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867 Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, Saturday, 3 May 1890.

metadata
No. 867 (Brieven 1990 868, Complete Letters T33)
From: Theo van Gogh
To: Vincent van Gogh
Date: Paris, Saturday, 3 May 1890

Source status
Original manuscript

Location
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b760 V/1962

Date
Letter headed: ‘Paris le 3 Mai 1890’.

Ongoing topic
Seventh consignment of paintings from Saint-Rémy (863)

original text
 1r:1
Paris le 3 Mai 1890

Mon cher Vincent,
Je ne puis pas te dire combien j’étais content de ta lettre ou plustôt de tes deux lettres;1 je disais la veille de ma fête2 à Jo, s’il venait une lettre de Vincent je ne saurais plus ce que je pourais désirer qui manque à mon bonheur. Et voilà que ta lettre arrive. Bien entendu je voudrais que tu te sentais encore mieux & surtout que tes tristesses puissent  1v:2 se dissiper. Ton envoi de toiles est arrivé aussi & il y en a qui sont bien bien belles. Le surveillant3 & l’autre bonhomme avec sa face boursouflée4 sont extraordinaires, la branches des amandiers en fleurs5 montre que dans ces sujets tu n’es pas épuisé. Si cette année tu as manquée la saison des arbres en fleurs, une prochaine fois espérons que cela ne sera pas. Les copies de Millet6 sont peut être ce que tu as fait de plus beau et me fait croire que le jour où tu te mettras à faire des compositions de figures il nous attend encore de grandes surprises. L’envoi de couleurs Tasset  1v:3 & Tangui est parti, je n’avais pas encore reçu ta seconde lettre & je me disais que tu pourrais bien utiliser la moitié de plus.7 La toile d’Aurier8 est une des plus belles que tu aies encore faite, elle a la richesse d’une queu de paon. Toute à l’heure je vais la lui porter, j’avais fait faire le cadre que tu avais décrit9 car je lui dois bien cela et il n’est pas riche. Et maintenant ce qu’il y a de plus important dans ta seconde lettre, c’est tes projets de venir par içi. Je suis très heureux que tu te sens la force pour entreprendre un changement & j’approuve absolument qu’aussitôt possible tu viennes, mais tu dis que moi je dois fixer l’époque quand tu dois venir. Je n’ose pas prendre une décision & il n’y a que toi avec les conseils du Dr Peyron qui  1r:4 puisses prendre sur toi cette responsabilité. Ton voyage à Arles t’était absolument funeste,10 est ce que cette fois çi le déplacement ne te fera pas de mal? Si j’étais toi j’agirais entièrement avec la manière de voir de Mr Peyron & en tous les cas le jour que tu es décidé à venir içi il faut absolument te faire accompagner durant tout le trajet par quelcun en qui tu as confiance. La fatigue du voyage et la sensation de retrouver des endroits connus peuvent influencer sur ta maladie. Si possible j’aimerais tant t’avoir avec nous au moins pendant quelque temps & si tu fais tout pour te ménager il est très probable que tout marchera bien. Tu dis que les gens là-bas ne comprennent rien à la peinture, mais içi c’est absolument la même chose & il ne faut pas croire que n’importe où tu trouvera cela autrement que par exception. Nous avons fréquenté une cathégorie de gens, qui en ont fait leur principale occupation, mais à part ceux-là c’est de l’hébreux pour le monde & les choses simples sont encore moins compris que là où on peut se creuser la tête sur le sujet etc. J’espère que tu pourras m’écrire que tu vas de mieux en mieux et que tes projets pourront se réaliser prochainement. Ne te fais cependant pas trop d’illusions sur la vie dans le nord, en somme chaque pays a son pour & contre. Je t’écrirai prochainement & je chercherai des lith: des maitres. Je les enverrai en même temps que les dessins de Brabant.11 Bon courage & bonne poignée de mains. Merci encore de tes lettres & de ton envoi. Si tu as besoin de quelque chose dis-le. Les affaires marchent bien & j’ai tout ce qu’il faut. Bien bonjour de Jo & du petit. Çi inclus leur portrait.12

À toi
Theo

translation
 1r:1
Paris, 3 May 1890

My dear Vincent,
I can’t tell you how pleased I was by your letter, or rather your two letters;1 I was saying to Jo the day before my birthday2 that if a letter came from Vincent I would no longer know what I could wish for to complete my happiness. And there you are, your letter arrived. Of course I’d like you to feel better still, and above all that your sadnesses might  1v:2 be dispelled. Your consignment of canvases has arrived too, and there are some that are very, very beautiful. The orderly3 and the other fellow with his swollen face4 are extraordinary, the branch of the almond trees in blossom5 shows that you haven’t exhausted these subjects. You may have missed the season of the blossoming trees this year, but let’s hope that that won’t be the case next time. The Millet copies6 are perhaps the finest things you’ve done, and make me believe that big surprises still await us the day you set yourself to doing figure compositions. The consignment of Tasset  1v:3 and Tanguy colours has left, I hadn’t yet received your second letter, and I told myself that you could well use the extra half.7 The Aurier canvas8 is one of the finest you’ve yet done, it has the richness of a peacock’s tail. I’ll take it to him directly, I’d had the frame made that you described,9 for I certainly owe him that, and he isn’t rich. And now the most important thing in your second letter, that is your plans to come here. I’m very happy that you feel the strength to undertake a change, and I absolutely agree that you should come as soon as possible, but you say that I myself must fix the time when you’re to come. I daren’t take a decision, and only you, with Dr Peyron’s advice,  1r:4 can take this responsibility upon yourself. Your journey to Arles was absolutely disastrous for you,10 will the travelling not do you harm this time? If I were you I’d act entirely in accordance with Mr Peyron’s view, and in any event on the day you’ve decided to come here you absolutely must be accompanied during the entire journey by someone you trust. The fatigue of the journey and the sensation of rediscovering places you have known may have an influence on your illness. If possible I’d so much like to have you with us at least for a while, and if you do everything to take care of yourself it’s very likely that all will go well. You say that the people down there understand nothing of painting, but here it’s absolutely the same, and you mustn’t think that you’ll find it otherwise anywhere, except as an exception. We have frequented one category of people, who have made it their principal occupation, but apart from them it’s Hebrew to the people, and simple things are even less understood than there where one can puzzle over the subject etc. I hope that you’ll be able to write to me that you’re getting better and better, and that your plans can soon be realized. However, don’t have too many illusions about life in the north, after all every part of the world has its pros and cons. I’ll write to you soon and shall look for lithographs of the masters. I’ll send them at the same time as the Brabant drawings.11 Be of good heart, and good handshake. Thanks again for your letters and for your consignment. If you need anything, say so. Business is going well and I have everything I need. Warm regards from Jo and the little one. Enclosed is their portrait.12

Yours,
Theo
notes
1. The first letter is letter 863, in which Vincent wishes Theo a happy birthday. The second is letter 865, as may be deduced from a passage later in the present letter, where Theo responds to what Vincent wrote (ll. 45-46 and ll. 64-66). Cf. also n. 7 below.
Theo also wrote on 3 May to his mother, saying how happy he was to receive Vincent’s letters: ‘It is nevertheless progress, that he could write again. At the time he didn’t have the courage to read your and my letters, for his indisposition is characterized above all by melancholy spells, and everything that reminds him of the past makes him sad and melancholy. Through it all he longs to be allowed to leave the asylum and then, for example, to come here, accompanied by someone from the asylum. May that happen without harming him. Dr Peyron would prefer that he stay a while longer, but Vincent already wrote earlier on that he thought he could recover better in a house without nuns. I’ve written to both of them, to Vincent to say that he must talk to Dr Peyron before making a decision and to the Doctor that I very much wanted to comply with Vincent’s wishes, but did not want to do anything imprudent, so I’m longing to hear something from them ... I forgot to tell you that Vincent sent a number of new paintings, including some very beautiful ones. It’s amazing that, in spite of it all, he can still deliver so much work’ (FR b929).
2. Theo had turned 33 on 1 May.
3. Charles-Elzéard Trabuc (F 629 / JH 1774 ).
4. Probably Portrait of a one-eyed man (F 532 / JH 1650 ). This was not made in Arles – as was long assumed – but in Saint-Rémy. See exhib. cat. Essen 1990, p. 119 (Dutch version only).
5. Almond blossom (F 671 / JH 1891 ).
6. The consignment probably contained 16 copies after prints by Millet; see letter 863, n. 3.
7. For this order of paint, brushes and canvas, see letter 863. The ‘second letter’ is letter 865, in which Vincent announces his plan to come to the North. Theo assumed that he would remain for a while in Saint-Rémy and had therefore ordered extra paint.
8. Cypresses (F 620 / JH 1748 ); see letter 863, n. 9.
9. Theo had read in Vincent’s letter to Aurier suggestions about the frame (cf. the postscript to letter 854, with which letter 853 to Aurier was enclosed).
10. The severe attack from which Vincent was still recovering began during his last trip to Arles on 22 February (see letter 857, n. 1).
11. Vincent had asked Theo to send lithographs by old and modern artists, as well as some figure drawings he had made in Nuenen. See letter 863.
12. Theo must have sent the photograph of Jo and little Vincent by Raoul Saisset (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b4822). Ill. 2314 .