Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (22 January 1882) ... I am greatly harassed by scarcity of
funds. Besides, I still have relatively few drawing materials,
or else defective ones. For the present it is sufficient - I
have my paintbox and easel and brushes; but, for instance, this
week my drawing board warped like a barrel because it was too
thin, and my easel also got damaged in delivery, which is bad
enough.
Well, there are a lot of things which I still want to or
have to improve; of course it needn't all be done at once, but
daily it causes small expenses which, added together, worry me
a great deal. Sometimes my clothes need repairing, and Mauve
has already given me a few hints about that too, which I shall
certainly carry out; but it cannot all be done at once.
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (3 June 1882) ... spent less for paint
than other artists, I have spent more on making an
instrument for studying proportion and perspective, the
description of which can be found in a book by Albrecht
Dürer, and which the old Dutch masters also used. It makes
it possible to compare the proportion of objects near by with
those on a more distant plane, in cases where construction
according to the rules of perspective is not possible. And when
one tries to do it with the eye alone - unless one is an
expert and very far advanced - it is always hopelessly
wrong.
I did not succeed in making the instrument at once, but I
managed it at last, after many efforts, with the help of the
carpenter and the smithy. And after more efforts, I see a
chance to get even better results.
Lettre de Vincent van Gogh à Theo van Gogh (c. 14 March 1888) ... Et
vraiment c'était bien beau.
J'ai fait mes trois dernières études au moyen du cadre perspectif,
que tu me connais. J'attache de l'importance à l'emploi du
cadre, puisqu'il ne me semble pas improbable que dans un avenir peu éloigné
plusieurs artistes s'en serviront, de même que les anciens peintres allemands
et italiens sûrement, et je suis porté à le croire
pas moins les Flamands s'en sont servis. L'emploi moderne de cet instrument peut différer
de l'emploi qu'anciennement on en a fait - mais - n'est-ce pas de
même qu'avec le procédé de la peinture à l'huile on obtient aujourd'hui des effets
très différents de ceux des inventeurs du procédé: J. et
Hubert v. Eyck? C'est pour dire que j'espère toujours
ne pas travailler pour moi seul, je crois à la
nécessité absolue d'un nouvel art de la couleur, du dessin et - de
la vie artistique. Et si nous travaillons dans cette foi-là,...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (c. 14 March 1888) ... And
it was indeed a fine sight.
I made my last three studies with the perspective frame
which you know I use. I attach some importance to the use of
the frame because it seems not unlikely to me that in the near
future many artists will make use of it, just as the old German
and Italian painters certainly did, and, as I am inclined to
think, the Flemish too. The modern use of it may differ from
the ancient practice, but in the same way isn't it true that in
the process of painting in oils one gets very different effects
today from those of the men who invented the process, Jan and
Hubert van Eyck? And the moral of this is that it's my constant
hope that I am not working for myself alone. I believe in the
absolute necessity of a new art of colour, of design, and - of
the artistic life. And if we work in that faith, it seems to me
that there is a chance that we do not hope in vain.
You must know that I am actually ready to send some studies
off to you, only it is impossible...
