van Gogh's letters - unabridged and annotated
 
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18721891

 10 letters relate to attitude - sisters...Excerpt length: shorter longer  
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
(c. 5 April 1885)
... be freer in the matter of receiving guests, etc. However, I still very much deplore the incident with Anna which decided me on this. What she told you does not alter anything of what she reproached me with, however absurd these reproaches were, as well as her unfounded suspicions with regard to certain things of the future. She has not told me she took them back. Well, you understand that I simply shrug my shoulders at such things, and for that matter, more and more I let everybody think of me what they like, and say of me, and do, under certain circumstances, too. But consequently I have no choice. After such a beginning one is forced to take measures in order to avoid such occurrences in the future. So I am firmly resolved. Probably Mother will go to Leyden next year. Then I shall be the only one of us left in Brabant.
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
(c. 11 May 1885)
... once in a while, is sufficient. I think them - I know, contrary to your opinion and contrary to theirs - I think those at home very, very far from sincere, and moreover, seeing that there are lots of other things I object to on what I consider sufficient grounds, I look upon Father's death and the inheritance as a matter I can withdraw from in all tranquillity, as I foresee that the character of the three sisters (all three of them) will not improve with time, but on the contrary, will get worse, and at any rate, just now it is utterly unsympathetic to me. Do you remember how sympathetically I wrote about Wil during Mother's illness? Well, it was just a short-lived freak - and it is frozen up again. Have you read L'évangeliste by Daudet? If so, you will find in it better words to express what I mean than mine. I see quite well that you do your best to conciliate us, but, my dear fellow, after all I wish them no harm, do I? - and likewise I do them no harm....
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
(c. 27 August 1888)
... letter and for the 50-fr. note it contained. Certainly it is not out of the question that later on our sister might come and live with us. It speaks well for her taste that she likes sculpture; I was very glad to hear it. Painting as it is now promises to become more subtle - more like music and less like sculpture - and above all it promises colour. If only it keeps this promise. The sunflowers are getting on, there is a new bunch of 14 flowers on a greenish-yellow ground , so it is exactly the same effect - but in a larger size, a 30 canvas - as the still life with the quinces and lemons , which you already have - but in the sunflowers the painting is much more simple. Do you remember that we saw a bunch of peonies by Manet at the Hotel Drouot one day? The flowers were pink, the leaves bright green painted in thick impasto, not glazed like Jeannin's, standing out against a plain white background, I think. That was a very sound piece of work. ...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
(3 September 1888)
... tie. He gave me two sittings in one day. Yesterday I had a letter from our sister, who has seen a great deal. Ah, if she could marry an artist it would not be so bad. Well, we must go on inducing her to develop her personality rather than her artistic abilities. I have finished L'Immortel by Daudet. I rather like the saying of the sculptor Védrine, that to achieve fame is something like ramming the lighted end of your cigar into your mouth when you are smoking. But I certainly like L'Immortel less, far less than Tartarin. You know, it seems to me that L'Immortel is not so fine in colour as Tartarin, because it reminds me with its mass of true and subtle observations of the dreary pictures of Jean Bérend which are so dry and cold. Now Tartarin is really great, with the greatness of a masterpiece, just like Candide.
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
(2 May 1890)
... our sister and from Mother were very calm. Our sister wrote extremely well and described a landscape or a view of the town in such a way that it might have been a page out of a modern novel. I always urge her to occupy herself with household matters rather than artistic things, for I know that she is already too sensitive, and at her age she would find it difficult to develop herself artistically. I am much afraid that she also suffers from a thwarted artistic desire, but she is so full of vitality that she will get over it. I have talked to M. Peyron about the situation and I told him that it was almost impossible for me to endure my lot here, and that not knowing at all with any clearness what line to take, I thought it preferable to return North. If you think well of it and if you mention a date on which you would expect me in Paris, I will have myself accompanied part of the way, either to Tarascon, or to Lyons, by someone from here. Then you can wait for me or...

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