To Willemien van Gogh. , late October 1887.

late October 1887

Metadata Source status: Original manuscript

Location: Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b701 a-b V/1962

Date: Willemien had written to Vincent saying that she thought Theo looked very poorly that summer. This must have been prompted by his visit in July 1887 (see letter 571). There are references to this summer and to Theo, who was now (that is to say, after the disappointments he had met with in the Netherlands) doing reasonably well again, which would seem to imply that some time has elapsed since their meeting. Vincents remark when I painted landscape in Asnires this summer (l. 170) also points in this direction. On 14 November 1887 Margreet Meyboom wrote to Willemien, who had sent her the present letter to read (letter in private collection). It is not clear from this letter from Willemiens friend how long she had had Van Goghs letter by then; we do know, though, that after the letter she had also received a postcard from Willemien before she replied to both communications on 14 November. Equally it is impossible to determine how long Willemien had had Vincents letter before she sent it on to Margreet. None of this provides us with any concrete information for dating the letter aside from a terminus ante quem. However, taking into account the fact that Margreet and Willemien corresponded regularly and assuming that, because of her admiration and enthusiasm, Willemien would have sent her brothers letter on quite soon after she received it, we assume that the letter dates from late October 1887.

Additional: Original [1r:1] Mijn beste zusje, ik dank U wel voor uw schrijven maar ik voor mij heb tegenwoordig zoo t land aan schrijven, echter zijn er vragen in uw brief waarop ik wel eens antwoorden wil. ik moet beginnen met U tegen te spreken waar gij zegt dat gij vondt dat Theo er dezen zomer zoo ellendig uitzag. Ik voor mij vind dat Theos voorkomen in t laatste jaar integen deel heel veel gewonnen heeft in distinctie. Men moet sterk zijn om zooals hij het leven in Parijs zooveel jaren uit te houden. Maar kan t niet wezen dat de familie en vrienden van Theo in Amsterdam en den Haag hem niet hebben behandeld

1 2 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887.

en zelfs niet ontvangen met die hartelijkheid die hij van hen verdiende en waarop hij regt had. Ik kan U dienaangaande zeggen dat hij misschien hierover wat leed had maar hij trekt er zich verder niets van aan en hij doet tegenwoordig waar het in de schilderijen zoo slechte tijden zijn toch zaken, en kan er bij zijn hollandsche vrienden niet wat jalousie de metier bij komen. Wat zal ik U nu zeggen over uw stukje van de planten & den regen. Ge zelf ziet in de natuur dat menige bloem wordt vertrapt, bevriest of wordt verschroeid, overigens dat niet iedere korenkorrel na gerijpt te zijn in de aarde weer teregt komt om er te kiemen & een halm te worden maar verreweg de meeste korrels komen niet tot hun ontwikkeling doch gaan naar den molen niet waar. De menschen nu vergelijkende met de graankorrels In ieder mensch die gezond en natuurlijk is zit als in een graankorrel kiemkracht . En het natuurlijk leven is dus kiemen . Wat de kiemkracht in het graan is, is de liefde in ons. Nu staan wij, vind ik, met een langen neus te kijken of met een mond vol tanden als wij, gedwarsboomd zijnde in onze natuurlijke ontwikkeling, dat kiemen verijdeld zien en ons zelf geplaatst in omstandigheden zoo hopeloos als t voor t graan moet wezen tusschen de molensteenen. Als het ons zoo gaat en wij ten eenemale verbijsterd zijn door t verlies van ons natuurlijk leven, zijn er enkelen onder ons die, wenschende zich te onderwerpen aan den loop der dingen zoo als die eenmaal is, hun zelfbewustzijn echter niet loslaten en wenschen [1v:2] te weten hoe t met hen gaat en wat er eigentlijk gebeurt. En met goeden wil zoekende in de boeken waarvan gezegd wordt dat zij licht zijn in de duisternis, 1 vinden we met den besten wil van de wereld al heel bitter weinig zekers en om ons persoonlijk te troosten niet altijd satisfactie. En de ziekten waaraan wij beschaafde lui t meest laboreeren zijn melancolie en pessimisme. Zoo b.v. ik die zooveel jaren tel in mijn leven dat de lust tot lagchen me ten eenemale verging, of dit door mijn eigen schuld zij of niet ter zijde stellende, ik b.v. heb vooral behoefte om eens goed door te lagchen. Dat vond ik in en er zijn er wel meer hier, onder de oude schrijvers Rabelais, 2 onder de tegenwoordige Henri Rochefort, 4 waar men dat in

1 Biblical. 2 Franois Rabelais3, famous for his entertaining books Gargantua (1535) and Pantagruel (1533). In his note to the Reader in Gargantua Rabelais writes that he is not presenting any scholarly or literary feats, but a healthy dose of humour, for laughter is peculiar to man (rire est le propre de lhomme). See Franois Rabelais, Les oeuvres romanesques. Ed. Franoise Joukovsky. Paris 1999, p. 5. 4 Victor Henri Marquis de Rochefort-Luay5 wrote satirical articles. His groundbreaking style and controversial ideas led to his dismissal from Le Figaro. In 1868 he founded his own periodical La Lanterne, followed by La Marseillaise (1870), Le Mot dordre (1871) and LIntransigeant (1880). To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. 3 vinden kan Voltaire in Candide . 6 Integendeel indien men waarheid wil, het leven zooals het is, b.v. de Goncourt in Germinie Lacerteux, 8 la fille Elisa, 10 Zola in La joie de vivre12 en lassommoir14 en zooveel andere meesterwerken, schilderen t leven z als we t zelf voelen en voldoen dus aan die behoefte die we hebben, dat men ons waarheid spreke. Het werk van de fransche naturalisten Zola, Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant, de Goncourt, Richepin, Daudet, Huysmans is prachtig en men kan ter naauwernood gezegd worden tot zijn tijd te hooren als men er geen kennis van heeft genomen. Het meesterwerk van Maupassant is Bel ami, ik hoop het U te kunnen bezorgen.16 Hebben wij genoeg aan den Bijbel. tegenwoordig zou geloof ik Jezus zelf weer zeggen tot hen die melankoliek neerzitten, t is hier niet , t is opgestaan. Wat zoekt ge den levende bij de dooden. 20 Indien t gesproken of geschreven woord licht der wereld21 blijve, zoo is het ons regt en onzen pligt te erkennen dat we leven in een tijd waarin z geschreven, z gesproken

6 See for Voltaire7s Candide : letter 568, n. 3.

8 Edmond and Jules de Goncourt9s novel Germinie Lacerteux (1864) tells the story of the servant girl Germinie Lacerteux, who gets herself into debt and commits crimes for the man she loves, the swindler and blackmailer Jupillon. Eventually she succumbs to misery. Until her death she manages to conceal her double life from her employer Madame de Varandeuil who, when she discovers the truth about Germinies wretched life, arranges her funeral. In the famous preface, the authors say that henceforth they regard the novel as a study (tude), as a social investigation (enqute sociale); it is a plea for what became known as naturalism not long afterwards. 10 In La fille Elisa (1877) Edmond de Goncourt11 narrates the tale of Elisa, a girl who has to support herself by prostitution. When she is raped by her lover, she stabs him to death and is sentenced to life imprisonment. Goncourt gives a minutely detailed description of life in prison and the novel is an indictment of an inhuman system of punishment: the governor uses a method of silence therapy, and as a result Elisa loses her mind, suffers delusions and dies. 12 Emile Zola13s novel La joie de vivre (1884) focuses on the tragic life of Pauline Quenu. A chronicle of Paulines girlhood, puberty, and young womanhood, Zolas narrative recounts in great detail her sexual awakening and emo- tional maturation, especially through her relationship with her neer-do-well cousin Lazare. The relationship fails and Pauline becomes the nursemaid in Lazares family. Despite her painful position and her lack of love, she is resigned to her isolation, full of self-sacrifice and servitude. When, at the novels close, the familys long-time servant hangs herself in despair, Pauline is nonplussed, unable to imagine why anyone would willingly relinquish the joys of life. Zola also describes the thwarted artistic ambitions of the pianist Lazare, who impotently accedes to what society requires of him. See also Sund 1992, pp. 109-113 (quotations on p. 112). Van Gogh had access to a copy in October 1885 possibly even as early as April: he depicted it in Still life with Bible (F 117 / JH 946) and may have alluded to it in letter 492. 14 See for Zola15s Lassommoir : letter 338, n. 12.

16 From remarks in the correspondence and in the light of comments made by other people it appears that Van Gogh liked the work of Joris-Karl Huysmans17. As well as the books mentioned here En mnage (1881) and A vau- leau (1882) he may have been familiar with Croquis parisiens (1880). Cf. Sund, 1992, p. 144. Emile Bernard18 mentioned A rebours (1884) in his In memoriam of Van Gogh: Huysmans had an inordinate attraction for him. It was En mnage in particular that he enthused over, then, later, A rebours. (Huysmans le captait outre mesure. Ce fut En mnage quil sexalta surtout, puis sur A rebours, plus tard.) See Les Hommes dAujourdhui 1891, no. 390, vol. 8, p. 1. In A rebours the misanthropist Jean Floressas des Esseintes rejects the life of society. He withdraws to a mansion, where he tries to fulfil his most extravagant fantasies. Several chapters deal with the decoration and the different colours of the interior, and the symbolism of bricks, flowers, perfumes etc. With its extreme aesthetic preferences the book caused a literary scandal, but decadents and symbolists raved about it. For De Maupassant19s Bel-ami , see letter 568, n. 11. 20 Luke 24:5-6. 21 Cf. Matt. 5:14; John 8:12 and John 9:5. 4 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. wordt dat om iets te vinden even groot en even goed en even oorspronkelijk, en even zeer als vroeger magtig de heele oude maatschappij om te wentelen, we t gerust kunnen vergelijken bij de oude omwenteling van de christenen.[1v:3] Ik voor mij ben altijd blij dat ik den bijbel beter heb gelezen dan veel lui van tegenwoordig, juist omdat het mij een zekere rust geeft dat er vroeger zulke hooge idees zijn geweest. 22 Maar juist omdat ik het oude mooi vind vind ik het nieuwe plus forte raison mooi. plus forte raison omdat wij zelf handelen kunnen in onzen eigen tijd, en t verleden zoowel als de toekomst ons slechts indirect aangaat. Mijn eigen lotgevallen bepalen er zich bij vooral dat ik snelle vorderingen maak in het opgroeijen tot een oud mannetje, ge weet, met rimpels, met een harden baard, met een aantal valsche tanden &c. Maar wat doet zulks er toe, ik heb een vuil en lastig vak, het schilderen, en als ik niet was zoo als ik ben zou ik niet schilderen maar zijnde zoo als ik ben werk ik dikwijls met pleizier en ik zie de mogelijkheid doorschemeren om schilderijen te maken waarin wat jeugd en frischheid zit, zij mijn eigen jeugd een van die dingen die ik verloren heb. Als ik Theo niet had dan zou het mij niet mogelijk zijn tot mijn regt te komen met mijn werk maar daar ik hem tot vriend heb geloof ik dat ik nog zal vorderen en het zal kunnen uitvieren. Het is mijn plan om zoodra ik kan een tijd naar het zuiden te gaan waar nog meer kleur is en nog meer zon. Maar dat wat ik hoop te bereiken is een goed portret te schilderen. Enfin. Om nu nog eens op uw stukje terug te komen, ik vind me bezwaard aan te nemen voor mijn eigen gebruik of anderen aan te raden voor t hunne, t geloof dat magten boven ons zich persoonlijk er in mengen om ons te helpen of te troosten. De voorzienigheid is zoon raar iets en ik verklaar U dat ik gedecideerd niet weet wat er van te denken. En nu, in uw stukje is nog altijd een zekere sentimentaliteit en vooral in den vorm er van doet het denken aan de verhalen betreffende de voorzienigheid reeds bovengenoemd, laat ons zeggen de onderhavige voorzienigheid, verhalen die zoo menigmaal geen steek hielden en waartegen zoo erg veel intebrengen zou wezen.[1r:4] En vooral vind ik t een erg zorgvol geval dat gij meent te moeten studeeren om te schrijven. Neen mijn beste zusje, leer dansen of word verliefd op een of meer notarisklerken, officiers, enfin t geen onder uw bereik is, doe liever, veel liever een aantal dwaasheden dan hollandsche studie,

22 After this Van Gogh crossed out: which brought about so much good at the time (die toen zooveel goeds hebben teweeg gebragt). To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. 5 t dient glad nergens toe dan om iemand suf te maken en daar wil ik dus niets van hooren. Ik voor mij heb nog voortdurend de meest onmogelijke en zeer weinig voegzame liefdehistories waar ik in den regel slechts met schade en schande afkom. 23 En hierin heb ik toch groot gelijk in mijn eigen oogen omdat ik tot mij zelf zeg dat in vroeger jaren, toen ik verliefd had behooren te wezen, ik mij verdiepte in godsdienstige en socialistische zaken en de kunst voor heiliger hield, meer dan nu. Waarom zijn godsdienst of regt of kunst zoo heilig. Menschen die niets anders doen dan verliefd zijn zijn misschien ernstiger en heiliger dan zij die hun liefde en hun hart opofferen aan een idee. Wat hier ook van zij, om een boek te schrijven, een daad te doen, een schilderij te maken waar leven in zit, moet men zelf levend mensch zijn. En dus studeeren is voor u, ten zij ge nooit vooruitgaan wilt, erg bijzaak. Amuseer u zooveel ge kunt en neem zooveel distractie als ge kunt en weet dat wat men tegenwoordig wil in de kunst erg levend, sterk van kleur, hoog opgevoerd moet zijn. voer dus uw eigen gezondheid en sterkte en leven wat hooger op, dat is de beste studie. Het zou mij pleizier doen als gij mij wildet schrijven hoe Margo Begeman25 het maakt en hoe zij het maken bij de Groot. hoe is die geschiedenis afgeloopen, is Sien de Groot met haar neef getrouwd? en is haar kind blijven leven.28 Wat ik van mijn eigen werk denk is dat het schilderij van de boeren die aardappels eten, wat ik in Nuenen maakte, aprs tout het beste is dat ik maakte. 36 Alleen ik heb sedert de gelegenheid gemist modellen te vinden doch integendeel gelegenheid gehad om de kwestie van kleur te bestudeeren. En als ik later weer modellen vind voor mijn figuren dan hoop ik wel te toonen dat ik nog wat anders zoek dan groene landschapjes of bloemen. Verleden jaar schilderde ik bijna niet anders dan bloemen om aan andere kleur mij te wennen dan grijs, n.l. rose, zacht of fel groen, lichtblaauw, violet, geel, oranje, mooi rood. En toen ik dezen zomer te Asnieres landschap schilderde zag ik er meer kleur in dan vroeger. Ik zoek nu op portret. 37 [2r:5] En ik moet U zeggen dat ik er niet slechter om

23 This probably refers to his love affair with Agostina Segatori24. 25 In September 1884 Van Gogh had proposed to Margot Begemann26, who lived next door to his parents27 in Nuenen with dramatic consequences; see letters 456 ff. 28 The De Groot family29 lived in what is now Gerwenseweg, near De Roosdonck windmill, and consisted at that time of the mother, Cornelia de Groot-Van Rooij, and her children Hendrikus30, Peter31 and Gordina32 (Van Gogh calls her Sien, but her first name must have been Dien); their father, Cornelis de Groot, had died by then. Several other members of Cornelia de Groot-Van Rooijs family lived in the cottage where Van Gogh got his idea for The potato eaters. On 20 October 1885 Gordina, who was unmarried, had a son, Cornelis33; the birth certificate does not state who the father was. It can be inferred from Van Goghs question about Gordinas marriage that he suspected that one of her cousins, Anthonius van Rooij34 or Francis van Rooij35, was the father, or that one of them would give the fallen woman the protection of his name. See RHC, birth certificate of Cornelis de Groot; exhib. cat. s-Hertogenbosch 1987, p. 161; and De Brouwer 1984, pp. 81-83, 96. 36 The potato eaters (F 82/ JH 764). 37 The portraits Pre Tanguy (F 363 / JH 1351) and Pre Tanguy (F 364 / JH 1352) and Etienne-Lucien Martin (F 289 / JH 1203) date from this time. 6 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. schilder, misschien omdat ik U heel veel kwaads en van de schilders en van de schilderijen zou kunnen zeggen als ik wilde, met precies t zelfde gemak waarmee ik er U goeds van zou kunnen vertellen. Ik wil niet hooren onder de melankolieken of diegenen die zuur en bitter en zwartgallig worden. Tout comprendre cest tout pardonner38 en ik geloof dat als we alles wisten we tot een zekere sereniteit zouden komen. Die sereniteit nu zooveel mogelijk te hebben, ook dan waar men weinig niets zeker weet, is misschien een beter middel tegen alle kwalen dan wat er in de apotheek wordt verkocht. Er komt veel van zelf, men groeit en ontwikkeld van zelf. Studeer en blok dus niet te veel want dat maakt onvruchtbaar. amuseer u liever te veel dan te weinig en til de kunst of de liefde evenmin niet te zwaar men kan er zelf weinig aan toe of af doen, t is een kwestie van temperament vooral. Als ik in Uw buurt was zou ik trachten U aan t verstand te brengen dat het misschien practischer voor U ware met mij te schilderen dan te schrijven en dat gij z er eer toe zoudt komen Uw gevoel te kunnen uitdrukken. In elk geval aan schilderen kan ik persoonlijk iets doen maar wat schrijven betreft ben ik niet in de praktijk. Het is anders voor U geen kwaad idee artist te willen zijn want als men vuur in zich heeft en ziel kan men t niet in een doofpot uithouden en men wil liever branden dan stikken. Wat er in zit moet er uit. mij b.v., het geeft mij lucht als ik een schilderij maak en zonder dat zou ik ongelukkiger zijn dan ik ben. Groet moe regt hartelijk voor me. Vincent[2v:6] Ten allerzeerste heeft la recherche du bonheur41 mij getroffen. Nu heb ik juist gelezen Mont Oriol van Guy de Maupassant . 44 De kunst schijnt dikwijls iets erg hoogs en zooals gij zegt iets heiligs. Maar dat is met

38 Saying, associated with Mme de Stal39, Corinne ou LItalie (1807): tout comprendre rend trs-indulgent (book 18, chapter 5) and Terence40, Eunuchus , prol. 42. 41 Ljev Nikolaevich Tolstoy42, A la recherche du bonheur . Traduit et prcd dune prface par M.E. Halprine. Paris 1886. Van Gogh read either this edition or the 1887 reprint. We know from a letter from Theo to Willemien43, dated Monday, 25 April 1887, that Tolstoys work was sent to Theo and Vincent from the Netherlands. Theo found it magnifique and wrote that Vincent had also enjoyed it very much (FR b911). The anthology consists of a series of folk tales about divine omniscience and human vices and virtues, including forgiveness, compassion and greed; some of the stories are like fairy tales (with apparitions, an angel and talking animals), while others are realistic (about agricultural labourers and artisans). 44 In Guy de Maupassant45s Mont-Oriol (1887), the businessman William Andermatt discovers that in Enval, where his childless wife Christiane is staying, a healing, productive spring has been discovered in the vineyard belonging to the gentleman farmer Oriol. He transforms this find into a commercial enterprise with a luxury spa. Christiane meanwhile becomes pregnant after an affair with the eccentric Paul Brtigny, while Andermatt believes he has become a father thanks to the effects of the spring. By the time the first buildings are open for business, Brtignys ardour has cooled to such an extent that he marries the wealthy Oriols daughter. Demoralized, Christiane has the baby and prevents Paul from seeing it. To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. 7 de liefde ook t geval. En de kwestie is maar dat niet iedereen er zoo over denkt en diegenen die er iets van voelen en er zich door laten meesleepen veel te lijden hebben, vooreerst van niet begrepen te worden maar evenzeer van dat onze inspiratie zoo dikwijls ontoereikend is of het werk onmogelijk wordt door de omstandigheden. Men zou twee of liever veel dingen tegelijk moeten kunnen doen. En er zijn wel tijden dat het ons lang niet helder is dat de kunst iets heiligs of goeds zou wezen. Enfin denk er eens goed over na of t niet beter is te zeggen als men gevoel heeft voor kunst en zoekt er in te werken, dat men dit doet omdat men nu eenmaal met dat gevoel geschapen is en niet anders kan en zijn natuur volgt, dan te zeggen men t doet met een goed doel. Staat er niet juist in la recherche du bonheur dat het kwaad in onze eigen natuur ligt die we zelf niet hebben geschapen. 46 Ik vind in de modernen zoo mooi dat zij niet moraliseeren zoo als de ouden. Het schijnt bar b.v. aan veel lui en zij ergeren er zich aan: le vice et la vertu sont des produits chimiques comme le sucre et le vitriol. 47

Translation [1r:1] My dear little sister50, I thank you for your letter, although for my part I so detest writing these days, however there are questions in your letter that I do want to answer. I must begin by contradicting you where you say that you thought Theo looked so wretched this summer. For my part, I think on the contrary that Theos appearance has become much more distin- guished in the last year. You have to be strong to endure life in Paris the way he has for so many years. But might it not be that Theos family and friends in Amsterdam and The Hague havent treated him and even not received him with the cordiality that he deserved from them and to which he was entitled?

46 The story Dou vient le mal in A la recherche du bonheur ends as follows: It is from our own nature that evil comes; for it is our nature that gives rise to hunger, and to love, and to malice, and to fear (Cest de notre propre nature que vient le mal; car cest elle qui engendre et la faim, et lamour, et la mchancet, et la peur) (Paris 1886, p. 6). 47 This derives from Hippolyte Adolphe Taine48, Histoire de la littrature anglaise who said in his Introduction: Vice and virtue are products, like vitriol and sugar (Le vice et la vertu sont des produits, comme le vitriol et le sucre). See 6th ed. Paris 1885, vol. 1, p. xv. In 1868, Zola49 had sent his novel Thrse Raquin to Sainte-Beuve for his comments. In his written reply of 10 June 1868, Sainte-Beuve quoted this pronouncement of Taines, which was then included as the motto in the second edition of the novel. Van Gogh had read both Taine and Thrse Raquin (see letter 359).

50 Willemina (Wil or Willemien) Jacoba van Gogh (1862-1941) sister of Vincent 8 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887.

I can tell you in that regard that he was perhaps a little hurt by this, but hes otherwise not letting it bother him, and now, when times are so bad in paintings, hes still doing business, so it could be theres some professional jealousy on the part of his Dutch friends.

Now what shall I say about your little piece about the plants and the rain? You see for yourself in nature that many a flower is trampled, freezes or is parched, further that not every grain of wheat, once it has ripened, ends up in the earth again to germinate there and become a stalk but far and away the most grains do not develop but go to the mill dont they?

Now comparing people with grains of wheat in every person whos healthy and natural theres the power to germinate as in a grain of wheat. And so natural life is germinating.

What the power to germinate is in wheat, so love is in us. Now we, I think, stand there pulling a long face or at a loss for words when, being thwarted in our natural development, we see that germination frustrated and ourselves placed in circumstances as hopeless as they must be for the wheat between the millstones.

If this happens to us and were utterly bewildered by the loss of our natural life, there are some among us who, willing to submit themselves to the course of things as they are, nonetheless dont abandon their self-awareness and want to know how things are with them and whats actually [1v:2] happening. And searching with good intentions in the books of which it is said they are a light in the darkness,51 with the best will in the world we find precious little certain at all and not always satisfaction to comfort us personally. And the diseases from which we civilized people suffer the most are melancholia and pessimism.

Like me, for instance, who can count so many years in my life when I completely lost all inclination to laugh, leaving aside whether or not this was my own fault, I for one need above all just to have a good laugh. I found that in Guy de Maupassant52 and there are others here, Rabelais53 54 among the old writers, Henri Rochefort56 57 among todays, where one can find that Voltaire59 in Candide.60

On the contrary, if one wants truth, life as it is, De Goncourt62, for example, in Germinie

51 Biblical. 52 Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) French writer 53 Franois Rabelais (c. 1494-1554) French writer 54 Franois Rabelais55, famous for his entertaining books Gargantua (1535) and Pantagruel (1533). In his note to the Reader in Gargantua Rabelais writes that he is not presenting any scholarly or literary feats, but a healthy dose of humour, for laughter is peculiar to man (rire est le propre de lhomme). See Franois Rabelais, Les oeuvres romanesques. Ed. Franoise Joukovsky. Paris 1999, p. 5. 56 Victor Henri Marquis de Rochefort-Luay (1831-1913) French journalist 57 Victor Henri Marquis de Rochefort-Luay58 wrote satirical articles. His groundbreaking style and controversial ideas led to his dismissal from Le Figaro. In 1868 he founded his own periodical La Lanterne, followed by La Marseillaise (1870), Le Mot dordre (1871) and LIntransigeant (1880). 59 Franois Marie Arouet (Voltaire) (1694-1778) French writer 60 See for Voltaire61s Candide : letter 568, n. 3.

62 Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896) French writer To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. 9

Lacerteux,63 La fille Elisa,65 Zola67 in La joie de vivre68 and Lassommoir70 and so many other masterpieces paint life as we feel it ourselves and thus satisfy that need which we have, that people tell us the truth. The work of the French naturalists Zola72, Flaubert73, Guy de Maupassant74, De Goncourt75, Richepin76, Daudet77, Huysmans78 is magnificent and one can scarcely be said to belong to ones time if one isnt familiar with them. Maupassants masterpiece is Bel-ami; I hope to be able to get it for you.79 Is the Bible enough for us? Nowadays I believe Jesus himself would again say to those who just sit melancholy, it is not here, it is risen. Why seek ye the living among the dead? 83 If the spoken or written word is to remain the light of the world,84 its our right and our duty to acknowledge that we live in an age in which its written in such a way, spoken in such a way that in

63 Edmond and Jules de Goncourt64s novel Germinie Lacerteux (1864) tells the story of the servant girl Germinie Lacerteux, who gets herself into debt and commits crimes for the man she loves, the swindler and blackmailer Jupillon. Eventually she succumbs to misery. Until her death she manages to conceal her double life from her employer Madame de Varandeuil who, when she discovers the truth about Germinies wretched life, arranges her funeral. In the famous preface, the authors say that henceforth they regard the novel as a study (tude), as a social investigation (enqute sociale); it is a plea for what became known as naturalism not long afterwards. 65 In La fille Elisa (1877) Edmond de Goncourt66 narrates the tale of Elisa, a girl who has to support herself by prostitution. When she is raped by her lover, she stabs him to death and is sentenced to life imprisonment. Goncourt gives a minutely detailed description of life in prison and the novel is an indictment of an inhuman system of punishment: the governor uses a method of silence therapy, and as a result Elisa loses her mind, suffers delusions and dies. 67 Emile Zola (1840-1902) French writer 68 Emile Zola69s novel La joie de vivre (1884) focuses on the tragic life of Pauline Quenu. A chronicle of Paulines girlhood, puberty, and young womanhood, Zolas narrative recounts in great detail her sexual awakening and emo- tional maturation, especially through her relationship with her neer-do-well cousin Lazare. The relationship fails and Pauline becomes the nursemaid in Lazares family. Despite her painful position and her lack of love, she is resigned to her isolation, full of self-sacrifice and servitude. When, at the novels close, the familys long-time servant hangs herself in despair, Pauline is nonplussed, unable to imagine why anyone would willingly relinquish the joys of life. Zola also describes the thwarted artistic ambitions of the pianist Lazare, who impotently accedes to what society requires of him. See also Sund 1992, pp. 109-113 (quotations on p. 112). Van Gogh had access to a copy in October 1885 possibly even as early as April: he depicted it in Still life with Bible (F 117 / JH 946) and may have alluded to it in letter 492. 70 See for Zola71s Lassommoir : letter 338, n. 12.

72 Emile Zola (1840-1902) French writer 73 (1821-1880) French writer 74 Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) French writer 75 Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896) French writer 76 Jean (Auguste-Jules) Richepin (1849-1926) French writer 77 (1840-1897) French writer 78 Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848-1907) French writer 79 From remarks in the correspondence and in the light of comments made by other people it appears that Van Gogh liked the work of Joris-Karl Huysmans80. As well as the books mentioned here En mnage (1881) and A vau- leau (1882) he may have been familiar with Croquis parisiens (1880). Cf. Sund, 1992, p. 144. Emile Bernard81 mentioned A rebours (1884) in his In memoriam of Van Gogh: Huysmans had an inordinate attraction for him. It was En mnage in particular that he enthused over, then, later, A rebours. (Huysmans le captait outre mesure. Ce fut En mnage quil sexalta surtout, puis sur A rebours, plus tard.) See Les Hommes dAujourdhui 1891, no. 390, vol. 8, p. 1. In A rebours the misanthropist Jean Floressas des Esseintes rejects the life of society. He withdraws to a mansion, where he tries to fulfil his most extravagant fantasies. Several chapters deal with the decoration and the different colours of the interior, and the symbolism of bricks, flowers, perfumes etc. With its extreme aesthetic preferences the book caused a literary scandal, but decadents and symbolists raved about it. For De Maupassant82s Bel-ami , see letter 568, n. 11. 83 Luke 24:5-6. 84 Cf. Matt. 5:14; John 8:12 and John 9:5. 10 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887.

order to find something as great and as good and as original, and just as capable of overturning the whole old society as in the past, we can safely compare it with the old upheaval by the Christians. [1v:3] For my part, Im always glad that Ive read the Bible better than many people nowadays, just because it gives me a certain peace that there have been such lofty ideas in the past.85 But precisely because I think the old is good, I find the new all the more so. All the more so because we can take action ourselves in our own age, and both the past and the future affect us only indirectly. My own fortunes dictate above all that Im making rapid progress in growing up into a little old man, you know, with wrinkles, with a bristly beard, with a number of false teeth &c. But what does that matter? I have a dirty and difficult occupation, painting, and if I werent as I am I wouldnt paint, but being as I am I often work with pleasure, and I see the possibility glimmering through of making paintings in which theres some youth and freshness, although my own youth is one of those things Ive lost. If I didnt have Theo it wouldnt be possible for me to do justice to my work, but because I have him as a friend I believe that Ill make more progress and that things will run their course. Its my plan to go to the south for a while, as soon as I can, where theres even more colour and even more sun. But what I hope to achieve is to paint a good portrait. Anyway. Now to get back to your little piece, I feel uneasy about assuming for my own use or recom- mending to others for theirs the belief that powers above us intervene personally to help us or to comfort us. Providence is such a strange thing, and I tell you that I definitely dont know what to make of it. Well, in your piece theres always a certain sentimentality and in its form, above all, its reminis- cent of the stories about providence already referred to above, lets say the providence in question, [1r:4] stories that so repeatedly failed to hold water and against which so very much could be said. And above all I find it a very worrying matter that you believe you have to study in order to write. No, my dear little sister86, learn to dance or fall in love with one or more notarys clerks, officers, in short whoevers within your reach; rather, much rather commit any number of follies than study in Holland, it serves absolutely no purpose other than to make someone dull, and so I wont hear of it. For my part, I still continually have the most impossible and highly unsuitable love affairs from which, as a rule, I emerge only with shame and disgrace.87 And in this Im absolutely right, in my own view, because I tell myself that in earlier years, when I should have been in love, I immersed myself in religious and socialist affairs and considered art more sacred, more than now. Why are religion or law or art so sacred? People who do nothing other than be in love are perhaps more serious and holier than those who sacrifice their love and their heart to an idea. Be this as it may, to write a book, to perform a deed, to make a painting with life in it, one must be a living person oneself. And so for you, unless you never want to progress, studying is very much a side issue. Enjoy yourself as much as you can and have as many distractions as you can, and be aware that what people want in art nowadays has to be very lively, with strong colour, very intense. So intensify your own health and strength and life a little, thats the best study. It would please me if you would write and tell me how Margot Begemann89 90 is doing and how theyre doing at De Groots93. How did that business turn out? Did Sien de Groot94 marry

85 After this Van Gogh crossed out: which brought about so much good at the time (die toen zooveel goeds hebben teweeg gebragt). 86 Willemina (Wil or Willemien) Jacoba van Gogh (1862-1941) sister of Vincent 87 This probably refers to his love affair with Agostina Segatori88. 89 Margaretha (Margot) Carolina Begemann (1841-1907) girl friend of Van Gogh in Nuenen 90 In September 1884 Van Gogh had proposed to Margot Begemann91, who lived next door to his parents92 in Nuenen with dramatic consequences; see letters 456 ff. 93 Cornelis de Groot (1818-1883) father of Gordina de Groot 94 Gordina (Dien, Sien) de Groot (1855-1927) inhabitiant of Nuenen To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887. 11 her cousin95? And did her child96 live?97 What I think about my own work is that the painting of the peasants eating potatoes that I did in Nuenen is after all the best thing I did.105 Only since then I havent had the opportunity to find models, but on the contrary have had the opportunity to study the question of colour. And if I do find models for my figures again later, then I hope to show that Im looking for something other than little green landscapes or flowers. Last year I painted almost nothing but flowers to accustom myself to a colour other than grey, thats to say pink, soft or bright green, light blue, violet, yellow, orange, fine red. And when I painted landscape in Asnires this summer I saw more colour in it than before. Im studying this now in portraits.106 And I have to tell you that Im painting none the worse for it, perhaps because I could tell you [2r:5] very many bad things about both painters and paintings if I wanted to, just as easily as I could tell you good things about them. I dont want to be one of the melancholics or those who become sour and bitter and morbid. To understand all is to forgive all,107 and I believe that if we knew everything wed arrive at a certain serenity. Now having this serenity as much as possible, even when one knows little nothing for certain, is perhaps a better remedy against all ills than whats sold in the chemists. A lot comes of its own accord, one grows and develops of ones own accord. So dont study and swot too much, because that makes for sterility. Enjoy yourself too much rather than too little, and dont take art or love too seriously either one can do little about it oneself, its mostly a matter of temperament. If I were living near you, Id try to make you understand that it might be more practical for you to paint with me than to write, and that you might be more able to express your feelings that way. At any rate I can do something about painting personally, but as far as writings concerned Im not in the business. Anyway, its not a bad idea for you to want to become an artist, because if one has fire in one, and soul, one cant keep stifling them and one would rather burn than suffocate. Whats inside must get out. Me, for instance, it gives me air when I make a painting, and without that Id be unhappier than I am. Give Ma110 my very warmest regards. Vincent [2v:6] A la recherche du bonheur111 affected me very greatly. Now Ive just read Mont-Oriol by Guy de Maupassant114 .115 Art often seems to be something very lofty and, as you say, something sacred.

95 Anthonius van Rooij (1823-1908) cousin of Gordina de Groot 96 Cornelis de Groot (1885-1951) son of Gordina de Groot 97 The De Groot family98 lived in what is now Gerwenseweg, near De Roosdonck windmill, and consisted at that time of the mother, Cornelia de Groot-Van Rooij, and her children Hendrikus99, Peter100 and Gordina101 (Van Gogh calls her Sien, but her first name must have been Dien); their father, Cornelis de Groot, had died by then. Several other members of Cornelia de Groot-Van Rooijs family lived in the cottage where Van Gogh got his idea for The potato eaters. On 20 October 1885 Gordina, who was unmarried, had a son, Cornelis102; the birth certificate does not state who the father was. It can be inferred from Van Goghs question about Gordinas marriage that he suspected that one of her cousins, Anthonius van Rooij103 or Francis van Rooij104, was the father, or that one of them would give the fallen woman the protection of his name. See RHC, birth certificate of Cornelis de Groot; exhib. cat. s-Hertogenbosch 1987, p. 161; and De Brouwer 1984, pp. 81-83, 96. 105 The potato eaters (F 82/ JH 764). 106 The portraits Pre Tanguy (F 363 / JH 1351) and Pre Tanguy (F 364 / JH 1352) and Etienne-Lucien Martin (F 289 / JH 1203) date from this time. 107 Saying, associated with Mme de Stal108, Corinne ou LItalie (1807): tout comprendre rend trs-indulgent (book 18, chapter 5) and Terence109, Eunuchus , prol. 42. 110 Anna Cornelia van Gogh-Carbentus (1819-1907) wife of Theodorus van Gogh, mother of Vincent 111 Ljev Nikolaevich Tolstoy112, A la recherche du bonheur . Traduit et prcd dune prface par M.E. Halprine. Paris 1886. Van Gogh read either this edition or the 1887 reprint. We know from a letter from Theo to Willemien113, dated Monday, 25 April 1887, that Tolstoys work was sent to Theo and Vincent from the Netherlands. Theo found it magnifique and wrote that Vincent had also enjoyed it very much (FR b911). The anthology consists of a series of folk tales about divine omniscience and human vices and virtues, including forgiveness, compassion and greed; some of the stories are like fairy tales (with apparitions, an angel and talking animals), while others are realistic (about agricultural labourers and artisans). 114 Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) French writer 115 In Guy de Maupassant116s Mont-Oriol (1887), the businessman William Andermatt discovers that in Enval, where his childless wife Christiane is staying, a healing, productive spring has been discovered in the vineyard 12 To Willemien van Gogh. Paris, late October 1887.

But thats true of love too. And the problem is simply that not everyone thinks about it like that, and those who feel something of it and allow themselves to be swept away by it suffer greatly, firstly because of being misunderstood, but as much because our inspiration is so often inadequate or the work is made impossible by circumstances. One should be able to do two or preferably several things at the same time. And there are times when its by no means clear to us that art should be something sacred or good. Anyway, think carefully about whether it isnt better, if one has a feeling for art and wants to work in it, to say that one is doing it because one was created with that feeling and cant do anything else and is following ones nature, than to say one is doing it for a good cause. Does it not say in A la recherche du bonheur that evil lies in our own natures which we didnt create ourselves?117 What I think is so good about the moderns is that they dont moralize like the old ones. It seems coarse to many people, for instance, and theyre angered by it: vice and virtue are chemical products like sugar and vitriol.118

belonging to the gentleman farmer Oriol. He transforms this find into a commercial enterprise with a luxury spa. Christiane meanwhile becomes pregnant after an affair with the eccentric Paul Brtigny, while Andermatt believes he has become a father thanks to the effects of the spring. By the time the first buildings are open for business, Brtignys ardour has cooled to such an extent that he marries the wealthy Oriols daughter. Demoralized, Christiane has the baby and prevents Paul from seeing it. 117 The story Dou vient le mal in A la recherche du bonheur ends as follows: It is from our own nature that evil comes; for it is our nature that gives rise to hunger, and to love, and to malice, and to fear (Cest de notre propre nature que vient le mal; car cest elle qui engendre et la faim, et lamour, et la mchancet, et la peur) (Paris 1886, p. 6). 118 This derives from Hippolyte Adolphe Taine119, Histoire de la littrature anglaise who said in his Introduction: Vice and virtue are products, like vitriol and sugar (Le vice et la vertu sont des produits, comme le vitriol et le sucre). See 6th ed. Paris 1885, vol. 1, p. xv. In 1868, Zola120 had sent his novel Thrse Raquin to Sainte-Beuve for his comments. In his written reply of 10 June 1868, Sainte-Beuve quoted this pronouncement of Taines, which was then included as the motto in the second edition of the novel. Van Gogh had read both Taine and Thrse Raquin (see letter 359).