Dear brother and sister,
Sunday 1 has left me a very pleasant memory; in
this way we feel that we are not so far from one another, and I
hope that we shall often see each other again. Since Sunday I
have done two studies of houses among the trees. A whole colony
of Americans has just established itself next door to the house
where I am; they are painting, but I have not yet seen what
they are doing.
On consideration, as for taking this house or else another,
this is how it is. Here I pay 1 franc a day for sleeping, so
if I had my furniture, the difference between 365
francs and 400 would be no great matter, I think, and then I
should very much like you two to have a pied à
terre in the country along with me.
But I am beginning to think that I must consider the
furniture lost.
My friends whom it is with will not, so far as I can see,
put themselves out to send it to me, as I am no longer there.
It is mostly the traditional laziness and the old traditional
story that passing strangers leave temporary furniture in the
place where it is.
But I have just written them for the third time that I need
it; I said in my letter that if I did not hear from them I
should feel obliged to send them a louis for the cost of
carriage. Probably that will influence them, but it is bad
manners. What can you do? It's not quite the same in the South
as it is the North, the people there do what they like and
don't take the trouble to think or pay attention to others if
they are not there.
Once you are in Paris, you seem to be in another world, and
I think that they probably won't put themselves out, all the
more because they will not like to be mixed up any further in
this business which has been talked about so much in Arles.
On my part also it has worried me, reviving all this writing
to these people.
I thought that the little one looked well and you two also;
you must come back soon.
There is no carrier direct from here to Paris, but there is
one from Pontoise. Now there is one from Pontoise to here every
day. So please ask old Tanguy to set to work instantly, taking
the nails out of all the canvases that are on stretchers up
there in the attic. He must make rolls of the canvases, and
packages of the stretchers.
Then either I will send the carrier from Pontoise, or else I
will come some time during the next fortnight with M. Gachet to
get some of them.
I also saw at your home in the heap under the bed a lot that
I can touch up, I think, to advantage. I am very sorry not to
see the Raffaelli exhibition; I should especially like to see
also your arrangements of those drawings on cretonne that you
spoke of. Someday or other I think I shall find a way to have
an exhibition of my own in a café. I should not
mind exhibiting with Cheret, who certainly must have certain
ideas about it. Goodbye for now, a good handshake, and wishing
you good luck, especially with the little one,
Ever yours, Vincent
-
In a footnote to the original translation, Jo had
written, “We had brought the little one and spent the
day with Vincent at Dr. Gachet's.”
At this time, Vincent was 37 year oldSource: Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Theo van Gogh. Written c. 10 June 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise. Translated by Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, edited by Robert Harrison, number 640. URL: https://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/21/640.htm.
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