Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (20 February 1874) ... I am glad you
feel so comfortable at Roos's. As I already let you know
through Anna Carbentus, you are quite right about those
priggish girls. I also agree with you about Bertha Haanebeek;
but watch your heart, boy.
Have you seen Mr. Jacobson's collection yet? He will
certainly ask you to come to see it, and it is well worth
while. Give him my respects and tell him I am doing quite well
here and that I see many beautiful things.
I am all right and am very busy. Thank Willem for his letter
and greet everybody at Roos's and Iterson and anybody who may
ask after me. Best regards.
Vincent
...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (31 July 1874) ... been both a revelation
and a Gospel.
'Il n'y a pas de vielle femme!'[There are no old women.]
(That does not mean that there are no old women, only that a
woman does not grow old as long as she loves and is loved.) And
then a chapter like “The Aspirations of Autumn,”
how rich that is … That a woman is a 'quite different
being' from a man, and a being that we do not yet know, or at
best only superficially, as you put it, yes, that I am sure of.
And that a man and a woman can become one, that is to say, one
whole and not two halves, I believe that too.
Anna is bearing up well, we go on marvellous walks together.
It is so beautiful here, if one just has a good and single eye
without too many beams in it. And if one does have that eye,
then it is beautiful everywhere.
Father is far from well, although he and Mother say that
he's better.
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (9 January 1878) ... and send it to me when you get it.
Uncle Cor asked me today if I didn't like
“Phryne” by Gérôme. I told him that I
would rather see a homely woman by Israëls or Millet, or
an old woman by Édouard Frère: for what's the use
of a beautiful body such as Phryne's? Animals have it too,
perhaps even more than men; but the soul, as it lives in the
people painted by Israëls or Millet or Frère, that
is what animals never have. Is not life given us to become
richer in spirit, even though the outward appearance may
suffer? I feel very little sympathy for the figure by
Gérôme. I can find no sign of spirituality in it,
and a pair of hands which show they have worked are more
beautiful than those of this figure. The difference is greater
still between such a beautiful girl and a man like Parker or
Thomas a Kempis or those Meissonier painted; one can no more
love and have sympathy for two such disparate things than one
can serve...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (8 February 1883) ... at least the crisis is past! Poor
woman! If women do not always show in their thoughts the energy
and elasticity of men, who are disposed towards reflection and
analysis, we cannot blame them, at least in my opinion, because
in general they have to spend so much more strength than we in
suffering pain. They suffer more and are more sensitive.
And though they do not always understand our thoughts, they
are sometimes truly capable of understanding when one is good
to them. Not always, though, but “the spirit is
willing,” and there is in women sometimes a
curious kind of goodness.
There must be a great load off your mind now that the
operation is over.
What a mystery life is, and love is a mystery within a
mystery. It certainly never remains the same in a literal
sense, but the changes are like the ebb and flow of the tide
and leave the sea unchanged.
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (c. 22 September 1883) ... for which I have an
indescribable respect. I feel the same respect before the
humble tombstone of Béranger's mistress, which I looked
for on purpose (if I remember correctly, it is in a corner
behind his own), and there I particularly remembered Corot's
mistress too. Silent muses these women were, and in the emotion
of those gentle masters, in the intimacy, the pathos of their
poetry, I always feel a woman's influence everywhere.
I am speaking rather seriously in this letter, not because I
think Father's feelings and opinion wrong in everything - far
from it; in many things you will do well to follow Father's
advice. We spoke about Father during your visit here, as you
will remember, and also at the moment of your departure - but I
can now express in clear terms what I felt only vaguely at the
time: If you speak with Father, then think of Corot at
the same time; then you will be able to avoid certain extremes,
to which Father is far too much inclined; but as I see...