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From Vincent to Theo

Nuenen: 1883-85


"But you know, don't you, that I consider you to have saved my life."

Vincent van Gogh
Letter 346
17 December 1883


Letter

Keywords

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Link to Painting(s) Mentioned in Letter

344

c. 5 December 1883

Moniteur Universel, Millet, Corot, Rembrandt, Israëls, Mesdag, Blommers, Maris, Uncle Vincent, Abel, Cain I mean, there is no reason to lose one's serenity if one should realize that one might have to lead a life of poverty, even if one possesses all the qualities, the knowledge, the capacities, which make other people rich. I am not indifferent to money, but I do not understand the wolves.

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345

c. 6-7 December 1883

Father, Rappard . . . there is a certain hardness in Father, like iron, an icy coldness . . . .

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345a

c. 7-8 December 1883

Father, Mother, Van Rappard . . . but I ask you point-blank how we stand--are you a "Van Gogh" too? I have always looked upon you as "Theo".

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346

17 December 1883

Rappard, Mauve They feel the same dread of taking me in the house as they would about taking in a big, rough dog. He would run into the room with wet paws--and he is so rough. He will be in everybody's way. And he barks so loud. In short, he is a foul beast.
But you know, don't you, that I consider you to have saved my life.

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347

c. 18 December 1883

Father, Corot, Rappard, Millet, Corot, Daubigny, Breton, Herkomer, Boughton, Jules Dupré, Israëls, Tersteeg, Delaroche, Muller, Dubuffe, Michelet . . . Father's gray hairs make it evident to me that the time left to us for reconciliation is perhaps, in truth, not very long. I do not much care for deathbed reconciliations, I prefer to see them during life.

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348

c. 21 December 1883

Rappard, Father, Mauve, Hugo Full Text ---
349

The Hague
c. 22-25 December 1883

Rappard, Sien I have seen the woman again, a thing I had greatly longed for.

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350

c. 25-28 December 1883

Sien As to my opinion how far one may go in a case of helping a poor, forsaken, sick creature, I can only repeat what I told you already on a former occasion: infinitely.

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350a

Late December 1883

Sien, "The Prisoner" by Gérôme I tell you without reserve that you have this much in common with Father, who often acts in the same way, that you are cruel in your worldly wisdom.

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351

c. 2 January 1884

Corot, Français, Father I for my part often prefer to be with people who do not even know the world, for instance the peasants, the weavers, etc., rather than being with those of the more civilized world.

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Wood Auction, A: F 1113, JH 438; Weaver Facing Left: F 1114, JH 444; Church in Gerwen with Four Figures: F 1238, JH 435
352

17 January 1884

--- Something has happened to Mother.

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353

18 and 19 January 1884

--- Theo, think it over well, if you cannot find some way or other for me to earn something.

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354

c. 20-24 January 1884

--- . . . when I am not with Mother, I am near by at the weavers', where I am working on two painted studies.

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355

c. 24 January 1884

Manet, Zola, Millet ---

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Weaver Facing Right (Half-Figure): F 26, JH 450; Church in Nuenen, with One Figure: F 1117, JH 446; Weaver Facing Right, Interior with One Window and High Chair: F 1118, JH 452; Weaver Facing Right, Interior with One Window and High Chair: F 1119, JH 449; Weaver Facing Left: F 1120, JH 443
355a

Early January 1884

--- If it gives you any satisfaction to know that what you call "my plans for the future" have practically fallen through, thrive on the thought.

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355b

Early February 1884

Monnier . . . in the long run I suppose I shall succeed.

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356

13 February 1884

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357

c. 18-23 February 1884

Poems by François Coppeé, Watteau, Rembrandt's "Jewish Bride", Thoré, Théophile Gautier Full Text Weaver Facing Right, Interior with One Window and High Chair: F 1118, JH 452; Weaver Facing Right: F 1121, JH 453; Weaver Facing Right (Half-Figure): F 1122, JH 454; Weaver Facing Left: F 1123, JH 455
358

c. 1 March 1884

Michel, Father, C.M., Mauve There needs to be more gusto in my life if I am to get more brio into my brush – exercising patience will not get me a hair's breadth further.

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Farmhouse with Peat Stacks: F 22, JH 421; Old Tower at Nuenen with a Ploughman, The: F 34, JH 459; Farmhouse at Night: F 1097, JH 418; Weaver Facing Right, Interior with One Window and High Chair: F 1118, JH 452; Weaver Facing Right: F 1121, JH 453; Weaver Facing Right (Half-Figure): F 1122, JH 454; Weaver Facing Left: F 1123, JH 455
359

c. 9 March 1884

Uncle Vincent Love always brings difficulties, that is true, but the good side of it is that it gives energy.

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360

c. 1 February 1884

Rappard Now I want to make you a proposal for the future. Let me send you my work, and keep what you like for yourself, but I insist on considering the money I receive from you after March as money I have earned.

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361

c. 11 March 1884

--- Last year, the year '83, was a hard, sad year for me, and the end especially was bitterly, bitterly sad.

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362

c. 21 March 1884

Lhermitte, Millet, Buhot, Daumier, Julien Brochard, Paul Delaroche, Heyerdahl . . . in the meantime my life would not be too lonesome and miserable, my position not too false, but that I could accept the present with a sense of freedom. But how is it at present? You do absolutely nothing to procure me some distraction, which I sometimes need so badly, by meeting people, or seeing things.

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363

c. 26 March 1884

Braat, Zola, Rappard Will you see to it that my work is brought under the eyes of those people who, if not now then later on, must become its buyers?

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363a

Early April 1884

Rappard, C.M., Millet, Lhermitte, Rembrandt, Nicolaes Maes, Van der Meer, Sensier Full Text Old Tower at Nuenen with a Ploughman, The: F 34, JH 459; Parsonage Garden: F 1128, JH 466; Parsonage Garden: F 1130, JH 465; Parsonage Garden: F 1133, JH 485; Pond with a Kingfisher: F 1135, JH 468; Lane of Poplars with One Figure: F 1239, JH 464; Pollard Birches with Woman and Flock of Sheep: F 1240, JH 469
364

c. 1 April 1884

Braat Of course I will send you my work every month. As you say, that work will be your property then, and I perfectly agree with you that you have every right to do anything with it; even I couldn't make any objection if you should want to tear it to pieces.

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Weaver Facing Left with Spinning Wheel: F 29, JH 471; Old Tower at Nuenen with a Ploughman, The: F 34, JH 459; Parsonage Garden: F 1128, JH 466; Behind the Hedges: F 1129, JH 461; Parsonage Garden: F 1130, JH 465; Parsonage Garden: F 1133, JH 485; Pond with a Kingfisher: F 1135, JH 468
365

April, 1884

Rappard, Braat, Cor, Mother, Father But [Rappard] as well as I, we are getting more and more disillusioned about finding sympathy, and are more and more determined to persevere without minding what anybody says.

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366

April, 1884

Rappard If I, for my part, have some confidence in my own work, it is also because it costs me too much effort for me to believe that nothing will be gained by it or that it is done in vain.

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Parsonage Garden: F 1128, JH 466; Parsonage Garden: F 1130, JH 465; Parsonage Garden: F 1133, JH 485
367

c. 30 April 1884

Rembrandt, "The Night Watch", Millet Full Text Weaver Facing Left with Spinning Wheel: F 29, JH 471; Weaver, Seen from the Front: F 30, JH 479; Weaver, Seen from the Front: F 31, JH 477; Weaver Arranging Threads: F 32, JH 480; Weaver Arranging Threads: F 35, JH 478
368

c. 15 May 1884

Puvis de Chavannes, Maris, Israëls, Mauve, Rappard Recently I have been getting on better with people here than I did at first, which is of great importance to me, for one decidedly needs some distraction, and if one feels too lonely, the work always suffers from it . . . .

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Weaver, Seen from the Front: F 30, JH 479; Old Tower in the Fields, The: F 40, JH 507
369

Late May 1884

Rappard Full Text Weaver Standing in Front of a Loom: F 33, JH 489; Parsonage Garden: F 1128, JH 466; Parsonage Garden: F 1130, JH 465
370

Early June 1884

Les artistes de mon temps by Ch. Blanc, Paul Chenavard, Delacroix, Paul Veronese, De Bock, Jaap Maris As to drab colour, in my opinion, one must not judge the colours of a painting separately; a drab colour, for instance, next to a strong brownish-red, a dark blue or olive-green may express the very delicate, fresh green of a meadow or a little cornfield.

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Old Man Reeling Yarn: F 1140, JH 487
371

Early June 1884

Les Maitres d'Autrefois [The Masters of the Past] by Fromentin, Mauve, Ruysdael, Dupré, Corot, Daubigny, Regnault, Fortuny, Israëls, Cabat, De Groux, Thoré, Blanc, Beethoven The laws of the colours are unutterably beautiful, just because they are not accidental.

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Old Man Reeling Yarn: F 1138, JH 486; Old Man Reeling Yarn: F 1140, JH 487
372

Early July 1884

Breitner Full Text Weaver near an Open Window: F 24, JH 500; Weaver, Interior with Three Small Windows: F 37, JH 501
373

Early August 1884

Rappard, Vosmaer, Sapho by Daudet I work a good deal early in the morning or in the evening, and sometimes everything is so unutterably beautiful then.

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Cart with Red and White Ox: F 38, JH 504; Cart with Black Ox: F 39, JH 505; Old Tower in the Fields, The: F 40, JH 507; Old Church Tower at Nuenen, The: F 88, JH 490
374

Early August 1884

Millais Fred. Walker, Hobbema, Constable How I should love to walk with you in London, particularly in real London weather when the City, especially in certain old parts near the river, has aspects that are very melancholy but at the same time have a remarkably striking character . . . .

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Potato Harvest with Two Figures: F 1141, JH 510; Ploughman: F 1142, JH 512; Sower: F 1143, JH 509; Oxcart in the Snow: F 1144, JH 511
375

Second half September, 1884

Margot Begemann, Madame Bovary, Dr. Van der Loo Margot Begemann took poison in a moment of despair . . . .

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376

Second half September, 1884

Begemann family, Madame Bovary Full Text ---
377

Second half September, 1884

Margot Begemann, Rappard, Hermans, Mouret It is a pity that I didn't meet [Margot Begemann] before, for instance, ten years ago. Now she gives me the impression of a Cremona violin which has been spoiled by bad, bungling repairers.

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Wood Gatherers in the Snow: F 43, JH 516
378

October, 1884

Margot Begemann, Octave Mouret, Guizot, Millet, Breton, Zola, "Angélus", Daudet, Mauve Oh, Theo, why should I change – I used to be very passive and very gentle and quiet – I'm that no longer, but then I'm no longer a child either now – sometimes I feel my own man.

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379

Second half September, 1884

Delacroix's Liberty at the Barricades, De Lemud, Daumier, Napoleon, Guizot, Louis Philippe, Michelet, Quinet, Victor Hugo, Margot Begemann, Tersteeg, Mouret Full Text ---
380

Late September, 1884

Daumier, Lemud, Father, Breton, Guizot, Michelet, Millet, Dupré, Corot, Daubigny, Joseph Prudhomme, Monnier I, for my part, know well enough that the future will always remain very difficult for me, and I am almost sure that in the future I shall never be what people call prosperous.

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381

October, 1884

Hermans, Stracké, Breitner, Cormon, Anatomy for Artists by John Marshall, Breughel You once told me that I should always be isolated; I don't believe it, you are decidedly mistaken in my character there.

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382

22? October 1884

Hermans, Rappard And as to my work, every day I become keener on it, and I get back my high spirits, as if I were twenty.

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383

Late October, 1884

Rappard, Lhermitte's "Le Cabaret" Perhaps some more painters will come in this neighbourhood next year. I should be glad of it, for one must not go without seeing any other painters for too long a time.

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Avenue of Poplars in Autumn: F 122, JH 522
384

c. 1 November 1884

Mauve, Tersteeg, Rappard This is a thing you never feel or understand. You say "go on painting," but for the rest you know nothing.

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385

November, 1884

Mauve, Tersteeg My affairs can prosper, and in both our interests, I wish we could concentrate all the power at our disposal.

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Water Mill at Gennep: F 125, JH 525
386

mid-November, 1884

Anton Kerssemakers, Mauve, Tersteeg, Hermans In the very fight I shall feel my strength grow, and I shall learn more by criticism, by ill will, even by opposition, than by resignation.

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Water Mill at Gennep: F 125, JH 525
386a

c. 9 December 1884

Mauve, Tersteeg But personally you aren't of the slightest use to me, nor am I to you. And it is possible, and it ought to be, that we should mean more to each other personally.

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386b

Late November 1884

--- . . . I believe there will be a chance of keeping the peace in the future, though it will be far from real harmony.

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387

mid-November, 1884

Kerssemakers, Hermans I know that it is a hard time for you, but we must push on, and sure enough there will be a change for the better.

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Water Mill at Gennep: F 1144a, JH 523
388

c. 7 December 1884

Begemann, Father, Mother Therefore – with steady courage and serenity and without rancour: I must plod on in order to separate in peace, and without harming anybody.

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388a

31 January 1885

Zundert There are various things in the world that are great – the sea with the fishermen – the furrows and the peasants – the mines and the miners.

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388b

Early February 1885

L'Illustration, Renouard . . . one does not paint in order to have an easy time of it.

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389

mid-December 1884

Rappard, Renouard, Daumier, Gavarnis Full Text ---
390

15-17 December 1884

De Groux, Conscience, Thijs Maris, Leys, Victor Hugo It is certainly not for my pleasure that I live here at home, but for my painting . . . .

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391

Late December 1884

Dante, Giotto I don't yet know what I shall do with those [peasant] heads, but I want to extract the motif from the characters themselves.

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392

c. 20 January 1885

--- I've hardly ever begun a year with a gloomier aspect, in a gloomier mood, and I do not expect any future of success, but a future of strife.

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393

c. 24 January 1885

Paul Renouard, Rappard, Dumas, Millet, Daumier, Lepage, Michelangelo In any case, whether people approve or do not approve of what I do and how I do it, I for my part know no other way than to wrestle so long with nature that she tells me her secret.

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394

February, 1885

Renouard, Puvis de Chavannes, Emile Levy, Beyle, Cottin, Jules Breton, Daubigny, Harpignies, Ruysdael, Israëls, Dupré . . . I think it just as superb as anybody else, but I am even more interested in the proportion of a figure, the division of the oval of the head, and I cannot master the rest before I have a better grip on the figure.

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Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in the Snow, The: F 67, JH 604; Head of a Peasant Woman with Brownish Cap: F 154, JH 608
395

c. 1 March 1885

Lhermitte, Whistler, Millais, Boughton, Chardin, Jacquet, Van Beers, Fantin Latour Just now I paint not only as long as there is daylight, but even in the evening by the lamp in the cottages, when I can hardly distinguish anything on my palette . . . .

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Peasant Woman Sewing: F 126a, JH 655; Peasant Woman Sweeping the Floor: F 152, JH 656; Peasant Making a Basket: F 171, JH 658; Peasant Making a Basket: F 171a, JH 657
396

mid-March 1885

Lhermitte Now as for me, I cannot yet show a single picture, hardly a single drawing yet. But I do make studies, and that's just why I can very well imagine that the time might come when I shall also be able to compose easily. And, moreover, it is hard to say where the study ends and the picture begins.

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Peasant Woman, Seen against the Window: F 70, JH 715; Head of a Peasant Woman against a Window: F 70a, JH 716; Peasant Woman Seated before an Open Door, Peeling Potatoes: F 73, JH 717
397

c. 1 April 1885

C. M., Mauve, Bloemendaal Life is not long for anybody, and the problem is only to make something of it.

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Head of a Peasant Woman with Red Cap: F 160, JH 722
398

c. 5 April 1885

Mother, Anna, Delacroix We are now in the very beginning of showing the work; I feel sure that by and by we shall find some friends for it.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 78, JH 734
399

c. 11 April 1885

Gigoux . . . . one must work and dare if one really wants to live.

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400

13 April 1885

Millet, Israëls, Mauve, B. Lepage, De Groux, Mellery, Renan . . . I repeat Millet is father Millet, that is, counsellor and mentor in everything to the younger painters.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 78, JH 734; Five Persons at a Meal: F 1226, JH 736; Potato Eaters, The: F 1661, JH 737
401

c. 13-17 April 1885

Gigoux, Portier, Henri Pille, Le Chat Noir, Delacroix, Newton Full Text Potato Eaters, The: F 78, JH 734; Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Potato Eaters, The: F 1661, JH 737
402

21 April 1885

Portier, Corot, Français, Delacroix, Dou, Van Schendel, Millet, Blommers, Mauve, Maris There is a school — I believe – of impressionists. But I know very little about it.
I hope to have some luck with that picture of the potato-eaters.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Potato Eaters, The: F 1661, JH 737
403

Late April 1885

Portier, Lhermitte, Delacroix, Ingres, Daumier, Jules Dupré, Balzac, Gigoux, Henri Pille, Meunier, Mellery, Rappard, Allebé, Jacque But I am getting on with [The Potato Eaters], and I think there are completely different things in it than you can ever have seen in my work.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 78, JH 734; Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764
404

c. 30 April 1885

Portier, Durand Ruel, Millet, De Groux Yet the weaver, or rather the designer, of the pattern or the colour combination does not always find it easy to make an exact estimate of the number of threads and their direction – no more than it is easy to weave brush strokes into a harmonious whole.
The point is that I've tried to bring out the idea that these people eating potatoes by the light of their lamp have dug the earth with the self-same hands they are now putting into the dish, and it thus suggests manual labour and – a meal honestly earned.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 78, JH 734; Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Potato Eaters, The: F 1661, JH 737
405

Early May 1885

Roll, Durand Ruel, Portier, Millet, Daubigny, Corot, Israëls, Dupré, Paul Veronese, Josephson When I went to the cottage tonight, I found the people at supper in the light of the small window instead of under the lamp – oh, it was splendid! The colour was extraordinary too . . . .

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Peasant Woman, Seen against the Window: F 70, JH 715; Head of a Peasant Woman against a Window: F 70a, JH 716; Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Three Persons Sitting at the Window: F 1229v, JH 775
406

4 or 5 May 1885

Ostade, Portier, Jules Breton, Roll, Fantin Latour, Vernier, Lhermitte, Régamey, Renouard, Lançon, Tissot, Alfred Stevens, Millet, Herkomer, the Boetzel Albums, Daubigny, Corot, Dupré, Israëls, Breton, Mauve, Fred. Walker, Pinwell, Leys, Luxembourg, Bastien Lepage, Jaap Maris, Artz, Cabat, Besnard, Uhde, Rembrandt, the [London] National Gallery But the reason why I am sending [The Potato Eaters] with a certain confidence is that, in contrast to many other pictures, there is rusticity and a certain life in it.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764
407

6 May 1885

--- Full Text Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764
408

c. 11 May 1885

Portier, Paul Mantz, Millet, Lhermitte, Roll, Rappard, Zola's Germinal, Besnard, Mouret, Bourdoncle, Mother, L'évangeliste by Daudet, Gigoux, Thijs Maris, Israëls, Mauve, Neuhuys, Delacroix, Leys, Thoré, Théophile Gautier, De Groux And what I try to acquire is not to draw a hand but the gesture, not a mathematically correct head, but the general expression. For instance, when a digger looks up and sniffs the wind or speaks. In short, life.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Cottage at Nightfall: F 83, JH 777; Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen, The: F 84, JH 772; Wood Auction, A: F 1113, JH 438; Auction of Crosses near the Old Tower: F 1230, JH 770
409

c. 15 May 1885

Germinal, Portier Last year I often got desperate about the colour, but now I work with more confidence.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Gordina de Groot, Head: F 140, JH 745; Gordina de Groot, Head: F 141, JH 783
410

c. 1 June 1885

Portier, Serret, Germinal, Souvarine, the Louvre, the Luxembourg, Millet, Delacroix, Corot, Lhermitte But it is a fact that one needs both nature and pictures.But it is a fact that one needs both nature and pictures.

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Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Cottage at Nightfall: F 83, JH 777; Head of a Peasant Woman: F 86, JH 785; Gordina de Groot, Head: F 141, JH 783; Auction of Crosses near the Old Tower: F 1230, JH 770
411

Early June 1885

Cimetière de Paysans, Victor Hugo, Paul Delaroche, Gérôme, Michel, Bodmer, Portier . . . but how the life and the death of the peasants remain forever the same, budding and withering regularly, like the grass and the flowers growing there in that churchyard.

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Cottage at Nightfall: F 83, JH 777; Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen, The: F 84, JH 772
412

Second half June 1885

Serret, Germinal At times it makes me quite melancholy that the result is always "unsalable."

But I go on, and harden myself against it.

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Cottage: F 91, JH 809
413

Second half June 1885

Serret, Wallis, Wisselingh, Van Rappard, Hennebeau, Germinal, Millet And who were the persons that had suppressed and refused Millet? The art dealers, the so-called experts.

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Auction of Crosses near the Old Tower: F 1230, JH 770; Potato Eaters, The: F 1661, JH 737
414

21 or 28 June 1885

Israëls, Artz, Labrichon, Frère, Knaus, Vautier, Decamps, Isabey, Corot, a Dupré, a Millet, Mantz, Harpignies, "The Moving Out" by Nuyen, Leys, Cabat, Diaz, Lepoitevin, Uhde, Meyerheim, Monnier, Clausen, Pinwell, Fred. Walker, Bridgmann, Serret, Lhermitte, Raffaelli Every day I work hard on drawing figures. But I must have a hundred of them, even more, before I am through. I want to find something different from my old drawings and to grasp the character of the peasants – especially those from this neighbourhood.

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Cottage at Nightfall: F 83, JH 777; Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen, The: F 84, JH 772
415

Second half August 1885

Wenkebach, Rappard, Israëls, Millet, Tersteeg, Mauve One must not call it engaging in a hopeless struggle, for others have won, and we shall win too.

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Avenue of Poplars in Autumn: F 122, JH 522; Potato Planting: F 84, JH 514
416

Early July 1885

Raffaelli, Uhde, Knaus, Labrichon, Lhermitte, Santa Claus I have been watching those peasant figures here for more than a year and a half, especially their action, just to catch their character.

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417

mid-July 1885

Serret, Raffaelli, Mantz, Sensier, Millet, Paul Dubois Full Text ---
418

July 1885

Millet, Gigoux, Delacroix, Portier, Jacque, Beyle, Lhermitte, Schelfhout, Koekkoek, Raffaelli, Régamey, Courbet, Benjamin Constant, Alfred Stevens, Tissot, Zola, Jacquet, Daumier, Ostade, Terborch, Velásquez, Israëls, Serret, Cabanel, Bastien Lepage, Michelangelo, Breton, Herkomer, Henner, Lefevre, Baudry, Mercier, Dalou I can't tell the future, Theo – but I do know the eternal law that all things change.

Full Text

Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Cottage with Peasant Woman Digging: F 89, JH 803
419

6 August 1885

Bonger I am rather busy, as they are reaping the corn in the fields, for, as you know, this lasts only a few days, and it is one of the most beautiful things.

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419b

c. 7 August 1885

--- It may be that you don't think it reasonable of me to insist on my – and I should much prefer to say our – little painting business becoming the centre of a larger business which we might undertake together later on; but I for my part persist in claiming that something will and shall come of it, if only we remain sufficiently united.

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420

mid-August 1885

Serret, Portier . . . my work is hampered and obstructed to such an extent that I am at my wit's end, and I prefer to tell the fellows: Sell the whole lot! But let me work!

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421

Second half August 1885

Rappard, Meunier, Portier, Serret, Wenkebach . . . let's keep that little painting business of mine in good shape, for sooner or later we may need it badly. If a storm is threatening, one must keep the boats well trimmed.

Full Text

Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen, The: F 84, JH 772; Two Peasant Women Digging: F 96, JH 878; Two Peasant Women Digging Potatoes: F 97, JH 876
422

Late August 1885

Leurs I should propose that we undertake more things together, and not let anything crush us, either of us. On the contrary, we should both show that our hearts are full of vim and energy – and love of art of a sterling quality.

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423

Early September 1885

Lhermitte, Poussin, Bracquemond, Rappard, Millet, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Chenavard But I, for my part, am convinced that in this respect one can have faith in modern art.

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424

Late September 1885

Bracquemond, Delacroix, Portier, Schoenfeld Full Text Still Life with Copper Kettle, Jar and Potatoes: F 51, JH 925; Potato Eaters, The: F 82, JH 764; Still Life with Two Baskets of Potatoes: F 107, JH 933; Still Life with a Basket of Potatoes: F 116, JH 934
425

c. 4 September 1885

Lhermitte, Poussin, Rembrandt, Frans Hals You cannot imagine what a longing I have to see pictures.

Full Text

Still Life with Two Baskets of Potatoes: F 107, JH 933; Still Life with Three Birds' Nests: F 108, JH 940; Still Life with Two Birds' Nests: F 109r, JH 942; Still Life with Three Birds' Nests: F 110, JH 941; Still Life with Five Birds' Nests: F 111, JH 939; Still Life with Three Birds' Nests: F 112, JH 938
426

10 or 11 October 1885

"Night Watch", "The Syndics", Frans Hals, P. Codde, Bürger, Rembrandt's "Jewish Bride", Delacroix, De Goncourt, Chérie, Israëls, Jules Breton, Jaap Maris, Willem Maris, Mauve, Neuhuys, Blommers, Fodor Museum. "The Shepherd" by Decamps, Meissonier, Diaz, Well, Bosboom, Waldorp, Nuyen, Rochussen, Gavarni Let us paint much, this is necessary if we want to have success; just because times are slack we must work hard; then, instead of finding all harbours closed to us, we will one day sweep the seas with a broomstick in the mast.

Full Text

View of Amsterdam from Central Station: F 113, JH 944; View in Amsterdam, De Ruyterkade: F 211, JH 973
427

October 1885

Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Ruysdael, Unger, Bracquemond, Corot, Millet, Meissonier, Brouwer, Ostade, Terborch, Rubens, Diaz, Van Goyen, Jules Dupré, Cuyp, Rappard, Maris, Mauve, Neuhuys, Bastien Lepage, Mesdag, Delacroix, Israëls, De Goncourt The saying "l'argent est le nerf de la guerre" is alas also true of painting. In war, however, the result is nothing but misery and destruction, and in painting one sometimes sows, though the painter himself is not the man who reaps.

Full Text

View of Amsterdam from Central Station: F 113, JH 944; View in Amsterdam, De Ruyterkade: F 211, JH 973
428

Second half October 1885

Burger, Mantz, Silvestre, Blaisse Desgoffe, Van Beyeren, De Goncourt, Chardin. Rembrandt, Lacaze, Frans Hals, Veronese, Rubens, Delacroix, Velásquez, Millet, Israëls, Apol, Dante If you come across some good book on colour theories, mind you send it to me, for I too am far from knowing everything about it, and am searching for more every day.

Full Text

Still Life with a Basket of Potatoes: F 100, JH 931; Still Life with Two Baskets of Potatoes: F 107, JH 933; Still Life with Three Birds' Nests: F 108, JH 940; Still Life with Three Birds' Nests: F 110, JH 941; Still Life with Three Birds' Nests: F 112, JH 938; Still Life with a Basket of Potatoes: F 116, JH 934; Still Life with an Earthen Bowl and Potatoes: F 118, JH 932
429

Late October 1885

Manet, Jules Dupré, Delacroix, Millet, Corot, Daubigny, Breton, Zola, Paul Huet, Israëls, Cabat, Isabey, Veronese, Doré Just now my palette is thawing and the frigidness of the first beginning has disappeared.
. . . I study nature, so as not to do foolish things, to remain reasonable – however, I don't mind so much whether my colour corresponds exactly, as long as it looks beautiful on my canvas, as beautiful as it looks in nature.

Full Text

Still Life with Bible: F 117, JH 946
430

Early November 1885

Diderot, Voltaire, Delacroix, Newton, Stephenson, Ch. Blanc, Daubigny, Dupré, Van der Meer of Delft, Haverman, Ary Scheffer, Delaroche, Silvestre, Lhermitte, Goncourt I am completely absorbed in the laws of colours. If only they had taught us them in our youth!

Full Text

Autumn Landscape with Four Trees: F 44, JH 962; Lane with Poplars: F 45, JH 959; Still Life with Bible: F 117, JH 946; Parsonage Garden at Nuenen with Pond and Figures, The: F 124, JH 955
431

8-12 November 1885

Goncourt, Boucher, Bouguereau, Perrault, Rubens, Chardin, Watteau, Corot, Latour, Voltaire, Rembrandt, Van der Helst, Bonnemort, Michelangelo, Zola, Mouret, Frans Hals, Van Goyen, Cuyp, Van der Meer of Delft I do not know how I shall fare in the future.

Full Text

Autumn Landscape with Four Trees: F 44, JH 962; Cottage at Nightfall: F 83, JH 777; Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen, The: F 84, JH 772; Water Mill at Gennep: F 125, JH 525
432

12-15 November 1885

Mother, Anna, Van der Loo Full Text ---
433

mid-November 1885

Goncourt, Chardin, Reinier de Greef, Toon de Groot, Dien van de Beck, Millet, Sensier, Van der Loo, Zola Thus concentrating everything on the work [in Antwerp], and going there as a poor man, I have nothing to lose in any case.

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434

c. 15-20 November 1885

Leys, Bracquemond, Tersteeg, Wisselingh, Paul Huet I painted continuously here to learn painting, to get firm notions about colour, etc., without having much room in my head for other things.

Full Text

Lane with Poplars: F 45, JH 959
435

c. 18-22 November 1885

Rubens, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, the "Penseroso" by Michelangelo, Boucher, Gainsborough, Ch. Blanc, Jules Breton Full Text ---


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