Although the “Studio of the South" did not have a happy ending, the two artists maintained their friendship and corresponded through letters. They kept the paintings they exchanged and Vincent continued to observe Gauguin's artistic progress and shared his thoughts on his paintings with his brother. Today 134 years ago, on 9 January 1889, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "Have you seen the portrait of me that Gauguin has, and have you seen the portrait that Gauguin did of himself during those final days? If you were to compare this portrait which Gauguin did of himself then with the one I still have of him, which he sent to me from Brittany in exchange for mine, you would see that all in all he grew more serene here, personally.” The Painter of...

The engagement party was at Weteringschans 121 in Amsterdam, the address of Jo’s parents, Hendrik Christiaan Bonger and Hermine Louise Weissman. Theo and Jo's son Vincent Willem was the founder of Van Gogh Museum just 700 meters away 84 years later. If only they knew.. Today 134 years ago, on 6 January 1889, Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger sent the announcement of their engagement party to Vincent van Gogh from Paris/Amsterdam. Theo van Gogh and Jo Bonger got married on 17 April 1889. One year before Theo declared his love to her. Johanna, who barely knew him, was a little irritated by his sudden proposal of marriage, and thus turned him down at first. Determination ran in the family though.. You may also like to read: Thank you Jo van...

Van Gogh’s paintings in museums are not for sale, but his most famous masterpieces like Starry Night could be worth a billion. Sometimes a Van Gogh painting from a private owner is auctioned. ‘Head of a Woman’, painted in Nuenen in Van Goghs darker early style. It fetched 4,842,000 British Pounds (6,027,321USD) at Christie’s on 28 February 2023. Today 138 years ago, on about 5 January 1885 Vincent van Gogh wrote to Anton Kerssemakers from Nuenen: "Anyway, I’m working with almighty pleasure these days, for I would much rather paint figures than anything else. Then — the heads of these women here with the white caps — it’s difficult — but it’s so eternally beautiful. It’s precisely the chiaroscuro — the white...

Mr Peyron had written to Theo that Vincent had eaten paint to poison himself. This was during another mental breakdown, from about 24 December to about 30 December 1889, exactly one year after the first one in Arles. Doctor Théophile Peyron ran the mental hospital of Saint-Paul-de Mausole in Saint Rémy de Provence. Today 133 years ago, on 1 January 1890, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: "Odd that I’d worked perfectly calmly on canvases that you’ll soon see, and that all at once, without any reason, the confusion took hold of me again." One of the paintings Van Gogh was working on was: Women Picking Olives Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, November 1889 Oil on canvas...

Yes after Vincent van Gogh had shot himself he asked Dr Gachet to tell his brother Theo to come to Auvers-sûr-Oise. Theo was there with him when Vincent van Gogh died. Today 132 years ago, on 27 July 1890, Dr. Gachet wrote to Theo from Auvers-sûr-Oise: "Today, Sunday, at nine o'clock in the evening I was sent for by your brother Vincent, who wanted to see me at once. I went there and found him very ill. He has wounded himself . . . it is your duty to come.” Wheat Field with Crows Auvers-sûr-Oise, 1890 Oil on canvas 50,5 cm x 103 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam You may also like to read: Did Vincent van Gogh kill himself? Van Gogh's ' Wheat Field with...

At the end of February 1886 Vincent van Gogh moved from Antwerp to Paris where his brother Theo worked as an art dealer. Vincent didn’t have any money and moved in with his brother (without prior notice and without paying his bills in Antwerp). Vincent lived in Paris for two years before moving to Arles and of course during this period there are not many letters from Vincent to Theo. Vincent only wrote to Theo from Paris at arrival and when Theo was in The Netherlands for a week in 1887. Today 135 years ago, around 26 July 1887, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Paris: "I saw Tanguy yesterday and he put a canvas I had just done in his window, I’ve done four since you left, and I have a big one on the go.” Montmartre: Behind the Moulin de la...

Australian impressionistic painter John Peter Russell (16 juni 1858 - 22 april 1930) inherited his father's fortune and would be able to buy Vincent's art. Van Gogh and Russell met in Paris and became friends. In 1886 Russell painted Van Gogh’s portrait that may show best what Van Gogh really looked like of all existing (self-)portraits. Did Russel not buy Van Gogh’s paintings as he didn’t sell many of his own paintings either? Vincent asked his brother Theo, director of an art dealer's branch in Paris, to check if Russel was interested. Today 134 years ago, on 24 July 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "I’d very much like it if Russell were to do something — however, he has a wife, children, a studio, a house under...

Vincent van Gogh hardly ever painted animals as main subject of his paintings. His 'Cart with red and white ox' was probably inspired on Anton Mauve’s 'Carter on a Country Road’. Anton Mauve was his painting teacher in The Hague. When Mauve died in 1888 Van Gogh painted 'Pink peach Trees' as an homage to his cousin and former teacher Mauve. Today 138 years ago, on 20 July 1884, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo van Gogh from Nuenen: "I’m again looking forward very much to your arrival and to finding out what you’ll think of the work that I’ve done since. The last things I did are a couple of rather large studies of ox-carts, a black ox and a red and white one.” Cart with red and white ox Nuenen, 1884...

39 letters from Theo van Gogh to Vincent survived, but Theo must have written many more letters to his brother. Vincent lost many of them. Theo kept every scratch from Vincent though, leading to 663 surviving letters from Vincent to Theo. In total 903 letters from or to Vincent survived. Thanks to these letters we have a good idea what Vincent felt, how he lived, and how his painting style developed. Vincent also wrote to his sister, his parents, and to fellow artists. Today 134 years ago, between 17 and 20 July 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "My dear Theo. Many thanks for your letter, which gave me great pleasure, coming just at the moment when I was still dazed by the sun and the strain of handling a rather large canvas. I have a new drawing of a garden full...

Vincent van Gogh was going through tough times after his ear accident. He moved from Arles to the asylum in Saint-Rémy. Instead of organizing his Studio of the South for fellow artists he was now locked up with other patients with mental problems. Van Gogh was very excited about the news of him becoming an uncle though. Theo’s wife Jo was pregnant! Vincent didn’t have much else to do than to paint, which served as perfect distraction for his excitement. And he painted many of his now famous masterpieces. Was he able to put a little extra love into his paintings with a nephew or niece to be born? "Anyway, there’s enough to bring back the taste for life a little when I think that I myself am going to be promoted uncle of this boy planned by your wife." Today 133...

Vincent van Gogh painted 5 bird’s nests after each other, obsessed by their colorful beauty. Vincent’s fascination for bird’s nests went so far that he started seeing peasant’s cottages as bird's nests. "I now really must go bird’s nesting with a number of variations of these ‘people’s nests’, which remind me so much of the nests of wrens — that’s to say, paint them." Today 137 years ago, on or about 14 July 1885, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Nuenen: "I’ve never seen the little house where Millet lived — but I imagine that these 4 little human nests are of the same kind. One of them is the residence of a gentleman who’s popularly known here as ‘the peasant of...

Vincent van Gogh visited his brother Theo and his wife Jo in Paris on 6 July 1890. He also met art critic Aurier there who had just written a very positive article on Van Gogh’s paintings. Toulouse-Lautrec joined for lunch and the French impressionist Armand Guillaumin was coming to meet Vincent. But it was too much for him. Wasn’t Van Gogh able to connect with the people that surrounded him? Was Vincent in fear not to be accepted? It was in this state of emotional isolation that he arrived in Auvers-sûr-Oise and painted Wheatfield under thunderclouds, expressing extreme loneliness. Today 132 years ago, on about 9 July 1890, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo and Jo from Auvers-sur-Oise: "There – once back here I set to work again – the brush however...

The Red Vineyard may be the only painting Vincent van Gogh ever sold. Anna Boch bought it in 1890 for 400 francs. In 1909 it was sold to Ivan Morozov, a Russian businessman and member of the rich Morozv dynasty. Morozov's art collection was nationalized after the Bolshevik Revolution and a part of it went to the Pushkin Museum in Moscow where the The Red Vineyard still resides. Today 133 years ago, between 8 July and 12 July 1889, Vincent van Gogh wrote to his mother from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: "But what are beautiful in the south are the vineyards, where they’re on the flat land or the hillsides. I’ve seen it, and come to that sent Theo a painting of it, where a vineyard is all purple, crimson and yellow and green and violet like the Virginia creeper in...

New Van Gogh paintings are not discovered often. In 2013 Sunset at Montmajour was authenticated as a genuine Van Gogh. This was the first time since 1928 that a full size Van Gogh painting was discovered. And it wasn’t actually a discovery. The painting had been dismissed a a real Van Gogh in the 1990s. Today 134 years ago, on 5 July 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "Yesterday, at sunset, I was on a stony heath where very small, twisted oaks grow, in the background a ruin on the hill, and wheatfields in the valley. It was romantic, it couldn’t be more so, à la Monticelli, the sun was pouring its very yellow rays over the bushes and the ground, absolutely a shower of gold.” Sunset at Montmajour Arles, 1888...

Vincent van Gogh was very satisfied with his painting of the Harvest at La Crau near Arles. He painted it in one day, except for some adjusting and perfecting afterwards, back in The yellow House. Van Gogh was well prepared to get it done in one go as he made two studies of it with pen and watercolor first. Today 134 years ago, on or about 29 June 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "It’s like that with the one of which I sent you the drawing, the harvest and the wheat stacks too — it’s true I have to retouch everything to adjust the workmanship a little, to harmonize the brushstrokes, but all the essential work was done in a single long session, and I’ll spare it as much as possible when I go back to it.” One of the...

Vincent van Gogh was aware of his contribution to art in general. Paintings were necessary to help art history go forward, whether created by himself or by other artists. Not only by discussing art with his fellow artists but also by copying art in his own style Van Gogh would help future artists to stand on his shoulders in their turn. Today 134 years ago, on 28 June 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "Yesterday and today I worked on the sower, which has been completely reworked. The sky is yellow and green, the earth purple and orange. There’s definitely a painting like that to be made of this splendid subject, and I hope it will be done one day, either by someone else or by me.” Sower with setting sun Arles, 1888...

Vincent van Gogh’s famous drawing (1882) and painting (1890) ' At Eternity's Gate ' also called ' Worn Out ' depicting a sorrowful figure struggling through life resonated with Vincent during his life. His money problems and mental problems exhausted him, but also the sun in the South of France could tire him so much that he wasn't able to tell the quality of his paintings anymore. Today 134 years ago, on 27 June 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Emile Bernard from Arles: "The thing is, it’s tiring, the sun down here. I’m also utterly incapable of judging my own work. I can’t see whether the studies are good or bad. I have seven studies of wheatfields, unfortunately all of them nothing but landscapes, much against my will.”...

Vincent van Gogh promised to send the study Sprig of almond blossom in a glass with a book for Willemien’s birthday. She also once owned the painting: Orchard bordered by cypresses. Today 134 years ago, on or about 20 June 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to his sister Willemien from Arles: "A long time ago I meant you to have a painted study, and you shall get it. I’m afraid that by post, even if I pay the postage, they’ll make you pay excess postage, like the flowers from Menton, and this is even bigger — but Theo will certainly send you one, if I don’t think about it, ask him for it.” Orchard bordered by cypresses Arles, 1888 Oil on canvas 32 x 40 cm Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven...

Like most people who changed the world in their field Vincent van Gogh was hyper-focussed. Not only did he make about 900 paintings, 1100 drawings and write 1000 letters in 10 years time. His thoughts were always about art. All day and every day. Within his focus on painting Van Gogh could easily be distracted. It made him a multitasker who could be working on a painting and a drawing at the same time, whilst writing a letter. Today 134 years ago, on 17 June 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to John Peter Russell from Arles: "Well, instead of continuing the letter I began to draw on the very paper the head of a dirty little girl I saw this afternoon whilst I was painting a view of the river with a greenish yellow sky.” The view of the river he refers to is the...

Vincent van Gogh’s water color Wheat Stacks was sold at Christie’s in New York in 2021 for a record of 35,85 million USD. Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr Gachet is the most expensive Van Gogh oil painting ever sold at auction for 83 million USD in 1990. Today 134 years ago, on 16 June 1888, Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles: "I’ve sent you 3 drawings by post today. The one with the wheat stacks in a farmyard will seem too bizarre to you, but it was done in great haste as a project for a painting, and it’s to show you what it’s like.” The drawing Wheat Stacks served as a study for the painting: Wheat Stacks Arles, 1888 Pen, watercolour 50 x 62 cm Private collection...