Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Wilhelmina van Gogh (31 July 1888) ... to get into the country as much as possible. Here I am
afflicted now and then with an inability to eat, something of
the sort you suffered from at the time. But on the whole I
manage to steer clear of the rocks. When your body forsakes
you, use your brains - you and I with our constitutions should
take this to heart. For that matter work, if we are making
headway, can help a lot.
I think it exquisitely beautiful here in summer; the green
is very deep and rich; the air is thin and astonishingly clear.
But for all that the wide plain might often remind me very
strongly of the Dutch scenery - here where there are hardly any
mountains or rocks - if the colour were not so different. But
what pleases me very much is the gaily coloured clothes, the
women and girls dressed in cheap simple material, but with
green, red and pink, Havana-yellow, violet or blue stripes, or
dots of the same colours. White scarves; red, green and yellow
parasols. A vigorous sun, like sulphur, shining...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (1 September 1888) ... my physical strength, I am
regaining it, and my stomach especially is
stronger.
I am sending you three volumes of Balzac today. He is really
a bit out of date, etc., but like the Daumiers and the Lemuds,
none the worse for belonging to a period which is over.
At the moment I am reading Daudet's L'Immortel, which I find
very beautiful, but not particularly heartening. I think
I shall have to read a book on elephant hunting, or of absolute
lies about adventures which are categorically impossible, like
Gustave Aimard for instance, to get rid of the heartbreak that
L'Immortel is going to leave me with. It is exactly because it
is so beautiful and so true that it makes you feel the
emptiness of the civilized world. I must say though that I
prefer his Tartarin for real power.
Many regards to our sister, and thank you again for your
letter.
Ever yours, Vincent
...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Emile Bernard (c. 28 September 1888) ... winter and not the season of
fine weather. I am coming to believe more and more
that the cuisine has something to do with our ability to think and to
make pictures; as for me, when my stomach bothers me it is not
conducive to the success of my work.
In short, I think that, if your father made up his mind
quietly to preserve your pictures and grant you a somewhat
generous credit, he would lose less in the end than if he acted
differently. In the South one's senses get keener, one's hand
becomes more agile, one's eye more alert, one's brain clearer,
however on condition: that all this is not spoiled by dysentery
or something else of a debilitating nature. But apart from that
I venture to believe most firmly that anyone who loves artistic
work will find his productive faculties develop in the South;
but take care of your blood and take care of everything
else.
And now you will tell me perhaps that I am boring you with
all this - that you want to go to the brothel without...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (7 January 1889) ... blood, as
an artery was severed; but my appetite came back at once, my
digestion is all right and my blood recovers from day to day,
and in the same way serenity returns to my brain day by day. So
please quite deliberately forget your unhappy journey and my
illness.
You see that I am doing what you asked, and writing you what
I feel and think. On your part follow this meeting with the
Bongers up quietly. I hope it will continue as a lasting
friendship, and that perhaps it will be even more.
If I stay here, it is because for the moment I might not be
able to transplant myself. After some time we can go over the
pros and cons of the situation and figure things out again.
With a good handshake,
Ever yours, Vincent
...
