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Letter from Gustave Coquiot to n/a
Paris, 1932

[From Vincent van Gogh by Gustave Cocquiot. Ollendorf, Paris, 1932, p. 194. See letters 581 and 583a]

Yet Paul Signac courageously went to see him. Here is the account of this visit:

“The last time I saw Vincent,” he told us, “was in Arles in the spring of 1889. Then he was already in that town's asylum.

“A few days before [sic] he had cut off the lobe of his ear [and not his whole ear] under the circumstances you know of. [Mrs. J. van Gogh-Bonger on her part also affirms that only the lobe of the ear was cut off.] He had the famous bandage around his head and wore his fur cap. He led me to his apartments in Lamartine Square, where I saw his marvellous pictures, his masterpieces: Les Alyscamps 1, the Night Café, La Berceuse, the Lock, the Saintes-Maries, the Starry Night, etc. Imagine the splendour of those whitewashed walls, on which flowered those colourings in their full freshness.

“Throughout the day he spoke to me of painting, literature, socialism. In the evening he was a little tired. There had been a terrific spell of mistral, and this may have enervated him. He wanted to drink about a quart of essence of turpentine from the bottle that was standing on the table in the room. It was high time to return to the asylum.

“Next day I went to take leave of him; I went to Cassis; there he sent me a nice letter full of art and friendship, telling me how much pleasure my visit had afforded him, and illustrated with a fine drawing [two, to be exact].

“I never saw him again.”

1. Literally “Elysian Fields,” an avenue in Arles skirting a Roman cemetery.


At this time, Vincent was 79 year old
Source:
Gustave Coquiot. Letter to n/a. Written 1932 in Paris. Translated by Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, edited by Robert Harrison, number htm.
URL: https://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/19/etc-590a.htm.

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