Auction house sells Van Gogh, Gauguin brothel visit letter
June 16, 2020
The two famous artists sent the letter while painting together in southern France. The letter is "exceptional," said the auction house Drouot.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Archambault
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A joint letter penned by world-famous painters Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, in which they described their brothel visits and discussed their art, sold for €210,600 ($236,000) at auction in Paris on Tuesday.
Both artists, whose post-impressionist paintings are known worldwide, signed the letter that is dated November 1/2, 1888. It was addressed to their painter friend Emile Bernard.
The letter is "exceptional" because the artists described their certainty that their paintings would revolutionize art in the future, stated Drouot auction house — where the letter was sold.
"This document reflects the immense lucidity of these artists in terms of the change taking place around them: they are fully aware that their art marks a turning point and that only future generations will understand it," Drouot adds in the statement.
The letter was sent from Arles, a city in the south of France, where Van Gogh was living at the time. Gauguin arrived in Arles, just weeks before the letter was dated, and the two artists spent several months painting together.
"Gauguin interests me a lot as a man," wrote the Dutch painter in the letter. He also described his friend as "a virgin being with wild animal instincts. In Gauguin, blood and sex prevail over ambition."
Van Gogh wrote that the pair visited brothels together: "We made some excursions to the brothels and it is probable that we will often end up going to work there."
Gauguin playfully mocked Van Gogh in the letter, telling Bernard: "Do not listen to Vincent," before adding "as you know he is easy to impress."
In the letter, both men also insisted that art was surging towards what Van Gogh called "an immense renaissance."
A selection from 'Making van Gogh: A German Love Story'
The Frankfurt Städel Museum features works by the iconic Dutch painter alongside paintings by Germans who were inspired by his work.
Vincent van Gogh: Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, 1888
A series of sailboats on the shore, with more of them sailing in the distance, create perfect diagonal lines in Van Gogh's painting from 1888. Now regarded as one of the most famous artists ever, the Dutch artist didn't experience success during his lifetime. His work was revealed to the world after he died.
Image: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Vincent van Gogh: Willows at Sunset, 1888
Vincent van Gogh painted many pictures with a strong sun blazing in the background, such as here. That was innovative at the time, because until then painters would only depict sunlight indirectly. Van Gogh saw the sun as a symbol of life and hope. That inspired German Expressionist painters such as Erich Heckel, Max Pechstein and Otto Dix.
In this early work by German artist Otto Dix (1891-1969), the sun rises over a snow-covered field. The 1913 painting, included in the exhibition "Making Van Gogh: A German Love Story" in Frankfurt's Städel Museum, shows how Van Gogh influenced German artists as the "painter of the sun."
Image: Städtische Galerie Dresden – Kunstsammlung Museen der Stadt Dresden Foto: Herbert Boswank
Vincent van Gogh: Self-Portrait, 1887
Lacking the money to pay for models, the artist often portrayed himself, here with short strokes and dabs of paint. These self-portraits contributed to Van Gogh's image as a misunderstood, suffering artist — the tragic hero who sacrificed himself for his art. This legend also inspired many other artists.
Image: Imago/Cinema Publishers Collection
Peter August Böckstiegel: Self-Portrait, 1913
In 1913, Peter August Böckstiegel (1889-1951) painted this portrait of himself with his head enigmatically outstretched, his eyes looking down at something outside of the picture. The German Expressionist painter appears to have been inspired by his role model, Vincent van Gogh. He also paid tribute to the myth of the suffering artist.
Farmers' hard work and simple countryside life fascinated Van Gogh and inspired many of his paintings, including this portrait of Augustine Roulin, the wife of his postman in the region of Arles, in the south of France. Van Gogh wanted to set up an artists' colony there, but his project failed to get off the ground.
Image: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Paula Modersohn-Becker: Old Woman from Almshouse with Glass Ball and Poppy Flowers, 1907
Van Gogh's paintings of farmers and country life inspired a number of artists. The influence of Van Gogh's "Augustine Roulin" on this work by Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) is notable. Even though the German Expressionist developed her own style, her early career was influenced by the Post-Impressionism that Van Gogh pioneered.
Image: Museen Böttcherstraße
Vincent van Gogh: Farmhouse in Provence, 1888
The exhibition at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt shows that Vincent van Gogh was in search of the ideal style of painting. He went through a range of styles and was constantly questioning whether a painting should be flat or vividly structured and dynamic. Germany developed an early passion for the Dutch artist which, as this latest retrospective show, has continued to the current day.
Image: National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.34
