
...at home I can’t get the letters and a package from you today, but meanwhile I don’t want to put off thanking you most heartily for both. I sincerely hope that all is well with you both, and with Anna and Lies too. I wrote to Theo today and sent him several paintings, some of which he’ll probably send you. So I’ve been unable to work just at the...
in note 1:
...things weren’t going well. If you hear anything, you’ll tell me at once, won’t you?’ (FR b2925).
in note 4:
Cottages at sunset (‘Reminiscence of Brabant’) (F 673 / JH 1919), Cottages at sunset (‘Reminiscence of Brabant’) (F 674 / JH 1920) or Cottages at sunset (‘Reminiscence of Brabant’) (F 675 / JH 1921).
865 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Thursday, 1 May 1890.
in translation:
...But the Lazarus! Early this morning I looked at it and I remembered not only what Charles Blanc...
...above all I have an idea to do the man at prayer in the range of tones running from bright yellow...
...that I’ll soon get better in the north, at least for quite a long time, while still apprehensive...
...I know that she’s already too sensitive, and at her age would have difficulty in finding the way...
...would wait for me, or have someone wait for me, at the station in Paris. Do what seems best to you...
in date note:
...The latter was therefore written after 29 April but at the latest on 2 May. We have therefore dated it to...
in note 4:
...woman, 1658 (B70) and The Samaritan woman or At the ruins, 1634 (B71) (Amsterdam...
in note 10:
...had seen Bruyas’s collection in December 1888 at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier (see letter 726...
in note 13:
‘The man at prayer’ refers to the previously mentioned etching David in prayer (see n. 2 above). Apart...
866 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Friday, 2 May 1890.
in translation:
...be best for me to go myself to see this doctor in the country as soon as possible; then we can soon decide if I’m going to lodge with him or temporarily at the inn; and thus we’ll avoid an over-long stay in Paris, a thing that I would fear.
...of the etching. If I were still to have at my disposal the model who posed for the Berceuse and...
...for another few days, please send off part of it at once. If, however, I leave in the next few days...
...very much looking forward to making her acquaintance at last, and good handshake in thought. Ever...
in note 2:
...left Arles in May 1889, Van Gogh had stored his furniture at Joseph and Marie Ginoux’s Café de la Gare.
867 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 3 May 1890.
in translation:
...possible I’d so much like to have you with us at least for a while, and if you do everything to...
...for lithographs of the masters. I’ll send them at the same time as the Brabant drawings. Be of...
in note 1:
...nevertheless progress, that he could write again. At the time he didn’t have the courage to read your...
868 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 4 May 1890.
in translation:
...to tell you that it seems to me that a fortnight at the most (a week, though, would please me more...
...me up at the Gare de Lyon. Now it would seem preferable to me to go and see this doctor in the country as soon as possible, and we’d leave the luggage at the station. So I would only stay at your...
...for this village. Where I would start off by lodging at the inn. This, it seems to me, is what you...
...after that, and he’d probably wait for me at the station. The surroundings here are starting to...
...he should let me leave, let’s say on the 15th at the latest. If I waited I would let the good...
...how serious it was we could see if I can continue at liberty or if I must stick myself in an asylum...
...won’t desert me. I have so much distress at leaving like this, that the distress will be stronger...
...drag on and on, and in the end we’d get angry with each other. As for me, my patience is at an end, at an end, my dear brother, I can’t go on, I must move, even if as a stopgap. However, there...
869 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 10 May 1890.
in translation:
...you, at an unknown station, have to deal with people you don’t know and who would treat you who knows how. Now if you leave, send me a telegram without fail so that I know what time you’ll be arriving at the...
...s coming to Paris, for he gives consultations then. And at the same time I asked him to find out...
...leave orders for them to be sent on. Will you at last be able to find a place where you can have a...
in note 2:
...at the moment and writes me very sensible letters. He has a great wish to come to Paris for a few days and then to go and work in the country...Do you think it would be prudent to have someone accompany him during the journey? He himself feels revulsion at having to be supervised and begs me to let him make the journey alone. I should very much like to have your opinion on the matter’ (Il est très bien en ce moment & m’écrit des lettres très raisonnables. Il a un grand désir de venir à Paris pour quelques jours & ensuite pour aller travailler à la campagne ... Croyez vous qu’il serait prudant de le faire accompagner par quelcun pendant le voyage. Lui même sent une répulsion à devoir être gardé & me supplie de lui laisser faire le voyage seul. J’aimerais beaucoup avoir vôtre avis la dessus) (FR b2014)....
in note 4:
This exhibition, held at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and organized by Siegfried Bing, had 725 works on display...
870 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sunday, 11 May 1890.
in translation:
...have my work I’d have sunk far deeper long since. At the moment the improvement is continuing, the whole...
...period between the day when we said our goodbyes at the railway station and these present days. But...
...sorrow that I turn my back on it. If your work prevented you from coming to get me at the station, or if it was at a difficult time or if the weather was too bad, don’t worry, I’d certainly find...
...seeing the Japanese prints, and also I don’t at all disdain seeing the Salon, in which it seems...
in note 7:
Regarding this exhibition, held at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, see letter 869, n. 4.
871 To Joseph Ginoux. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 12 May 1890.
in translation:
...is to ask you to please send by goods train my two beds and the bed linen that are still at your place.
...ill for 2 months and unable to work. At present, though, I’m completely recovered again. But I...
...V. van Gogh Paris By goods train to be kept at station depot. I’m only planning to stay in Paris for a fortnight at the most, then I’m going to work in the countryside, that’s why take good care to put on the address to be kept at station depot. Apart from that, if you were to write to me...
872 To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 13 May 1890.
in translation:
...will have off, quietly with all of you. I really hope to see André Bonger too at the first opportunity.
...I may make the journey on Friday or Saturday at the latest to spend Sunday with you. In doing so...
...at work right from the day after my arrival. I tell you, as regards work, my mind feels absolutely serene and the brushstrokes come to me and follow each other very logically. Anyway until Sunday AT...
873 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, Tuesday, 20 May 1890.
in translation:
...from which it seems to me he’s certainly suffering at least as seriously as I am. He directed me...
...pay almost double all the same because one works at painting. Anyway I’m starting with the 3.50...
...Gachet that I would find the inn he suggested preferable at 4 francs a day, but that 6 was 2 francs...
...that I must work a great deal, boldly, and not think at all about what I’ve had. I really felt in...
in note 2:
Camille Pissarro, Chestnut trees at Louveciennes, 1869-1870 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay). Ill. 313.
in note 7:
Theo and Jo lived at 8 cité Pigalle. Their old apartment was at 54 rue Lepic.
874 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, on or about Wednesday, 21 May 1890.
in translation:
...Mrs Daubigny and Mrs Daumier are still living here, at least I’m sure that the former still lives...
in note 3:
...at the exhibition of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris by eleven works, of which seven had ‘Japanese’ themes and three displayed scenes from other Oriental countries. See exhib. cat. 1890-4, pp. xii-xiii, cat. nos. 313-323, esp. 313, 316-321, with one ill. (The festival of boys and wisteria at Tokyo, p. 71). Van Gogh had seen this exhibition (RM19, n. 6). Nothing has been found about Dumoulin’s supposed stay in Auvers (cf. also letter 877...
in note 5:
...née Garnier, the painter’s widow, lived at 24 rue de la Gare (now 25 rue Daubigny) in...
RM19 To Willemien van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, on or about Wednesday, 21 May 1890.
in translation:
In the last few days at St-Rémy I worked in a frenzy. Big...
...grey. I was very pleased to see the exhibition at the Champ de Mars, where there are many things...
in note 6:
At the time of the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français an exhibition was also held at the Champs de Mars by the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, under the direction of Meissonier, showing the work of...
RM20 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, Saturday, 24 May 1890.
in translation:
...besides, I too am far from having arrived at some kind of tranquillity. Often, very often, I think...
...4 months old. At present – it seems to me that although the child is no more than 3 months old yet, the milk is already becoming sparse, already you’re like Theo, too tired. I don’t at all want...
...I shouldn’t know at all under what conditions I left – if it’s as before at 150 a month in...
...I can have lodgings, 3 small rooms at 150 a year. This if I don’t find better, and I hope to find better, is in any case preferable to the bedbug-infested hole at Tanguy’s, and besides I’d find...
...have to insist that you send me at least part of my month right at the beginning. But I’ll still...
...will go along with her opinion. Myself, all I can do at the moment is say that I think that we all...
...the canvases that are still in St-Rémy – there are at least 8 of them – and with the 4 from...
...And the prospect darkens, I don’t see a happy future at all. Write to me by return of post if you...
in date note:
...the new version. Vincent’s disappointment at the failure of his allowance to arrive must...
in note 6:
Theo had Vincent’s paintings stored in a little room at Tanguy’s; see letter 792.
in note 8:
...from the brothers’ collection were also stored at Tanguy’s. With regard to the paintings in the...
875 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, Sunday, 25 May 1890.
in translation:
...I saw Dr Gachet again, and I’m going to paint at his place on Tuesday morning, then I’m going to...
...with flowers. That in an almost lush countryside, just at this moment of the development of a new...
RM21 To Joseph Jacob Isaäcson. Auvers-sur-Oise, Sunday, 25 May 1890.
in translation:
...Sometimes the whole thing is wrapped in pure blue at the time when the tree bears pale blossoms and...
...a thus-far-and-no-further, forever consoling. His canvas currently at the Champ de Mars, among...
...his canvases of recent years as though present at a continuation of all things, an inevitable but...
876 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 2 June 1890.
in translation:
is good. At mère Siron’s in Barbizon people paid 5 francs, or 4 francs 50 if they stayed there a long...
...go to you and then to Holland. That would be at the beginning of August, probably. It would do us...
...like to have a friend who was a doctor, for at every turn one would like to know, especially for...
...were here the little one would smile nicely at you. How detached from all other preoccupations is...
in note 1:
...Raffaëlli was held between 27 May and 21 June at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. See exhib. cat. Paris...
in note 5:
...it takes him unawares and that nothing can be done about it, at least in St Remy, but rest’ (FR b931).
877 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Tuesday, 3 June 1890.
in translation:
...you a portrait of him soon. Then I painted two studies at his house which I gave him last week. One...
...a possible studio, and yet I’ll have to take a room to put in the canvases which are surplus at your apartment and which are at Tanguy’s. For they still need a great deal of retouching. But anyway, I live from day to day – the weather is so fine. And my health is good, I go to bed at 9 o’clock but I get up at 5 o’clock most of the time. I have hopes that it won’t be disagreeable to be...
...you can’t do better than stay at this same inn. Now nothing, absolutely nothing keeps us here but Gachet – but the latter will remain a friend, I’d assume. I feel that at his place I can do not...
...know. But the modern idea of eating one, at most two courses is, however, certainly progress, and a...
...forget him. Dumoulin, the one who has Japanese paintings at the Champ de Mars, has come back here...
...the copy of Delacroix’s Pietà, which he gazed at for a long time. Later he’ll probably give me...
in note 4:
...description in letter 879. The portrait had been at Theo’s since September 1889 (see letter 805), so...
in note 5:
...at Theo’s, so that the version Vincent took along to Auvers must have been F 540 / JH 1892 or F 541 / JH 1893. Van Gogh speaks of ‘the last portrait of the Arlésienne’ to distinguish it from an earlier portrait, which was also at Theo’s: Marie Ginoux (‘The Arlésienne’) (F 489 / JH 1625...
in note 8:
...was 20 years old. Van Gogh painted her portrait (F 772 / JH 2048) at the end of June (see letter 893).
in note 16:
...which had acquired it in September 1889 at the Secrétan sale. See exhib. cat. Boston 1984, p...
878 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Auvers-sur-Oise, Thursday, 5 June 1890.
in translation:
...here. Theo was waiting for me at the station, and my first impression was that he looked paler than when I left. But talking to him and seeing how he was at home, I was encouraged — although he was...
in additional details:
The letter arrived at the same time as letter 879 to Willemien, so they must have been sent at the same time.
in note 2:
Willemien, who lived with her mother at Herengracht 100 in Leiden, was registered from 4 May to 16 June 1890 as a ‘proefzuster’ (apprentice nurse) at the ‘Hôpital Wallon’ in Leiden. This hospital of the Walloon Church had been located at Rapenburg 12 since 1886. See GAL, Naamlijst van de verpleegsters en...
in note 6:
...gone to see the homœopath Love because of his cough. He hasn’t been at all well lately’ (FR b1851).
in note 7:
...Spoorweg Maatschappij (railway company) at Pretoria. He and Vincent were not close; cf. letter...
879 To Willemien van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Thursday, 5 June 1890.
in translation:
...off from one day to the next. It interested me very much that you’ve cared for patients at the Walloon...
...ago, but while talking and when I saw him at close hand, however, I considered him certainly rather...
...and I’ll go and spend one or two days a week at his house working in his garden, of which I’ve...
...expressive, more sumptuous. But in the last few days at St-Rémy I worked like a man in a frenzy...
...I can do all this, but anyway I’m aiming at it, I would like to do portraits which would look...
...I can’t manage to do a good croquis of it. At the exhibition there’s a superb painting by Puvis...
...doesn’t say anything – but by seeing the painting, by looking at it for a long time one would think one was present at an inevitable but benevolent rebirth of all things that one might have...
in note 6:
Marguerite Gachet in the garden (F 756 / JH 2005). Van Gogh was to paint her portrait at the end of June: Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F 772 / JH 2048).
in note 8:
Church at Auvers (F 789 / JH 2006). It measures 94 x 74 cm.
in note 9:
...must refer primarily to The old church tower at Nuenen (‘The peasants’ churchyard’) (F 84 / JH...
in note 15:
...in New York. Van Gogh had seen the large painting at the exhibition of the Société Nationale des...
880 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Thursday, 5 June 1890.
in translation:
...that he thought you cured and that he saw no need at all for it to recur. He has invited us to come...
...a train at 5.58 which we’d take. In the morning we’d leave with the 10.25 train, which arrives at Chaponval at 11.26. The Dr said to get off there, that he wanted to come to meet us. My dear fellow, the letter had to wait awhile again and I must finish it in haste. The exhibition is giving me an enormous amount of work but also satisfaction. Tasset has sent the colours today, and they leave tomorrow with the Bargues. Guillaumin has placed at your disposal a magnificent painting which was at...
...to see you at your place. Aurier will also come one day. He’s very pleased with your painting, and will come with me one Sunday to see you. I must say goodbye. I’ll come in any case at the stated...
in note 1:
...the Gare St-Lazare (both about 42 km from Auvers). At the time the fares were as follows: 1st class: 12...
881 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers, Tuesday, 10 June 1890.
in translation:
...like you to have a pied-à-terre in the country at the same time as myself. But I’m beginning to...
...a fortnight one time with Mr Gachet and take some. At your place, too, in the pile under the bed, I...
in note 4:
Vincent was staying at the Auberge Ravoux. During Theo’s visit, the brothers had apparently discussed the...
in note 9:
Theo rented a room at Tanguy’s, where he stored Vincent’s paintings (see letter 792).
in note 12:
...with him in particular. Chéret’s work was exhibited in Paris: in 1888 at Theo’s in boulevard Montmartre (three posters), in 1889 at Durand-Ruel’s, and in 1889-1890 in the Théâtre d’Application. See K.G...
882 Marie Ginoux-Julien to Vincent van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 10 June 1890.
in translation:
...some friends, as chance had it they were present at the arrival of the bullocks, and the bullock butted...
883 To Joseph and Marie Ginoux. Auvers-sur-Oise, Wednesday, 11 June 1890.
in translation:
...Here is the address again. Vincent van Gogh At Ravoux’s, place de la Mairie Auvers sur Oise...
884 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, on or about Friday, 13 June 1890.
in translation:
...putrefied life. At this moment I’d willingly give all my canvases at 100 francs each to succeed in realizing my dream. In Madagascar I’m sure of having the calm necessary for good work. For the moment I’m going to spend two months in Brittany with De Haan. Still the same address at Le Pouldu...
in note 2:
...F 542 / JH 1894. After all, Vincent had asked Theo at the end of April to give Gauguin a version (see...
885 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Auvers, Friday, 13 June 1890.
in translation:
...his child were here on Sunday and we lunched at Dr Gachet’s. Then my little namesake had pretty...
886 To Willemien van Gogh. Auvers, Friday, 13 June 1890.
in translation:
...a last line of blue hills on the horizon, at the bottom of which a train is passing, leaving behind...
...might often appear to be a grimace to those looking at the canvas. And yet that’s what should be...
...should be done, that would still have a certain effect on people at times. There are modern heads that one will go on looking at for a long time, that one will perhaps regret a hundred years...
887 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Saturday, 14 June 1890.
in translation:
At last I’ve received news about my furniture, the man who has it has been ill all the time, having been struck by the horn of one of the bulls while helping to unload them. So his wife writes to me that it was because of this that they’d put...
...to say, a letter came from Mother who had been at Nuenen and was very much longing to see you come...
888 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Sunday, 15 June 1890.
in translation:
...t doing him any good, he’s hardly working at all there, whereas Brittany inspires him. So it’s...
in date note:
...furniture in letter 898 of about 10 July), besides which, other topics were occupying them at that time.
in note 12:
When he returned to Paris at the beginning of February 1890, Gauguin moved in with Emile Schuffenecker, 12...
889 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Tuesday, 17 June 1890.
in translation:
...has the good will to pack up the canvases stored at his place – fair that he has the order for...
...s say 6, since I can print them free of charge at Mr Gachet’s; he’s very willing to run them...
...and then we’d choose the ones to be engraved. At the moment I have two studies on the go – one...
...a star in the night sky and an orange light at the window and dark greenery and a sombre pink note...
in additional details:
...with a pipe (F 1664 / JH 2028), so Vincent must have sent him an impression of it at about this time.
in note 2:
Theo rented a room at Tanguy’s, where he stored Vincent’s paintings (see letter 792).
RM23 To Paul Gauguin, Auvers-sur-Oise, on or about Tuesday, 17 June 1890.
in translation:
...pale pink due to the dusty flowering. A pink bindweed at the bottom wound around a stem. On it, on...
...of the soft sound of the ears swaying in the breeze. It’s not at all easy as a colour scheme.
in note 5:
Van Gogh's paintings of olive trees that were at Theo's, see letters 823, 834, and 863.
in note 10:
...767 / JH 2034). It is not known whether the sketch at the end of the letter, Ears of wheat (F - / JH...
890 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 23 June 1890.
in translation:
I have something to write to you which I think will give you pleasure. Yesterday I was first at the Salon with Boch, who then came to lunch, after which we saw your paintings. He likes them very much, and it seems to me that he understands them. As you had said that you would willingly do an exchange with him, when I saw that he preferred the canvas you did after reading Rod’s book...
...would astonish me if you didn’t like it at all. The Salon is pitiful, there’s almost nothing...
...you come to see him, either in the park or at his place. And now I must tell you something about...
in note 4:
Georges Jeannin was represented at the Salon by the paintings The centenarian and Camellias and tulips. See...
in note 5:
Quost lived at 74 rue de Rochechouart in Paris; the ‘park’ must refer to one of the parks where he...
891 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Tuesday, 24 June 1890.
in translation:
...you made with Boch is very good, and am very curious to see what sort of thing he’s making at present.
...it, painting, as I pity others for buying it at a price that’s relatively too high. If, though...
in note 6:
...x 41 cm. Another possibility is Orchard in blossom at the foot of the Alpilles (F 723 / JH 1722), which...
in note 11:
Landscape at twilight (F 770 / JH 2040).
in note 13:
This resulted in Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F 772 / JH 2048).
892 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Le Pouldu, on or about Saturday, 28 June 1890.
in translation:
...doesn’t tell me very much: if you’ve seen my canvases in Paris at Goupil’s, what do you think of them! If my planned journey to Madagascar appears unreasonable to you. I dream of it every day, to the point where I’m scarcely working at all at the moment, wanting to rest a little, gain new strength for down there.
...the body sometimes. Your idea of coming to Brittany at Le Pouldu seems excellent to me if it could...
...it’s sometimes risky. At Pont-Aven it’s different, there’s a doctor and people. In addition, if I manage to sort things out to go to Madagascar I’ll no longer be here at the beginning of...
...paradise. The savage will return to savagery. At last! Destiny once written cannot be overturned...
in date note:
...upon his return from a five-day stay in Pont-Aven. At any rate, the present letter had not arrived in...
893 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur Oise, Saturday, 28 June 1890.
in translation:
You could send the attached order for colours at the beginning of the month, anyway at the most convenient moment, there’s no urgency for a few days earlier or...
in sketch A:
Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F - / JH 2049), letter sketch
in sketch B:
Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F - / JH -), letter sketch
in note 2:
Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F 772 / JH 2048), after which Van Gogh made the letter sketch of the same...
in note 3:
...look like in combination, Van Gogh made the second sketch of Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F - / JH -).
894 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 30 June and Tuesday, 1 July 1890.
in translation:
...and not have any more ordeals to undergo. At this moment, fortunately, she’s sleeping, but she...
...a smile, I hope. In general life is hard for her at the moment. We don’t know what we ought to do...
...is when you’re well and when you’re at your work, which is admirable. You already have too much...
...no longer, and we’ll still gaze with admiration at the sun or the moon, according to the time of...
...garden, nor the red sun setting in the sea at Scheveningen, nor the moon and the stars one fine...
...mother, they will perhaps grow so that I may become at least a man, and who knows if my son, if he...
...recovered, you should come and spend the days here, at least a Sunday and a few days more. The...
in note 3:
...business on his own. The uncertainty of his future at Boussod, Valadon & Cie had been on his mind for some...
in note 5:
Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F 772 / JH 2048) and Wheatfields (F 775 / JH 2038). Van Gogh had sent...
in note 7:
...later (on 7 July 1890) the painting was purchased at the Salon for 1,200 francs by the French state...
895 Théophile Peyron to Vincent van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 1 July 1890.
in additional details:
...13-20) and the success Peyron hoped he would have at exhibitions (ll. 21-25) must be addressed to...
896 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, Wednesday, 2 July 1890.
in translation:
...your anxieties with all my heart. It’s a real pity that at Mr Gachet’s the house is so cluttered with all sorts of things. Otherwise I think it would be a good plan to come and lodge here – at his house – with the little one, at least for a good month – I think that the country air has an...
...aren’t too alone I could come myself to stay at your place for a week or fortnight. That wouldn...
...green, long russet grasses and flowers. The people here at the inn used to live in Paris; there...
...In another respect you work all day long, and at the moment you’re probably hardly sleeping. I...
...you remember that there’s an inn just opposite at the bottom of the slope. What do you want me...
...turn it may yet take. But I’m writing to you at once that as regards the little one I think you...
...come to see you; he lives at 16 rue de la Grande Chaumière – I told him that you would let him know a time when he could come and see my canvases that are at your place. He’ll probably show you...
in note 8:
...impressionnent vivement). For the works by Van Gogh on display at this exhibition, see letter 854, n. 7.
in note 9:
...When he was in Auvers Edmund Walpole Brooke stayed at Hotel-restaurant du Cadran in rue Victor Hugo, which...
897 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 5 July 1890.
in translation:
...his mother’s milk, which is now coming in abundance. He looks extremely well at the moment. He must take the ass’s milk for at least a fortnight, and so we can’t go to Pissarro’s on 14 July. So I’ve...
...Brooke, who’s coming to see your paintings at Tanguy’s, next a Japanese Buddha which I saw in a curio shop, and after that we’re going to have lunch at our place to see your studies. You can...
...regards from Jo, and the little one is smiling at you like before he was ill. Good handshake from...
in note 5:
...vol. 2, p. 354 (n. 1). For the Pissarro exhibition at Theo’s, see letter 858, n. 9. See also n. 2 above...
RM24 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, Monday, 7 July 1890.
in date note:
...up and never sent, the reason for which emerges at the beginning of letter 898: after meanwhile being...
898 To Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Auvers-sur-Oise, on or about Thursday, 10 July 1890.
in translation:
...but my life, too, is attacked at the very root, my step also is faltering. I feared – not completely – but a little nonetheless – that I was a danger to you, living at your expense – but Jo’s letter...
...making paintings, but what can you do, I myself am now, at least I feel I am, too old to retrace my...
in note 3:
...about Vincent shortly before this, and now looked at all the work again with the painter himself, and...
in note 9:
...at the piano, about which Theo had written earlier, see letter 858, n. 8. Van Gogh must have seen it during his visit to Paris. His surprised reaction can perhaps be explained by the fact that he had painted the same subject a short while before in Marguerite Gachet at the piano (F 772 / JH 2048...
899 To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus and Willemien van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, between about Thursday, 10 and Monday, 14 July 1890.
in translation:
...and sensibly and with kindness — well I call that looking at things the right way and — having faith.
in note 1:
For Willemien’s work at the hospital, see letter 878, n. 2.
in note 2:
Vincent’s sister Anna had two children: Sara, who was 10 years old at this time, and Annie, who was 7.
900 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Monday, 14 July 1890.
in translation:
...mad. It’s the second time he’s withdrawn at the decisive moment, and however you were there...
...during my travels that would put me even more at ease. Warm regards, old fellow, I’ll probably be...
in note 6:
Andries Bonger was also at Theo and Jo’s when Vincent visited them on Sunday, 6 July. ‘It’s the second...
901 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Tuesday, 22 July 1890.
in note 1:
...and finally arrived, via Jo, on 19 July at Theo’s in Paris): ‘I understand from Vincent’s...
in note 5:
...the day before (about which he says nothing at all to Vincent): ‘I haven’t written to you since...
902 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Wednesday, 23 July 1890.
in translation:
...return – is that the painters themselves are increasingly at bay. Very well. But has the moment...
...studies which are a little like the Konings at your place as regards colour. It will become...
in note 3:
Theo’s employers at Boussod, Valadon & Cie.
in note 7:
...and the diagonal lines on the roof of the church at top right. The sketch is more elongated than the...
RM25 To Theo van Gogh. Auvers-sur-Oise, Wednesday, 23 July 1890.
in translation:
...rested minds. That’s the only thing I can say at the moment, and that for my part I realized it with...
...For that’s where we are, and that’s all, or at least the main thing I can have to tell you in a...
in note 1:
‘Those gentlemen’ are Theo’s employers at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. Theo had written about his talk with...

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24 essay items found

Correspondents / Artist friends
...Brussels, when he came to my room at nine o’clock in the morning; how at first we did not get on...
...a trio with Bernard at that time, on the contrary, Van Gogh later recalled that ‘last winter Bernard was still trying to pick a quarrel with Gauguin’. The trio only came into being, at a distance...
...other Vincent’s letters to them, and at his request painted portraits for an exchange. When Van Gogh received a letter from Gauguin in Arles at the end of February 1888 complaining that he was on the rocks, Vincent immediately began making plans to help him out of trouble. At the end of May he...
...When he finally arrived in Arles at the end of October, Van Gogh’s expectations were high. The two months they lived and worked together have been discussed at length by many commentators, and it...
...drama had occurred. Despite Van Gogh’s disappointment at Gauguin’s departure, the tone of their...
...later. Gauguin wrote to Bernard: ‘However sad one is at this death, I do not really lament it...
in note 55:
...Gauguin, which Van Gogh sent for Theo’s approval at the end of May 1888 (included as the appendix to...
Correspondents / Family members
...in him. This makes it almost intolerable for me at home.’ Soon afterwards, though, things took a...
...balanced for Vincent, who had the feeling that at last his paintings were measuring up to the...
...was in him. The last few years he worked at home with us; after my father’s death Anna thought it would be more peaceful for Ma if he were not to live at home any longer and contrived that he left...
...of a wooden lion than ever and is very annoyed at the preparations. For Pa and Ma’s sake I hope...
...get worse not better with time, and to me at least they’re utterly disagreeable as it is. You...
...s future, and arranged for him to go and work at Goupil’s. In the spring of 1877 Vincent also...
...largely the same accusations that he levelled at his father. Vincent was still fairly charitable in...
...C.M.’, as Vincent invariably referred to him at the time, had been ‘disagreeable’ about the...
in note 16:
...Both were written in English (which was compulsory at her boarding school). In the second one she quotes...
in note 24:
...815 and 843. Cf. also letters 827 and 841, in which Vincent writes at length about Bernard to Willemien.
Publication history / De brieven 1990: a large edition for a small readership
in note 152:
...as we have indicated, on Jan Hulsker’s insights, at the same time taking into account suggestions put...
Publication history / A flood of supplementary publications
...fighter and sufferer who ‘was keenly sensible of the truth of his century’. At the back of the book, as was common practice at the time, the publishers printed an advertisement for other works on their list. In...
...was the first to annotate the letters. He looked at the chronology with a critical eye and improved...
...van Gogh’. The high point of this cult status, at least for the time being, was the publication...
...to 2,152 copies. The advertisement for other works at the back of the book announced that the...
in note 86:
...we have placed the two sheets that were printed at the time as a single letter with two different...
Correspondents / Preservation of the letters
...when they were discovered by chance in a reading-desk at the house of the Roos family in The Hague...
...65) were written after his first mental breakdown at the end of December 1888. Chance certainly...
...of works of art. There are clear indications that at a certain point Vincent decided to keep...
...world of whom he had high hopes. Tersteeg was amenable at first, but he too turned his back on Van...
...by his children. However, there is no mention at all of this correspondence with Enthoven in Van...
...John Peter Russell, but there must have been at least five more. Arnold Koning also had more than...
...a painter, and Van Gogh greatly admired him at the time. ‘Mauve gave me encouragement recently...
...deeply affected by the news of Mauve’s death at the end of March 1888, and decided to dedicate...
in note 60:
...has perhaps – no certainly – been a crisis both at home and in my own life when I really believe that...
in note 61:
Theo had a lover at this time; see letters 300ff.
in note 78:
Letter 124. It is discussed at greater length in Jansen et al. 2003-1.
in note 80:
...estimated that ‘Russell must have destroyed at least a dozen letters from van Gogh’. Cf. V.E...
in note 83:
...8 February 1888. Van Gogh only heard of his death at the end of March when Willemien sent him an obituary...
Biographical & historical context / The financial backgrounds
...from his parents, from 1869, when he went to work at Goupil’s, until June 1880. He had not been...
...as an advance, and he must have thought that at some stage he would find buyers for his work.Theo...
...and expenditure’.The annual profit-sharing was arrived at after the inventory was drawn up in...
...s support is mentioned is in June 1880. ‘I learned at Etten that you had sent fifty francs for me...
...Vincent paid his model, Sien, 1 guilder a day. At the time, a good seamstress earned 6 guilders a...
...his arrival on 20 February 1888 and Gauguin’s at the end of October. Theo believed in his brother...
...year he had between 220 and 260 francs a month at his disposal. If one compares that with the 135...
...only conclude that Van Gogh was not badly off at all. The letters provide a partial picture of...
...to live in the Yellow House. The cleaning woman was at first paid 4 francs a month, which rose to...
...in the Yellow House so that he could carry on working at night, and this set him back 25 francs. It...
in note 130:
For exchange rates at the time see Posthumus 1943-1964. In 1882, Theo’s friend Andries Bonger earned 225...
in note 137:
Theo sent 300 francs for furnishing the house at the beginning of September 1888 (letter 676).
in note 149:
...ideas (he was planning to work as an illustrator at the time), the second to give his ‘studio of the...
Biographical & historical context / The immediate family circle
...Theo van Gogh at the age of 15 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum / Vincent van Gogh Foundation) Vincent van Gogh at the age of 19 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum...
...always been poor, and he died in January 1891 at the age of 34 of Dementia paralytica, a terminal...
...1862-1941) travelled to England with her sister Anna at the age of thirteen, and remained there for...
...high school, and in 1884 became an apprentice at the engineering works of Egbert Haverkamp Begemann...
Publication history / The early publications of the letters
...Van Gogh, in Mercure de France, a magazine read at the time by everyone with an interest in modern...
...sometimes dismissively, but most of the critics were at least intrigued, if not entirely won over...
...brother. Jo van Gogh-Bonger was left a widow at twenty-nine with a small son, Vincent Willem, who...
...found that Van Eeden and Veth were initially lukewarm at best about Van Gogh’s art, she insisted...
...van Gogh’. Van Gogh’s work had been exhibited at the Salon of Les Vingt in Brussels in January...
...work at the exhibition at Les Vingt in Brussels in 1890. He was to visit Jo van Gogh-Bonger at home...
...almost wholly to providing practical support for Jo, at least in so far as tensions between the...
...of Today’). In April 1892 he organized an exhibition at Galerie Le Barc de Boutteville in rue Le...
...sentences and to follow ideas through impenetrable mazes. At other times it’s as clear as water...
...exhibited before were shown at three sensational exhibitions in 1903 at the Kunstzalen Oldenzeel in...
in note 6:
...Gogh’s letters ever published in a book. At some point Theo must have lent Aurier the letters...
in note 12:
...Van Gogh’s work; nonetheless there was some talk at this time about Veth’s assisting her in publishing...
in note 33:
...brother Andries, who was still living in Paris at the time, to translate the extracts that had been...
in note 43:
It is not clear who actually owned the letters at that time. At some point they came into the possession of the man of letters Johan de Meester (exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1974, p. 15), but the January issue of the series...
in note 44:
For these exhibitions at the Oldenzeel gallery see: Op de Coul 2002.
Publication history / The first standard editions
...he adhered to the agreed design and sold them for at least 10 francs. On 18 October 1911 Bernard...
...is true, wanted to publish the whole text, but at the last minute M. Vollard for personal reasons...
...Lies) wrote a memoir, Persoonlijke herinneringen (1910), and at a stroke all sorts of unverifiable...
...98 to his parents and letter 788 to his mother. At last she had rid herself of the huge burden she...
...and omissions, but given the possibilities open to her at the time it is nonetheless a creditable...
...was to publish literature, attractively designed, at reasonable prices, so that good writing was...
...these letters earlier’. It is clear that at an early stage the idea was that the Dutch edition and the German version (about which more later) should appear at about the same time. This is indeed...
...costs, such as binding and a printing tax levied at the time, came out of the balance. Half of the...
...van Gogh-Bonger owned the rights, and we can identify at least two reasons why she chose to throw...
in note 64:
...edition should be published by 1 November 1912 at the latest (contract, Van Gogh Museum Documentation...
Publication history / The first collected edition of 1952-1954 and thereafter
...occasion to bring together all the correspondence known at that time in a single edition. Vincent...
...case of the Bernard letters, V.W. van Gogh had at least provided a concise explanation, but when it...
...the only edition in which all the correspondence available at the time was printed in the original...
...he numbered this background information, which he added at the end of each period, by using the...
...from the catalogue of the Van Gogh exhibition at Bernheim-Jeune’s in 1901. Volume 4 contains...
...T41a, b and so forth for the added documentation at the end, as one might have expected from the...
...represented the pinnacle of knowledge about the letters at that time. It was a rich source for...
...the new material that art historians now had at their disposal in several languages, in the years...
...the letters without any commentary or explanatory notes, at most a number and pagination – as if...
...background information and arguments in support of the dating. At the end of the book there is a...
in note 121:
...This may be a printer’s error, but it could also mean that something was scrapped at a later stage.
About this edition / Introduction
...publications. In 1952-1954 all the correspondence known at that time was brought together by Jo’s...
...the current position in international Van Gogh studies. At this stage it was thought that the work...
...the scholarly web edition. This six-volume edition appears – at the same time as the present web...
...depart from the standard form, which can be broadly described as having a salutation at the beginning and a signature at the end; between these is the principal text running over one or more sheets...
...with a new salutation but he does sign again at the end, in other words for the second time in the...
in note 1:
Over and above the 903 surviving letters, there must have been at least 550 letters written to Van Gogh, and at least 290 letters written by Van Gogh that we no longer have (see Correspondents, Lost correspondence).
in note 8:
...date – 22 June 1890 – it must have been used at a gathering to celebrate the birthdays of Paul...
About this edition / The reading texts
...vind’, are left unchanged. At the end of a letter we have only added punctuation at the end of...
...possible in verses, hymns and the like. We have punctuated at the end of a verse or couplet if this...
...Where Van Gogh wrote ’t huis to mean home or at home this has been tacitly emended to t’huis...
...often made them two words. Hyphens were not always used at the end of a line (even in obvious cases...
...in other extreme casesrepeated quotesrepeated quotation marks (at the beginning of every new line...
...passage in question is placed at the very end of the letter (in other words after any postscripts there may be). If the letter contains several such passages, they are placed at the end in the order...
...The line number is followed by the emended text at the relevant place in the reading text, then a...
...passages Van Gogh added subsequently, which appeared at the end of the transcription, into the...
...interventions are recorded under the heading Textual notes at the end of this version of the...
in note 19:
At that time people often spelled proper names according to how they sounded, such as Bock for (Eugène...
About this edition / The annotations
...cases, therefore, we have given dates differing by one or at most two days from the dates Jo gave...
...reached Theo in Paris within one or two days. At that time there were several deliveries a day...
...is indicated by ‘between’.When Van Gogh wrote at night he himself referred to it as ‘avond...
...to this template since Theo sometimes sent money at other times.Source statusHere we state the form...
...it is evident that he must have owned or at least been familiar with a number of translations and...
About this edition / The transcriptions
...or unusual punctuation and accents, repeated quotation marks at the beginning of each line in long...
...s possession or date indications that she wrote at the top of them. There are also instances where...
in note 13:
Wouter van der Veen has written at length about Van Gogh’s spelling and grammar in French: see Van der...
About this edition / Note on the translation
...was based, and has restored numerous omissions. At the same time there was dissatisfaction with that...
...in the source text. An exclamation mark is added at the end of sentences which are obviously...
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / A new edition
...Van Gogh was only a modest correspondent, for at one time there were undoubtedly more letters, both...
...the published version was only cursorily explained, if at all. However, writings which have proved...
...The gauntlet thrown down by Hulsker was picked up at the beginning of the 1990s by the Van Gogh...
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / The letters: from conventional to personal
...He moralized and comforted Theo if he had difficulties at work or mourned the loss of a friend. And...
...as Theo started to work at Goupil’s himself, Vincent began telling him about art. At first it was...
...and that it often involved all sorts of things at once, as in his letter of January 1874: ‘I’m...
...By collecting them, Van Gogh was able to look at his favourite works any time he wanted, and he...
...on a grand scale, or even several entire back volumes at a time, with a particular passion for the...
...They appealed to him for their inherent beauty, but at the same time they were a source of...
...of Van Gogh’s taste and views must have begun at this time. We are badly informed about what he...
...who were such a feature of the Dutch literary scene at the time, of whom the most popular was P.A...
...could not speak English at the time, but when he started taking lessons at the beginning of 1876 it...
...in the early 1880s. It turns out that it did, at least in so far as he gradually abandoned highly...
in note 11:
Theo started work in January 1873 at the Goupil branch in Brussels, and was transferred to The Hague in...
in note 12:
...reactions give the impression that Theo wrote at greater length than he did. See, for example, the...
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / Language and spelling
...in his room after he left his parents’ home.That same family background would have contributed to...
...mistakes or shifting spellings were not uncommon in Dutch at the time, and they cannot be judged in...
...for example, which is a conflation of ‘te huis’ (at home), which he also clearly interpreted in...
in note 34:
...short a time to give him a good mastery of French at that age. One indirect indication that this was what...
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / Strategies and rhetoric
...done at the end of a tiring day filled with drawing and painting) often made him keep going off at...
...Keats was not very widely known in the Netherlands at the time, as Van Gogh himself pointed out.Th...
...divert her by mentioning a story that had nothing at all to do with his own literary interests and...
...brother’, the more experienced adviser and guide. At the same time, he admired the talent of the...
...he tried to play it down and put her mind at ease. He broached a new subject each time, or asked...
...a painter ruins his character by working hard at painting, which makes him sterile for many things...
...in the house. He urges Theo to think again at the end of an agitated letter: ‘Adieu, old chap...
...and choice of words he was remarkably matter-of-fact. At the same time, he did not shy away from...
...beat about the bush. There was always something at stake, and he always pitched his demands high...
...to Van Gogh. Lines from the letters chosen at random immediately reveal his pen and his spirit. His...
in note 41:
...attributed to Van Gogh it can be seen as an attempt at a literary composition (see Van der Veen 2007, pp...
in note 64:
...temps. On a more general level, the genre of first-person accounts was becoming very popular at the time.
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / Manuscripts
...if a letter consisted of more than one folded sheet. At the same time, that is one of the reasons...
...he wrote ‘Lettre superbe’ in pencil, among others at the bottom of letter 823, the envelope of...
...to be reproduced almost in its entirety. The olive trees’). At the bottom of letter 806 he wrote...
...s refusal to meet him halfway as regards living at home again in the parsonage in Nuenen. He seems...
...can be assumed that the weak light of the lamp at night combined with the alcohol he had drunk were...
in note 80:
...V.W. van Gogh, who had the letters at home and prepared the edition of 1952-1954, or possibly even Jan Hulsker, who said that he was given the opportunity to study the letters at V.W. van Gogh’s house (oral...
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / Sketches
...he was working on or had finished. Another factor at the beginning of his career was to show Theo...
...choosing subjects that he idealized: labourers and peasants at work. He added: ‘A change has come...
...cannot be regarded as a stage in the creative process. At most they are a reflection of one, and as...
...to Bernard. There are a couple of dozen sketches which are not related at all to works by Van Gogh, but they are at least as important. They are small drawings illustrating the materials he worked...
Van Gogh as a letter-writer / Conclusion
...that much is more than what it appears to be at first sight. ‘Writing is actually an awful way to...
Biographical & historical context / The family and children of the Reverend and Mrs Van Gogh
...he was ill at the end of 1888 he wrote that ‘I again saw each room in the house at Zundert, each...
...they had ‘a parcel of books from Uncle Cor at home’. Their uncle had a subscription library in...
...importance to conventions, and from then on life at home was a battlefield. Their views were very...
...was the apple of his parents’ eye. Significantly, even at the age of 16 he was being spoken of as...
...felt the gulf between them when he was back living at home in Nuenen in 1884-1885, and there were...
...the family ties, as Vincent had already realized at the end of 1883: ‘In character I’m quite...
...many members of the family as possible tried to be at home for Easter and Christmas and during the...
...the bourgeois Christian culture that held sway at the time, that etiquette was perfectly explicable...
...to be by letter. Mrs Van Gogh went to live in Leiden at the end of her life so as to be close to...
...a strain on their relationship, so much so that at a certain point he was convinced that it would...
in note 17:
...looking at a Sisley – Sisley, the most tactful and sensitive of the Impressionists – had already said: “I can’t stop myself thinking that the artist who painted that was a little tipsy”. Looking at my...
in note 32:
...considered the moral strength imparted by the family to be greater than that inculcated at school.
in note 36:
...quarter in 1874 (FR b2733). In 1875, when Lies was at a boarding school in Tiel, the expenses were 500...
in note 44:
...in which we find a lot that is beautiful. At first that young man couldn’t get along in real...
in note 50:
Cf. ‘Pa’s spirit is so great and many-sided, and at all events I hope that something of it will develop...
in note 61:
...letter 348). Anna was aware of class distinctions at an early age, and on 4 February 1873 she wrote...
Biographical & historical context / The letter-writing culture and Van Gogh’s position within it
...decidedly lively. Corresponding was regarded as conversing at a distance, and so it is that one...
...reason that this form of socialization was encouraged at home and in school.The standard guidelines...
...family Several of the Van Gogh children left home at an early age, which made it all the more...
...The Reverend Van Gogh wrote to Theo about Vincent at the beginning of April 1878: ‘We think it...
...about Vincent from Mrs Van Gogh to Theo: ‘We wrote at the usual time and in the usual way, as...
...a wooden table-top reading-desk. At their parents’ home letters were often written at table with...
...In Paris, letters could still be sent after ten at night in the 1880s.Sometimes Van Gogh wondered...
...Gogh describes what he sees around him as he sits at a table in a café: ‘As I write, the little...
...Theo to confide in him too. If one looks at the totality of Van Gogh’s correspondence it can...
...which nothing was allowed to stand in the way and which had to be set down in words at all costs.
in note 77:
...2005. One of the model books that was popular at the time was L.F. Geerling, De Nederlandsche...
in note 110:
See the primary sources cited at length in Ruberg 2005. See also Naber 1935, Mathijsen 1987, Bervoets 1997...

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4 other items found

Chronology
in 1862:
Is taught at home by governess Anna Birnie, probably with additional lessons from his father. 16 March His...
in 1864:
...31 August) Vincent attends Jan Provily’s boarding school for boys at Zandweg A40 in Zevenbergen.
in 1869:
30 July Is appointed junior apprentice at Goupil & Cie in The Hague, Plaats 14. His superior is H.G. Tersteeg. Lodges with Willem and Dina Roos at Lange Beestenmarkt 32 (1). #Starts collecting photographs...
in 1871:
...the Reverend Van Gogh has been called. They live at Torenstraat 47. Theo attends secondary school in...
in 1872:
...books which took place from 21 to 29 October 1872 at the premises of W.P. van Stockum (1a) Mid-August...
in 1873:
...at the artists’ society Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam (5). 13 April Spends Easter at home in Helvoirt. Theo is also there (FR b2616-b2617). May Visits the artist J.H. Weissenbruch in his studio in The Hague (125). 12 May Leaves Helvoirt for Paris (FR b2626), where he stays for several days before his transfer to Goupil’s London branch. *Visits the Goupil galleries, the Salon, the Louvre and the Musée du Luxembourg (9). About 19 May Starts work at Goupil & Co. in London, 17 Southampton Street, The Strand. His superior is Charles Obach. Finds lodgings in a London suburb, address unknown (9). *During his stay in London he visits the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection and the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) (131, 361, 453). #Reads poetry by Keats, Musées de la Hollande by Thoré-Bürger and Cromwell by Lamartine (12, 15, 119). Early June Theo moves to the Goupil & Cie building at 58 rue Montagne de la Cour, where he lodges with his superior, Tobias Schmidt (9, FR b2632). August *Visits the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (12, 13). End of August Moves to 87 Hackford Road, Brixton, where he lodges with Ursula Loyer and her daughter Eugenie (13). 12 September *Views work by Belgian artists at the London International Exhibition (13). Autumn #Reads Michelet’s L’amour (14). October #Re-reads the poems of Longfellow (14). 12 November Theo is transferred to Goupil’s branch in The Hague, at Plaats 14. He lodges with the Roos family at Lange Beestenmarkt 32, as Vincent had done before him (16, FR b2674...
in 1874:
...and Anna go to live with John Parker and his family at 395 Kennington Road in South London (28, FR b2715...
in 1875:
...at the Holloway & Sons gallery at 25 Bedford Street, London, which has been taken over by Goupil’s. January-February *Visits the Annual Winter Exhibition of Old Masters at the Royal Academy (29). February #Compiles a scrapbook for Theo of poems and prose fragments by Heine, Uhland, Sainte-Beuve, Carlyle, Michelet and Goethe, among others. Mid-May Is transferred back to Goupil’s headquarters in Paris (FR b2338). Lives in a small room in Montmartre, address unknown (37). Visits the Salon (34). 30 May *Visits the Corot retrospective at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts (34). *During his stay in the French capital, he frequents the Louvre and the Musée du Luxembourg (42). Is in touch with the Dutch artist Matthijs Maris, who is also living in Paris (318, 394). #He puts together a scrapbook for Maris, with poems by Uhland, Heine and Goethe, and fairytales by Andersen in verse. 11 or 12 June *Admires drawings and pastels by Millet from the Gavet Collection at the sale exhibition held at the Hôtel Drouot (36). 25 July *Spends the day in Ville-d’Avray, where he see murals by Corot in the village church (40). Autumn Befriends Harry Gladwell, a fellow lodger who also works for Goupil. 18 October The Van Gogh family moves to Etten, where the Reverend Van Gogh has been called. They live at Roosendaalseweg 4 (FR b2366). 24 December-3 January Spends Christmas and New Year in Etten. Theo is also there (62, FR b2385, b2224...
in 1876:
...at William Stokes’s boarding school for boys. Lodges at 11 Spencer Square. 12-17 June Walks to London, where he stays for two days before visiting Anna in Welwyn (84). Last week of June Moves to Isleworth (near London), Linkfield House, 183 Twickenham Road, where Stokes has opened his new school (85, FR b2756). Early July Moves and takes up a position as a teacher at the school run by the Reverend Thomas Slade-Jones at Holme Court, 158 Twickenham Road, Isleworth (86). October #Reads Souvestre’s Le philosophe sous les toits (93). 13 October #Cites poems by De Génestet, a poet he quotes from quite often in this period (94). 29 October Delivers his first sermon at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Richmond (96). 19 November Is appointed a volunteer worker at Slade-Jones’s Congregational Church in Turnham Green, where he preaches and teaches Sunday school. He also preaches in Petersham (98). 20 December He and Anna travel back to Etten together from England. Theo is also there for Christmas (FR b2802-b2804...
in 1877:
...Jan van Gogh, director of the naval dockyard, at Grote Kattenburgerstraat 3. August #Reads...
in 1878:
...place de l’Opéra branch in Paris. He works at the World Exhibition and rents a room from Mrs...
in 1880:
...160). 15 December Enrols for the drawing course at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels...
in 1881:
...Theo is appointed manager of the Goupil branch at 19 boulevard Montmartre in Paris, and assumes...
in 1882:
...at the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague (246). 15 July Sien, her five-year-old daughter Maria and her newborn son Willem move in with him (246). Early August His parents move from Etten to Nuenen, to which the Reverend Van Gogh has been called. They live at De Berg F523. About 2-4 August Visit from Theo (252). August *Visits the seventh exhibition of the Hollandsche Teeken-Maatschappij (256), and a showing of works from the Koninklijk Genootschap van Nederlandsche Aquarellisten (Royal Dutch Society of Watercolourists) (265 and 267). Autumn #Reads Erckmann-Chatrian’s Les deux frères, Daudet’s Les rois en exil and Le Nabab, Hugo’s Quatre-vingt-treize and Zola’s Pot-bouille (265, 274, 286, 292) 25 September @Sends Theo a painting (269). November Practices lithography in the hope of finding work as an illustrator. @Sends Theo and Van Rappard impressions of his lithographs (281, 283, 284, 289...
in 1883:
...Van Rappard (343). About 21 May Visits Van Rappard at his studio in Utrecht (344). May-July Paints with...
in 1884:
...space from the Catholic sacristan Johannes Schafrat at Heieind 540 in Nuenen (446). About 17 May Van...
in 1885:
...at least 9 paintings (534). November Reads the Brothers Goncourt’s L’art du dix-huitième siècle (539). 24 November Moves to Antwerp, where he rents a room at Lange Beeldekensstraat 194 (543, 544). @Takes 3 paintings, a few small studies and drawings to Antwerp (542, 545). At least 100 paintings and a mass of drawings are left behind in Nuenen. About 25 November *Sees the mural paintings by Leys in the dining room of the artist’s house, and visits the Musée Ancien and the Musée Moderne (544). December *Regularly visits the Musée Ancien. Sees two collections of modern art: one of paintings bought by the organizers of the Antwerp World Exhibition to be sold in a lottery at the end of the show, and another of works for general sale (547...
in 1886:
...At the end of the painting course he joins the daytime drawing class given by Eugène Siberdt (555, 557). About 28 February Arrives in Paris and moves in with Theo, 25 rue Laval in Montmartre (567). Early March-early June Works at the studio of Fernand Cormon at 104 boulevard de Clichy, where he meets John Peter Russell, Emile Bernard, Louis Anquetin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, among others (569). 30 March Mrs Van Gogh and Willemien move to Breda, Nieuwe Ginnekenstraat 649bis. 1 May-30 June *Visits the Salon, and lists the names of 21 painters who exhibited there in his sketchbook of the period (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). 15 May-15 June *Visits the eighth and last Impressionist exhibition (569). Early June Vincent and Theo move to 54 rue Lepic in Montmartre (569, FR b727). 5 June *Vincent and Theo visit the exhibition of works for sale, the Saulnier Collection in the Hôtel Drouot (668, 676). 15 June-15 July *Vincent probably visits the ‘Ve Exposition internationale de peinture et sculpture’ at the Georges Petit gallery (569). Mid-August #Reads Maupassant’s Bel-ami (568). About 18 August #Cites from Voltaire’s Candide, which he had probably just finished reading (568). Mid-August-26 August Andries Bonger stays with Vincent while Theo is away in the Netherlands (568, FR b1844). 20 August-21 September *Probably visits the ‘IIe Exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants’. September-October Exhibits works at the shop of the colourman Julien ‘Père’ Tanguy, the galleries of the art dealers Pierre Firmin Martin and Georges Thomas, and of a fourth dealer, possibly Alphonse Portier (569, 718). Sells at least one painting to Tanguy during his time in Paris (638). Beginning of his friendship with Emile Bernard after meeting him again in Tanguy’s shop. Gets to know Louis Anquetin through Bernard. Also meets Charles Angrand (570). November Meets Archibald Standish Hartrick in Russell’s studio. Autumn-Winter Is in regular touch with Toulouse-Lautrec and attends the weekly meetings of artists in his studio...
in 1887:
...at Le Tambourin, the restaurant managed by his girlfriend Agostina Segatori (640). End of March The studies that he had left behind and his collection of magazine illustrations are moved from Nuenen to his mother’s house in Breda (FR b909). 26 March-3 May *Probably visits the ‘IIIe Exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants’. 1 May-30 June *Probably visits the Salon. May Is in touch with Paul Signac in Asnières. May-June *Vincent and Theo visit the ‘VIe Exposition internationale de peinture et sculpture’ at the Georges Petit gallery (798). Visits the Millet retrospective at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts (822). May-July Is in touch with Camille Pissarro and his son Lucien (FR b886). July Exhibits a recent painting in Tanguy’s shop window (572). His relationship with Agostina Segatori is over, and there is an argument about his paintings that hang in her restaurant (571, 572). Autumn Works with Bernard at the latter’s studio in Asnières. End of October #Lists contemporary French authors and books that he considers important: Zola (La joie de vivre, L’assommoir), Flaubert, Maupassant (Bel-ami), the Goncourts (Germinie Lacerteux, La fille Elisa), Richepin, Daudet and Huysmans. Has just read Maupassant’s Mont Oriol and Tolstoy’s A la recherche du bonheur (574). November-December Organizes an exhibition at the Grand Bouillon-Restaurant du Chalet, 43 avenue de Clichy, with work by Anquetin, Bernard, Arnold Koning, Toulouse-Lautrec and himself. He meets Georges Seurat and Paul Gauguin there. Makes regular visits to Armand Guillaumin in his studio (575). 20 November-20 December *Together with Theo visits the Puvis de Chavannes retrospective at the Durand-Ruel gallery (829). Winter-Spring 1888 Exhibits a painting at the Théâtre Libre in Paris (592). December *Probably visits the exhibition of work by Gauguin, Guillaumin and Camille Pissarro organized by Theo at the Boussod, Valadon & Cie gallery on the boulevard Montmartre, and probably also the exhibition of work by Anquetin, Camille Pissarro and Seurat at the offices of La Revue Indépendante...
in 1888:
...at Boussod, Valadon & Cie. January-February *Probably visits the exhibition of work by Angrand, Seurat and Signac at the offices of La Revue Indépendante. 19 February Together with Theo visits Seurat’s studio to see his most recent work; a few hours later he leaves for Arles (695). 20 February On arriving in Arles he takes a room in the hotel and restaurant Carrel, at 30 rue Amédée-Pichot (formerly rue de la Cavalerie), run by Albert Carrel and his wife Catherine (577). *In Arles visits the Musée Réattu and the antiquities museum (578). #Has read Daudet’s Aventures prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon and soon begins Tartarin sur les Alpes (578, 583). Before 10 March Meets the Danish painter Christian Mourier-Petersen (584). About 21 March #Reads Maupassant’s Pierre et Jean (588). 22 March-about 3 May Represented with three paintings at the ‘IVe Exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants’ in Paris (582, 584). 15 April Meets the American artist Dodge Macknight, who is staying in Fontvieille near Arles (598). Mid-April @Sends 2 drawings to Theo (600). 22 April-12 May Theo is on a working trip to Brussels (600). End of April Mrs Van Gogh and Willemien move to Nieuwe Haagdijk in Breda. The works that Vincent had left behind in Nuenen are put in storage with a carpenter in Breda. 1 May Rents the east wing of the ‘Yellow House’ (2 place Lamartine), and sets up his studio there (602). @Sends around 12 drawings to Theo (602). 3 May Visits Macknight in Fontvieille (603). First week of May @Sends 2 drawings to Theo (594). 7 May Takes a room in the Café de la Gare run by Joseph and Marie Ginoux, 30 place Lamartine (606). @Sends 7 drawings to Theo (605). 10 May @Sends at least 26 paintings to Theo (606, 607). 26 May @Sends several drawings to Theo (613). 29 or 30 May @Sends a drawing to Theo (617). 30 or 31 May-4 or 5 June Visits Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (617). About 5 June @Sends several drawings to Theo (620). About 15 June Meets the Belgian painter Eugène Boch through Macknight (625). Gives drawing lessons to Paul Eugène Milliet, a lieutenant in the Zouaves (628). @Sends 3 drawings to Theo (625). 15-19 June @Sends a drawing to Willemien (626). About 19 June #Has read Loti’s Madame Chrysanthème (628). 23 June @Sends a drawing to Theo (630). July #Reads Balzac’s César Birotteau. Decides to re-read all of Balzac’s novels (636, 637). 8 or 9 July Is in Fontvieille (638). About 13 July @Sends 5 drawings to Theo (639). 15-20 July @Sends 15 drawings to Bernard, and receives drawings in exchange (641, 643, 650). Early August @Sends 12 drawings to Russell (654). 8 August @Sends several drawings to Theo (657). 17 August @Milliet brings Theo 36 paintings and a drawing by Vincent (660, 662). 9 September @Sends 2 drawings to Theo (677). 17 September Moves into the Yellow House (682). Early October Theo sells a study to the Paris art dealer Bague (699). @Vincent sends 2 paintings to Bernard and Gauguin, who are in Pont-Aven, and adds another 5 for Bernard, Charles Laval, Hanri Moret and Ernest de Chamaillard (680, 698). @Sends a drawing to Theo (700). 23 October Gauguin arrives in Arles and moves into the Yellow House (712). End of October #Reads Zola’s Le rêve (716). 16 or 17 December Together with Gauguin visits the Musée Fabre in Montpellier (726). 23 December Suffers his first mental breakdown. Cuts off his ear and is admitted to hospital the next day (728). His doctor is Félix Rey. 24 December Theo travels to Arles, visits Vincent in the hospital, and returns to Paris the next day with Gauguin...
in 1889:
...at least 30 paintings and a drawing to Theo (767). 8 May Has himself admitted to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy (769). His doctor is Théophile Peyron. About 18 June @Sends 6 drawings to Theo (782, 790). June-July #Re-reads Voltaire’s Zadig ou la destinée and reads Shakespeare’s history plays and Measure for measure (783, 785, 787). 2 July @Sends 11 drawings to Theo (784). 7 July Travels to Arles with an escort to collect paintings (787, 789). 15 or 16 July @Sends 11 paintings to Theo (789). 16 or 17 July-end of August Suffers a mental breakdown (793, 798). September-October Represented with two paintings at the ‘Ve Exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants’. About 20 September @Sends 8 paintings to Theo (805). 28 September @Sends 11 paintings to Theo (806). 2 November Mrs Van Gogh and Willemien move to Leiden, Herengracht 100. Mid-November Visits Arles (820). 6 December @Sends Theo 7 paintings for his mother and Willemien, as well several other paintings (824). About 18 December @Sends 3 paintings and 2 drawings to Theo (829). About 24-30 December Suffers a mental breakdown (833, 836). Tries to poison himself by eating paint...
in 1890:
...at least 1 drawing to Theo (834). Mid-January @Sends 2 drawings to Gauguin (840). 18 or 19 January Visits Arles (841). 20 or 21 January-31 January Suffers a mental breakdown (846, FR b1061). 28 January-23 February Represented with 6 paintings at the ‘VIIe Exposition des Vingt’ in Brussels (820). The Belgian artist Anna Boch buys his painting The red vineyard (855). 31 January Birth of Vincent Willem, the son of Theo and Jo. 22 February-about 17 March Suffers a mental breakdown (857, FR b1062). 20 March-27 April Represented with 10 paintings at the ‘VIe Exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants’ in Paris (854). 29 April @Sends at least 30 paintings to Theo (863, 867). 16 May Leaves the asylum. 17-19 May With Theo and Jo in Paris (FR b2012). *Visits the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (879). 20 May Travels on to Auvers-sur-Oise, where he lodges at the Auberge Ravoux, place de la Mairie. Meets Dr Paul Gachet (873, 874). 8 June Visit from Theo, Jo and the infant Vincent (881, FR b1853). 6 July Pays a brief visit to Theo in Paris, and also meets the art critic Albert Aurier and Toulouse-Lautrec. Returns to Auvers the same evening. 15-18 July Theo is in the Netherlands. 27 July Vincent shoots himself in the chest. 28 July Theo receives the news and travels to Auvers. 29 July Vincent dies of his wounds with Theo by his bedside. 30 July Is buried in Auvers. September Theo’s health deteriorates rapidly. He is suffering from syphilis. 9 October Theo suffers a mental and physical collapse and is hospitalized three days later...
Overview of all the letters
...at Goupil & Cie in The Hague 1 to Betsy Tersteeg, daughter of the above 1 to Hendrik Verzijl, retired tutor of Helvoirt 2 The number of surviving letters to Vincent van Gogh 46 from Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger (39 from Theo, 2 from Theo and Jo, 5 from Jo) 16 from Paul Gauguin >4 from Joseph Roulin, postal worker in Arles and Marseille 2 from Joseph Ginoux and Marie Ginoux-Julien (1 from Joseph, 1 from Marie) 2 from Arnold Hendrik Koning 2 from Paul Signac 1 from Willemien van Gogh 1 from Anna van Gogh, sister 1 from Hendrik Bonger and Hermine Bonger-Weismann (Jo’s parents) and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus 1 from Henriette Lamblot-Gaudin, bookseller in Arles 1 from Octave Maus 1 from Paul Eugène Milliet, French soldier whom Van Gogh met in Arles 1 from Christian Mourier-Petersen, Danish artist whom Van Gogh met in Arles 1 from Théophile Peyron, medical director of the asylum in Saint-Rémy 1 from Anthon van Rappard 1 from John Peter Russell 1 from Frédéric Salles, clergyman in Arles 3 Related manuscripts Included in this edition are 25 letters that are either unfinished, crossed out, incomplete and/or were not sent which have been grouped together in this edition as ‘Related manuscripts’: a one-line note from Paul Gachet, Van Gogh’s doctor in Auvers, and 24 letters by Van Gogh. Thirteen of the latter were addressed to Theo, two to Theo and Jo, one to Willemien, one to Russell, one to the Dutch art critic Joseph Isaäcson, and one to Hendrik Jan Furnée. The addressee of one fragment, RM14, is not known. Another fragment of a letter and a copied-out poem (RM1 and RM12) may have been intended for Vincent’s sister Anna. 4 The unknown letters In addition to the 903 surviving letters there must have been at least 550 to Van Gogh and 290 from him that we no longer have. Van Gogh is known to have corresponded with the people listed below, but the letters have not survived. That they must have existed at one time is clear from remarks in Van Gogh’s own correspondence, that of the family, or other sources. The section ‘Lost correspondence’ (4.2) takes a closer look at this group of correspondents. Known correspondents whose letters to Van Gogh (and vice versa) are lost Margot Begemann, girlfriend in Nuenen Elisabeth Petronella van der Burg, acquaintance in Zundert Louise Christina van der Burg, acquaintance in Zundert Edouard Dujardin, French writer and art critic Lodewijk Cornelis Enthoven, factory owner in The Hague Dimmen Gestel, amateur artist to whom Van Gogh gave lessons in Nuenen Harry Gladwell, colleague at Goupil & Cie in Paris Henry William Gladwell, father of the above Cor van Gogh, brother Lies van Gogh, sister Hein van Gogh, uncle Jan van Gogh, uncle Vincent van Gogh and Cornelie van Gogh-Carbentus, uncle and aunt Carl Adolph Haanebeek, uncle by marriage Sien Hoornik, girlfriend in The Hague Nicolaas de Jonge, clergyman in Brussels Wilhelmus Johannes Leurs, seller of artists’ materials in The Hague Nico Mager, colleague at the Blussé & Van Braam bookshop in Dordrecht Anton Mauve and Jet Mauve-Carbentus, cousin by marriage and cousin Maurits Benjamin Mendes da Costa, teacher in Amsterdam Charles Obach, manager of Goupil & Cie in London Alphonse Portier, art dealer in Paris Frans Alexander Lodewijk van Rappard, father of Anthon van Rappard Emile Rochedieu, clergyman and chairman of the Comité d’Evangélisation in Laeken (Brussels) Willem Marinus Roos, with whom Vincent and Theo lodged in The Hague Charles Emmanuel Serret, French artist, acquaintance of Theo in Paris Thomas Slade-Jones, schoolmaster and clergyman in Isleworth and his wife, Annie Slade-Jones-Dawson Maria van Stockum, acquaintance in The Hague, sister of Willem van Stockum Marinus van Stockum, acquaintance in The Hague, brother of Willem van Stockum William Port Stokes, schoolmaster and clergyman in Ramsgate Johannes Paulus Stricker and Mina Stricker-Carbentus, uncle and aunt Guillaume Charles Tasset, seller of artists’ materials in Paris Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French artist whom Van Gogh met in Paris Willem Valkis, fellow lodger with the Roos family in The Hague Kee Vos, cousin Abraham van der Waeyen Pieterszen, clergyman in Mechelen Possible correspondents George Hendrik Breitner, Dutch artist whom Van Gogh met in The Hague Félix Hilaire Buhot, French artist, acquaintance of Theo in Paris Willem Kiesenberg, acquaintance of Van Gogh in The Hague Frans Soek, colleague at Goupil & Cie in Paris Elbert-Jan van Wisselingh, Dutch art dealer in London, Paris and The Hague...
Documentation
...at breakfast I found a letter from London, which contained a letter from Vincent and one from Ursula Loyer, both were very kind and amiable. She asks me to write her and Vincent wished very much we should be friends. I’ll tell what he writes about her. “Ursula Loyer is a girl with whom I have agreed that we’ll be each other’s brother and sister. You must also look on her as a sister and write to her, and I think that you will then soon discover what she is. I say no more than that I have never seen or dreamt of anything like the love between her and her mother.” Then there follows a discription of Christmas and New-year and then still the following phrase. “Old girl, you mustn’t think that there’s anything more behind it than what I have written to you. But don’t say anything about it at home, I must do that myself. Just this again, love that girl for my sake.” I suppose there will be a love between those two, as between Agnes and David Copperfield. Although I must say, that I believe there is more than a brother’s love between them; I send you here Ursula’s letter so you can judge for yourself...
...by half how foolish it was of him to hurt his arm at such an inconvenient time. And now adieu. I must...
...country. He thinks that it is not impossible. Or at least a place as an evangelist might fall vacant...
...at which the matter of V. will be discussed and that he will then send a reply. Vincent will continue his studies until the end of the month. He has asked Mr Jones for a reference and has received a very satisfactory one. He and we are of course happy about that, and now we must just wait. That is sometimes easier than at other times. He writes many letters, long ones too, and when reading them one is inclined to say: how can a simple clergyman come out of this, and then again there is nevertheless something good in them as well. God grant that his common sense gain the upper hand and that good opinions may prepare him and that he get his wish...
...at Dour Dear Sir! Having received a letter from my son Vincent, who wrote to me that he had approached you, asking for work and at the same time told me that you, Sir, wished to have information about him from me, his father, I hasten to satisfy your request by saying: That it was indeed my son, who has been in Belgium for three months, looking for a position as an evangelist, who came to see you in the hope that you might be able to give him the benefit of your wisdom and some advice and information, which he needs. That not only for the 3 months that he has spent in Belgium, but for a very long time in addition, for several years, he has been making efforts to find an opportunity to work for the Gospel. That he has found it far from easy, but that despite the difficulties he has encountered, he has persevered, and at this point is still of good courage, and he has no intention of giving up his vocation, as he calls it, to work as an evangelist. That for 3 months he has stayed in Brussels at my expense in the home of Mr Plugge (6, chemin de Halage, Laeken) since (on the first visit that he and I made to Brussels) Mr Pietersen, a minister in Malines, and also Mr de Jonge, a minister in Brussels, wished to make his acquaintance. Now, three months having passed – almost penniless – through his own fault – since he obstinately refuses to receive money from me or to be supported by me, knowing that I am far from being wealthy, he has gone in person to the place where he hoped to find work, and it was because of that that he came to see you. I end this letter, Sir, by recommending him to you, and I assure you that he has not failed to show that he is zealous and seriously wishes to work for the Gospel within the limits of his strength. That God may grant that he may find among you also the means to earn his daily bread through active work honestly performed. His path is hard, the obstacles that he will yet have to overcome are great, but they do not frighten him at all. So, Sir, permit me to recommend him to you, as I also commend him to God, his and our Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ. With my fraternal good wishes, T. van Gogh Protestant Minister at Etten near Breda (Holland...
...at 3.30 in the afternoon. He was buried on Tuesday 30 August. Dear Theo! ‘That would be a little too harsh for us, for Vincent to send his letter off without us even saying good-day. Have you been well? We hope so, since Uncle Cent received a letter from you this week, and fortunately Uncle said nothing more about indisposition. In the meantime, will you receive our letter and, as we believe, good advice and, we hope, follow it? It is already so autumnal with that rain, a demi-saison is such a wonderful garment, useful and natty, and it comes in handy now. We had a pleasant week in Princenhage. Uncle is very well, but we were disturbed by the news of the worrying state of Mr De Jonge. Pa asked if he should come and the answer was “Please do”. Pa arrived Friday morning, went there immediately, and was there and supported Mr De Jonge body and soul at his death. That was fortunate, and was a great satisfaction for Pa. Pa will also be going to the funeral on Tuesday, it is fortunate that the man is out of his suffering, but it does move one. Pa came to Uncle and Aunt’s house on Saturday, and we had a lovely day in the Liesbos. So joys and sorrows ensured that Pa much enjoyed the outing. Vincent arrived on Friday afternoon, and you see that fortunately he had made a great success of his trip, which gave us great pleasure, and for the rest we hope for the best. Good news from Anna and Jo. And their little Sara, they write that they are in high spirits. We haven’t yet had any firm news as to whether Lies will come on Wednesday but think she will, and then she will stay until a week on Saturday for my birthday, which we hope will be nice with her at home. If only you could be there again, but we would have no complaints about you were it to be more often, and then a day longer for once. It is getting a bit busier, or doesn’t that start until September? Pa has gone to De Hoeve, I’m going out part of the way to meet him, the weather’s glorious now. Cor still in Baarn, tomorrow to Helvoirt, and Wednesday here. It has been lovely for him. This is just a good-day word and a kiss from your loving Ma. Pa asks to convey his warm regards. Came back so tired from De Hoeve due to a boot pinching. So wish you all the best...
...staying for at least three years to work in the studio of the painter Cormon. I believe I told you last summer what a solitary life the brother has lived. He doesn’t have any social graces at all. He rows with...
...with him. This doesn’t make it pleasant for me at home, and I’m hoping for a change. That will...
...in him. This makes it almost intolerable for me at home. No one wants to come by any more because it...
...at that time because I was foolish enough not to ask her last year whether she wanted to correspond with me. If I do so now, or have someone ask her, then I’d be surrendering myself to her completely, and you’ll perhaps agree with me that she shouldn’t buy a pig in a poke. So I can ask your advice and so you must begin by telling me if you still correspond with her. Now there’s something else. At the moment I’m absolutely unable even to get engaged, since a change in my circumstances is imminent, which I’ll write to you about some other time. I hope that everything will be in order by this summer, but before then I don’t have enough certainty. So keep what I’m writing to you about to yourself, for I’ve written to no one about it and I’ve only spoken to her brother, who feels I should wait a little, at least until my affairs are settled. And how are things with you, little sister. Are you living happily, or rather are you really into life? For my part I feel that I’ve lived too much through the eyes and feelings of others, and that although I like reading and paintings there is something more that I know exists and that I’m not into it. Living simply with nature without poetry that comes from somewhere other than your own heart and own thoughts, that is the true thing. Certainly, everyone has that well-spring and it’s just a question of arranging life so that that spring wells up. Certainly, encouragement from outside is part of it, and that consists of two large components. In the first place mixing with congenial souls, and secondly, but that is an aid, by seeking it from other poets. That seeking is so difficult, and is actually sterile if one isn’t into real life oneself. I hope for your sake that you find much sympathy and some happiness in your life. How is your work and your writing getting along? Do you still have a great love of nature? How is it at home? And how is your health? There, a whole lot of questions, and I’m sure that you’ll soon answer them. Spring is slowly coming here, but it was raw and cold for oh so long. Now it’s becoming lovely, and people, like nature, sometimes thaw out when the sun shines. I needed that oh so much. Now little sister, a hearty kiss, and don’t grumble too much that I kept you waiting so long. Just think that it was winter and that that’s over now. Good-day and ever yours, Theo...
...at this time, and he goes on to say: “At times it seems to me that my blood is more or less ready to start circulating again, which wasn’t the case the last few months, I really couldn’t stand it any more.” I hope that the milder air will do him good. I think that I’ll be getting a young painter, “Koning”, to come and live with me at the beginning of next month. He isn’t nearly as skilful as Vincent, but it will be more companionable than being on my own. How is your drawing coming along? Is it a success, or have you given it up? Will you let me know if there’s anything you need? I would so much like to know if there’s anything I can do for you. You mustn’t be angry if you don’t get any more letters. Vincent started writing to you ten times and I’ve read more letters to you than you’ve received from him, but sometimes one begins rattling away if one has finally got started, and then it’s better to start afresh. But his letters are always interesting, which is why it’s a pity that he doesn’t write more. Bid Ma good-day from me, and tell her that I’ll write to her this week. Warm regards, and believe me your loving Theo...
...at home, which is why rather more people drop by and we have a rather convivial time. It was through him that I visited a family where the piano was played beautifully. Do you still remember the painting by Gauguin with the negresses that hangs above the couch? He recently sent twenty paintings to me at the gallery that he’d made in Brittany last year. You know, if you can see the painting in your mind’s eye, what a strange poetry there is in it. Now, the new paintings have the same thing, but since the subjects are closer to hand they’re easier to understand, and if they aren’t more beautiful they are more immediately enjoyable. There are winter landscapes with grey-green hills against the leaden sky where the colour is completely muted, and then one can’t help thinking of the inclemency of the undulating fields. Or the same landscape but with a few beech trees with the reddish brown withered leaves as a contrast to the green. There are also spring landscapes with the delicate branches of the trees from which the young leaves hang like little bells and tell of the jubilance of nature rejuvenated. Or a small village in the first days of spring hidden in a purple haze behind the more deeply coloured tree-trunks, the bright green leaves of which find their echo in the green fields that one sees stretching out against the hill in the distance beyond the village. You’d have to see them to get an idea of how diversely he expresses himself, and above all to sense the different moods in which he made them. Mostly the calm nature that fills his inner being with resignation, but sometimes also the fierce upwelling of all his suffering and struggles, which he expresses through the most powerful, deepest tones that reverberate above all when he saw nature swelling up under the benevolent and creative power of the sun. It’s impossible to describe everything that there is in those paintings, but it turns out that he’s even greater than anyone had supposed. The same thing could happen with him as formerly happened with Millet, who is now understood by everyone because the poetry he proclaimed is so powerful that everyone, from great to small, finds it satisfying. Monet, too, makes superb scenes of nature, but one has to be happy and healthy oneself to enjoy them, otherwise one might think: “Oh, if only I was there, then I’d be happy”. While from Gauguin consoling words are whispered, as it were, to those who are not happy or healthy. With him, nature itself speaks, while with Monet one hears the maker of the paintings speaking. Degas is surprisingly taken with Gauguin’s work. So much so that he wants to go to Arles to visit him. “Lucky dogs,” says Degas of Vincent and Gauguin, “that’s the life”. I don’t need to tell you what that means coming from the lips of the great Degas, who himself has such an understanding of life in its fullness. Vincent hasn’t sent me anything in a long time, but I suspect from his letters that he has made beautiful things. Gauguin’s company is naturally worth a great deal to him, and it’s absorbing him quite a lot at the moment. He recently painted portraits, and above all he seems to be satisfied with them. It’s in the figure that he finds the highest expression of his art...
...your love, God bless your endeavours. Anna is also sad, Jo and Wil are not at home. A kiss from your ma.’
...him, is it that postman? Fortunate that there’s at least someone. Sadness and happiness go together in...
...at the beginning of our discussion. When I tried to get him to talk about the motive that drove him to cut off his ear, he replied that it was a purely personal matter. In short, I find that his condition has improved a little, and I do not believe his life is in danger, at least not for the moment. He is eating fairly well and his physical strength is helping him bear his crises. My assessment is that he will be able to recover in a short time, while retaining the extreme excitability that must form the essence of his character. We are currently tending to his ear alone, and certainly not to his mental state. His wound is much better and is not causing us any concern. A few days ago, we issued a certificate of mental disturbance. The mayor signed an order leaving him in the hospital for the time being, while awaiting his transfer to an asylum. During this time, the chief of police will carry out his enquiry, and then the Prefect will give instructions for him to be taken to Aix or Marseille. I myself was a house physician in Marseille a few months ago, and I should be glad to recommend him to the colleague who took my place and who is a good friend of mine. Despite that, I shall permit myself to ask you a question and to offer you a piece of advice. Would you like to have your brother in an asylum close to Paris? Do you have resources? If so, you may very well send him to look for one; his condition easily allows him to make the journey. The matter has not progressed so far that it could not be halted, and for the chief of police to suspend his report. This is the information that I had to offer you concerning your poor brother. You ask me for my assessment; I shall give you it for what it is worth. I shall always be delighted to give you news of him, because I too have a brother; I too have been far away from my family. In a few months, when I submit my doctoral thesis in Paris, I too should be happy if somebody were able to take an interest in me at a difficult moment. With my sincerest regards, Rey Fe...
...at the top of the letter. ‘I acknowledge receipt of your kind letter, by which you do me too great an honour, and I hasten to reply in order to inform you that your dear brother Vincent has fully recovered, he left the hospital today on the 7th instant. What has delayed my reply by 24 hours is that we spent the whole day together, and I ask you to write to him. I have not given him your letter because he would be too distressed to know that he has caused you so much trouble. When you send him your news, let him remain unaware that you had knowledge of the causes of his illness, and tell him that you learned through your brother in Paris that he was unwell and that you are very pleased that he has recovered. We talked at length today about you and about your mother. Thank you for the kind things that you say about my wife and our little daughter. Reassure yourself about the health of my good friend Vincent; I am with him whenever my work permits me, and if anything should happen I would let you know at once. I do not believe I deserve all the thanks that you give me, but I shall always strive to deserve my friend Vincent’s respect, as well as that of all those who are dear to him. Permit me to pay my respects, and those of my family, to your mother. I ask you, Mademoiselle, to accept the sincere greetings of your good brother Vincent’s friend...
Glossary of materials and techniques
...for the most expensive), 3-inch and 4-inch tubes. At the bottom of their lists, they noted: ‘All...
...at which he bought his drawing materials. Cassagne’s book has a whole chapter on paper in which various types are discussed (Cassagne 1875, pp. 25-39). It also contains samples of several types, including two of Harding and of Whatman (unpaginated, at the back of the book). BristolBristol board (also referred to as ‘Bristol paper’) is a heavyweight paper used for drawings. The paper, originally made from rags, came from Bristol, England. HardingThe Excello Mill, built in 1865 by the Harding Paper Co., produced fine writing paper; Van Gogh used Harding paper for his drawings. Honig paperProbably paper from the Honig paper mill in Zaanstad, which was well-known for its printing, writing and drawing papers. See Henk Voorn, De geschiedenis der Nederlandse papierindustrie I: De papiermolens in de provincie Noord-Holland. Haarlem 1960, and P. Boorsma, Bijzonderheden betreffende molens der familie Honig. Koog aan de Zaan 1975. IngresA French mould-made paper that comes in various thicknesses and is particularly suitable for drawings. It is a mingle-coloured paper, with a special grain and watermark (see Heenk 1995, p. 27). In Van Gogh’s terminology, ‘Ingres’ stands for any kind of laid paper, but that is an incorrect widening of the meaning. mature paper‘Paper that has been kept in stock for a considerable period before use, by which many papers are greatly improved. Newly made papers tend to fluff, cockle and stretch.’ See Elsevier’s dictionary of the printing and allied industries. Amsterdam, London and New York 1967. Its pleasant surface texture would also have appealed to Van Gogh. papier de la formeMould-made paper (Cassagne 1875, p. 38). papier sans finA machine-made paper that comes in rolls. Unlike mould-made paper, it has a uniform surface structure (‘fin’) with little variation. torchonA coarse type of paper incorporating rags that is used especially for gouaches and watercolours (Cassagne 1875, pp. 26-27). Van Gogh also impregnated it with oil so as to work on it with oil paint. transfer paperPaper for transferring a composition onto another support, such as canvas or a lithographic stone. WhatmanMade since the eighteenth century in Springfield, Kent, Whatman paper, which took its name from James Whatman, the paper mill’s founder, set the standard for superior quality drawing, writing and printing paper. It became enormously popular with artists such as J.M.W. Turner...

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896 letters, 24 essay items, 10 bibliographic items and 4 other items found

896 letters found

24 essay items found

10 bibliographic items found

4 other items found

Vincent van Gogh, The Letters