The Zola Summer in The Hague
"The artist is a man who sees nature through his own temperament." Zola gave him one sentence; he used it for the rest of his life.
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F1031 Sorrow (large version) 1883
Events
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 348
Began reading Zola's Mes haines — a collection of art criticism. 'It is a magnificent book about art.'
- The Translator · Letter 350
'Zola says: the artist is a man who sees nature through his own temperament.' Translating this from French into his painting manifesto
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 352
Also reading Zola's Mon Salon — Zola's defence of the Impressionists. He found a theoretical weapon for painting in literary criticism
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 354
Continued with Hugo's Les misérables and Carlyle's Sartor resartus — three languages, three ways of writing about labour
From the Letters
Ik lees nu Mes haines van Zola — het is een prachtig boek over kunst. I am now reading Zola's Mes haines — it is a magnificent book about art.
Zola zegt: de kunstenaar is een man die de natuur ziet door zijn eigen temperament. Zola says: the artist is a man who sees nature through his own temperament.
Dat woord van Zola — door zijn temperament — dat is het heele geheim van de kunst. That word of Zola's — through his temperament — that is the whole secret of art.
Ik geloof dat een schilder gelukkig is als hij een boek leest dat hem sterker maakt. I believe a painter is happy when he reads a book that makes him stronger.
Zola is voor mij wat Delacroix is voor de schilderkunst — een revolutionair die toch klassiek is. Zola is for me what Delacroix is for painting — a revolutionary who is nonetheless classical.
Letter Sources
Van Gogh letter records referenced on this page, linked to the Van Gogh Letters Project. vangoghletters.org
Technique Evidence
This work appears as evidence in this site’s technique-evolution axis.
- Redemptive Drawing 1880.08 – 1883.12 Open period F929 / JH130 Sorrow