[Curiosities] Van Gogh and Gauguin letter bought by Van Gogh Museum

[The GodFather]

 

 

According to a report in The Guardian, Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has bought a letter written by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, two of the most celebrated artists of the 19th century. Allegedly, the price paid for it is €210,600 (£189,000). The same report details that the letter consists of the painters’ experiences while they lived together in Arles, Provence.

 

Even though the reason behind Gogh cutting off his ear is not known, many reports suggest that he did it after a feud with Gauguin.

 

The report records it as the only letter by Gogh that he apparently co-wrote with another artist. “Now something that will interest you – we’ve made some excursions in the brothels, and it’s likely that we’ll eventually go there often to work. At the moment Gauguin has a canvas in progress of the same night cafe that I also painted, but with figures seen in the brothels. It promises to become a beautiful thing.”

“I declare I don’t understand why I don’t do figure studies, while theoretically it’s sometimes so difficult for me to imagine the painting of the future as anything other than a new series of powerful portraitists, simple and comprehensible to the whole of the general public. Anyway, perhaps I’ll soon get down to doing brothels,” he added.

 

The four-page letter, all in French, will be part of an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum. It will feature in October and will be titled, Your loving Vincent: Van Gogh’s Greatest Letters.