Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (30 May 1877) ... faith one can go on for
a long time.
When I found myself in front of the corpse of Aerssen the
calmness and dignity and solemn silence of death contrasted
with us, who still live, to such an extent, that we all felt
the truth Of what his daughter said with such simplicity:
“he is freed from the burden of life, which we have to go
on bearing.” And yet we are so much attached to the old
life, because next to our despondent moods we have our happy
moments when heart and soul rejoice, like the lark that cannot
keep from singing in the morning, even though the soul
sometimes sinks within us and is fearful. And the memories of
all we have loved stay and come back to us in the evening of
our life. They are not dead but sleep, and it is well to gather
a treasure of them.
A handshake and write soon to
Your loving brother, Vincent
...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (27 July 1877) ... parlour - he was such a pretty
little boy. The sorrow was great; he had been the light of the
house, as it were, and the light had now been extinguished.
Though rough people express their sorrow crudely and without
dignity, like this mother, one still feels deeply in a house of
mourning, and the spell remained with me the whole evening,
while I took a long walk.
Last Sunday morning I took a fine walk. First I went to
morning service - the Reverend Mr. Posthumus Meyes in the North
Church - then to Bicker's Island, where I walked along the dyke
by the Ij until it was church time again, and then to the
Island Church, where Uncle Stricker preached.
So time passes - and quickly, too - we are almost at the end
of the week. How are you, boy? Every day I think of you so very
often. May God help us in our struggle to keep straight; you
are right in associating with good artists - I, too, cling fast
to the memory of many of them.
It is written, “Conquer the evil with the...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (3 March 1878) ... touches us more deeply than one realizes. It must be good to
die in the knowledge that one has done some truthful work and
to know that, as a result, one will live on in the memory of at
least a few and leave a good example for those who come after.
A work that is good may not last forever, but the thought
expressed by it will, and the work itself will surely survive
for a very long time, and those who come later can do no more
than follow in the footsteps of such predecessors and copy
their example.
Speaking of good works, would you like to have a Flemish
Imitation of Christ? I hope to send it to you shortly, in a
small book which, if need be, can easily be slipped into the
pocket.
When Uncle told me about Daubigny, I thought of his etchings
after Ruysdael (Le buisson and Le coup de soleil), and Uncle
has promised to get hold of them, as he did not know them at
all.
I was at the Reverend Mr. Gagnebin's last Monday night and
met his wife and daughter as well and...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (15 November 1878) ... bleak day, gloomy and dark
weather.
It is a sad and very melancholy scene, which must strike
everyone who knows and feels that we also have to pass one day
through the valley of the shadow of death, and “que la
fin de la vie humaine, ce sont des larmes ou des cheveux
blancs.” [the end of human life is tears or white hairs.]
What lies beyond this is a great mystery that only God knows,
but He has revealed absolutely through His word that there is a
resurrection of the dead.
The poor horse, the old faithful servant, is standing there
patiently and meekly, yet bravely and unflinchingly; like the
old guard who said, “la garde meurt mais elle ne se rend
pas,” [the guard dies, but never surrenders] it awaits
its last hour. Involuntarily I was reminded of that engraving,
when I saw tonight those horses of the ash carts.
As to the drivers themselves with their filthy dirty
clothes, they seemed sunk and rooted still deeper in poverty
than that long...
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (c. 1 April 1885) ... the first days; it was the same with me.
Indeed, those were days we shall not easily forget. And yet
the total impression was not terrible, only solemn. Life is not
long for anybody, and the problem is only to make something of
it.
Today I painted better again; the first two heads turned out
badly, today's is a young girl's, almost a child's head. As to
colour, it is a contrast of bright red with pale green against
the flesh colour of the little face, there is already a head
like it among those you took with you .
