597 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Friday, 13 April 1888.

metadata

No. 597 (Brieven 1990 599, Complete Letters 477)
From: Vincent van Gogh
To: Theo van Gogh
Date: Arles, on or about Friday, 13 April 1888

Source status

Original manuscript

Location

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b517 V/1962

Date

See for our dating of on or about Friday, 13 April 1888: letter 595, Date.

Ongoing topic

Koning’s stay with Theo (578)

Sketches

Three orchards (F - / JH 1393), letter sketch. Below the left-hand work: ‘Verger rose pâle’ (Pale pink orchard) and ‘abricotiers’ (apricot trees); inside the frame, in the blossom on the tree: ‘rose’ (pink); in the foreground: ‘vert’ (green). Below the central work: ‘pêcher’ (peach tree) and ‘rose’ (pink). Below the right-hand work: ‘verger blanc’ (white orchard), ‘pruniers’ (plum trees) and ‘terrain violet & vert’ (violet and green soil).
Small pear tree in blossom (F - / JH 1395), letter sketch. On the drawing: ‘bleu’ (blue) in the sky, three times, ‘rose’ (pink) on the house, ‘jaune’ (yellow) beside the butterfly, and ‘violet’ on the ground, three times.

original text

1r:1

Mon cher Theo,

Merci de ta lettre contenant les échantillons de toile absorbante.1 Serai bien-aise de recevoir – mais cela ne presse aucunément – 3 mètres de celle à 6 fr.–

Pour ce qui est de son envoi de couleurs,2 il n’y avait que 4 gros tubes de blanc tandis que tous les autres tubes étaient des demi gros (de blanc).– S’il les a comptés dans les mêmes proportions c’est fort bien mais fais attention à cela.–

4 Tubes de blanc à 1 fr. mais le reste ne doit être qu’à moitié prix. Je trouve son bleu de Prusse mauvais et son cinabre. Le reste est bien

Maintenant je te dirai que je travaille aux 2 tableaux desquels je voulais faire des repetitions3 Le pêcher rose me donne le plus de mal

[sketch A]
1v:2

Tu vois par les quatre carrés de l’autre côté4 que les trois vergers5 se tiennent plus ou moins. J’ai maintenant aussi un petit poirier en hauteur6 flanqué egalement de deux toiles en largeur.7 Cela fera 6 toiles de vergers en fleur.

Je cherche actuellement tous les jours à les achever un peu et à les faire tenir ensemble

J’ose espérer 3 autres se tenant egalement mais ceux là ne sont encore qu’à l’état d’embryons ou de foetus8

Je voudrais bien faire cet ensemble de 9 toiles

Tu comprends qu’il nous est loisible de considérer les 9 toiles de cette année comme première pensée d’une decoration definitive beaucoup plus grande (celle ci se compose de toiles de 25 et de 12)9 qui serait executée d’après les mêmes motifs absolument, l’année prochaine à la même epoque.

1v:3 [sketch B]

Voici l’autre pièce de milieu des toiles de 12

Terrain violet – dans le fond un mur avec des peupliers droits – et un ciel très-bleu

Le petit poirier a un tronc violet et des fleurs blanches, un grand papillon jaune sur une des touffes.

à gauche dans le coin un petit jardin avec bordure de roseaux jaunes et des arbustes vertes & un parterre de fleurs.– Une maisonette rose.

Voilà donc les details de la decoration de vergers en fleur que je te destinais.

Seulement les 3 dernieres toiles n’existent qu’à un état provisoire et devraient représenter un très grand verger avec bordure de cyprès et grands poiriers & pommiers.

Le “pont de l’anglais” pour toi10 marche bien et sera mieux que l’étude je pense11

Suis bien pressé de retourner travailler. Pour le Guillaumin, si cela est possible c’est surement bonne affaire d’acheter. Seulement puisqu’on parle d’un nouveau procedé pour fixer le pastel, serait peutetre sage de lui demander de fixer de cette façon en cas d’achat.12 Poignée de main à toi et à Koning.

t. à t.

Vincent

1r:4

J’ai eu une lettre de Bernard avec des Sonnets qu’il a fabriqués13 parmi lesquels il y en a qui sont réussis, il arrivera à faire un bon sonnet, ce que je lui envie presque.

Aussitôt le pont de l’anglais et la répétition de l’autre tableau (le pêcher rose) secs, ferai envoi.

translation

1r:1

My dear Theo,

Thanks for your letter containing the samples of absorbent canvas.1 Will be very glad to receive — but it’s not at all urgent — 3 metres of the sort at 6 francs.

As for his consignment of colours,2 there were only 4 large tubes of white in it, while all the other tubes were half-size (of white). If he has charged for them in the same proportions, that’s very good, but pay attention to that.

4 tubes of white at 1 franc, but the rest should only be half the price. I find his Prussian blue poor, and his cinnabar. The rest is good.

Now I’ll tell you that I’m working on the 2 paintings of which I wanted to make repetitions.3 The pink peach tree is giving me the most trouble.

[sketch A]

1v:2

You can see from the four squares on the other side4 that the three orchards5 go together, more or less. I now also have a small pear tree, vertical,6 also flanked by two other horizontal canvases.7 That will make 6 canvases of orchards in blossom.

At the moment I’m trying to finish them a little every day, and to make them go together.

I dare hope for 3 more, also going together, but those are still only in the state of embryos or foetuses.8

I’d really like to do this group of 9 canvases.

You understand that we’re free to consider the 9 canvases as the initial idea for a much larger, definitive decoration (this one consists of no. 25 and no. 12 canvases),9 which would be done after exactly the same subjects, at the same time next year. 1v:3

[sketch B]

Here’s the other middle piece of the no. 12 canvases.

The ground purple — in the background a wall, with straight poplars — and a very blue sky.

The small pear tree has a purple trunk and white flowers, a large yellow butterfly on one of the clumps.

On the left, in the corner, a little garden with a border of yellow reeds and green bushes and a flowerbed. A small pink house.

So there are the details of the decoration of orchards in blossom, which I was intending for you.

But the last 3 canvases exist only in a provisional state, and are supposed to represent a very large orchard with a border of cypresses and large pear trees and apple trees.

The ‘Pont de Langlois’ for you10 is going well, and will be better than the study, I think.11

Am in a real hurry to get back to work. As for the Guillaumin, if it’s possible, it’s certainly a good deal to buy it.12 But since they’re talking about a new method for fixing pastel, would perhaps be wise to ask him to fix it in this way, in case of purchase. Handshake to you and to Koning.

Ever yours,

Vincent

1r:4

I’ve had a letter from Bernard with some sonnets that he’s made,13 some of which are successful; he’ll succeed in making a good sonnet, for which I almost envy him.

As soon as the Langlois bridge and the repetition of the other painting (the pink peach tree) are dry, will make a consignment.

notes

1. In letter 593 Vincent had asked Theo the price of absorbent canvas at Tasset’s.

2. This refers to the consignment of paint from Tasset & Lhote, for which Van Gogh had asked in letter 593 and acknowledged receipt in letter 595.

3. Van Gogh made a repetition of The Langlois bridge with washerwomen (F 397 / JH 1368 ), namely The Langlois bridge with washerwomen (F 571 / JH 1392 ), and of Pink peach trees (‘Souvenir de Mauve’) (F 394 / JH 1379 ), that is The pink peach tree (F 404 / JH 1391 ). The repetitions were meant for Theo, because Vincent wanted to give F 397 / JH 1368 to Tersteeg and F 394 / JH 1379 to Jet Mauve.

4. This comment is on the verso of the letter sketch with the three sketched orchards; ‘four’ must be a mistake.

5. The three orchards reproduced in the letter sketch Three orchards (F - / JH 1393) are The pink orchard (F 555 / JH 1380 ), Pink peach trees (F 404 / JH 1391 ) – Pink peach trees (‘Souvenir de Mauve’) (F 394 / JH 1379 ) seems unlikely because Van Gogh wanted to give it away – and The white orchard (F 403 / JH 1378 ). See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1990, p. 104.

6. Small pear tree in blossom (F 405 / JH 1394 ), after which Van Gogh made the sketch of the same name F - / JH 1395 later in the letter.

7. The flanking horizontal works are Orchard with apricot trees in blossom (F 553 / JH 1387 ) and Orchard with apricot trees in blossom (F 556 / JH 1383 ). See exhib. cat. New York 1984, p. 47 and exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1990, p. 112.

8. It emerges from the rest of the letter that these three works were supposed to represent a large orchard with cypress trees (ll. 60-61). At any rate they included Orchard bordered by cypresses (F 513 / JH 1389 ) and Orchard with peach trees in blossom (F 551 / JH 1396 ). The third work was probably Orchard (F 552 / JH 1381 ), or the large study of a cherry tree which Van Gogh reported a week later he had ‘worked to death’ (letter 600). He evidently abandoned the notion of a triptych, since later he regarded F 513 / JH 1389 and F 551 / JH 1396 as a pair in their own right (see letters 608 and 615).

Cf. for the description ‘the state of embryos or foetuses’ in conjunction with the ‘initial idea’ a few lines later in the letter, the following note made by Eugène Delacroix in his Journal of 23 April 1854: ‘The first idea, the sketch, which is in some ways the egg or embryo of the idea, is usually far from complete; it contains everything if you like, but all this has to be brought out’ (L’Idée première, le croquis, qui est en quelque sorte l’oeuf ou l’embryon de l’idée, est loin ordinairement d’être complet; il contient tout si l’on veut, mais il faut dégager ce tout). See Delacroix 1996, p. 414.

9. The ‘no. 12 canvases’ of which Little blossoming pear tree was the central one both measure 55 x 65 cm and strictly speaking are therefore ‘figure 15’ canvases. Pink peach trees was flanked by two no. 25 canvases (65.5 x 80.5 cm and 60 x 80 cm respectively).

10. The Langlois bridge with washerwomen (F 571 / JH 1392 ); see for Van Gogh’s misnomer for the bridge: letter 595, n. 4.

11. The study is The Langlois bridge with washerwomen (F 397 / JH 1368 ).

12. Guillaumin’s pastel Farmhouses at Janville (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 143 . We do not know which method of fixing Van Gogh meant.

13. These sonnets are not known. See for Van Gogh’s reaction to them to Bernard: letter 599. We can infer from this postscript that Van Gogh must have received another letter from Bernard shortly after he had written letter 596 to him.