Ever Yours
Vincent van Gogh
Ever Yours The Essential Letters
Edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker
This publication is part of the Van Gogh Letters Project executed under the auspices of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and Huygens ING (a division of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), The Hague, and is an abridged edition of the complete six-volume publication, Vincent van Gogh—The Letters: The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition, edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker (Brussels: Mercatorfonds; London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 2009).
www.vangoghletters.org
www.vangoghmuseum.com
www.huygens.knaw.nl
Copyright © 2014 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Published in 2014 by Yale University Press,
New Haven and London
yalebooks.com/art
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Dutch Foundation for Literature.
Translation of introduction texts: Diane Webb
Translation of the Van Gogh letters:
Translation editor: Michael Hoyle
Translations from the Dutch by Lynne Richards,
John Rudge and Diane Webb
Translations from the French by Sue Dyson
and Imogen Forster
Library of Congress Control Number:
2014939683
ISBN 978-0-300-20947-1
e-book ISBN 978-0-300-21148-1
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Jacket illustrations: (front) detail of letter 400,
1883; (back) detail of letter 609, 1888
Frontispiece: detail of letter 660, 1888
All of the letters in this volume belong to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and are in the Van Gogh Museum, with the exception of the following letters and pages from letters: Fonds Van der Linden, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels: 821; Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Paris: 695; Musée Reáttu, Arles: 739; private collections: 325, 569, 665, 691 (part), 740, 756, 853; Thannhauser Collection, Guggenheim Museum, New York: 849; Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York: 587, 599, 622, 628, 632, 651, 655, 698, 706, 822; and present whereabouts unknown: 716, 776 (part)
Contents
Setbacks and Perseverance: An Artist’s Life
Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker
Letters with a History
Note to the Reader
The Hague, 29 September 1872–17 March 1873
London, 13 June 1873–8 May 1875
Paris, 6 July 1875–28 March 1876
Ramsgate, Welwyn, and Isleworth, 17 April–25 November 1876
Dordrecht, 7 February–23 March 1877
Amsterdam, 30 May 1877–3 April 1878
Borinage and Brussels, c. 13 November 1878–2 April 1881
Etten, 5 August–c. 23 December 1881
The Hague, 29 December 1881–10 September 1883
Drenthe, c. 14 September–1 December 1883
Nuenen, c. 7 December 1883–c. 14 November 1885
Antwerp, 28 November 1885–c. 11 February 1886
Paris, c. 28 February 1886–late October 1887
Arles, 21 February 1888–3 May 1889
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, 9 May 1889–13 May 1890
Auvers-sur-Oise, 20 May–23 July 1890
Sketch Illustrations
Index of Names
Biographies of the Editors
Setbacks and Perseverance: An Artist’s Life
Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker
Sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing.
—2 Corinthians 6:10
The letters and artworks of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) strike at the very heart of desires and emotions we all share. Intensely inquisitive, Van Gogh absorbed the world around him, but the only way he could relate to that world was to create a counterworld in words and images. He wanted to make art that would comfort people: ‘a consolatory art for distressed hearts’ (letter 739), by means of compelling colours and peerless lines. His letters are a masterly account of how he set out to achieve this and what drove him to persevere in this endeavour.
Van Gogh was enthusiastic to the point of fanaticism; he set excruciatingly high hurdles for himself, and struggled long and hard to overcome them. His personal life became completely subordinate to art, as time and again he gave his utmost to further his cause, thinking it only natural that he should do so. That this attitude had its dangers had already dawned on him five years before his death: ‘The fact that I have a definite belief as regards art also means that I know what I want to get in my own work, and that I’ll try to get it even if I go under in the attempt’ (531).
Vincent van Gogh was a jack-of-all-trades and master of none until 1880, when he decided to pursue an artistic career and gradually came to grips with his destiny. With hindsight it can be said that he developed as an artist with amazing speed: it took him only ten years to draw and paint the extensive oeuvre that would make him world-famous. Recognition was a long time in coming, however. Only after his self-inflicted death in 1890 did his work finally begin to receive the attention it deserved and his reputation as a pioneering artist become firmly established—a development in which his letters played a vital role.
Vincent van Gogh: A Complex Character
Van Gogh cut a striking figure. Jo van Gogh-Bonger, who became acquainted with Vincent in 1890, described him in her introduction to the 1914 letters edition as ‘a robust, broad-shouldered man with a healthy complexion, a cheerful expression and something very determined in his appearance’. Small in stature, he had green eyes, a red beard and freckles; his hair was ginger-coloured like that of his brother Theo, his junior by four years. He had a facial tic, and his hands seemed to be in constant motion. He was rather unsociable, which made him difficult to live with. People were often afraid of him, because of his wild and unkempt appearance and his intense manner of speaking. The way he looked and acted alienated people, which did not make life easy for him.
Van Gogh was almost always convinced that he was right, and this made him quite tiresome. He was a passionate, driven man, whose tendency to act like an egocentric bully made many people dislike him. They saw him as ‘a madman—a murderer—a vagabond’ (408). Van Gogh refused to let this upset him: ‘[B]elieve me that I sometimes laugh heartily at how people suspect me (who am really just a friend of nature, of study, of work—and of people chiefly) of various acts of malice and absurdities which I never dream of’ (252). He did not avoid confrontations, nor did he spare himself. Theo described him in a letter of March 1887 to their sister Willemien as ‘his own enemy’.
Van Gogh was strongly inclined towards introspection: he never hesitated to explore and record his mood swings, or to redefine his moral position. He did this mainly because he had few people to talk to. Examining his own state of mind, he saw a ‘highly strung’ individual. At the age of twenty-nine, he sketched a merciless picture of himself:
Don’t imagine that I think myself perfect—or that I believe it isn’t my fault that many people find me a disagreeable character. I’m often terribly and cantankerously melancholic, irritable—yearning for sympathy as if with a kind of hunger and thirst—I become indifferent, sharp, and sometimes even pour oil on the flames if I don’t get sympathy. I don’t enjoy company, and dealing with people, talking to them, is often painful and difficult for m
e. But do you know where a great deal if not all of this comes from? Simply from nervousness—I who am terribly sensitive, both physically and morally, only really acquired it in the years when I was deeply miserable. (244)
These last words refer to the years immediately before he embarked on his artistic career.
However impulsive Van Gogh was, he generally set to work only after much deliberation: ‘For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together’ (274). Time and again, it was willpower and hard work that enabled Van Gogh to raise his low spirits. He repressed his feelings of guilt towards Theo, his dearest friend and confidant, and the only one who could cope with his difficult character. Vincent was well aware that his brother was investing a great deal in him, and the knowledge that he would never be able to repay Theo occasionally made him despair.
The Bond with Theo
Vincent’s late decision—in 1880, at the age of twenty-seven—to become an artist was largely due to Theo’s encouragement. The fact that it was Theo who persuaded him to pursue an artistic career greatly influenced their relationship in the following years. Theo considered it his duty to lend Vincent both moral and financial support. Throughout the ten years of Vincent’s life as an artist, Theo remained an obliging benefactor, whose support was invaluable in furthering his brother’s artistic endeavours. At first Vincent viewed Theo’s financial support as a loan that he would one day be able to repay—an advance on what he would be earning as soon as buyers could be found for his work. When this failed to happen, however, the brothers agreed that Theo could deal freely with Vincent’s drawings and paintings. Theo thought that brotherliness was much more important than cashing in on his investment, although as time went on he also became convinced of the special quality and value of Vincent’s work.
It may seem as though it was mainly one-way traffic between the brothers, as though the calm, generous Theo was always ready to help his stubborn, impulsive brother and got little in return. But Theo, for his part, depended heavily on Vincent, describing him to Jo as his ‘adviser and brother to both of us, in every sense of the word’ (1 January 1889). Vincent and Theo’s mutual dependence continued to grow over the years, but not without many conflicts. At times Vincent was mean and nasty to Theo, and he always tried to get his way. This put a lot of strain on their relationship, so much so that at one point Theo was convinced that it would be better for them to part ways. Yet their fraternal friendship proved able to withstand such fierce clashes. Theo dragged Vincent through life’s difficulties and acted as a buffer between him and the ‘hostile world’ (406). The kindhearted Theo, who felt responsible for Vincent his whole life and always remained loyal to him, protected his brother and saved him from many pitfalls.
A Loving and Protective Family
The close ties between the brothers date from their earliest years, when they were growing up together as the sons of a village parson in rural Brabant. Their parents, Theodorus van Gogh (1822–1885; fig. 1) and Anna van Gogh-Carbentus (1819–1907; fig. 2), raised their children with Christian values that formed the basis of a virtuous and hardworking life. As was usual among middle-class families in the nineteenth century, they all did their utmost to prevent any member of the family from drifting away from the fold, as it were. Together they strove to lead a respectable life, in strict observance of the proprieties and in the firm conviction that those who become well-regarded members of society will encounter much good in their lives. The modest livings occupied by the Reverend Theodorus van Gogh comprised the villages of Zundert, Helvoirt, Etten and Nuenen, all situated in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. As a preacher who attached great importance to morally acceptable behaviour, he could count on a good deal of sympathy from his parishioners.
1. Theodorus van Gogh
2. Anna van Gogh-Carbentus
Vincent (1853–1890; figs. 3, 4), the oldest of six children, was not the firstborn: exactly one year before his birth, his mother had been delivered of a stillborn child, likewise named Vincent. Vincent was followed by Anna (1855–1930), Theo (1857–1891), Elisabeth (‘Lies’, 1859–1936), Willemien (‘Wil’, 1862–1941) and Cor (1867–1900). Their mother, a kindhearted woman, shared the care of the family with her husband and a nursemaid.
3. Vincent van Gogh at the age of thirteen
4. Vincent van Gogh at the age of nineteen
The love between the parents and their children and the respect they showed one another is evident from the family correspondence, of which hundreds of letters have survived. Fond memories of his early years were deeply rooted in Vincent, and they surfaced during the attacks of mental illness (considered in those days to be a form of epilepsy, accompanied by hallucinations) that disrupted the last year and a half of his life. At the end of 1888, after his first serious breakdown, he reported that during his illness he had seen ‘each room in the house at Zundert, each path, each plant in the garden, the views round about’—every detail, in fact, of the surroundings of his parental home (741).
The Van Goghs wanted to give all their children an education that would allow them to develop their talents to the full, but this was no easy task, financially speaking. Their main worry turned out to be finding a suitable position for Vincent. In the nineteenth century, association with the upper class was often a means of advancement for members of the middle class, and parents who were determined to help their children succeed stimulated and even engineered their climb up the social ladder. This is apparent from the advice the Van Goghs gave their children about moving in society, which books to read, and the courtesy calls they should make. By present-day standards the children were extremely obedient, but this can be explained by the prevailing standards of conduct, which were dictated by middle-class Christian morals. When things went wrong, however, and a person was unwilling or unable to comply with these high standards, it could easily lead, as it did in Van Gogh’s case, to a gnawing sense of guilt and a permanent feeling of failure in one’s duties towards those who had one’s best interests at heart.
The need for solidarity was characteristic of the Van Gogh family. Leading a pious life and lending one another support were in the general interest, and that was also true of other group activities that kept the family together, such as attending church, singing hymns and reading and reciting morally acceptable poetry and novels, all of which strengthened both heart and mind.
For a long time harmony prevailed in the Van Gogh family, but in 1876 there was a flare-up of the tension between Vincent and his father, and the discord continued until the latter’s death in 1885. Their lifestyles became increasingly incompatible, and Vincent’s social maladjustment was a constant source of irritation to his father. Vincent, in turn, was annoyed at his father’s interference and narrow-mindedness; holding his ground, he showed complete disregard for the conventions his parents considered so important. His workman’s clothes, his unpredictable behaviour and his association with people from the lower classes were thorns in his parents’ sides. For Vincent, things became clear to him late in 1883: ‘In character I’m quite different from the various members of the family, and I’m actually not a “Van Gogh” ’ (411).
Working in the Art Trade, 1869–1876
Vincent attended the village school in Zundert and received lessons at home from a governess. He then spent several years at a boarding school for boys in Zevenbergen and went from there to a secondary school in Tilburg, the Hogere Burgerschool Willem II. After living at home for another year, at the end of July 1869 he finally found—at the age of sixteen—a position as the youngest employee of the international art dealer Goupil & Cie in The Hague (fig. 5).
5. Goupil & Cie Gallery, The Hague, c. 1900
It was one of his father’s brothers, also called Vincent (Uncle Cent), who introduced Vincent to the art world. For years Uncle Cent had been a partner in the firm of Goupil & Cie, and he now put in a good word for his nephew. Vincent was thus gi
ven a chance to become intimately acquainted with the art trade. The firm flourished, its success due in part to the publication and sale of reproductions of numerous artworks. Van Gogh’s work for an art dealer—spending his days surrounded by paintings, prints and photographs—and his visits to museums laid the basis for his impressive knowledge of art. His boss, Hermanus Tersteeg, showed him the ropes and taught him a great deal about art and literature. Vincent lived at this time with the Roos family on Lange Beestenmarkt, from which address he wrote the earliest of his surviving letters to Theo on 29 September 1872.
Goupil & Cie had a number of branches, and in May 1873 Van Gogh began working for them in London. The correspondence from these years reveals that he was seeking a place outside the protected world in which he had grown up. In his spare time he walked as much as he could and worked in the garden. Sometimes he was very homesick. On holidays such as Christmas and Easter, the family tended to gather at the Helvoirt parsonage, where the Van Goghs were now living. By this time Theo was also working for Goupil, beginning at the Brussels branch and moving to the Hague branch at the end of 1873 (fig. 6). In London Vincent changed his address often: in August he moved to Brixton, and a year later to Kennington. His appreciation of the city grew, as did his interest in art and literature. His letters contain more than one quotation from books that had moved him; Theo, in turn, sent his brother poetry. Their tastes and preferences were perfectly in keeping with the fashions of the day: romantic poetry (Heinrich Heine, Alphonse de Lamartine) and Victorian novels (George Eliot). Literature was a comfort to the boys and helped them expand their horizons.
Ever Yours Page 1