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