Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (April 1875) ... Dear Theo,
Enclosed is a little drawing. I made it last Sunday, the
morning when my landlady's little daughter died; she was
thirteen years old. It is a view of Streatham Common, a large
grassy plain with oak trees and gorse. It had been raining
overnight; the ground was soaked and the young spring grass was
fresh and green.
As you see, it is sketched on the title page of Poems by
Edmond Roche. There are some very fine ones among them, grave
and sad; one begins and ends thus:
J'ai gravi triste et seul la dune triste et nue,
Où la mer fait gémir sa plainte continue,
La dune où vient mourir la vague aux larges plis,
Monotone sentier aux tortueux replis.
[I have, sad and alone, climbed the sad and barren dune
Where the sea moans its constant lament
The dune where the waves die in large folds
Monotonous path of torturous folds.]
And another, “Calais”:
Que j'aime à te revoir,...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (19 June 1875) ... as well. I will pay for
the trip.
You will certainly not forget her, or her death, but it is
better to keep that to yourself.
It is one of those things that, as time goes by, we
“are sorrowful but always rejoicing”; that is what
we have to learn.
See letter 26
...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (18 August 1876) ... the whole
household was in mourning.
I was happy to have come, but confused, truly upset by the
spectacle of a pain so great and so venerable. “Blessed
are they that mourn, blessed are they that sorrow, but always
rejoice, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Blessed are those that find love on their road, who are bound
together by God, for to them all things will work together for
their good.”
I chatted for a long time, until evening, with Harry, about
everything, the kingdom of God, the Bible; we chatted further,
we walked up and down the station platform. Never will we
forget the moments before we said goodbye.
He and I, we know each other intimately; his work is mine, I
know as well as he the people that he knows down here, their
lives are as mine. From him, I have been given an urge to dive
into the history of this family; I love these people, more now
that I know their history in detail, because now I can
sympathize with them on...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (8 April 1877) ... nights, and had been with him to the last. His passing was
peaceful. I shall never forget that noble head lying on the
pillow: the face showed signs of suffering, but wore an
expression of peace and a certain holiness. Oh! It was so
beautiful, to me it was characteristic of all the peculiar
charm of the country and the life of the Brabant people. And
they were all talking about Father, how good he had always
been, and how much these two had loved each other.
Then I walked with Hein Aerssen to Etten, and I am home now,
ready to start for Dordrecht early tomorrow morning.
Good-by, brother, it is mail time; a firm handshake and kind
regards to all, from
Your loving brother, Vincent
Quotation from Dutch poem.
Their old nurse at Zundert.
...
