To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888.

on or about Friday, 13 July 1888

Metadata

Source status: Original manuscript

Location: Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b550 V/1962

Date: The letter must have been written not too long after letter 638, which dates from 9 or 10 July: in that one Van Gogh wrote that he had three finished drawings, now he has five. He also says that after the 14 July holiday (l. 47) Theo will probably be glad to refresh his eye on the drawings he has just sent. The letter in any event dates from before letter 640, which was written on Sunday, 15 July in that one Van Gogh reiterates that he has sent the drawings. On these grounds we have dated the present letter on or about Friday, 13 July 1888.

Additional: Original [1r:1] Mon cher Theo je viens de texpdier par la poste un rouleau contenant 5 grands dessins la plume.1 tu as un 6me de cette serie de Mont-Majour. Un groupe de pins trs sombre et la ville dArles dans le fond.2 Ensuite jespre y ajouter une vue densemble de la ruine (dans les petits dessins tu en as un croquis htif). 3 Ne pouvant pas dans ce moment o nous entamons la combinaison avec Gauguin tre utile du ct argent, jai fait tout ce que jai pu pour montrer par le travail que je prends la chse coeur. Selon moi les deux vues de la Crau et de la campagne du ct des bords du Rhne sont ce que jai fait de mieux de

1 The rock of Montmajour with pine trees (F 1447 / JH 1503) and Olive trees, Montmajour (F - / JH add. 3), see letter 637; Hill with the ruins of Montmajour Abbey (F 1446 / JH 1504), see letter 638; La Crau seen from Montmajour (F 1420 / JH 1501) and Landscape near Montmajour with a train (F 1424 / JH 1502). 2 View of Arles from a hill (F 1452 / JH 1437); see letters 617 and 618. 3 This general view of the ruin was meant to complete the set of six drawings (see letter 637), but Van Gogh never got round to doing it. The drawing Theo already had was The ruins of Montmajour (F 1417 / JH 1434); see letter 613.

1 2 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888. ma plume.4 Thomas les veut-il par hasard, 5 il ne les peut pas avoir moins de 100 fr. pice.Duss-je lui donner les trois autres comme cadeau dans ce cas, puisque nous sommes presss davoir de largent. Mais nous ne pouvons les donner moins, cela cote cela. Et tout le monde naurait pas la patience de se faire boulotter par les moustiques, de lutter contre cette agaante contrarit du mistral continuel, sans compter que jai pass les journes dehors avec un peu de pain et de lait, cela tant trop loin pour retourner tout moment la ville. Je tai dj plus dune fois dit combien la Camargue et la Crau sauf une diffrence de couleur et de limpidit de latmosphre me fait penser lantique Hollande du temps de Ruysdael. Il me semble que ces deux sites de la campagne plate couvertes de vignes et de champs de chaumes vue den haut ten donneront une ide.[1v:2] Je tassure que jen suis fatigu de ces dessins, jai commenc une peinture aussi mais pas moyen avec le mistral de la faire, absolument pas possible.7 Voici maintenant pour cette toile jai compar la nouvelle toile de Tasset fr. 4.50 au prix de la mme qualit chez Bourgeois (cest dans son catalogue que javais dnich le prix de la toile ordinaire, 40 fr. les 20 mtres carres). Eh bien encore une fois Tasset na pas compt plus cher, ctait exactement le mme prix.8 Suit de cela que chez Tasset nous devons pouvoir galement avoir la toile ordinaire 2 francs le mtre carr et dans la suite nous ferons bien de prendre celle l qui pour les tudes est certes assez bonne. Ecris moi un petit mot s.v.p. de suite pour savoir si les dessins soient arrivs en bon tat, on ma encore engueul la poste que ctait trop grand et je crains quon fasse difficult Paris peut-tre. Tout de mme ils les ont pris ce qui ma fait plaisir car aprs la fte du 14 Juillet10 tu ne seras pas mcontent peut– tre de te rafraichir loeil sur ltendue de cette Crau . Le charme que ces campagnes vastes ont pour moi est bien intense. Aussi je nai senti aucun ennui[1v:3] malgr des circonstances essentiellement ennuyeuses, le mistral et les moustiques. Si une vue fait oublier ces petites misres-l il faut quil y ait quelquechse. Tu vois cependant quil ny a aucun effet , cest premiere vue une carte geographique, un plan stratgique quant la facture. Je me suis dailleurs promen

4 La Crau seen from Montmajour (F 1420 / JH 1501) and Landscape near Montmajour with a train (F 1424 / JH 1502). Ill. 2147- 2148. 5 Van Gogh hoped that Thomas6, who had some of his paintings in his shop (see letter 718), would give him an advance on his saleable work and repeatedly urged Theo to approach him. However, his efforts were fruitless. 7 The painting Sunset at Montmajour (F - / JH -), which he had done two weeks earlier on Montmajour (see letter 636). 8 For the paint supplier Bourgeois9 see letter 366, n. 9. Van Gogh also compared the prices charged by the different firms in letters 635 and 631. 10 14 July is the French national holiday commemorating the storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789), the start of the French Revolution. To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888. 3 l avec un peintre qui disait: voila ce qui serait embtant peindre.11 Seulement voila bien 50 fois que je vais Mont Majour pour regarder cette vue plate ai-je tort. Je my suis aussi promen avec quelquun qui ntait pas peintre et comme je lui disais: tiens pour moi cela est beau et infini comme la mer, il rpond et il la connait la mer moi jaime cela mieux que la mer parceque cest aussi infini et pourtant on sent que cest habit.13 Comme jen ferais un tableau si ce sacr vent ny tait pas. Cest l ce qui est dsolant ici quant on plante son chevalet quelquepart. Et cest bien pour cela que les etudes peintes ne sont pas aussi faites que les dessins. la toile tremble toujours. Pour dessiner cela ne me gne pas. [1r:4] Est ce que tu as lu Mme Chrysantme, cela ma bien donn penser que les vrais japonais nont rien sur les murs. la description du cloitre ou de la pagode o il ny a rien (les dessins, curiosits, sont cachs dans des tiroirs). Ah cest donc comme a quil faut regarder une japonaiserie dans une piece bien claire, toute nue, ouverte sur le paysage. 15 Veux tu en faire lpreuve avec ces deux dessins de la Crau et des bords du Rhone qui nont pas lair japonais et qui peuttre le sont plus que dautres rellement. Regardes les dans un caf bien clair o il ny ait rien dautre en tableaux ou dehors. Il y faudrait peuttre une bordure de roseau comme

11 This was probably Mourier-Petersen12; at any rate it appears from the postscript that he knew the places around Arles depicted in the drawings. 13 It can be inferred from letters 638 and 641 that Van Gogh meant the Zouave lieutenant Milliet14, with whom he had spent a day on Montmajour. Milliet had been in Tonkin (see letter 623) and was thus familiar with the sea. 15 See for Loti16s Madame Chrysanthme : letter 628, n. 20. It contains the following passage about houses with bare interiors and the view over the countryside: What is immediately striking in Japanese interiors is the meticulous cleanliness and the icy-white starkness. I am taken up to the first floor on immaculate matting, without a crease, without pattern, without a mark, to a large room containing nothing, absolutely nothing. The paper walls are made out of sliding frames which can roll behind one another or disappear if required and one whole side of the apartment opens up into a veranda looking out over the green countryside and the grey sky (Ce qui frappe ds labord, dans ces intrieurs japonais, cest la propret minutieuse, et la nudit blanche, glaciale. Sur des nattes irrprochables, sans un pli, sans un dessin, sans une souillure, on me fait monter au premire tage, dans une grande pice o il ny a rien, absolument rien. Les murs en papier sont composs de chssis coulisse, pouvant rentrer les uns dans les autres, au besoin disparatre, et tout un ct de lappartement souvre en vranda sur la campagne verte, sur le ciel gris) (see Loti 1990, chapter 3, p. 60). The description of the cloister or pagoda where theres nothing refers to chapter 40, where it says that the monks cells are completely empty, with just a few unframed sketches on the walls: nothing else, no seats, no cushions, no furniture. It is the ultimate in desired simplicity, in elegance crafted from nothing (rien de plus; pas de siges, pas de coussins, pas de meubles. Cest le comble de la simplicit cherche, de llgance faite avec du nant) (Loti 1990, pp. 172-173). Van Goghs fascination with the Japanese approach to art derives from the following passage: For he who has a few notions of Japanese style, my mother-in-laws interior will reveal to him alone a refined person; total starkness, just two or three little screens placed here and there a teapot, a vase containing lotus flowers, nothing else ... There are little hiding places everywhere, small niches and cupboards, ingeniously and unexpectedly hidden behind the immaculate uniformity of white paper panels ... In France, we have objets dart to enjoy them; here they shut them away, neatly labelled in a sort of mysterious, underground apartment, with iron gratings, which is called a godoun (Pour qui a quelques notions de japonerie, lintrieur de ma belle-mre rvle lui seul une personne raffine: nudit complte; peine deux ou trois petits paravents poss et l, une thire, un vase o trempent des lotus; rien de plus ... Il y a partout des petites cachettes, des petites niches, des petits placards, dissimuls de la manire la plus ingnieuse et la plus inattendue sous luniformit immacule des panneaux de papier blanc ... En France, on a des objets dart pour en jouir; ici, pour les enfermer, bien tiquets, dans une sorte dappartement mystrieux, souterrain, grill en fer, quon appelle godoun) (Loti 1990, chapter 35, p. 157). 4 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888.

une baguette. Ici je travaille moi dans un intrieur nu, 4 murs blancs et des pavs rouges par terre. Si jinsiste que tu regardes ces deux dessins ainsi cest que je voudrais tant te donner une ide vraie de la simplicit de la nature dici. Enfin cause de Gauguin, si on montrait les dessins, aussi la moisson et le Zouave, 17 Thomas. Poigne de main et merci des 12 tubes blanc de zinc que Tasset vient denvoyer.18 t. t. Vincent Je suis curieux si Mouries se rappellera des endroits.

Translation [1r:1] My dear Theo Ive just sent you by post a roll containing 5 large pen drawings.20 You have a 6th of this Montma- jour series. A group of very dark pines and the town of Arles in the background.21 Later I hope to add a general view of the ruin (you have a hasty croquis of it among the small drawings).22 Being unable, at this moment when were embarking on the partnership with Gauguin23, to be of use on the money side, Ive done all I could to show through work that I take the matter to heart. As I see it, the two views of the Crau and the countryside along the banks of the Rhne are the best Ive done with my pen.24 Should Thomas25 by chance want them?26 He cant have them for less than 100 francs each. Even if I had to give him the three others as a gift in that case, as were in urgent need of money. But we cant give them for less, thats what it costs. And not everyone would have the patience to let themselves be eaten up by the mosquitoes, and to struggle against this infuriating nuisance of the constant mistral, not to mention that Ive spent whole days out of doors with a bit of bread and some milk, it being too far to be going back to town all the time. Ive already told you more than once how much the Camargue and the Crau apart from a difference in colour and the clearness of the atmosphere make me think of the old Holland of Ruisdael28s day. It seems to me that these two sites in the flat countryside, covered with vines [1v:2] and stubble fields, seen from above, will give you an idea of it. I assure you that Im tired out by these drawings; Ive started a painting too but no means of

17 The harvest (F 1483 / JH 1439) and Seated Zouave (F 1443 / JH 1485). See letters 625 and 630. 18 In letter 636 Van Gogh commented that Tasset19 had not sent enough zinc white in the previous batch. 20 The rock of Montmajour with pine trees (F 1447 / JH 1503) and Olive trees, Montmajour (F - / JH add. 3), see letter 637; Hill with the ruins of Montmajour Abbey (F 1446 / JH 1504), see letter 638; La Crau seen from Montmajour (F 1420 / JH 1501) and Landscape near Montmajour with a train (F 1424 / JH 1502). 21 View of Arles from a hill (F 1452 / JH 1437); see letters 617 and 618. 22 This general view of the ruin was meant to complete the set of six drawings (see letter 637), but Van Gogh never got round to doing it. The drawing Theo already had was The ruins of Montmajour (F 1417 / JH 1434); see letter 613. 23 Paul (Eugne Henri) Gauguin (1848-1903) French artist 24 La Crau seen from Montmajour (F 1420 / JH 1501) and Landscape near Montmajour with a train (F 1424 / JH 1502). Ill. 2147- 2148. 25 Georges Thomas (pre Thomas) (?-after 1908) art dealer in Paris 26 Van Gogh hoped that Thomas27, who had some of his paintings in his shop (see letter 718), would give him an advance on his saleable work and repeatedly urged Theo to approach him. However, his efforts were fruitless. 28 Jacob Isaackszn. Van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682) Dutch artist To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888. 5 doing it with the mistral, absolutely impossible.29 Now about this canvas Ive compared Tasset30s new canvas at 4.50 francs with the price for the same quality from Bourgeois31 (its in his catalogue that I tracked down the price of ordinary canvas, 40 francs per 20 square metres). Ah, well, once again Tasset hasnt charged any more; it was exactly the same price.32 Follows from that that we also ought to be able to have ordinary canvas at 2 francs per square metre at Tassets, and in future well 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 office because it was too big, and Im afraid theyll perhaps make problems in Paris. All the same, they took them, which pleased me, because after the 14 July holiday34 youll perhaps not be unhappy about refreshing your eye on the expanses of this Crau. The appeal that these vast landscapes have for me is very intense. And so Ive felt no annoyances in spite of some essentially annoying circumstances, the mistral and the mosquitoes. [1v:3] If a view makes one forget those little vexations, there must be something in it. However, you see theres no effect, at first sight its a map, a strategic plan as far as workmanship goes. Besides, I also went for a walk there with a painter, who said: now theres something that would be bothersome to paint.35 But it must be 50 times that Ive been to Montmajour to look at this flat view am I wrong? I also went for a walk there with someone who was not a painter, and as I said to him: look, to me thats as beautiful and infinite as the sea, he replied and he knows it, the sea I like that better than the sea because its just as infinite and yet you feel its inhabited. 37 How Id make a painting of it if there wasnt this bloody wind! Thats the thing thats annoying here when you plant your easel somewhere. And its definitely for that reason that the painted studies arent as finished as the drawings. The canvas shakes all the time. For drawing it doesnt bother me. [1r:4] Have you read Madame Chrysanthme? It really gave me a lot to think about, that the real Japanese have nothing on their walls. The description of the cloister or pagoda where theres nothing (the drawings, the curiosities, are hidden in drawers). Ah, so thats how you have to look at a japonaiserie in a nice bright room, completely bare, open to the landscape.39 Would you

29 The painting Sunset at Montmajour (F - / JH -), which he had done two weeks earlier on Montmajour (see letter 636). 30 Guillaume Charles Tasset (1843-1925) seller of artists’ materials in Paris 31 Franois Alexandre Joseph Lon Bourgeois (1830-1892) seller of artists materials and owner of a paint factory in Paris 32 For the paint supplier Bourgeois33 see letter 366, n. 9. Van Gogh also compared the prices charged by the different firms in letters 635 and 631. 34 14 July is the French national holiday commemorating the storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789), the start of the French Revolution. 35 This was probably Mourier-Petersen36; at any rate it appears from the postscript that he knew the places around Arles depicted in the drawings. 37 It can be inferred from letters 638 and 641 that Van Gogh meant the Zouave lieutenant Milliet38, with whom he had spent a day on Montmajour. Milliet had been in Tonkin (see letter 623) and was thus familiar with the sea. 39 See for Loti40s Madame Chrysanthme : letter 628, n. 20. It contains the following passage about houses with bare interiors and the view over the countryside: What is immediately striking in Japanese interiors is the meticulous cleanliness and the icy-white starkness. I am taken up to the first floor on immaculate matting, without a crease, without pattern, without a mark, to a large room containing nothing, absolutely nothing. The paper walls are made out of sliding frames which can roll behind one another or disappear if required and one whole side of the apartment opens up into a veranda looking out over the green countryside and the grey sky (Ce qui frappe ds labord, dans ces intrieurs japonais, cest la propret minutieuse, et la nudit blanche, glaciale. Sur des nattes irrprochables, sans un pli, sans un dessin, sans une souillure, on me fait monter au premire tage, dans une grande pice o il ny a rien, absolument rien. Les murs en papier sont composs de chssis coulisse, pouvant rentrer les uns dans les autres, au besoin disparatre, et tout un ct de lappartement souvre en vranda sur la campagne verte, sur le ciel gris) (see Loti 1990, chapter 3, p. 60). The description of the cloister or pagoda where theres nothing refers to chapter 40, where it says that the monks cells are completely empty, with just a few unframed sketches on the walls: nothing else, no seats, no cushions, no furniture. It is the ultimate in desired simplicity, in elegance crafted from nothing (rien de plus; pas de siges, pas de coussins, pas de meubles. Cest le comble de la simplicit cherche, de llgance faite avec du nant) (Loti 1990, pp. 172-173). Van Goghs fascination with the Japanese approach to art derives from the following passage: For he who has a few notions of Japanese style, my mother-in-laws interior will reveal to him alone a refined person; total starkness, just two or three little screens placed here and there a teapot, a vase containing lotus flowers, nothing else ... There are little hiding places everywhere, small niches and cupboards, ingeniously and unexpectedly hidden behind the immaculate uniformity of white paper panels ... In France, we 6 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 July 1888. like to try it out with these two drawings of the Crau and the banks of the Rhne which dont look japanese and which are perhaps more so than others, in fact? Look at them in a nice bright caf where theres nothing else in the way of paintings or out of doors. There should perhaps be a reed frame like a thin strip of wood. Myself, I work here in a bare interior, 4 white walls and red tiles on the floor. If I insist on your looking at these two drawings this way its because I would like so much to give you a true idea of the simplicity of nature in these parts. Lastly because of Gauguin41, what if we were to show the drawings, the harvest and the Zouave as well,42 to Thomas? Handshake, and thank you for the 12 tubes of zinc white that Tasset43 has just sent.44 Ever yours, Vincent Im curious to know if Mourier46 will remember the places.

have objets dart to enjoy them; here they shut them away, neatly labelled in a sort of mysterious, underground apartment, with iron gratings, which is called a godoun (Pour qui a quelques notions de japonerie, lintrieur de ma belle-mre rvle lui seul une personne raffine: nudit complte; peine deux ou trois petits paravents poss et l, une thire, un vase o trempent des lotus; rien de plus ... Il y a partout des petites cachettes, des petites niches, des petits placards, dissimuls de la manire la plus ingnieuse et la plus inattendue sous luniformit immacule des panneaux de papier blanc ... En France, on a des objets dart pour en jouir; ici, pour les enfermer, bien tiquets, dans une sorte dappartement mystrieux, souterrain, grill en fer, quon appelle godoun) (Loti 1990, chapter 35, p. 157). 41 Paul (Eugne Henri) Gauguin (1848-1903) French artist 42 The harvest (F 1483 / JH 1439) and Seated Zouave (F 1443 / JH 1485). See letters 625 and 630. 43 Guillaume Charles Tasset (1843-1925) seller of artists’ materials in Paris 44 In letter 636 Van Gogh commented that Tasset45 had not sent enough zinc white in the previous batch. 46 Christian Vilhelm Mourier-Petersen (1858-1945) Danish artist