The Goupil Gallery Years in Paris
In Paris he compared painted landscapes with one described in a novel and sent Theo a portrait photograph with a passage about it. Months later he urged his brother to put such books aside.
No painting at this knot — only a letter.
Events
- The Translator · Letter 35
He sent Theo a photograph of a portrait by Champaigne with Michelet’s words about it.
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 37
In a small room in Montmartre he listed the prints on the wall, including Rembrandt’s Bible Reading.
- The Translator · Letter 44
He bought a book with etchings after Michel and compared them with a landscape passage in Adam Bede.
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 46
He urged Theo to read neither Michelet nor other books before Christmas, except the Bible.
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 50
He said he intended to get rid of books by Michelet and others and urged Theo to do the same.
- The Ferocious Reader · Letter 55
He again asked whether Theo had disposed of the books, while recalling Michelet’s page about Champaigne’s portrait.
From the Letters
Toch is ook Michel nog lang zoo mooi niet als dat landschap dat in die passage in Adam Bede, die ons beiden zoo getroffen heeft, beschreven wordt.─ Bonington heeft het ook bijna geschilderd maar toch is dat het ook nog niet. Michel, though, isn’t nearly so beautiful as that landscape described in that passage in Adam Bede, which we both found so moving. Bonington, too, almost painted it, and yet that isn’t it either.
Die bladzijde uit Michelet over dat vrouwenportret van Ph. de Champaigne zult gij toch wel niet vergeten, & vergeet Renan ook maar niet, maar toch, doe ze weg.─ You certainly won’t forget that page from Michelet about that portrait of a lady by P. de Champaigne, and don’t forget Renan either, but still, get rid of them.
Letter Sources
Van Gogh letter records referenced on this page, linked to the Van Gogh Letters Project. vangoghletters.org